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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Housewife of the Year review: Award-winning documentary unearths the sad stories behind an Irish TV relic
Today at 13:00 The period between feature documentaries showing at festivals and cinemas, then turning up in our living rooms has shortened significantly in recent years. Ciaran Cassidy's excellent Housewife of the Year (RTÉ1, Monday, June 2) did the festival circuit last year, winning a prize at Galway Film Fleadh, and enjoying a limited run in cinemas. And yet television, where it will reach a much larger audience, feels like its natural home. After all, television was the home of the bizarre spectacle that was the Housewife of the Year competition. It started in 1967, was televised live by RTÉ from 1982 and lasted – astonishingly – until 1995. From the outset, it was a cringe-inducing anachronism. The contestants were judged on qualities including sense of humour, budgeting skills, civic-mindedness and their ability to prepare 'a simple meal' for the hubby coming home from a hard day's work. They were also encouraged, Rose of Tralee-style, to do a party piece. 'It's very good to be good-looking, but that's no excuse for bad cooking,' ran one self-penned poem. Presiding over the whole thing was host Gay Byrne. Clips from the original broadcasts, skilfully assembled by editor Cara Holmes, remind us that Byrne – who always received an inordinate amount of credit for supposedly dragging Ireland into the light of modernity when it was others, mainly women, who were doing the real heavy lifting – could be gratingly patronising. 'Are you a women's libber?' he asks one woman, as the audience whoop with laughter and clap like performing seals. The whole thing was an embarrassment ripe for mockery, and mock it plenty of people did. Cassidy uses the Housewife of the Year competition, absurd as it was, as a jumping off point for a look at how generations of women were subjugated by the State and the church A lesser documentary might have gone down the point-and-snigger route: 'Look at this! Can you believe how backward Ireland was in those days?' Instead, Cassidy uses the Housewife of the Year competition, absurd as it was, as a jumping off point for a look at how generations of women were subjugated by the State and the church – which were basically one and the same entity – sometimes with the collusion of their husbands and parents. In its own unwitting way, the competition was a small brick in the wall of sexism and misogyny that kept Irish women where the patriarchy thought they belonged: in the kitchen and the maternity ward. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more There's no narration, no learned talking heads. Just the faces and voices of some of the women who entered it and, in some cases, won. We see them first as they were in those old clips, then as they are now – standing on a bare stage, telling their personal stories of sadness and cruelty from a time when contraception and divorce were outlawed, and women had to give up work as soon as they married (teachers were an exception). One was married at 20. At 31, she had 13 children, including four sets of twins. 'I didn't know which end of me was up,' she says. Her husband drank their money. The more kids she had, the more he retreated to the pub. She used to take a pot to a food centre to have it filled with stew. On the bus home, everyone could smell the stew – the smell of embarrassment. She entered the competition for the prize – £300 in cash and a gas cooker – and won. Another, having taken some photos of herself and her two friends on an innocent rowing boat trip with some boys when she was 16, left the film in the pharmacy for developing. The pharmacist brought the pictures to the local priest, who showed them to her parents and said: 'You need to do something about this one.' They took his advice and deposited her with the Magdalene Sisters, then left without saying goodbye. Vivid and moving as their recollections are, there's a remarkable lack of bitterness here There were stories here of a woman abandoned by her husband, of one who made contact with the mother who'd given her up for adoption, only to be told by her half-sisters, 'You weren't wanted then and you're not wanted now,' and of one who gave up a nursing career in London to marry into a life of domestic drudgery. 'I was doing things that didn't need doing at all, just to occupy my mind,' she says. Vivid and moving as their recollections are, there's a remarkable lack of bitterness here. The Housewife of the Year show may have been a symbol of a repressive society, but some of them look back on it with a certain degree of affection.
