‘The Last Irish Missionaries' review: Two-part RTÉ documentary doesn't avoid thornier issues around missionary work
Pat Stacey
Today at 17:35
To be honest, I approached two-part documentary The Last Irish Missionaries (RTÉ One, Monday, July 15, and RTÉ Player) with trepidation.
For people of my generation, who attended school in the 1960s and 70s, the word 'missionary' is a loaded one. It evokes memories of tin-shaking and guilt-tripping.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
08-08-2025
- Irish Independent
Around the Districts: Ballyhea, Freemount and Meelin
Church Notes Mass Times – Thursday, August 7, 10 a.m.; Friday, August 8, 10 a.m.; Saturday the ninth 10 a.m. and 7.30 p.m.; Sunday, August 10, 8.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will take place on Thursday after 10 a.m. Mass. Holy Communion – Only those receiving Holy Communion should approach the Altar and only on a seat-by-seat basis. Anniversary Masses – Booked Anniversary Masses are accepted on the understanding that Funeral Masses and month's mind Masses take precedence. Feastdays for the coming week – Thursday August 7, Ss. Sixtus and Companions; Friday August 8, St Dominic; Saturday August 9, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edit Stein);Sunday August 10, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Collectors for August – 7.30 p.m. Vigil Mass: Tom Moloney. 11 a.m. Mass: Dave Ryan. Readers – Saturday, August 9: Ger. O'Shea. Sunday, August 10: Mary Byrne. Tuesday, August 14: Elizabeth Ryan. Wednesday, August 15: Sarah Barrett. Church Altar Flower Arrangers – Saturday, August 2, and Saturday, August 9: Gretta Donegan Kenny. Saturday, August 16, and Saturday, August 23: Bernie Leahy. Irish Catholic Newspaper/Sacred Heart Messenger – The Irish Catholic newspaper and the Sacred Heart Messenger are available in the Porch for purchase. Irish Catholic €3, Sacred Heart Messenger €2. GAA club news Lotto – The numbers drawn on July 26 were 12, 35, 36. There was no winner of the jackpot of €1,600. Lucky dips winners were: €30 Denis Mortell c/o John Mortell, €30 John MacNamara c/o Denis MacNamara, €30 Tim Fennessy c/o Saturday Morning lotto. Get your tickets before 5 p.m. on Saturday from Costcutters Ballyhea, Corbett Court, The Idle Hour or from any of the ticket sellers or they can be purchased online at Thank you for your continued support. The first three numbers of the National Lottery Main Draw will be the jackpot numbers. If a number higher than 42 is drawn in the first three, the draw will continue with the next number drawn under 42. The club appreciates the support of lottery players and supporters during these difficult times and are very grateful for your continued support. Keep safe and the best of luck in draw. Groundskeeper Position – A part-time position is available as Groundskeeper for 19.5 hours per week at Ballyhea GAA Must qualify for Community Employment. Please contact Kathleen at 086 836 97 64 for further details. Ballyhea in Black and White – 'Ballyhea in Black and White' is a collection of memories from local photographer Michael McGrath and photos that have been collected. It features some great GAA and camogie memories from down through the years. Books can be purchased at Costcutters shop in Ballyhea for €20. Online Shop – The club's online shop is proving to be very popular. All the latest club gear can be purchased from the O'Neill's website. Check it out at Instagram – The club can now be followed on Instagram. To see the latest club pictures go to ballyheagaaclub. Ballyhea Community Alert Ballyhea Community Alert has successfully set up a Text Alert Network to immediately alert our community when an incident occurs. Prompt information to and from Gardaí deters criminal activity. If you are interested in becoming a member of our Text Alert Network please phone any of the following people for information and sign up details – Phil Ryan 087 2937465, Pat Daly 086 1220114, James Horgan 087 2572271, Willie Meaney 087 1936842, Con Walsh 086 8570355. The fee for this service is €10. annually. Freemount Weekly 45 Drive The weekly 45 Drive was well attended on Sunday night last. The following is a list of the lucky winners. Top prize went to Richard O'Donoghue and Mike Ryan, Newcastle West. Ladies Prize was won by: 1 Eileen Scott and Delia Conroy, Churchtown; 2 Ellen Reilly, Newmarket and Julia Biggane, Meelin. The best Gents Team was Ben O'Sullivan and Michael O'Callaghan, Freemount. The winning mixed team was Mary Noonan, Freemount and Paddy O'Leary, Glash. Spot prizes were won by: 1 Nora Mai Deane, Glash and Con Foley, Freemount; 2 Ben and Hannah Cronin, Tullylease. The following won raffle prizes: 1 Ben O'Sullivan, Freemount; 2 Jack O'Keeffe, Glash; 3 Esther Hayes, Kilbrin; 4 Eileen O'Sullivan, Kanturk; 5 Con Foley, Freemount; 6 Bridie Farrissey, Freemount; 