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Sunday Miscellany

Sunday Miscellany

104 episodes — Page 1 of 3

Culture Shock and Swimming with Seals

May 10, 202633 min

Beauty and Birdsong

May 3, 202636 min

Bright Stars, Broadway and the Belfast Blitz

Apr 26, 202635 min

Unexpected Guests and a Whistling City

Apr 19, 202638 min

Fairytales, Faraway Places and Falling in Love

A tribute to In Dublin Magazine, a visit to a Buenos Aires hurling club and advice to the young, with Tim Carey, Alexander McMaster, Grace Wells, Daniel Mulhall, Mary O’Donnell, Mary O’Malley and the late Gabriel Rosenstock

Apr 12, 202636 min

Easter Miscellany

Radio waves and Roger Casement, a Rhode Island Red sisterhood and Semana Santa in Seville, with John MacKenna, Liz McSkeane, Rory Carroll, Doireann Ní Bhriain, Fiona Hyland, John F Deane and Tom Conaty

Apr 5, 202639 min

Stories of the Rising from Wexford to Dublin

A special live programme from Wexford Opera House, originally broadcast for the centenary of the Easter Rising, with Billy Roche, AM Cousins, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Prionsías Ó Rathaille and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and music from the Contempo Quartet and more

Mar 29, 202635 min

Old Friends and Youthful Dreams

Live from the Ennis Book Club Festival, including tributes to the late Nuala O’Faolain and Seán Rocks, with writers Niamh Campbell, Hugo Hamilton, Lemn Sissay, Éilis Ní Dhuibhne and Karen J McDonnell

Mar 22, 202632 min

From Clare to Here

Live at the Ennis Book Club Festival, with Anne Enright, Abi Daré, Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, Mattie Brennan and Lemn Sissay, with music from Blackie O’Connell, Mickey Dunne, The Metals, Diane Daly, Boris Hunka, Liam Hunka, Katie Theasby, Ger O’Donnell

Mar 15, 202635 min

Embers, Oscars and Gold from the Dairy

Butter and buttercups, teenage rites of passage, and a curly-haired girl… with Ciarán Cannon, Margaret Hickey, John MacKenna, Rosaleen McDonagh, Kathleen Murphy, Antonia Gunko Karelina, Tom Conaty and Mary O’Malley

Mar 8, 202633 min

Melody, Meaning and Morning Dew

A tribute to the late, great poet, Michael Longley, the politics of dress code, a celebration of lambing season, and wild Dingle peninsula Irish words from the much-missed Manchán Magan...with Olivia O'Leary, Peter Cunningham, Kate O'Shaughnessy, Denis Tuohy and Catherine Foley

Mar 1, 202635 min

Rock Stars and Rugby Glory

Triumph in Twickenham, diamonds and daffodils, and green shoots of hope in dark times, with Mark Horgan, Joseph O’Connor, Olive Travers, Carla King, John O’Donnell and Paul Muldoon

Feb 22, 202635 min

Sea dips and serene cruises

Bracing coastal waters, past-their-prime vessels and the glorious freedom of swimming, with Mae Leonard, Mervyn Wall, Benedict Kiely, Marie McSweeney, Gerald Dawe, Joe McGowan and Anne Le Marquand Hartigan

Feb 15, 202636 min

Home comforts and ways of living

The comforts of home, the spaces we inhabit and the things we can't do without, with Maurice Craig, Treasa Brogan, Bill Hammond, Mary Arrigan, Fachtna Ó Drisceoil, Tommy Sands and Elaine Sisson

Feb 8, 202639 min

Magical childhoods

Magical woodlands, stone sanctuaries and divine intervention, with Val Mulkerns, Sam McAughtry, Vona Groarke, Nuala Hayes, Peter Jankowsky, Catherine Ann Cullen, Liz Nugent and Michael Harding

