RT marks Battle of the Somme centenary

RT marks Battle of the Somme centenary To mark the centenary of The Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, RT will offer a week-long and comprehensive range of coverage across television, radio, mobile and online.

On television, RT will tomorrow bring live coverage of the international commemoration ceremony at Thiepval Memorial in France, marking the 100TH anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. Presented by David McCullagh, the programme starts at 10.30am on RT One and RT News Now. At 7pm on RT One, Nationwide - At 7pm on RT One, My Adopted Soldier is a special hour-long documentary presented by Eileen Magnier, which offers a unique perspective on the commemorations as it follows a group of a second-level students from all 32 counties who collaborated to pay tribute to soldiers from their home county. RT News will provide reports across the week, commencing with reports from European Editor Tony Connolly live at Thiepval Memorial in France on the day.

Across the day tomorrow, RT Radio 1 will air five special short features; from the National Museum, a German machine gun; from the National Archives on line, a soldiers will; from St Patrick s Cathedral, Dublin, the regimental colours of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, second battalion; from the Dublin City Archives, family letters of the Gunnings; from an attic in a Dublin suburb, a fading photograph. Each piece is two minutes long and they will be broadcast across the schedule tomorrow.

Coverage will continue on RT Radio 1. Dr. Timothy Bowman, senior lecturer in modern British military history from University of Kent, and Diarmaid Ferriter, Professor of Modern Irish History in UCD, join Sean O'Rourke live on Today with Se n O'Rourke. On RT Raidi na Gaeltachta, dar Cainte at 5 pm will include a radio essay about the Battle of the Somme by Alan Titley.

Later, on Arena at 7pm, a special programme will feature Frank McGuinness on his 1985 play Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching to the Somme; poet Gerry Dawe, editor of Earth Voices Whispering, and art historian imear O'Connor; and there will be live poetry and diary readings from actor Peter Hanly and songs from Lisa Lambe and Simon Morgan.

On Sunday 3rd July, Bowman: Sunday 8.30 will speak with veterans about the reasons the Irish went to the Great War and conditions at the front. Paddy Harte will discuss how the battle was forgotten in the Republic for eighty years and Tom Kettle, economist, poet and nationalist, who died at the Somme, will be remembered by his friends.

On RT One on Monday July 4 at 10.35pm, Heroes of the Somme will use original archive from the Western Front to uncover the stories of seven of the men whose remarkable bravery in 1916 won them the Victoria Cross, Britain s most prized military medal.

On Saturday July 9, there will be live coverage of the large-scale event at National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin, commemorating the Irish dead of the Battle of the Somme, presented by Bryan Dobson. At 11am on Sunday July 10, the National Day of Commemoration, RT One and RT News Now will feature live coverage from the Royal Hospital Kilmainham of the annual military ceremony and multi-faith service. President Higgins will lay a wreath in honour of all Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations. Introduced by John Bowman and Mary Kennedy.

The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. It began on 1 July 1916 in the high expectation of a decisive victory that would bring the war to an end. By the time it petered out in the rain and snow of the following November, more than one million soldiers from both sides had been killed or wounded without making any appreciable change in the opening positions. Among the dead were over 3,500 Irish soldiers. From the outset of the battle severe casualties were suffered by the 36th Ulster Division, drawn almost entirely from the unionist community of the Ulster province. The beginning of September saw the 16th Irish Division, drawn mainly from the other three provinces, suffering over 4,000 casualties, of whom 1,200 were killed. Added to these casualties were the Irish soldiers who fought in other divisions in the regular army or in newly raised battalions.

RT Archives is hosting a number of archival clips relating to the Battle of the Somme:

http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1011-ireland-and-the-great-war/1013-in-action/315243-emmet-dalton-recalls-the-somme/

http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1011-ireland-and-the-great-war/1013-in-action/316137-the-irish-brigades-in-the-first-world-war/

http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1011-ireland-and-the-great-war/1017-aftermath/315391-ulster-veterans-leave-for-commemoration/

For more on RT content marking the Battle of the Somme Centenary, visit www.rte.ie and follow @rtenews on Twitter and @rte and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Ends

For more information please contact:

Joseph Hoban, joseph.hoban@rte.ie, 086 8128662

LINK:	http://www.rte.ie/about/en/press-office/press-releases/2016/0630/79933...
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