7 Theresa O'Regan, Kilmeedy; 8 Jack O'Keeffe, Glash. The 45 Drive continues every Sunday night at 8pm sharp. See you all then. Social Dancing Afternoon dancing continues every Sunday in Freemount Community Centre from 3pm to 5.30pm. All top bands are booked for the year ahead, so set your satnav (P56 P893) and head for Freemount and enjoy a great afternoon's dancing this Sunday August 10th with music supplied by Dermot Lyons. Coming on Sunday August 17th is Michael Sexton. Comhaltas This year our weekly Seisiún commenced on Wednesday July 23rd in The Heritage Centre, and will run each week until Wednesday August 27th. We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday night next at 8pm. We have a host of musicians, singers and entertainers lined up for the next 6 weeks, This week (August 6th) we have Billy O'Brien and John Murphy and our special guests will be the Castlemagner Singers. We will have all our musicians singers and bands and our juvenile group each night. Admission is €10, this includes the usual refreshments at half-time. Fleadh Cheoil - We wish all our members who are on their way to Wexford for Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann a very successful and safe hope to see you all back at the Seisiún next week.!! Tidy Towns The Tidy Towns Committee meet weekly on Wednesday evenings at 7pm at the Garden of Remembrance. All volunteers are welcome and would be greatly appreciated. Parish Website The parish website is up on the computer and you can get into this page by clicking and spend some time reminiscing. Community Centre 50th Anniversary To mark the 50th year of our Community Centre being built back in 1975 Celebrations will take place on September 12th, 13th and 14th. On Friday 12th we will have our Official Opening Ceremony, with Mass of thanksgiving and remembrance. Footage of the building of the hall as well as some other events will be shown and there will also be a photo display. A plaque will be unveiled to acknowledge the work of all the volunteers involved and there will be entertainment provided by Comhaltas, Freemount Music and Drama Group and Macra. On Saturday 13th there is Live music in our Community Centre with a full bar provided by the Haggart Bar Freemount. Music by Éabha O Carroll & Kelly Feehan 9pm followed by the main event The Gallivanters at 10pm. This is a ticketed event and tickets will be available from local shops and committee members. This event is strictly over 18's–tickets €15 On Sunday 14th we have a Family fun day & Fancy Dress Parade. The family fun day will begin at 12pm–4pm. Entertainment, various games, coffee, food & ice cream truck.. The Fancy Dress Parade will start at 6pm from the creamery and afterwords we will have a presentation of prizes.. If you are taking part in the parade please contact Cassie O Connor on 0876775533 by September 1st. Community Food Services Duhallow Community Food Services provide a home delivery meal service for the elderly or housebound. Meals can be booked on a long or short term basis. Dinner and desert €9.50 per day delivered to your door, Monday to Friday. Menu changes daily and special diets are catered for. Chilled meals are also available for you to heat up at home when required. For further details contact Orlaith/Olive at 029-76375. St Michael's Church Weekend Mass in Freemount will be at 6pm every Saturday evening. Mass on Thursday August 14th (Vigil Mass) at 7.30pm. You can now tune into all Masses in St Michael's Church by tuning into Freemount Church on your phone, computer or tablet, as new equipment has been installed. This is great news for all those unable to attend Mass in Church. Mass on TV - Did you know that R.T.E. broadcast Holy Mass every morning on the News Channel (21) at 10.30 am, Monday to Friday. G.A.A. club news Lotto - Results for weekend August 3rd. Numbers drawn were 1-13-20-26. There was no Jackpot winner. Lucky Dip winners were: 1. Bernadette Keane, Freemount. 2. Ben Carroll, Kilberrihert, Freemount. 3. Tim O'Callaghan, Knockough, Freemount. 4. Jim O'Regan, Glounicommane, Freemount. 5. Richard O'Sullivan, Knockanglasse, Freemount. Jackpot this weekend is €2,150. If you are not in you can't win! Club app - Freemount GAA are delighted to announce the launch of our new app. This app is a one-stop-shop for all things Freemount GAA. Stay up to date with all local news, fixtures and results. Our GAA Lotto is now also available online through the app. To download the app, simply search 'Freemount GAA' in the app store or play store. Your support of the app would be greatly appreciated. Notes Items for these notes should be with the correspondent each Monday night before 8pm. Email osullivanpj38@ Meelin Declan Nerney & Band will play in Quinlan's Beer Garden on Sunday 31st August. Eabha & Kelly 4pm-6pm, Declan Nerney 6pm-8pm. Tickets €20. Tel 087 7670755.