Feb 1, 202642 min

Working yourself, or watching others at it

Labour-saving devices, hard labour, labouring cerebrally or otherwise, all forms of work are the theme of today's archive programme, with John Ryan, Angela O'Rourke, Lar Redmond, Benedict Kiely, James Plunkett and Sharon Hogan

Jan 25, 202634 min

Rituals at home, rituals in the community

Miscellany 50: The Archives was a special series that celebrated the writing Sunday Miscellany featured in its first 50 years. This programme focused on the theme of ‘ritual’ and featured Hilda Murphy, Nuala O'Faolain, Eamon Keane, Margaret Hawkins, Paul Dwyer, Sinéad McCoole and Tadhg Ó Dubhláine

Jan 18, 202637 min

A flash of pink, a magic box and a bird’s eye view

Over the past 100 years, the seismic impact of Ireland's new public broadcasting service on individual homes, society and our political landscape, with Felicity Hayes-McCoy, the late JM Dolan, Gerard Stembridge, Margaret Galvin, John Toal and Olivia O'Leary

Jan 11, 202638 min

Roses, Rain and a Door Ajar

Wedding vows, thoughts of home and New Year wishes, from Sweden to Vancouver Island to Rostrevor, County Down, with Conall Hamill, Lani O’Hanlon, Neil Hegarty, Mattie Brennan, Denis Tuohy and Enda Wyley

Jan 4, 202633 min

A Piano Man and a Wexford Ball

Post-Christmas blues and a December birthday, angels of heaven and the origins of Gaelic football in Wexford, with Mary O’Donnell, John Toal, Jackie Lynam, Alison Ní Mháirtín, Paul Rouse, the late Manchán Magan and Eithne Hand (pic: Paula Malone Carty)

Dec 28, 202538 min

A Christmas Day Miscellany

Palestrina in Rome, an outsize Santa suit, and gifts of kindness from the Liberties to Lagos… featuring recordings from the NCH with the RTÉ CO and more, with Eithne Shortall, Joseph O’Connor, John Toal, Quentin Fottrell, Rachael Hegarty, Chikere Ohoka, Lisa Lambe, the Palestrina Choir and Sarah Shine

Dec 25, 202542 min

Joy to the World: Christmas Miscellany Part 1

A winter wedding, a New Year’s Eve disaster, a Christmas baby and balm for the broken-hearted…Part 1 of Christmas Miscellany with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and special guests Kathleen MacMahon, Paul Muldoon, Mia Döring, Paul Howard, Cauvery Madhavan, the Palestrina Choir and Lisa Lambe

Dec 21, 202539 min

Songs, Seafarers and a Guiding Star

From Skerries to Strabane, East Galway to Alexandria: chance encounters, Christmastime musical delights and a deer of light, with Victoria White, Seán O’Gorman, Lisa McInerney, Jim Maguire, Judith Mok, Denise Blake and James Harpur

Dec 14, 202536 min

War Stories and Winter Light

John and Yoko in County Mayo, Con Houlihan at 100 and a sniff of Christmas, with Donal Fallon, Louise Kennedy, Niall McArdle, Peter Cunningham Aidan Hynes and Helen O’Rahilly

Dec 7, 202537 min

Bicycles and Belfast Boys

George Best and Harry Gregg’s footballing friendship, a long-forgotten fire in the Liberties and a poet in Kinsale, with Roslyn Dee, Las Fallon, Sharon Hogan, John Toal, Oliver Sears and Enda Wyley

Nov 30, 202536 min

Grief and History: Voices from Bloody Sunday, 2020

A special programme marking the anniversary of one of the worst days of violence of the War of Independence, with the support of the GAA Museum at Croke Park. With Colin Regan, Chris Shouldice, Michael Foley, Anthony Ryan, Anne Dolan, Paul Rouse and Louise Hogan

Nov 23, 202542 min

Old Friends and New Beginnings

Ravens, crows and the last Irish wolf, diplomatic journeys and a poetry journal’s elegant farewell, with John MacKenna, Denise Blake, Zoë Devlin, Paul Muldoon, Nell Regan, Paul Johnston, James Harpur and Billy Collins

