Sunday Miscellany

A life changing phone call, a hug-fest, watching the Chernobyl disaster unfold from the Irish Embassy in Moscow and more........ with Peter Trant, Joe Hayes, Angela Keogh, Catherine Foley, Gerry Moran and Gerry Dawe

The agony and ecstasy of being a fan, from Arsenal to Bay City Rollers; a dinner fit for Shakespeare; and a poetry workshop with the late, much-missed Eavan Boland. With writers Frank Shouldice, Oliver Sears, Denise Blake, Margaret Hickey and Frank Kavanagh

The end of the Sarajevo lockdown, the 80th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz, and the enduring power of music and song, with Mark Brennock, Olivia O’Leary, Gerald Dawe, John Toal and Lucy Caldwell

Yuri Gagarin's extraordinary achievement... olfactory adventures in inter-railing... James Joyce’s own favourite, feathery Barnacle goose.... and birdwatching with Gerrit Van Gelderen: - with writers Michael O'Loughlin, Nuala O'Connor, Rory Gleeson, Denise Blake, Grace Wells and Brian Farrell

A baseball legend’s moment of history, a remarkable story from the War of Independence, a Traveller woman’s crowning glory, lunch with John McGahern, Tony O'Malley's Good Friday paintings, with Joseph Kearney, Clodagh O'Donoghue, AM Cousins, Tim Carey, Rosaleen McDonagh, Kathleen Lawrence and John MacKenna

Stories and storytelling from the Aran Islands to Istanbul… retracing the steps of O’Sullvan’s march… and the cookery book that united Italy with John MacKenna, Roslyn Dee, Jody Clarke, William Wall, Denise Blake and Alannah Robins

Set dancing, sweet things and an outrageous showman… seeking out a mother’s true identity… and a Hungarian visitor’s Irish fine dining experience: fish and chips on the Bray seafront. With Brian Daly, Joe Kearney, Catherine Foley, Bernadett Buda, Lemn Sissay and Rachael Hegarty

Horsewhips and hatpins, ill-fated statues, Gary Halpin's random act of kindness and Mary Wollstonecraft's pioneering feminism... with Conall Hamill, Lourdes Mackey, Michael O'Loughlin, Mae Leonard, John Toal and Catherine Foley

Highlights from past Sunday Miscellany Live in Ennis shows as part of Ennis Book Club Festival in Glór, Ennis. Rescue donkeys, interrailing incidents, the newspaper preferences of the people of Miltown Malbay and a fine mix of music and song with Maurice Crowe, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Noel Harrington, John Hurley and Dee Collins.

Curlews and sanderlings... bath time, dirty boulevards and old Beatles haunts... and the great friendship of Michael Davitt, Land League founder, and artist Sarah Purser with John MacKenna, Fionn Ó Marcaigh, Carla King, Jonathan White, Paula Shields and Gerald Smyth

Angels and sponge cakes … high notes and high ambition... and the golden talent of Patrick Scott with Conall Hamill, Jody Clarke, Lani O'Hanlon, Emer O'Kelly, John MacKenna and Vincent Woods

Neapolitan delights. pyrotechnics in Portobello... turf wars . evolving burial rituals... and remembering designer Sybil Connolly, in her centenary year with Henrietta McKervey, William Wall, Deirdre McQuillan, Donal Ryan, John Horgan and Olive Travers

Belfield Days: a special programme marking 50 years of University College Dublin’s Belfield Campus, with writers Gerry Stembridge, Ellen Rowley, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Paul Rouse, Eilis O’Brien and Daisy Onubogu

Jack B Yeats’s canal bank walks, a marathon after-dinner speech, a terrible wartime event and more… With Dermot Bolger, Oliver Sears, Mary Dowey, Shaymus Kennedy and Roslyn Dee

A bad-mannered saint, Belgian beer, Cajun Chicken, and bad manners at dinner... Plus we rebroadcast @lemnsissay's powerful poem Fallen, honouring his birth mother, recorded at last year's Ennis Book Club Festival. With Emer O'Kelly, Tim Carey, John Toal, Lani O'Hanlon and Lemn Sissay

Miracles and cures and healing wells... the problem of perpetual motion... what does vintage really mean? and the story of an Irish fashion trailblazer, Carmel Snow. With Conall Hamill, Deirdre McQuillan, Brian Leyden, AM Cousins, Denise Blake and Dónal Ryan.

