A new four part RTÉ series ‘Sex and Sensibility’, which explores Ireland’s changing attitudes to sex over the last four decades, goes out this Thursday 12th May at 10.15pm on RTÉ One.
Produced by Dublin’s Midas Productions, the 4 x 30min series, directed by Imogen Murphy, was filmed in April and May 2008 on location in Dublin. The series features commentary from many familiar faces including Bill O’Herlihy, politician Mary O’Rourke, ‘The Sun’ editor Michael McNiff, Ireland’s first Page 3 model Claire Tully, the Irish Film Censor John Kelleher and night club owners Valeria Roe and Maurice Boland. Interviews were filmed at The Casting Couch, Dublin.
“Irish attitudes to sex have changed substantially over the years,” says Paula Williams, producer on ‘Sex and Sensibility’. “There have been so many stories hitting the headlines since the 1960’s that demonstrate this. We have tried to focus on the quirkier, less well known stories from Ireland’s past rather than events that have already received a lot of coverage. The series is a mixture of archive footage, interviews and links by Simon Delaney.”
The first episode of the series focuses on the last days of disco, the 1960s-70s, when the Catholic Church had a very strong influence on Irish beliefs and behaviour, while episode two looks at Ireland in the 70s and 80s, when RTE became more adventurous in its programming and there were widespread campaigns for contraception to be legalised. The third episode explores the 80s-90s when Ireland’s first sex shop opened and the final episode examines the 90s to the present day, where it seems nothing is off limits and poses the question - are we losing our sense of Irishness?
‘Sex and Sensibility’ is shot by Richard Kendrick, Declan Emerson and Andrew Cummins, with editing by Zaini Darragh and Fergal McGrath in Midas.
‘Sex and Sensibility’ airs on Thursday, 12th June on RTE at 10.15pm