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Sunday Miscellany

Sunday Miscellany

117 episodes — Page 2 of 3

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

Glorious Boglands and Glory Days

Exam jitters and poetry grinds for teenagers, the heyday of the Irish Press newspaper, and silage-making with a reluctant farm horse, with Alexander McMaster, Denis McClean, Rachael Hegarty, Lani O’Hanlon, Leo Cullen and Catherine Foley

Jun 1, 202532 min

Baltic Adventures and a Colorado Rocky Mountain High

Campervan travels with an intrepid German grandmother, a loaf of heavenly batch bread, and the Heysel Stadium Disaster remembered, with Alexander McMaster, Maeve Edwards, Michael Hamell, Elizabeth Oxley and Vincent Woods

May 25, 202533 min

Empty Nests, and Dining with the Future Pope

Leaving home and a kind of homecoming; Eurovision memories and a tribute to a beloved brother, with Gráinne Quinlan, William Wall, Fabian McGrath, Joan Shiels, Eileen Heron and Hugo Hamilton.

May 18, 202534 min

Royals and Riverkeepers

Post-war wanderings and pilgrimages of the heart, a Rembrandt double-portrait and a poem for Béaltaine, with Denis Tuohy, Clare O’Dea, Barbara Leahy, Kerry Neville, Alan Cook and Lani O’Hanlon

May 11, 202537 min

Seals, Birds and Bees

Encounters with wildlife, labour struggles in Italy and remarkable island architecture, with Michael Cullen, William Wall, Nollaig Rowan, Michael Hilliard Mulcahy, Kevin Connolly and Moya Cannon

May 4, 202535 min

Birthdays and Broken Hearts

Shakespeare’s seven ages of man, Jane Austen’s sense and sensibility, pilgrimages of the heart -- and a flickering candle, with Daniel Mulhall, Roslyn Dee, John Toal, Eileen Battersby, John MacKenna and AM Cousins

Apr 27, 202536 min

Bell Chimes and Baby Chicks

Easter miracles and a newly risen Notre-Dame; natty hats and singing in public, with Fachtna Ó Drisceoil, Aidan Mathews, Roslyn Dee, Olivia O’Leary, Maria Moynihan and James Harpur

Apr 20, 202535 min

Wobbly Lambs and Swooping Swallows

Stirrings of spring and a stubborn donkey, Easter in Beirut and meeting Samuel Beckett, with Kate O’Shaughnessy, Louise Kennedy, Peter Cunningham, Joe Kearney, Jenny Beale and John F Deane

Apr 13, 202537 min

Bedsit Blues and Poker Nights

Dentists’ drills, dry stone walls and debtors’ prison, and the Great Gatsby at 100, with Tim Carey, Rebecca Hunter, Brian Crowley, Jessica Freed, Frank Kavanagh and Roslyn Dee

Apr 6, 202537 min

Dedicated to the One I Love

Handwritten letters and mother-daughter rites of passage, a search for identity, and the delightful landscapes of Ireland’s South West, with Barbara Scully, Jamie O’Connell, Brian Daly, James Harpur, Joanne Hynes, Cónal Creedon and Amenazeb Khan

Mar 30, 202535 min

Bittersweet Memories and a Mighty Mouse

Car troubles, revolutionary whispers and a tribute to a hero of Dublin city, with John Toal, Catherine Foley, Rosaleen McDonagh, Kathleen Murphy, Justin MacCarthy, Paula Meehan and Durgham Mushtaha

Mar 23, 202535 min

Riverdance and Ronnie Drew, Saint Patrick and the Pogues

Saint Patrick’s hidden holy well, a White House welcome, an encounter with musical genius and a “grand stretch” in the evenings, with Liz Nugent, Daniel Muhall, Karen J McDonnell, Georg Grote, Anne Delaney and Rachael Hegarty

Mar 16, 202532 min

Red Books and Yellow Sand

Canine clutter and a feline warrior, a friendship forged in music and a century-old literary scandal, with writers Philip Judge, Alexis MacIsaac, Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, Margaret Galvin, Lourdes Mackey and Amanda Bell

Mar 9, 202533 min

Gongs and Goldfinches

Oscar night fever and Jaws at 50, placenames of Waterford and saluting Ronnie Delany at 90, with John O’Donnell, Zoë Devlin, Val O’Donnell, Niall McArdle and Catherine Foley

Mar 2, 202532 min

Emigrant Tears and Encounters with Strangers

Ghost signs of Dublin, Wexford tales, and climbing Carrauntuohil, with Jamie O’Connell, Margaret Galvin, John MacKenna, AM Cousins, Aoife Barry and Billy Roche

Feb 23, 202537 min

Second Chances and Stormy Seas

Ministering angels and mutiny at sea, a devastating fire in a Dublin market, and a poem for the late Ivor Browne, with Antonia Hart, Eddie Vallely, William Wall, Rebecca Hunter, Joe Kearney and Lani O’Hanlon

Feb 16, 202536 min

Weepy Movies and Meeting Marianne

Bittersweet love stories, eye-catching cover art and home thoughts from abroad, with Feargal Ó Dubhghaill, Molly Furey, Joe Kearney, Margaret Galvin, Dermot Bolger, Lani O'Hanlon and Yvonne Cullen

Feb 9, 202532 min

Candlemas, Chaplin and the Curragh

Slip-sliding resolutions, sleepy sheep and saluting the darkness even as winter turns to spring, with Conall Hamill, Beth Kilkenny, Kevin Gildea, Karl O’Neill, Mae Leonard and Neil Hegarty