New Year meditations... snow longings... The Lass of Aughrim... and a winter bonfire... with John O'Donnell, Lani O'Hanlon, Mary O'Donnell, Tim Carey, Michael O'Connor and John F Deane

Birthdays at Christmas time; tumultuous happenings of a century ago; and the things that got us through the year that was; with Colin Murphy, Lourdes Mackey, Nollaig Rowan, Aoife Barry, Síofra O'Donovan and Mary O'Donnell

An owl in a Christmas Tree, an unforgettable letter to Santa, Christmas catering with explosives, and more: a rich and delightful Christmas Miscellany with writers Paul Howard, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Tom McGurk, Dónal Ryan, Vincent Woods, Danielle McLaughlin, Jonathan White and Rachael Hegarty

Highlights from Sunday Miscellany Live at Christmas: past programmes recorded in the National Concert Hall with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in recent years, with writers Paul Howard; Michael Harding; Mae Leonard and John F Deane

It's just over five years since we lost renowned playwright Brian Friel and 40 years since Field Day's seminal production of Translations at the Guild Hall in Derry. On this programme, a special Friel-infused programme, with memories and tributes from Joe Dowling, Nuala Hayes, Denis Conway. Emma O'Doherty, David Grant and Vincent Woods.

In this programme: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s briefest of visits to their Clew Bay Island... Remembering Liam Clancy’s genius... swapping singing for the adrenalin rush of outdoor sea swimming... and Hungary and the Soviet Union’s famous showdown at the 1956 Olympics... with Aidan Hynes, Nollaig Rowan, John MacKenna, Mary Wall and Bernadett Buda

On this week's programme, the bicycle as GAA freedom machine -- and in the writings of celebrated travel writer Dervla Murphy, who celebrates her 89th birthday this weekend. Also, Vaclav Havel's liking for toast and Patrick Kavanagh's Drumcondra haunts with Dermot Bolger, Barbara Scully, Frank Kavanagh, Hannah Kiely, Colin Regan and Vincent Woods

Bloody Sunday remembered, a special programme on the day of bloodshed that was 21 November, 1920 in Dublin, supported by the GAA Museum at Croke Park, with Chris Shouldice, Michael Foley, Anthony Ryan, Anne Dolan, Paul Rouse and Louise Hogan

On this programme: Ghosts and graveyards... boozy bohemia... and a monkey in a television studio -- what could go wrong? -- all part of the mix on this week's Miscellany. With writers Jonathan White, Madeleine Keane, Lourdes Mackey, Kevin Mc Dermott and Mícheál Nelson

On this programme: Conquering a stammer; Saluting Angela Lansbury at 95; Running away from home -- and reconsidering; Wexford's Halloween customs involving cabbage -- and How the world responded to the death of Terence MacSwiney... with Chris McHallem, Mary Wall, Dermot Bolger, AM Cousins, Lourdes Mackey, and Vincent Woods

In this programme: Home thoughts from abroad… a friendship forged in postwar Sarajevo… John 'Bower' Bradley and Lourdes Celtic Football Club... and Dublin City University at 40 with Frank Shouldice, Donal Hayes, Helen O'Rahilly, Lani O'Hanlon and Kevin McDermott

This week a selection from Sunday Miscellany Live programmes at the Red Line Book Festival, recorded in the Civic Theatre in Tallaght in 2016 and 2017 broadcast to mark this year’s Red Line Book Festival which is taking place entirely online; with scripts by Dermot Bolger, Eileen Casey, Marita Conlon-McKenna, Rosaleen McDonagh and Declan Hughes

A poetry-infused Sunday Miscellany with childhood memories of Robert Frost in New Hampshire from Jerusha McCormack; a mother's delight in the words of Patrick Kavanagh by Jim Sperin; and a tribute to the late Derek Mahon, by Gerald Dawe. Also Nicole Flattery on a telephonic sisterhood and memories of the 1941 Belfast Blitz by Garrett Igoe

This week on Sunday Miscellany, tall tales and different kinds of truth… memories of the writer Frank O’Connor and the untold story of St Finbar; a programme from the archive marking the Cork International Short Story Festival, with writers Mary Leland, Cónal Creedon, William Wall, Madeleine D’Arcy, Joe Sweeney and Liadáin O'Donovan

Highlights from Culture Night shows past, recorded in Dublin Castle and Collins Barracks (Asgard Room) in recent years, with Paul Howard, Sharon Hogan, Deirdre Mulrooney, Conall Hamill, Martin Tourish, Tríona Marshall, Simon Morgan, the Carolan Trio, + Shane Hennessy

Travel longings, travellers’ tales and beloved islands from Lambay to Iona – all part of the mix on today's programme with Mary O'Donnell, Leo Cullen, Denise Blake, A M Cousins and John F Deane

In this programme, exam result anxiety… a delightful friendship forged in Belfield… re-reading Brian Keenan’s memoir of captivity in Beirut, and more, with Norma McMaster, Roslyn Dee, John MacKenna, Kevin McDermott, Frank Kavanagh, and James Harpur. Tune in! RTÉ Radio 1 Culture on RTÉ #LeavingCert2020