Nov 16, 202538 min

Starry Skies and Student Rites-of-Passage

The art of persuasion, the pity of war and the sanctuary of home, with tributes to the late, great Conor Gearty and Sister Stanislaus Kennedy; the writers are Gerry Stembridge, Kathy Donaghy, Tess Hughes, John O’Donnell, Eileen Battersby and Rachael Hegarty

Nov 9, 202536 min

Ghosts, Goldcrests and a Lost Manuscript

A prayer for Rudolf Valentino, fleeting memories and a snowy night of opera in St Petersburg, with Georg Grote, Louise Kennedy, Beth Kilkenny, Justin MacCarthy, Roslyn Dee and John F Deane

Nov 2, 202540 min

A Last Briquette and a Magic Mountain

Silver sparks, a bog for a pillow and the ‘deserts of the midlands’… A ‘Writing the Bog’ special programme, part 2, in collaboration with the Bog Bothy project by the Irish Architectural Foundation and 12th Field, with writers Adam Trodd, Anne Gately Mercier, Kevin McDermott, Marion McGarry, Isabella Chiadini and Alexander McMaster

Oct 26, 202535 min

A Stolen Tulip and a Hare’s Eyes

Creative discoveries from reading to singing to dancing to painting - a live selection from Waterford Writers’ Weekend and the Red Line Book Festival with Frankie Gaffney, the late Eileen Battersby, John Connell, Catherine Foley, AM Cousins, Rosaleen McDonagh, Kathleen Murphy, Donal Clancy, the Far Flung Trio and more

Oct 19, 202537 min

Architecture, Home and the City

How do the places we build shape our lives? A programme marking Open House Dublin Festival of Architecture, with Éimear Arthur, Cormac Murray, Emmett Scanlon, Kevin Marinan, Graham Hickey, Julie Cruickshank and FELISPEAKS. Supported by the Irish Architecture Foundation

Oct 12, 202539 min

Ringing Bells and Magic Nights

Saluting some treasures of our culture, language and landscape; remembering Brian Friel on his tenth anniversary, and a poem for the late, much-missed Manchán Magan with Dominic Dromgoole, Adam Trodd, Bernadett Buda, Aoife Barry, David Grant and Noelle Lynskey

Oct 5, 202535 min

Both Sides Now

Homecomings and departures, a friend for all seasons and tributes to Derek Mahon, Michael Hartnett and more, with Donal Hayes, Grace Wells, Joe Whelan, Mary O’Donnell, Mike MacDomhnaill, Beth Kilkenny and Mary O’Malley

Sep 28, 202533 min

Strange Days and Seasonal Moods

September rituals and youthful rites of passage, with Paul Muldoon, Carol Taaffe, Conall Hamill, Georg Grote, Antonia Hart and Frank Shouldice

Sep 21, 202537 min

Sun and stardust, Irish words for rain and a gift from Edna O’Brien

A re-broadcast of a special Culture Night Miscellany, hosted by President Higgins and Sabina Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin in 2024, with Manchán Magan, Tim Carey, Mia Döring, Rita Ann Higgins, Donal Ryan and President Michael D Higgins

Sep 14, 202534 min

Writing the Bog, Part 1

Stories of the Irish boglands, past, present and imagined future, in collaboration with the Irish Architecture Foundation's Bog Bothy project, with Margaret Hickey, Niamh Donnellan, Karen McHugh, Anthony Baggott, Emmett Scanlon and Claire Cotter

Sep 7, 202537 min

Back-to-school blues, Thackeray’s Irish tour, and Dev’s favourite transport

Ireland’s State Coach, the bittersweet first day of school, Thackeray’s travels in Ireland and young boys robbing orchards, with Jonathan White, Zoë Devlin, Enda Wyley, Lourdes Mackey, John MacKenna, Grace Wells and Tom Conaty

