Great Irish Journeys

In July 1849 Scottish writer and staunch Unionist Thomas Carlyle came to Ireland at the invitation of his friend, nationalist Charles Gavan Duffy. Together this unlikely couple spent a month touring Ireland. In this documentary Grainne Seoige follows in their footsteps and using Carlyle’s book as a guide, sets out to see what can be leant about the famine by looking at the tragedy from the perspective of the ruling elit

A forced march from West Cork to Leitrim in the depths of winter is one of the last great stories of Gaelic Ireland. Evelyn O’Rourke walks the route and finds that the story doesn’t end in Leitrim.

RTÉ Radio 1 broadcaster John Creedon sets out to retrace Michael Collins' final journey into West Cork which lead him to the ambush at Béal na mBláth.

As the seat of British power historically Dublin was the place through where Irish rebels had to escape. There are two tales here: the first is of Red Hugh O’Donnell who escaped from Dublin Castle, not once but twice; the second time in 1692 travelling along the Poddle river, into the Liffey and from there into the Wicklow mountains. Just over a century later in the wake of the 1798 rebellion, the Wicklow mountains again proved a hiding place for the Irish. This time though the Empire wasn’t going to fail. It would build a road to open access to the mountain and to get their hands on one of the last remaining leaders Michael Dwyer. The road took nine years to build, so it is also the story of Robert Emmet’s rising. The Military Road ensured that Dwyer was eventually captured, and sent to Van Diemen’s Land, but his story and the story of the road doesn’t even end there.