Ri an Fhocail and Mairtin O Cadhain Sa GCnocan Glas

Ri an Fhocail and Mairtin O Cadhain sa gCnocan Glas are two programmes now available on DVD which celebrate the life and work of the writer Mairtin O Cadhain, published in conjunction with RTE. In 2006 RTE commissioned the programme Ri an Fhocail to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Mairtin O Cadhain, one of the greatest Irish writers of modern times. The programme, produced by Sean O Cualain and Mac Dara O Curraidhin, explores O Cadhain's writing and places it in the context of his own life and times. It includes interviews with writers Micheal O Conghaile, Joe Steve O Neachtain and Louis de Paor, and also features dramatic interpretations of extracts from his work as well as archive footage. Ri an Fhocail was first broadcast in September 2006 and received the award for best Irish language television programme at the Irish Film and Television Awards 2007 and best arts programme at the Celtic Film Festival 2006. Mairtin O Cadhain sa gCnocan Glas presents a more personal portrait of O Cadhain. The programme, first broadcast in 1967 and now remastered by RTE Libraries and Archives, was recorded west of Spiddal in An Cnocan Glas where he grew up. O Cadhain is the guide and introduces the viewer to the places of his youth, the people of his home, their lifestyle and their language; the many influences which helped to shape his life and work. He states several times in the programme that his stories are those of these people and their lives, and explains the strength of their influence on his work. He says that when he sat down to write, the people of Cois Fharraige, the Irish-speaking area west of Galway city, were always in his mind, coming between him and the paper, imposing themselves on the paper whether he liked it or not because he was part of that group of people and they were part of him. Both films are in Irish with English subtitles.