Highlights from a live show in Ballyshannon as part of the Donegal Bay and Bluestacks festival last autumn, with Olive Travers, Patrick Hull, Little John Nee, Colin Regan, Denise Blake, Conor and Michael Murray, Tara Connaghan and Ellie Nic Fhiongaile, Hatchlings and Sarah E Cullen

Handbags and glad rags; Sartre’s idea of hell… and a profile of Lady Margaret Huggins, Irish astronomer. With Eleanor Methven, Tim Carey, Chris McHallem, Mary Dowey and A M Cousins

Misdirected phone messages… the “rule of three” -- and what does it mean when a bird flies into your house? with Pauline Shanahan, Brian Leyden, Emer O'Kelly, Lani O'Hanlon and Michael Kelly

In the week Ireland mourns the loss of visionary leader John Hume, we rebroadcast our joyful programme from the Derry Playhouse celebrating the Civil Rights movement. First broadcast in October 2018 it features writers Anne Devlin, Andy Hinds and Eamonn McCann, poetry from Colette Bryce and Susan McKay's beautiful and insightful tribute to Pat Hume

Sunday Miscellany Live at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire, recorded to celebrate 200 years of the harbour in 2017, with writers Joseph O’Connor, Nuala Ní Domhnaill, Evelyn Conlon, Gerald Dawe and Leo Cullen

"I never thought it was strange that my father went to work clean as a new pin, and returned covered from head to toe in thick black coal dust." This week writers remember the Arigna coal mines 30 years after they closed down, with Brian Leyden, Caroline Wynne, Charlie McGettigan, Yvonne Woods and Vincent Woods

Youthful hopes and dreams... ghost ships of old and modern times.. an all important spare single shilling... and one of Belfast's darkest days. With Brian Farrell, Carol Nicholas, Andrew Doherty, Lani O'Hanlon, Gerald Dawe and Olive Travers

Summer jobs and suspicious minds... basil, Bolivia and Bob Marley... and Abbé Edgeworth, the Longford-born priest who played a heroic role in French history. With John Hedigan, Rachael Hegarty, Anne Delaney, Niall McArdle, Gerald Dawe and Mary O'Donnell

Jonathan White on Bob Sheppard, the voice of Yankee Stadium; Denise Blake's new baby telegram; Sheila Killian on a lost glove and an anti-war march; Joe Ó Muircheartaigh on missing Wimbledon and restaging the 1980 final on a Kerry beach; and Quentin Fottrell on familiar strangers in New York.

Beer and kindness in Bordeaux, Cór Chúil Aodha's hotline to heaven, JFK in Ireland; the family you choose for yourself, and Jean Lurçat's visions. With Noel Harrington, Catherine Foley, Deaglán de Bréadún, Rosaleen McDonagh, and Emer O'Kelly And music from Peadar Ó Riada and Cór Chúil Aodha, Charles Trenet, the Clancy Brothers, and Nina Simone

Fathers, bicycles, and a missing statue... And Italia 90 in the best company. With John Egan, Chris McHallem, Catherine Foley, Paula Murphy, Sheila Maher and Gerald Dawe

Songs, stories and Joyce’s idea of what makes a nation... with Fran O'Rourke, Conall Hamill, Breda Reid, Barry McCrea and Deirdre Mulrooney

On today's programme, Shakespeare, serenity and sitting out Italia 90… With Colin Murphy, Pat Hanratty, Aoife Barry, Leo Moran and Bibi Baskin

Listowel Writers' Week at 50: highlights from live shows at the festival over the years. With Anne Enright, Colm Tóibín, Róisín Whelan, Cyril Kelly, Christine Dwyer Hickey and Seamus Heaney, and music from Elizabeth Cooney, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Redmond O’Toole, Seamus and Eoin Begley, Diane Daly, Boris Hunka and Jacqui Hynes

Remembering the Heysel stadium disaster... coping with a pet cat who dislikes you... and tributes to the late Eavan Boland. With writers Rachael Hegarty, Mary O’Malley, John MacKenna, John O'Donnell, Michael Hamell and Niall McArdle

Confessions of a devoted Johnny Logan fan, A father's war memories; Sifting through the motherlode of keepsakes; Farewell, again, to Bewleys; In grief and lockdown, a chink of light: with Roslyn Dee, Sinéad Ingoldsby, Maggie Armstrong, Enda Wyley and Conor Horgan

Front line defenders and local heroes... a New York friendship under lockdown... and the love story of the late Tiede and Elisabeth Herrema. With writers Frank Shouldice, Helen O'Rahilly, Christopher Fitz-Simon, Quentin Fottrell and Angela Keogh.

