TG4 to broadcast 1916 Rising series

TG4 WILL tomorrow begin airing what it describes as the first major television series on the Easter Rising since the 50th anniversary in 1966.

Each episode in the seven-part subtitled series 1916 Seachtar na Cáscaexamines the lives of one of the signatories of the 1916 Easter Proclamation. The series is narrated by actor Brendan Gleeson and features reconstructions of key scenes.

While the seven signatories – Thomas J Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, James Connolly, Pádraig Pearse, Éamonn Ceannt, Thomas Mac Donagh and Joseph Plunkett – have become legendary figures, some of their personal stories are not as well known.

The series highlights their diverse lives. One was crippled by polio at the age of 28 (Seán Mac Diarmada) while another was an accountant and a gifted piper who had played for Pope Pius X in Rome (Éamonn Ceannt). One spent eight years studying for the priesthood (Thomas McDonagh) while another was a Scotsman by birth (James Connolly).

The first episode looks at the life of Tom Clarke, who was considered to have been the brains and driving force behind the Easter Rising. The tobacconist and Old Fenian was jailed for 15 years for his part in a failed bombing campaign in England and put together the military council that was to plan the Rising.

He was the first to sign the Proclamation and was executed by firing squad on May 4th, 1916.

Last week Taoiseach Brian Cowen said unionist leaders should consider a ceremony for the 1916 Rising, just as the Irish Government would commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme in 2016.

However, he warned republican dissidents against using “the memory of the dead to bring suffering to the living”. He condemned those “who will seek to hijack history, to fight again the old battles, to re-establish hostilities and to perpetuate division”.

1916 Seachtar na Cáscawas produced for TG4 by Abú Media and received funding from the Broadcasting Authority's Sound and Vision scheme and section 481 support schemes.