Aug 31, 202536 min

Exam Jitters and Curtain Raisers

Leaving result anxiety, fox cubs by moonlight and meeting Mícheál MacLiammóir -- and a new poem from Paul Muldoon. With Denise Blake, Emma Prunty, Kathy Donaghy, Denis Tuohy, John MacKenna and Paul Muldoon

Aug 24, 202532 min

Angels, Animals and Daughters of Memory

From the shores of West Kerry to Dublin city’s Georgian squares, to a Traveller man’s campfire – a special programme on Ireland’s treasure trove of shared heritage, marking National Heritage Week, with Eimear Ryan, Theo Dorgan, Colin Regan, Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Oein DeBharduin and Paula Meehan

Aug 17, 202540 min

Oasis, Owls and a Wildean Whodunnit

Marmalade sandwiches and illicit pints of Guinness, and the human tremors and reverberations of history from the Baltic Way to the atrocity of the atom bomb. With David Coughlan, Maeve Edwards, Joe Taylor, Denise Blake, Conor Hanratty and Mary O’Donnell

Aug 10, 202536 min

Night Owls and Guardian Angels

Fairytales and boarding school blues, travelling light and a treasured sewing machine: a Miscellany archive dip with Michael Harding, Eugene McEldowney, Vona Groarke, the late Peter Jankowsky, Geraldine Mitchell, Kieran Fagan and the late Mary Russell, who died recently

Aug 3, 202536 min

Dreaming in Green and Gold

All-Ireland football hopes from Kenmare to Killybegs, Leonard Cohen’s magical Lissadell concert, and more, with John Toal, Regina Devenney, John S Doyle, Tony Griffin, Noel King, Denise Blake and John Cooney

Jul 27, 202533 min

Hurling, Hitch-hiking and a Baby Elephant

Thumbing a lift, taming a feral cat, the story behind how Babs Keating became Tipperary’s “barefoot wonder” and a father’s love for Cork’s Na Piarsaigh, with Doireann Ní Bhriain, Joe Whelan, Cormac Murray, Theo Dorgan, Lani O’Hanlon and John Allen

Jul 20, 202534 min

Live Aid and Limpets

Hazy summer days from West Kerry to Beirut, and saluting the pioneering Yeats sisters, with Michael Hilliard Mulcahy, Eunan McKinney, Mae Leonard, Alexander McMaster, Angela Keogh, Mariam Tell and Vincent Woods

Jul 13, 202536 min

A New York State of Mind

Coat checks and cityscapes in New York City; preparing for a family wedding; and reflections on wearing wigs. With Gary Coyle, Neil Hegarty, Cathy Power, John Tuomey, Julie Feeny and Lauren Green

Jul 6, 202533 min

Ways of Seeing, Notions of Home

How we see ourselves, and others, and what constitutes home; a selection from the Belfast Books Festival in 2023 and 2004 with Wendy Erskine, John Toal, Neil Hegarty, Marie Howe and Paul McVeigh

Jun 29, 202533 min

Travelling West, Travelling East

The mud of Glastonbury and the elegance of the Monet garden, a St John’s Eve bonfire and the bravery of Irishman Graham Dale, with Conall Hamill, Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, John Toal, Maeve Edwards, Joe Rooney and Antonia Gunko Karelina

Jun 22, 202538 min

Fathers, a Faith Healer and a Missing Football

Solstice meditations, a Sydney nightwalk and a visit to Joyce’s Nighttown, with Colin Regan, Kieran FitzGerald, Grace Wells, Fran O’Rourke, Katrina Bruna and Christian O’Reilly

Jun 15, 202534 min

Sunflowers, Spirit Animals and Ziggy Stardust

Live from the Belfast Book Festival 2024, at the Crescent Arts Centre, with Ways of Seeing. Writers: Jan Carson, Lucy Caldwell, Glenn Patterson, Emily Byers-Ferrian and Maria McManus, with music from Scott Flanigan, Sinéad McKenna & Micky Fearon and Trú

Jun 8, 202532 min