The Island

6.30PM, RTé ONE ★★★★

In this fascinating new series, Liz Bonnin (pictured, near right with Kirstin Lemon) is taking viewers back in time, 1.8 billion years to be exact. That’s when the story of Ireland began, as the presenter discovers the country was once two entirely separate pieces of land which formed south of the equator. Bonnin discovers that it is still possible to see the join — the battle scar from the fusion can be found in the rock from the Shannon Estuary in Co Limerick to Clogherhead in Co Louth. She also goes in search of evidence of Ireland’s volcanic hotspots and long-lost deserts.