Radio Review: You wait forever for one multicultural programme to come along and then... Well, it is slightly curious that three different series focusing on the new multicultural Ireland should arrive on the schedule in a single week.
Still, it's not as if there isn't enough material, and if the first programmes are anything to go by, each has its own defined brief.
The South African ambassador to Ireland, Melanie Verwoerd, presents Spectrum (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday), and it's a magazine programme that, as the press release promises, "will celebrate all facets of Ireland's multicultural society in 2005, looking at the people, the music, the stories, the poetry, the art, the festivals".
At its corniest, this translates into mention of the Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin last weekend purely in terms of the fact that there was a group of African women taking part. But in the hour-long format there was also plenty of room for an interesting and wide-ranging interview with an Israeli man married to an Irish woman (it being the day that the Irish soccer team was playing Israel) and good coverage of the Metro Eireann Multicultural Awards. Though I can't quite figure out where the overlong interview (interesting and all as it was) with singer Sharon Corr about her fundraising work for a South African township construction project fitted in with the programme's brief.
Verwoerd's programme has pushed sports coverage back by an hour, which is fine by me - though sports fans in this sporty season must be hopping - and Verwoerd, as a first-time presenter thrown in at the deep end with a live broadcast, handled the pressure well.
For her first programme in a 13-part series, A New Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday), Carrie Crowley interviewed members of Dublin's growing Lithuanian community. For all Crowley's proven expertise in developing a quick rapport with her subjects, I came away from the rather dull and monotonous half-hour knowing about as much about Lithuania, its citizens and the immigrant experience as I knew before - which isn't a great deal.
The most satisfying listen of the three programmes for so many reasons was Breaking Bread (RTÉ Radio 1, Thursday), where Fiona Kelly visited Dundalk and the home of Nigerian woman Bumi Salako and her four teenage daughters to share a typical meal. It's a simple proposition but done well - as it is here - it gave a fascinating, intimate insight into other people's lives. More importantly perhaps it took a label - "Nigerian single mother asylum seeker" - and all the negative baggage that goes with it and put flesh on the bones.
First Kelly went shopping with Salako - there are two African food shops in Dundalk - then dropped in to the African hairdressing salon before heading back to Salako's semi for a spicy fish stew with okra. Radiating positivity, she talked about arriving in Ireland and the frustration of not being able to work even though she was a teacher at home. She got a toe-hold in the community through volunteering with organisations such as St Vincent de Paul and is now a teacher's assistant, which she loves.
Grace was said before the meal and the articulate and ambitious teenage girls talked in their Dundalk accents of their ambitions and their social lives which, as Born Again Christians, revolves around the Church and the huge variety of activities it provides. "My friends can't believe I go to the church hall one night a week to learn hip hop," said one of the teens, "but I love it." The family is split up, with two of Salako's sons still in Nigeria with their grandparents, where they'll stay until they finish their education.
Another domestic drama, this time a fictional one, was Maeve Binchy's Surprise (RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday). Binchy's retirement has turned out to be of the Sinatra variety. Ol' Blue Eyes was famous for the number of times he bowed out of the limelight only to sashay back a short while later just to show 'em how it's done, and it's pretty much the same with one of Ireland's national treasures.
We were sold a pup in the advance publicity, which promised Gerry Ryan as the star - he wasn't to be heard in the first instalment of the four-part drama but apparently he does make an appearance as himself at some stage, which isn't quite "starring in". It didn't matter - there was quite enough going on in the story without him.
Shona is a pillar of south Dublin society whose family are planning a surprise party for her 40th birthday. Her daughter has invited her estranged friend Bonnie, prising open the lid on a whole slew of long-buried secrets only hinted at in episode one, but presumably revealed as the weeks go on. It's well-crafted, superbly produced (by Kevin Reynolds) and the acting is flawless - and if you've heard episode one you won't want to miss what happens next, which is the ultimate test for any mini-serial.