The Irish Civil War (RTÉ One 11 December 2022)

The Irish Civil War, major new three part doco for RTÉ

The three-part documentary series THE IRISH CIVIL WAR, which is narrated by Brendan Gleeson and was produced by RTÉ in collaboration with University College Cork as part of the Decade of Centenary commemorations and based on UCC’s “mammoth and magnificent” Atlas of the Irish Revolution, tells the epic and frequently difficult tale of the causes, conflict, and legacy of the civil war that occurred in Ireland in 1922 and 1923.

The documentary series, which is being aired over three nights (Sunday, November 11, Monday, December 11, and Tuesday, December 13), includes a substantial amount of archive film footage, photographs, and materials, interviews with top academics, archive interviews with current participants and witnesses, first-person witness accounts read by actors like Peter Coonan, Tim Creed, Marty Rae, and Orla Wherly, and detailed and dynamic graphic maps based on those found in the Atlas of the Irish Revo.

BRENDAN GLEESON, Narrator, said: 
“With the 100^th anniversary of the Irish Civil War upon us we have to start talking about what happened. It’s uncomfortable because we don’t like to see ourselves in a savage light but everybody has savagery in them and we have to address it because it’s never that far away from the surface. When we were in school, we weren’t taught about it because it was still extraordinarily raw and extraordinarily inflammatory even now, I find myself being infuriated on both sides. These documentaries have gone to great lengths to try to present all sides of the story with equal emphasis.”  

COLM CROWLEY, Head of RTÉ Cork, said: 
“This partnership between RTÉ and University College Cork has so far delivered three hugely impactful series; ‘The Irish Revolution’, ‘The Hunger’ and now ‘The Irish Civil War’ – all are examples of powerful and important public service broadcasting. These documentaries have found huge audiences not just in Ireland, but in the USA and in Europe, across the ARTE network, with over five million tuning in to watch ‘The Hunger’ (the story of the Irish Famine) last December across Germany and France. We believe this new series will deliver real insights into a critical part of Irish history.” 

JOHN FITZGERALD, UCC, said: 
“The Irish Civil War draws on the ground-breaking academic research of the award-winning Cork University Press Atlas of the Irish Revolution, adopting a new perspective on arguably Ireland’s most pivotal historical period. Over three episodes, the series re-examines the causes and the terrible events of the Civil War, using leading experts and adopting the perspective of the ordinary person, to ask: Why did this war happen? Who did it really impact? What is its legacy?” 

RUÁN MAGAN, Writer and Director, said:
“The Irish Civil War has always been the elephant in the room when it came to the Irish Revolution, an inconvenient series of events that tainted Ireland’s origin story, its details often skipped over or ignored. Perhaps now a century on it is time to face what happened. Our whole team has been so proud to have the opportunity to tell this complex story in partnership with RTÉ and UCC.” 

The civil war is among the most controversial chapters in Irish history and has been a rarely told tale. Even today, tensions can run high at its mention. The Split, the Four Courts, Beal na mBláth and Ballyseedy will ring bells for many. Few however will know the intricate details of what led to the war, how the war played out across the country, nor will have heard the often-tragic personal stories of those involved.  

The series goes to the heart of this history, telling it straight, teasing out the nuances and complexities, generating unprejudiced, compelling and challenging documentaries that may serve as a suitable commemoration of those troubled years. The original soundtrack is composed by Natasa Paulberg and was recorded live by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. 

THE IRISH CIVIL WAR continues the documentary strand produced by RTÉ in partnership with UCC that includes The Irish Revolution narrated by Cillian Murphy and The Hunger narrated by Liam Neeson. It will air on Sunday 11^th, Monday 12^th and Tuesday 13^th December at 21.35 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. It is a Tyrone Productions / Create One Production for RTÉ Cork and was produced in collaboration with UCC with the support incentives for the Irish Film Industry provided by the Government of Ireland.