Athena Media’s Herosongs series has been shortlisted for the prestigious Celtic Media Awards 2014. Episode 6 of Herosongs, The Female Herosongs is up for best Music Programme.
Athena Media produced this eight part documentary series for RTÉ Radio 1 with the funding support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Throughout the series, presenter Therese McIntyre, a singer and academic, traces the journey of ballads from the 16th century to today and explores how they shape or distort our understanding of history, real events and real people like Henry Joy McCracken in 1798 or Jim Larkin in 1913.
In this episode of Herosongs, Therese looks at the songs about female ‘heroes’ including ‘Óro Sé Do Bheatha Bhaile’ about sea warrior Granuaile and the song ‘Grace’ about Grace Gifford, the Irish artist and activist who married Joseph Plunkett, one of the signatories of the proclamation in 1916. We hear from singers Iarla Ó’Lionaird and Frances Black who take us through the song ‘Magdalen Laundry’ and Grace Gifford’s grandniece Honor Ó Brolcháin shares her family story, while Granuaile biographer Anne Chambers gives an insight into the real Grace O’Malley.