RT Celebrates Brendan Behan's 100th birthday
on television, on radio and online
https://www.rte.ie/brendan-behan/
Brendan Behan was born one hundred years ago, on 9th February 1923, and to celebrate this important birth centenary, RT has put together a programme of themed content, both new and existing through RT Archives, across television, radio and online.
MAIN PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
>>>ON TELEVISION
Nationwide: RT One, 7pm, Wednesday 8 February
In a special programme, RT One's Nationwide looks back on the life and work of Brendan Behan, revisiting many locations of Behan's city including Russell Street in the north inner city where he grew up, Mountjoy prison, the house in Anglesea Road, Dublin 4 which he bought with his wife Beatrice and his grave at Glasnevin Cemetery, including RT Archive material of Behan. As part of the programme, presenter Anne Cassin will talk to Brendan Behan's daughter Blanaid Behan, writer and director, Peter Sheridan, historian, Donal Fallon and academic, Deirdre McMahon.
>>>ON RADIO
Bowman 8.30: RT Radio 1, 8.30am, Sunday 5th February and 12th February
Across two Sunday mornings John Bowman presents a timely selection of recordings of and about Brendan Behan from RT Archives.
Sunday Miscellany: RT Radio 1, 9.10am, Sunday 5th February
On Sunday Miscellany, Bl naid Behan (pictured below), in Familiar Stranger, writes about the father she barely knew but whose presence looms large in her life.
At rare gatherings with my father's side of the family old Dublin ladies would pat me on the head and say sadly, God love you child, you lost your Da and he was awful young.' To me at the age of seven or eight, 41 seemed quite ancient! Sure, doesn't everyone die at 41?' I wondered. I examined photos for any hint of a likeness. Joan Littlewood, the legendary theatre director in whose hands his play The Hostage won numerous accolades, told me I had his eyes
Arena: RT Radio 1, 7pm Monday 6th February
An hour-long special looking at Brendan Behan's entire career and legacy with guest writer and director Peter Sheridan, writer and historian Donal Fallon, who also presents the Three Castles Burning podcast, and musicians Daoir Farrell, Anne Buckley and Macdara Yeates.
Behan Beach in: RT Radio 1, 7.30pm Sunday 12th, 9th and 16th February
A short series focuses on Behan's writing and spoken words:
Sunday 12th February: Brendan Behan's New York is his posthumously published book, transcribed from recordings by Behan recounting stories around the city he loved. On its publication it was described as A big broth of a book, full of the late author's wit and charm'. The programme features actor David Herlihy (who himself performed in a milestone Borstal Boy production directed by Joe Dowling) with a jazz soundtrack contemporary to the period in which Behan spent time in New York.
Sunday 19th February: A focus on the poetry of Brendan Behan or Breand n Beach in as he called himself when he wrote in Irish. The poems are read by actor Br d N Neachtain (who plays the role of the post-mistress in The Banshees of Inisherin) and Behan's nephew and literary academic Colbert Kearney.
Sunday 26th February: Behan's classic short story The Confirmation Suit was as though written to be read aloud with its rhythms and musicality. This coming-of-age story is set in Behan's inner-city Dublin where he grew up. The 12-year-old narrator is approaching his coming-of-age sacrament of confirmation only to be dashed by the prospect of wearing the dowdy suit that has been made for him for the occasion. The story is specially performed for this programme by Dublin poet and spoken word artist Stephen James Smith.
An C inne D na: RnaG, 6.30 pm Sunday 5th February
As we approach the centenary anniversary of Brendan Behan's birth on 9 February, Des Geraghty joins Tristan Rosenstock on An C inne D na to discuss the significance of Behan's Irish-language writing.
>>>ONLINE
To mark this special occasion, RT has created a dedicated Brendan Behan themed index www.rte.ie/brendan-behan/ which also features on RT Culture. It offers the perfect destination for a rich variety of Behan-related material and includes a range of programming mentioned above. The wider Behan family also features, including Behan's brothers Brian and Dominic, also writers, his mother Kathleen Behan, a renowned singer, and Brendan Behan's wife, painter Beatrice Behan (Salkeld). This site dedicated to all things Behan will be curated throughout the year and is one to watch for all Brendan Behan fans.
Commenting RT 's Group Head, Arts and Culture, Ann-Marie Power said: Behan became one of Dublin's most recognizable citizens, adoring city life, and one of the West End's and Broadway's most famous playwrights and celebrities. Notably, he is among few Irish writers whose command of and flair for language found such fluency in Irish and in English. The titles of Brendan Behan's the The Quare Fellow, The Hostage and Borstal Boy and stand assuredly alongside other seminal works of 20th century Irish literature, including those of James Joyce, Elizabeth Bowen, Samuel Beckett, and Mary Lavin, although Behan's personal life and struggles sometimes overshadow his writing talent.
Now, in Celebrating the Centenary of Brendan Behan RT offers a breath of new and RT Archive programmes across television, radio and online going beyond the persona and crude stereotype by focusing on the quality of his work, his powerful interpretations of the society of his day and his place in Irish culture.'
For more visit www.rte.ie/brendan-behan/ and www.rte.ie/Culture
>>>ADDITIONAL DETAILS: TELEVISION
Nationwide: RT One, 7pm, Wednesday 8 February
Presenter Anne Cassin looks back on the life and work of B
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
RT Celebrates Brendan Behan's 100th birthday
