Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT Órchiste Nollag
SUNDAY, 10AM, RNAG ★★★★
We’ll hear selections from the newlypublished book Órchiste Nollag,a compendium of stories, reflections, carols, memories and proverbs connected to the Christmas season, with beautiful musical accompaniment from fiddler Máire Breathnach.
My Tunes: Paddy Moloney
SUNDAY, 3PM, LYRIC FM ★★★★
A special programme from the archive as Aedín Gormley revisits her My Tunes programme with the late Paddy Moloney. Recorded in 2011, the Chieftains legend talks about his own favourite pieces of music.
The George Michael Chart
NEW YEAR’S DAY, 1PM, BBC RADIO 2 ★★★★
Scott Mills celebrates the work of the late George Michael (pictured) by counting down his big hits — both with Wham! and as a solo artist — and talking to some of his friends and collaborators about a star who died too young on Christmas Day in 2016. Then, at 9pm, former Spice Girl Melanie C presents another tribute to George and his legacy.
FACTUAL Like Family
MONDAY, 1.30PM, RTÉ RADIO 1 ★★★★ 2021 has been a very difficult year for families in Ireland. So how have they coped? In Like Family, Brenda Donohue travels across the country, meeting families and bringing a snapshot of family life as they navigate this Pandemic Ireland.
Iceland’s Dark Lullabies
TUESDAY, 2.30PM, BBC R4 EXTRA ★★★★
You wouldn’t want to be a baby in Iceland, where the nation’s young are soothed to sleep with songs and stories about fearsome child-eating hags, invading elves and vengeful trolls! The Icelandic storyteller Andri Snaer Magnason explains the roots of these ancient tales.
O Chonamara go Crimea
TUESDAY, 5.05PM, RNAG ★★★★ Pádraig Ó Gionnáin, who was born just before the Famine in Connemara, enlisted in the Connaught Rangers and went to fight in the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855. We’ll hear a description of life at the time, the damaging impact of British rule on the region, and the central role of the Connaught Rangers in the community. The programme mixes the personal story with the wider social history and folklore.
DRAMA
The Snow Queen
SUNDAY, 4PM, 8PM, BBC RADIO 4 EXTRA ★★★★★
The Snow Queen has lured young Kay to her icy palace, so his friend, Gerda, sets off across the world to find him. This vintage radio drama is narrated by Dirk Bogarde, with Diana Rigg as the Snow Queen.
Drama on One: The Dead
SUNDAY, 8.45PM, RTÉ RADIO 1 ★★★★★
Stephen Rea reads from The Dead, one of Joyce’s most acclaimed works and the final story in his 1914 collection Dubliners. The story centres on Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta as they attend a party hosted by Gabriel’s aunts. Throughout the course of the evening, Gabriel comes to realise how little he knows of his wife’s past.
Gradam Joe Steve
MONDAY, 2PM, RNAG ★★★★★
The three short radio plays shortlisted for the Gradam Joe Steve award, including the winning work Rún by Eoin Ó Dubhghaill can be heard in this programme today.