This week we re-broadcast a special live programme from University of Limerick with writers Joseph O’Connor, Mary O’Malley, Donal Ryan, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Mae Leonard and William Keohane with live music from among others Blackie O'Connell, Seamus Fogarty, and the Irish World Academy House Band

Cold water swimming, Glen Hansard's other birthday and an Orangeman under the bed... With Brian Farrell, Jackie Lynam, Gerald Dawe, Karen Sorensen, Margaret Hickey, and Larry McCluskey

In this programme: adventures in homeschooling, decluttering opportunities, Daniel O’Connell’s Notre Dame connection, a pandemic reading list and more with contributions from Barry McCrea, Kate Kerrigan, Conall Hamill, Grace Neville and poems from Geraldine Mitchell and Catherine Foley

Chocolate eggs and ice eggs, church bells and birdsong, tropical fish, the composer Ravel, and big and small acts of solidarity this Easter time... With Alan Finnegan, John Toal, Colin Murphy, Rachael Hegarty and Lani O’Hanlon

Donkeys, mindfulness, penniless poets, wardrobe malfunctions...and finding serenity these anxious days. With Maurice Crowe, Barbara Scully, Chris McHallem, John F Deane, Mary Jane Boland, and Denise Blake, and music from Boris Hunka and Diane Daly, David Dundas, the Flying Lizards, Bach, Sean Ó Riada

A special programme from Ennis Book Club Festival recorded in Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare. With writers Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, Noel Harrington, Grace Wells, Joe Ó Muircheartaigh and Lemn Sissay and music from Blackie O’Connell, Cyril O’Donoghue, Ennis Brass Band conducted by Mark Nutley, Boris Hunka and Diane Daly, and Katie Theasby and Ger O’Donnell

Meeting Captain Furillo from Hill Street Blues, the pleasures of a linen handkerchief, and Mother’s Day at a social distance… with writers Tim Carey, Mary Dowey, Geraldine Mitchell, Lemn Sissay, Andrew Meehan, and Nollaig Rowan

Adopting a grandfather, Dublin daffodils, and finding hope in these strange and uncertain times. With John Toal, Zainab Boladale, Chris McHallem, Barbara Scully, Leo Cullen and Rachael Hegarty

Inspiring grandmothers, fearless female journalists from Marian Finucane to Mary Kenny, and International Women’s Day under Communism. With Andrea Martin, Quentin Fottrell, Bernadett Buda, Gerald Dawe, Lourdes Mackey, and Denise Blake

Adventures at sea... the pleasures of an open fire... and a press photographer’s special present from Charles Haughey. With writers Barbara Scully, Brian Farrell, Michael O’Connor, and music from the Clancys, Gilbert and Sullivan, Shirley Bassey and more

New words to describe wine, Ireland’s rugby nadir, contemplating Dante in a hospital waiting room, a history of quarantine and a postcard from Sam Beckett. With Mary Dowey, Donal Hayes, Mary O’Malley, Andrew Doherty and Grace Neville

Meditations on Maths, meeting the Hothouse Flowers, a visit to St Valentine and a missing Valentine's card... with Oliver Sears, Jackie Lynam, Olive Travers, Fred Johnston, Sara Shine and Rachael Hegarty

James Joyce’s Birthday by Gerry Moloney; The 59th Street Bridge – Feelin’ Ungroovy by Conall Hamill; Ulyssses by Emer O’Kelly; Peach Melba by Nollaig Rowan; Here’s To You, Jim Joyce, by Kevin McDermott; and Antidote, a poem by Geraldine Mitchell

Meditative moments at Mass and at sea; dancing to Für Elise, and Beethoven's wild, earthy, daimonic genius. With Barbara Scully, Oliver Sears, Evelyn Conlon, Kate Kerrigan and John F Deane

On today's programme: It Was All in the Stars by Bibi Baskin; The Daily Commute by Tim Carey; The French Connection by Darragh Kelly; Bees in the Roof Space, Humans in the House, a poem by Jean O’Brien; Stoneleigh Train Station 1990 by Noel Harrington; And Old Churriosity Shop by Lani O’Hanlon

The Greatest by J M Dolan; Mending Our Ways by Margaret Hickey; Island Devotions, a poem by Geraldine Mitchell; Death in West Cork by Jody Clarke; Veronica McSwiney: How to Celebrate Eight Decades at the Piano by Emer O’Kelly, And Your Youth is Behind You by Kate Kerrigan

A mix of new and archive scripts: Skull and Bones by Niall McArdle; Boarding School Days by Catherine Foley; Old Hat, New Hat by Patrick Dunne; The Tree, the Trolley, and Me by Chris McHallem; And Journey of an Outcast by the late Eileen Battersby, the anniversary of whose death occurred over the Christmas period