Programmes: F to J
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The Flight of the Earls
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On 14 September 1607, a boat sails
from Lough Swilly into an ocean of propaganda,
myth and romance.
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It carries
the cream of Gaelic aristocracy away
with it, never to return. Who were
these people, why were they leaving
their country and where were they
going?
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At the time the Flight of the Earls is of major
international significance. It threatens to upset
peace treaties and agreements between
the superpowers of the age.
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Hailed as a great statesman and military genius,
the Gaelic leader Hugh Ó Néill continues
to have an impact on Irish and world
affairs until his death in Rome in 1616.
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As well as being an epic historical narrative,
with major implications, the story of The
Flight of The Earls is a deeply human one,
focusing on individuals who lived, hoped, suffered
and died while world history was being
made.
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This series is also the personal journey of
presenter, Antaine O Donnaile, who grew up
among the Drumlins in Armagh, where epic
battles were fought.
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Antaine follows in the footsteps of the Earls
to Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy, revisiting
the locations they passed through 400
years ago.
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The series has been shot entirely on HDV
cameras. It features dramatic reconstructions
and a shooting style which makes the
viewers believe they are at the heart of the
action.
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Of special importance, too, are the first-hand
personal accounts of events and correspondence
between protagonists.
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Imagine finding
Hugh Ó Néill's personal letters to the King
of Spain deep in a beautiful Spanish castle.
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Pushing technological boundaries to the limit,
the series will be presented in both English
and Irish and viewers with digital satellite will
be able to choose which language they wish
to view in.
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The Flight of the Earls and the events which
surrounded it have left us a legacy which we
still live with today.
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The Flight of the Earls is produced by Antaine
O Donnaile, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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To George with Love
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George Best died on 25 November
2005. To mark the first anniversary of
his death, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland has
invited members of George's family, led
by his father Dickie, to record their own
special memories and observations for
a documentary on the life and times
of one of the greatest footballers the
world has ever seen.
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Dickie is now 87-years-old and this will be
the first time he has spoken in detail about
his own memories and views of George's
early years, his career at the top of the game
and his controversial lifestyle.
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To George with Love is a Straight Forward
Production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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Girona
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The Spanish Armada was the greatest
war machine the world had ever seen,
yet its destiny lay not in the glorious
conquest of Elizabethan England but
on the rocks off the coast of Ireland.
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Fleeing from the English forces, many of the
ships chose a risky escape from the English
Channel to Spain via Scotland and the coast
of Ireland. The Irish coastline was to reveal
itself as a graveyard for the Spanish, spelling
the end for even the greatest of the ships
and the most brilliant of her commanders.
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On 26 October 1588, the Galleas Girona,
led by the brilliant Don Alonso De Leiva, met
her fate off the Antrim Coast.
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Yet where was
the ship? And where was the treasure? So
began a detective story that would span
nearly 400 years.
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In 1967, young Belgian diver Robert Stenuit finally tracked down the resting place of the
Girona and her treasures. Years of detective
work in the archives and libraries of Europe
would lead him to the site.
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Once he had unearthed
the treasure, the diver turned codebreaker
to crack the enigma of the sunken
gold and discover just who was on board
that fateful night.
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Now, 40 years after his discovery, Stenuit
returns to the Antrim Coast to recount the
story of The Great Girona Gold Hunt.
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Now
an eminent archaeologist, the programme
pieces together his important discovery and
the detective work that unravelled the mysteries
of the sunken ship as Stenuit returns
right to the very spot where he finally ended
the coast's 400-year-old code of silence.
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Using
a combination of dramatic reconstruction
and CGI, it pieces together the hunt
through the archives and the ocean floor for
the Girona, and breathes new life into the story
of the great Armada.
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Girona is produced by Roger Ford-Hutchinson, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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A Gala Celebration
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This October, a new dawn in Belfast's
cultural history arrives, with the Grand
Opera House re-opening after a £10m extension and refurbishment
programme.
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´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland marks the event with a gala evening from the Grand Opera
House, celebrating the theatre's rich history.
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This entertainment spectacular will be
presented by Eamonn Holmes and will
feature a mix of top Irish and international
artists from the worlds of music, drama and
comedy.
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There'll be a great roll-call of famous faces
from the Opera House's past, as well as
musical numbers, hot performances and
revealing interviews mixed with insightful
films about the history of the theatre - making
it the ultimate tribute to Belfast's great dame
of entertainment.
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A Gala Celebration is produced by Roisin
Browne, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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Watson on Tour with Graeme McDowellÌý
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Watson on Tour with Graeme McDowell
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At the age of 27, Graeme McDowell is
one of golf's youngest millionaires. Before
turning professional in 2002, he
played a prominent role in Great Britain
and Ireland's retention of the
Walker Cup in 2001 at Sea Island in
Georgia.
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At the University of Alabama, Birmingham,
McDowell was ranked Number One Collegiate
Golfer in the United States and out of
12 starts won an incredible six events with a
stroke average of 69.6 – beating the previous
best returned by Tiger Woods.
