Radharc Award Winner Announced

11 Jan 2002

Radharc Award Winner Announced

‘Complex Problems: St Teresa’s Gardens’ produced by Eddie Doyle, Prime Time, RTÉ, was the winner of the Radharc Award, announced today Friday,11 January 2002, at a lunch in the Alexander Hotel, Dublin, attended by President Mary McAleese. Highly Commended awards went to ‘Gael I gCein: Sorcha’ produced by Joe Reddington, Nuacht TG 4, and ‘To Russia With Love’ produced by Adrian McCarthy, Wildfire Films.

The Chairman of the jury was Sir Jeremy Isaacs, former founding Chief Executive of Channel 4, and the event was introduced by broadcaster John Bowman.

COMPLEX PROBLEMS: ST TERESAS GARDENS

The programme features St Teresa’s Gardens, a corporation estate in Dublin’s south city, one of the most deprived areas in the country. Nearly 1000 people live in the complex and 87% of them are dependent on social welfare for survival, just one in ten has a job. Day to day life for many of the families here is a real struggle.

GAEL I GCÉIN: SORCHA
Sorcha Fennel is a development officer with Trocaire. Since the destruction of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, she has worked tirelessly as part of a team which helps communities to build and control their own futures. This is their story.

TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Life changed for Dublin housewife Debbie Deegan when two young Russian girls arrived on her doorstep in 1996. It was to be the start of an extraordinary story of love, heartbreak and painful choices which would change the lives of the Deegans and the two girls.

The award is made for a television documentary programme of outstanding quality that addresses national or international topics of social justice, morality or faith. The Radharc Award honours the memory of the late Fr Joe Dunn, co-founder of Radharc and is presented under the aegis of ICCTRA, the Irish Churches’ Council for Television and Radio Affairs. The Radharc team produced over 400 television documentaries in five continents on social and religious issues between 1962-1996 and throughout the 34 years became part of the fabric of RTÉ television.

Speaking at the award function, President McAleese said that she felt “very priviledged to be present on such a unique
occasion to remember great broadcasters and to honour the ground breaking Radharc series”
. She also commented on the importance of the Radharc Award in encouraging this genre of broadcasting.

Sir Jeremy Isaacs in his address commented on the high standard of entries for the Radharc Award and of his exhileration at watching such a selection of programmes aimed at waking us up to our social responsibility. He also commented: “Public broadcasting has more goals to serve than simply entertainment” and that “the systems which make a point of showing the Radharc genre of programmes should be sustained”.

Further information is available on www.radharcfilms.com

Ends
11 January 2002

Further information:

Ronnatt Ramsay-Ledwith
Mobile: 086 8419756
Email [email protected]

Issued by the Catholic Communications Office on behalf of ICCTRA, The Irish Churches’ Council for Television and Radio Affairs.