Jack Doyle was the real thing: a heavyweight boxer from the mean streets of Cobh; blessed with the looks of Rudolph Valentino, the voice of Count John McCormack and the right hand of Jack Dempsey.
‘The Gorgeous Gael’ hung around with Clark Gable in Hollywood; married movie stars; sold out concert halls with tearful renditions of ‘Mother Macree’; and made a fortune. In the depressed and impoverished Ireland of the 30s and 40s, Jack Doyle was the worlds most famous Irishman.
Yet forty years on Jack’s story had become a cautionary tale of wasted talent and squandered millions. Another forgotten Irish man dying penniless on the streets of London - though saved from a pauper’s grave by the kindness of strangers.
So where did it all go wrong for the Gorgeous Gael…

The Riordans was a significant Irish television drama serial that aired on RTÉ from January 4, 1965, to May 28, 1979. Created by James Douglas, set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. It focused on the lives of the Riordan farming family. The show is notable for its pioneering use of location filming, which distinguished it from many contemporaneous dramas that were primarily studio-based. This approach influenced later British series, such as Emmerdale Farm (now Emmerdale).

The Riordans achieved considerable popularity and is remembered for its blend of drama, humour, and social commentary. It tackled controversial topics and provided agricultural advice, making it a staple of Irish television for 15 years. The series is also credited with helping to establish a distinct voice for Irish television drama, paving the way for future productions.

The show featured notable actors, including Gabriel Byrne in one of his early roles.

She was Ireland’s first Agony Aunt. On her weekly radio show, Frankie Byrne castigated unworthy boyfriends and bone-idle husbands, between playing Frank Sinatra records and advertising Jacob’s biscuits.

Frankie was far from the prim moralist her on air persona suggested. In her private life she was ‘a man’s woman’, who loved parties, dating, racing, gambling and drinking pints.Yet her life was tinged with sadness and a sense of unfulfilled dreams. Should she have listened to her own advice?

Frankie kept much hidden from the public eye. In a different age, her over-indulgence on alcohol, and a long affair with a married man went unreported in the press. However, what she kept most secret was the birth of her daughter, whom Frankie gave up for adoption. If it had become public knowledge, her career and reputation would have been destroyed.

The Irish Press was a paper for the people of Ireland, founded by President and revolutionary hero, Eamon De Valera in 1931. Thousands of ordinary men and women in Ireland and America answered his call to invest their savings in the newspaper.

But those who placed their trust in ‘The Chief’ would receive little in return.

Extensive research (both in Ireland and the United States) has unearthed the forgotten files of the Irish Press. For the first time they show how De Valera turned a publicly funded company into a lucrative family business.

Lourdes, in the French Pyrenees, is one of the Catholic churches intensive prayer units. It is the site where, 142 years ago, an illiterate peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous received visions of the Virgin Mary. When visiting pilgrims subsequently began to be cured of their ills the word miracle rang out, the shrine had hit a jackpot that’s been paying out ever since.

Faith, Hope and Plastic not only charts a week in the company of the largest Irish pilgrimage as they embark on a holiday with a hint of holiness but also examines the plight of the ordinary person still looking for that miracle…

"A moving and provocative documentary"

Pick of the Week

Irish Independent

" Gerry Nelson's punchy, colourful and intensely sceptical True Lives documentary"

Sunday Times