The Loopline Collection Volume 1

Imprint: Writers in Profile

Hugh Leonard – Imprint: Writer in Profile

2nd April 2019

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Hugh Leonard was a prolific Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In this episode, Leonard takes us through his childhood in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, writing his early plays and his influences from Lennox Robinson and Sean O’Casey, to ‘the greatest’ Samuel Beckett. He offers an in-depth look at his creative process, how ideas arise and […]

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Imprint: Writers in Profile

Nuala Ní Dhomnaill – Imprint: Writer in Profile

1st April 2019

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In this Writer in Profile interview, Irish-language poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill discusses her early childhood in England where she grew up speaking both English and Irish. At the age of five, she went to live with her aunt in Co Kerry and was spurred to write Irish-language poetry after her first visit to the Gaeltacht. […]

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Brendan Kennelly – Imprint: Writer in Profile

20th March 2019

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Irish poet and novelist Brendan Kennelly is a prolific author of over 20 poetry collections as well as plays, novels and criticism. In this episode, his work including My Dark Fathers and four plays – Antigone, Medea, The Trojan Women and Blood Wedding is explored. Theo Dorgan and Kennelly then delve into the role of […]

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A Good Age

Fighting Back – A Good Age: Episode 6

20th March 2019

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The last episode of A Good Age explores the media representation of senior citizens and of the ageing process. Mary Robinson outlines her support for the Senior Citizen’s Parliament and Proinsias De Rossa discusses the enormous contribution senior citizens can make to society. Several others explore the effects of consumerism on senior citizens and the […]

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Jennifer Johnston – Imprint: Writer in Profile

28th February 2019

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Irish novelist Jennifer Johnston was born in Dublin, the daughter of actor and director Shelah Richards and writer Denis Johnston. In this episode, she explains how she avoided their influence by delaying the start of her writing career  until  her thirties. Johnston then explores themes in her writing, discusses how her first play and novel […]

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History

John Henry Foley: Sculptor of the Empire

28th February 2019

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John Henry Foley was one of the most influential sculptors in Irish history. The Dubliner’s breath-taking equestrian masterpieces strode across city squares and parklands from Dublin, to Kolkata and Virginia. Foley’s best-known Irish works include the Daniel O’Connell monument on O’Connell Street and the Henry Grattan statue on College Green, as well as the figures […]

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Documentary

Essie’s Last Stand

22nd February 2019

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It’s Dublin, 1999, and 76 year old Essie Keeling, Georgie her dog and her neighbour Karl Byrne are fighting eviction by property developers and homelessness. This timely, inspiring story of determination and resistance offers a crucial lens through which to view Dublin’s current housing crisis. Despite her age and ill health, the lovable Essie is […]

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Documentary

Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool

22nd February 2019

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Sé Merry Doyle’s award-winning Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool is a rich visual journey, exposing the contradiction that existed between Kavanagh’s public persona and his poetry. The film maps out Kavanagh’s life from his native Inniskeen in County Monaghan, to Dublin where he spent most of his life. Against the odds he survived great poverty […]

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Documentary

James Gandon: A Life

22nd February 2019

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This Loopline documentary follows the life of  architect, James Gandon, whose plans were realised when Ireland operated under British colonial rule. James Gandon (1743–1823) is recognised today as one of the leading architects to have worked in Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century. His neo-classical buildings still dominate Dublin’s urban landscape, […]

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Documentary

Kathleen Lynn: The Rebel Doctor

26th August 2016

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Kathleen Lynn: The Rebel Doctor is a documentary which tells the previously unknown story of an extraordinary Irish woman. Kathleen Lynn was born in County Mayo in 1874 into a wealthy protestant family. As a young woman she was deeply affected by the abject poverty and disease that ravaged the lives of local people in […]

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