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Hands (TV series)

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Hands
Title card
GenreDocumentary, biography
Written byBenedict Kiely
Ray McAnally
Directed byDavid Shaw-Smith
Narrated byBenedict Kiely
ComposersJolyon Jackson, Paddy Glacken, Matt Molloy
Country of originRepublic of Ireland
Original languagesEnglish, Irish
No. of episodes37
Production
ProducerDavid Shaw-Smith
Running time24–27 minutes
Original release
NetworkRTÉ1
Release1978 (1978) –
1989 (1989)
Related
  • In Good Hands

Hands was an Irish television documentary series broadcast by RTÉ between 1978 and 1989, covering traditional Irish crafts.[1][2][3][4]

Production

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Creator David Shaw-Smith began with Telefís Éireann in the 1960s, working as a cameraman with Gerrit van Gelderen and became an independent filmmaker in the early 1970s. he and his wife Sally, an illustrator, travelled Ireland in a VW van recording traditional craftsmen.[5]

Episode list

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# Broadcast date Title Narrator
1 17 April 1978 Wool Spinning Seamus Ó Catháin
2 3 July 1981 Irish Patchwork Seamus Ó Catháin
3 11 April 1983 Irish Lace Mairead Reynolds
4 11 May 1989 Irish Embroidery Linda Ballard
5 18 March 1980 Donegal Weavers[6] Ray McAnally
6 19 June 1981 Dublin Woolen Mill Ray McAnally
7 24 April 1979 Donegal Carpets Ray McAnally
8 15 May 1979 Tailor Benedict Kiely
9 4 March 1985 English Silk Alec Taylor
10 1 May 1978 Carriage Building Seamus Ó Catháin
11 1980 Cavan Cabinetmakers Benedict Kiely
12 5 June 1981 Cavan Cooper Ray McAnally
13 11 March 1980 Chair Maker John Surlis Benedict Kiely
14 1988 Dublin's Viking Longship Éamonn Mac Thomáis
15 1989 Harp Making Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
16 1983 Hurlmaking Diarmaid Ó Muirithe
17 1991 Irish Spinning Wheel Making Ben Kiely
18 1988 Shannon One Design Ben Kiely
19 1980 Carley's Bridge Potteries Ray McAnally
20 1987 Belleek Potteries Benedict Kiely
21 1983 Clay Pipe Works Diarmuid Ó Muirithe
22 1980 A Dublin Silversmith Éamonn Mac Thomáis
23 1989 Powers of the Metal Diarmuid Ó Muirithe
24 1981 Stone Éamonn Mac Thomáis
25 1983 Dublin's Workhorses Éamonn Mac Thomáis
26 1979 Shoe Making Ray McAnally
27 1981 A Dublin Bookbinder Dr. Maurice Craig
28 30 May 1983 The Saddler Brian McSharry
29 1978 Curraghs Seamus Ó Catháin
30 1989 Rushwork Seamus Ó Catháin
31 1978 Basketmaking Andy O'Mahony
32 1981 Wexford Thatcher Diarmuid Ó Muirithe
33 1980 Fermanagh Country Benedict Kiely
34 1978 Stoneground Andy O’Mahony
35 1982 A Dublin Candlemaker Éamonn Mac Thomáis
36 1983 Of Bees & Bee Skeps Diarmuid Ó Muirithe
37 1989 Lighthouse Crafts[7][8] Dick Warner

Legacy

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Hands has been described as one of "Ireland’s favourite" television programs, and has been rebroadcast several times to the extent that it is one of the "most broadcast" RTÉ productions.[9][10]

Harvey O'Brien, in his The Real Ireland: The Evolution of Ireland in Documentary Film (2004), said "The series was marked by its close-up observation of the techniques involved, and though lacking an explicit social commentary always gave the sense that these skills were gradually disappearing.".[11]

For over 20 years, the original film sat in tea chests in a barn in Creagh, County Mayo. In March 2013 archivists packed all 1,800 film cans into storage containers and brought them to the RTÉ Archives.[10]

In 2013, it was revisited in the series In Good Hands (TV series).[12]

From Christmas 2021 all programmes online at RTE Player to celebrate 60 Years of Television.[clarification needed]

References

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  1. ^ O'Brien, Harvey (22 March 2018). The Real Ireland: The Evolution of Ireland in Documentary Film. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719069079 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Old hands at film-making". The Irish Times.
  3. ^ Byrne, Terry (1 January 1997). Power in the Eye: An Introduction to Contemporary Irish Film. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810832961 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "BM/E's World Broadcast News". Broadband Information Services. 1 May 1982 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "About - Hands".
  6. ^ "Donegal Weavers Are 'In Good Hands' with New RTE Series! – Donegal Daily". www.donegaldaily.com. 16 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Hands Series - Cottageology - Irish Cottages & Culture". 5 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Others - Hands".
  9. ^ McLysaght, Emer (4 August 2013). "What's the greatest episode of Irish television, ever?". The Daily Edge.
  10. ^ a b Cummins, Steve (5 April 2012). "RTÉ Revisits 'Hands' Series, GMarsh Begin Production". The Irish Film & Television Network.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Harvey (22 March 2018). The Real Ireland: The Evolution of Ireland in Documentary Film. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719069079 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "Watch In Good Hands on RTÉ Player". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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