RTÉ News
07-08-2025
- RTÉ News
Pray For Our Sinners: Sinead O'Shea's tale from the resistance
The most-watched documentary at Irish cinemas in 2023, Pray for Our Sinners documents filmmaker Sinéad O'Shea's return to her hometown, Navan, to explore the impact of the Catholic Church on the community in decades past - watch it now via RTÉ Player. As Pray For Our Sinners makes its RTÉ debut, Sinéad O'Shea revisits her film and explores how she 'wanted to show how Ireland had worked as I was growing up'. For some Irish people there has been enough said already about the activities of the Catholic Church. I understand. I grew up in the countryside outside Navan, then a small town in the midlands, in the 1980s and 1990s. By the time I was in secondary school, the scandals involving the Catholic Church had begun to emerge, and later I worked on some of them for The Guardian, BBC Newsnight, The New York Times and Al Jazeera English. It was this familiarity which inspired me to make Pray for Our Sinners. An old schoolfriend, Sinéad Burke, had told me about some of the work undertaken by a husband and wife doctor team in Navan. I knew this could be a different film. Watch the trailer for Pray For Our Sinners Over decades, I would later discover, Dr. Paddy and Dr. Mary Randles had fought against corporal punishment, rescued young women from mother and baby homes and opened a family planning clinic. Along the way they faced opposition from within the town, led by a beloved local priest, Fr. Farrell. A story of resistance from Ireland in this era is novel in itself but there was more to it than that. I wanted to show how Ireland had worked as I was growing up; how the informal hierarchies operated, how the threat of marginalisation was so frightening for us all. We began development filming in lockdown. Dr. Paddy had passed away in 2017 and I had spent time chatting with Dr. Mary about her husband's work. The release of the mother and baby home report in 2021 prompted her to discuss her own memories too and we decided to find some of the people she had helped. This became our film. From a logistical point of view, production was difficult but our participants; Dr. Mary, Betty, Edna and Norman were exceptional. I wanted to honour the quietness and modesty of life then. As I say in the film, it was considered American to complain when I was growing up, and to be honest, I'm still a bit conflicted about this. At its best, Catholicism suggests there are bigger forces at work than one's own concerns and there is sanctuary, I think, in this belief. A story of resistance from Ireland in this era is novel in itself but there was more to it than that. In practice of course, it often meant that vulnerable voices were overwhelmed by the fears and desires of more powerful individuals but times were not always all bad. It felt important to achieve a balance, to ensure the film didn't feel anti-Catholic and to acknowledge the sense of community provided by the Church. my friend @SineadEOShea has made a film, 'pray for our sinners', about some people in her home town of navan who stood up against the social control of the catholic church at a time when most of us still felt it prudent to keep our heads down. — Ken Early (@kenearlys) May 7, 2023 Many of the real harms caused by Catholicism were also facilitated by the State and I wanted to emphasise that some big questions are still unanswered. At Sean Ross mother and baby home, for instance, 1090 babies died but nearly all their remains are "missing." It was important to me that people in Navan did not feel undermined. Urban middle classes tend to condescend to those from rural or religious backgrounds. There was great nuance and humour in small town life as I was growing up and I wanted to celebrate that. We finally finished the edit in May 2022 and I sent it off to the Toronto Film Festival. It had already been rejected as a rough cut from other much less high profile festivals so I was astonished when it was selected. Our world premiere was held in September, three weeks after I gave birth. We then embarked on a tour of US festivals after that, winning Best Documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival and were nominated for awards in Chicago and Washington DC. The big test though, would be our screenings at home. We had our Irish premiere in the Dublin Film Festival with Dr. Mary, Ethna, Norman and Betty in attendance. I think everyone there will remember it. The cinema was so crowded that some sat on the floor. There was weeping but also laughter. At one point, as Mary gave vent to her feelings onscreen, the audience burst into spontaneous applause. Afterwards there were two standing ovations for our stars. It was so genuine, people just wanted to express their admiration. Listen: Dr. Mary Randles and Sinead O'Shea talk to Dearbhail McDonald Our distributors, Break Out, scheduled a cinema release for late April. We were a little concerned that people might not want to see another film about our Catholic past but we hoped the emotion of our Dublin screening might inspire new audiences to come. We showed first in Navan and this too was an event with great meaning, I think, for both locals and our participants in particular. Their stories, they said, had been told properly, and now they felt seen and affirmed by their community. As Dr. Mary observed of Norman, "he seems to walk a little taller around the town." Despite all our worries, there has been an overwhelming response to the film. It is the most attended documentary in Ireland this year and is continuing to screen at festivals around the world. It will soon be broadcast on television around Europe. Dr. Mary and I were even invited to the Oireachtas for a screening there. This left us both feeling a little strange afterwards. Politicians had their photos taken with us but some of them subsequently voted for the deeply flawed mother and baby home redress scheme which has omitted nearly 50% of the survivors. Now the film will be released on digital platforms in Ireland and the UK, and will find a new audience there. I hope it inspires some reflection on where we came from, and where we are now. It's not hard to join a fashionable cause when that's what everyone else is doing but Mary, Betty, Ethna and Norman took real risks in a much less forgiving context. As the film concludes, there is always a way to resist.
Irish Independent
14-07-2025
- Irish Independent
‘The Last Irish Missionaries' review: Two-part RTÉ documentary doesn't avoid thornier issues around missionary work
Bryan Dobson and Dearbhail McDonald co-present an exploration of Irish Catholic priests and nuns spreading the world abroad Pat Stacey Today at 17:35 To be honest, I approached two-part documentary The Last Irish Missionaries (RTÉ One, Monday, July 15, and RTÉ Player) with trepidation. For people of my generation, who attended school in the 1960s and 70s, the word 'missionary' is a loaded one. It evokes memories of tin-shaking and guilt-tripping.
