An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD this week launched ‘1916 Seachtar na Cásca’, a new series profiling each of the 1916 Proclamation signatories. The 7 x one hour series starts on Wednesday, September 22nd.
‘1916 Seachtar na Cásca’, directed by Daithai Keane (Mobs Canada) is narrated by the Emmy winning Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm) and looks to tell the story of each of the seven signatories of the 1916 Easter Proclamation. Each programme in the series outlines the individual circumstances and chain of events that led each man towards his respective role in the Rising, one of the most defining moments in 20th century Irish history.
This is the first major television series on the 1916 Rising since the 50th anniversary in 1966 and goes in search of the men, their backgrounds and their families. Audiences will learn that one signatory was crippled by polio at the advanced age of 28 whilst another spent eight years studying for the priesthood and yet another spent 15 long years in a British jail before 1900, convicted of Republican crimes.
The series is produced for TG4 by Abú Media and was produced by Pierce Boyce (Clontarf). The script was written by Aindrias Ó Cathasaigh and the series’ music was composed by Ronan Browne (Gangs of New York). This project received funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound and Vision scheme as well as benefitting from the Section 481 support schemes for audio-visual production.
Producer Pierce Boyce and director Dathaí Keane joined with TG4 Ardstiúrthóir Pól Ó Gallchóir in presenting a DVD copy of the series to An Taoiseach this week (pictured). ‘1916 Seachtar na Cásca’ will start its broadcast on TG4 from next Wednesday, September 22nd at 9.30pm.