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Since turning professional, McDowell has won
acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic and ranks
among the top 50 golfers in the world.
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This 40-minute documentary follows
McDowell as he competes at the Belfry, the
K Club and Hoylake, where he led the British
Open after the first day.
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Stephen Watson speaks to McDowell's family,
his coach and fellow competitors and reveals
the talents of this rising young golf star
from Portrush and the global lifestyle he
leads.
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On Tour with Graeme McDowell is produced
by Imagine Media for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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Grass Roots: Young FarmersÌý
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Grass Roots – Young Farmers
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The Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster
play a major part in the day-to-day social
and professional lives of countless
thousands of young people in rural areas
across Northern Ireland.
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Students, apprentices, shop workers and, of
course, farmers make up the membership,
but you don't have to live in the countryside
or be from a farming background to become
a member.
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Indeed, to join Young Farmers you don't need
to have cows to milk, tractors to drive or
ever plan to take up a career in agriculture -
you just need to have the one thing they all
have in common, a love of the countryside.
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The clubs provide a focus for 12 to 30-year-olds
in areas which can be quite isolated, and
indeed the clubs have helped forge many
relationships down the generations and are
sometimes affectionately referred to as
Northern Ireland's largest marriage bureau.
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This new four-part series on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern
Ireland will reflect the lives of young people
living in rural communities across Northern
Ireland and take a look at the hectic social
and cultural calendar that clubs provide for
their members to enjoy throughout the year,
from arts festivals to drama, public speaking
and group debating, international exchanges
to fence-making, to hoof-cutting and stock-judging.
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Grass Roots – Young Farmers is a Clean Slate
production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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Hear My Prayer
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It's the biggest annual Christian event
in Ireland, drawing 20,000 people every
day for nine days, bringing traffic to a
standstill, with scores of people saying
their prayers are always answered.
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It's the Novena, held every year at Clonard
Monastery in Belfast, with ten masses a day
for nine days.
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This film is a portrait of a community which
gathers each year, a community diverse in
terms of class, marital status and sexual orientation,
to pray for help in crisis and for answers
to the major questions of life and
death.
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The film covers the event for all nine days,
from 6.00am to after midnight -
the petitions, prayers, moving pleas for help
- and the thanksgivings of those who believe
they have benefitted.
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Viewers will also get an insight into the world
of the Redemptorist community of Clonard
monastery.
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Hear My Prayer is a Hot Shot Films production
for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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Inside The Consulate
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The American Consulate has existed
in Northern Ireland for 210 years and
is the second-oldest continuously operating
consulate in the world.
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Northern Ireland is home to more than 4,000
Americans. Forty-five million Americans claim
some form of Irish heritage and 17 Presidents
have genuine Ulster connections.
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So,
why is Northern Ireland such a very special
place for Americans?
What does the Consulate do here?
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Most
people have no idea: spying is one of the usual
answers. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland aims to take
this rare opportunity to peek inside firmly-closed doors and find out some of the answers.
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There are 25 staff based in Belfast - five Americans
and 20 locals.
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Each year, they deal with
more than 6,000 visa applications; they help US
citizens who are residents or visitors to
Northern Ireland; they work to promote
integrated education; they encourage inward
investment by American businesses; they are
very influential in the peace process and organise many exchange programmes focussed
on enhancing the local workforce.
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Some of the characters we'll meet along the
way: The Consul General, Dean Pittman, who
once served in Iraq; Cathy Hurst, the Public
Affairs Officer who has lived here for over
ten years; Henry Bisharat, the new politico;
Rebecca Pasini, who looks after visas; Bob
Hommowun, his wife and their three cats.
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We'll find out from Peter McKittrick, the
press officer, what it's like to work on American
soil and deal with Americans every working
day.
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This revealing documentary provides some
answers to these questions and hopefully
much more besides.
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Inside the Consulate is an MGTV Production
for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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James Ellis
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This documentary traces the life of James Ellis, one of Northern Ireland's
best-loved sons.
He is renowned for using his working-class
Belfast accent and for his work in the hugely
successful Z Cars and the Billy Trilogy.
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He is described by one contributor as 'acting
royalty' and is widely seen as the unofficial
ambassador for Northern Ireland through
the many roles in which he championed the
Ulster accent.
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A younger audience will remember him with
affection from Ballykissangel and Playing the
Field but viewers will be perhaps surprised
to learn of the breadth of his abilities as a
prolific writer, poet and translator who is
currently compiling his memoirs.
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Jimmy, as he is known to his friends, is held
in the highest esteem by fellow actors, many
of whom have been interviewed for this
programme.
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This is an affectionate portrait of a well-known
figure whose obvious zest for life and
deep love for his birthplace is apparent
throughout.
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James Ellis is an Actualeyes production for
´óÏó´«Ã½ Northern Ireland.
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