Feb 2, 202534 min

Stormy Seas and a Stitch in Time

Sailing to Antarctica, a few sticks of furniture and the life of O’Reilly in Australia, with Hugh Weldon, Margaret Galvin, Mary Dowey, Beth Kilkenny, Daniel Mulhall and Amanda Bell

Jan 26, 202536 min

Rainy Days and Range Anxiety

From Cherbourg to Belmullet to Western Vancouver: friendship, poetry and voyages of the heart, with Mattie Brennan, Peter Cunningham, Cathy Sweeney, Grace Wilentz, Michael Gallagher and Aidan Mathews

Jan 19, 202535 min

Tea Leaves and Theatre Tales

Silk Road meditations, dreamy prophecies and the hard winter of 1947, with Emer O’Kelly, Eileen Casey, John MacKenna, Alexander McMaster, Lani O’Hanlon and Denis Tuohy

Jan 12, 202536 min

Snowy Landscapes and Fresh Beginnings

Diplomatic travels and inner journeys, from Leitrim to Lourdes, from Ontario to Togo and Nauru – meeting a Daniel O’Donnell fan along the way… a New Year Miscellany with Joe Hayes, Pat Boran, Nuala O’Connor, Angela Keogh, Niall McArdle and Mary O’Malley

Jan 5, 202535 min

Music, Memories and Miracles

A friendly spy, Joyce’s favourite music, and remembering the Dead at Christmastime… with archive from and tributes to some much loved writers we lost this year. With Kevin Mc Dermott, Justin Kilcullen, Conor Hanratty, Judith Mok, Emer O’Kelly, Catherine Foley and Gerald Dawe

Dec 29, 202436 min

Turkeys, traditions and Christmas contemplation

Christmas food, seasonal gifting and contemplation and a Dublin legend, with John Toal, Donal Fallon, Maggie Armstrong, Margaret Galvin, John F Deane and James Harpur

Dec 26, 202445 min

Seasonal reflections and unexpected guests

Reflections on the Christmas season and an unexpected house guest, a miniature Miscellany for Christmas Eve, with Olive Travers, James Harpur and John F Deane

Dec 24, 202410 min

Starry Nights and Ghostly Bells

Puccini in Rome, Star Wars fever and a child’s Christmas wonder: part 1 of Christmas Miscellany with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and special guests, with writers Joseph O’Connor, Rachael Hegarty, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Paul Howard and Joe Kearney

Dec 22, 202432 min

Meeting Wham, and a Christmas Angel

Stories of the revolution and the Irish revival, and heroes and heroines of every hue, with Declan Kiberd, Jim Maguire, Mary Hassett, Síobhra Aiken, Ger Fitzgibbon and James Harpur

Dec 15, 202440 min

Gargoyles, Geese and Election Blues

Saluting Notre-Dame on its grand reopening, wild geese on the wing, rediscovering a love of Latin and saying Thank You to life – by way of Joan Baez and Violeta Parra, with Kathleen O’Meara, Zoë Devlin, James Harpur, Tom Ryan, John MacKenna and Kathy Donaghy

Dec 8, 202434 min

Turf, Thatch and Secret Worlds

Guy Mitchell in Finglas, a century old bank raid, and other tales from the 80s and 90s programme archive, with Aodhán Madden, Nuala Hayes, Brian Leyden, Richard Roche, Hugh Oram and Mae Leonard

Nov 24, 202434 min

Soft Days, a Swing and a Swedish Song

Irishwomen abroad, wearing vintage and bridging the eternal generation gap – with Peter Cunningham, Helen Lahert, Daniel Mulhall, Denise Blake, Kate Carty and Brendan Coffey

Nov 17, 202440 min

Persimmons and Poppies

A brush with the law in the London of 'Minder', late flowering and vanishing Dublin, with Derek Mahon, with Peter Trant, Neil Hegarty, Niamh Donnelly, Eileen Casey, Denis Tuohy and Mary O'Malley

Nov 10, 202434 min

Jewelled Fruits and a Late, Late Harvest

Apples, blackberries, and bravery in Nazi-occupied Budapest, with Amanda Bell, John MacKenna, John Toal, Brian Farrell, Kathy Donaghy, Oliver Sears and John F Deane

Nov 3, 202439 min

Angelus Bells, Opera Nights and Nosferatu

Angelus bells, Wexford opera nights and a glimpse of Nosferatu, with Joe Kearney, Joe Brennan, AM Cousins, Tom Ryan, Judith Mok, Maura Gilligan and Cal O’Reilly

Oct 27, 202437 min

Poetry of the Skies

Cosmic wonders and maths miracles; book tokens, baby names and a much loved poet’s birthday tribute, with Enda Wyley, Paul Durcan, Colm O’Regan, Doireann Ní Bhriain, Jamie O’Connell and Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Oct 21, 202439 min

Architecture and the City

From Donegal to Dublin, 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

Oct 13, 202442 min

Autumn Apples in Leitrim

From traces of the Gauls in France to a Kurdish boy’s story of finding refuge in Ireland, voices from Leitrim’s Iron Mountain Festival: Mary Byrne, Adrian Duncan, Alice Lyons, Zak Moradi, Vincent Woods – with brief music extracts from Eleanor Shanley, Garadice, Zoé Basha, Ultan O’Brien

Oct 6, 202429 min

Libraries and a Lost Key

Paints, pigments and the perfume of old paper. Love objects and the love of books. More from Culture Night at Áras an Uachtaráin, hosted by President Higgins and Sabina Higgins (and other past Miscellany live recordings), with Nell Regan, Aingeala Flannery, Lemn Sissay, Sharon Hogan and Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin

Sep 29, 202433 min