How the Irish Shaped Britain: And 5 other BBC documentaries on Ireland

A BBC Radio collection about Ireland and the Irish, hosted by Fergal Keane - plus bonus material

Award-winning BBC foreign correspondent Fergal Keane grew up in Dublin and County Cork, and has always felt a deep attachment to his ancestral homeland. In these six absorbing programmes, he takes a wide-ranging look at Ireland's history, culture and people, in topics ranging from the political to the personal . Also included are two moving autobiographical pieces about fatherhood and his own childhood.

How the Irish Shaped Britain explores the profound influence the Irish have had on the United Kingdom over many centuries. Beginning in the ancient Celtic world, Fergal travels through the time of the Vikings to the 19th and 20th Century and on to the present day, examining how Irish migrants and their descendants have shaped literature, business, sport and the physical landscape.

Troubles Shared sees Fergal and fellow journalist Peter Taylor discussing their experiences of reporting on the Northern Ireland conflict. Over two episodes, they revisit the province to talk about what they saw, and ask what it all means now. Meanwhile, No Man is an Island takes Fergal from the Republic to Northern Ireland, as he charts the seismic changes that have taken place in both regions and reflects on the sectarian feuding which has dominated the history of Ulster.

Keane on Keane... finds him presenting a profile of his uncle, celebrated playwright John B Keane. Visiting Dublin and the dramatist's home town of Listowel, Fergal hears how a country publican became an internationally-acclaimed writer. Another iconic figure is recalled in United Irishman, in which Keane recounts the colourful life of Wolfe Tone, the Protestant founding father of Irish republicanism.

There Will Be Sunlight Later gives Fergal's impressions of life in Northern Ireland, as he talks to the country's citizens and listens to their poetry and music. And in two bonus essays, Letter to Daniel and My Grandmother's House, we receive insights into Fergal's own family life, through his poignant message to his newborn son and his recollections of his early days and his grandparents' home in Cork.


How the Irish Shaped Britain
Presented by Fergal Keane
Produced by John Murphy & Adele Armstrong
Mixed by Eloise Whitmore
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11-25 January 2021

Troubles Shared
Presented by Fergal Keane and Peter Taylor
Produced by Conor Garrett
First broadcast BBC Radio Ulster, 31 October-7 November 2020

No Man is an Island
Presented by Fergal Keane
Produced by Tony Grant
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November and 9 December 1996

Keane on Keane...
With Fergal Keane and John B Keane
Produced by Chris Spurr
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 January 2005

United Irishman
Presented by Fergal Keane
Produced by Chris Bowlby
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 November 1998

There Will Be Sunlight Later
Presented by Fergal Keane
Produced by Cathy Packe
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 October 1990

From Our Own Correspondent: Letter to Daniel
Read by Fergal Keane
Produced by Tony Grant
First broadcast as BBC Radio 4, 15th February 1996

My Grandmother's House
Read by Fergal Keane
Produced by Tony Grant
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 January 1999

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