Extra.ie
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Dr Tony Holohan days away from marrying Ciara Cronin
The countdown is on for former Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has he revealed he was just one week away from marrying his partner, Ciara Cronin. The couple have been dating since 2023, with Dr Holohan revealing his new romance two and a half years after the death of his wife, Emer. Emer, who Tony met when he was just 19 years old, died from cancer during the pandemic. The countdown is on for former Chief Medical Officer has he revealed he was just one week away from marrying his partner, Ciara Cronin. Pic: Justin Farrelly Taking to Instagram on Sunday, the father-of-two shared a selfie alongside Ciara at Dun Laoghaire as he revealed they were just days away from their nuptials. 'One week to go to our big day — I'm so happy that Ciara and I will spend the rest of our lives together,' the author wrote. Friends and followers took to the comments, with one writing: 'Huge congratulations,' and another adding: 'Wishing you both every happiness you both deserve this.' A third commented: 'Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness together. Congratulations Dr Holohan and your new bride Ciara.' Dr Holohan revealed his new relationship when he spoke to Joe Duffy on an episode of The Meaning of Life which aired in on RTÉ 1 in October 2023. 'I have met somebody new,' he revealed, 'I have a new partner for the last number of months in my life, which is wonderful.' Asked if he was nervous about the new relationship, he responded: 'Nervous isn't quite the word, but it was a significant thing to find the basis for moving on and Ciara, Ciara Cronin is her name, has made that easier and it has been lovely, very enjoyable and we have had enjoyable new times together.' He added that meeting another family for just the second time in his life was 'kind of strange and lovely all at the same time.' Fortunately, it was smooth sailing with Dr Holohan confirming that Ciara had been 'very well accepted' into his immediate family as well as the wider family.
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Irish Independent
Declan Lynch: ‘Time was, a 'farming' programme would feature mainly men without double-barrelled names, rattling off the cattle prices'
What is the quintessential scent of Ireland? RTÉ1's CountryWide (RTÉ1, Saturdays, 8.10am) engaged with this question, reminding us that for the last 25 years this country has actually had an official scent – that of 'burning turf'.
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
TV star spotted enjoying a 99 cone in rural Kilkenny during a break from filming
Bazil Ashmawy, also known as Baz, is no stranger to our TV screens as host of DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland, the show that rebuilds people's lives by rebuilding their homes. While in Co Kilkenny, Baz made the trip to Croke's Shop in Mooncoin to sample some of their ice cream. A picture of Baz's visit to shop was posted on social media by Croke's Shop as they wrote 'when the Croke's shop crew met the big build crew. Lovely to meet Baz and the lads, thanks for calling in to try out the cones'. Baz and the big build crew have been filming in Mooncoin for the past week as they build a dream home for the O'Hanlon family who are in desperate need of an adapted house for their little girl, Aoibhínn (9), who has a severe type of spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Along with DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland, Baz is known for the TV show, 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy, which won the international Emmy Award for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment. Baz has also hosted radio shows on both RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2fm, among other things.
Irish Independent
29-04-2025
- Irish Independent
Wexford Rose of Tralee is back and calling on women to represent their community
Any young woman who enters the 2025 Wexford Rose selection will get the royal treatment and be in with a chance to be crowned the 2025 Rose of Tralee on Tuesday, August 19 in the Festival Dome live on RTÉ 1 television. A slew of incredible prizes await the next Rose of Tralee including a €25,000 world travel prize fund, the use of a brand new car for the year, and a chance to become an Ambassador for Offaly and Ireland. The Wexford Rose Centre is inviting communities to nominate an entrant in the Wexford Rose of Tralee Selection 2025 and the winning Rose will represent Wexford at the International Rose of Tralee in August later this year. The main target market at this event is people aged between 18 to 29 year olds, as well as the generic target audience of their friends, family and other local supporters. Not only does this event raise the profile of the Rose's area and community, it also highlights their patronage and support of this internationally renowned Irish festival representing the elite of Irish ladies, their heritage, passion, elegance and ambition. The Rose of Tralee International Festival has connected the Irish community from across the world since 1959 and it continues to draw strength from local communities throughout Ireland. The fee for nominating an entrant is €300 and the entrant will carry the name of their community/area on their sash throughout the many events which will be held during the county selection. Local businesses, sports organisations and professional groupings are also being invited to take part in the Wexford Rose selection event. Application forms are now available from the Rose of Tralee website, for more information call Lyn on 083 4631611 or email Lyn at Wexfordrosecentre@
