Pick of the week
The Last Irish Missionaries
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
The once-mighty Irish missionary movement is in decline, and in this two-part documentary series, Bryan Dobson and Dearbhail McDonald set out in search of the lesser-spotted Irish Catholic missionary, travelling around Ireland and the world to learn how the movement evolved and how it changed the religious and political landscape around the globe over the past couple of centuries. At its peak in the 1960s, the movement saw 6,000 Irish missionaries scattered to the four corners of the world, exerting huge moral and cultural influence in some of the world’s poorest countries, but now there are fewer than 450 active missionaries in the field, most of them nearing retirement age, and the ranks of new missionaries are fast dwindling. Dobson and McDonald look at the origins of the missions, when Irish abbot and evangelist Columba departed from Derry to bring the Gospel to the pagan tribes of Picts in Scotland, and how the movement grew to become a fixture of Irish life, with almost every Irish family having a son “in the missions”. They examine the positive legacy of the movement, as missionaries worked to help those affected by poverty, disease and oppression, and also the dark side, with stories of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people in remote places. Dobson and McDonald meet many former and current missionaries to get insights on the legacy of the movement, and to glean some clues as to what the future may hold for the Irish missions in an age when vocations are falling away.
Highlights
The Couple Next Door
Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
How do you follow up a dark psychological thriller in which new neighbours are caught up in a web of lust, lies and maybe even murder? Simple: just turn it into an anthology series, introducing a new foursome and a new storyline into the same street. This second series stars Sam Palladio, Annabel Scholey, Aggy K Adams and Sendhil Ramamurthy in a brand new love rectangle, with one returning cast member – Hugh Dennis as creepy neighbour Alan. Heart surgeon Charlotte (Scholey) and consultant anaesthetist Jacob (Palladio) are having a busy married life, but when their new colleague at the hospital, the mysterious Mia (Adams), moves in next door, their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Soon Mia has insinuated herself into their lives – and into their bed, but when patients at the hospital start dying, things take a darker, deadlier turn.
The Veil
Monday, RTÉ2, 10.30pm
Elisabeth Moss stars in a globe-trotting spy series written by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, and if you can get past Moss’s dodgy Brit accent, you might just enjoy this romp, which has been called a love child of Homeland and Killing Eve. Moss is MI6 operative Imogen Salter, whose special skills include adopting different identities and extricating targets from tricky situations. Her assignment is to get suspected Isis agent Aldilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan) out of a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey and get information out of her that could prevent a huge terrorist attack, but who’s on whose side? The two women soon become locked in a cat-and-mouse game where the only winners may be the dogs of war.
Mix Tape
Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Adapted from the novel by Jane Sanderson, and filmed in Sydney and Dublin, Mix Tape is a romantic drama that time-jumps between the 1980s and the present day. Teresa Palmer stars as Alison, with Jim Sturgess as Daniel, former girlfriend and boyfriend who are now living different lives on opposite sides of the world. But there’s always those classic 1980s tunes to remind them of their past romance – and one tune in particular reopens the connection between them. Is it Hungry Like the Wolf? Girls Just Wanna Have Fun? She Drives Me Crazy? You’ll just have to watch it to find out. Safe to say this effervescent four-parter will be soundtracked by lots of bangers from the era, as the action flashes back to the blossoming romance between the teenage Alison and Daniel, played by Florence Hunt and Rory Walton-Smith.
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Noraid: Irish America & the IRA
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
This two-part documentary series tells the story of the Irish-Americans who raised funds for the republican movement during the Troubles, and in the second episode, we learn about those who went beyond fundraising to play an active part in furthering the IRA’s cause, including a member of the notorious Whitey Bulger gang in south Boston. The episode also looks at how New York district attorney and Noraid spokesman Martin Galvin put pressure on US president Bill Clinton to grant a US visa to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
Home – The Story of Zak Moradi
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 10.35pm
It’s been the strangest path to GAA glory for Iraqi-born Zak Moradi. He was born in a Kurdish refugee camp in Ramadi, Iraq, in 1991, on the same day the Gulf War began, and in 2002 he and his family fled the country to settle in Ireland. Growing up in Carrick-on-Shannon, Moradi found his tribe among the Leitrim hurling community, becoming a senior hurler for the county. Now retired from GAA, Moradi takes an emotional journey into his past, recalling the challenges his family faced as they set out in search of a better life in Ireland. This documentary film is directed by Trevor Whelan, and had its premiere at the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh. “It was an honour being trusted to lead this documentary and tell Zak’s story of resilience and hope,” says Whelan.
Listen to the Land Speak
Thursday, RTÉ One, 10.10pm
Lend an ear to the landscape around you and you may hear some profound truths. That’s what Manchán Magan believes, and in this two-part series, he shows how Ireland’s rivers, mountains, lakes and valleys harbour deep knowledge and wisdom – we just have to learn how to attune ourselves to it. Magan’s journey of rediscovery will take him through four seasons, from the winter solstice through Bealtaine, Reek Sunday and Samhain, and will see him travel through some of Ireland’s most stunning scenery, beginning with his home in the ancient site of Loughcrew, Co Meath, where he recalls how he first became enamoured of ancient folklore and legend. For Magan this is a deeply personal odyssey as he deals with his own cancer diagnosis, and seeks spiritual healing by reconnecting with nature.
Streaming
The Summer I Turned Pretty
From Wednesday, July 16th, Prime Video
Get the sunblock, swimsuit and tissues ready for one last visit to Cousins Beach. Lola Tung returns as Isabel “Belly” Conklin, a teenager who just can’t seem to make up her mind. She’s locked in a puppy-love triangle with brothers Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, but now it looks as if she’s decided that Conrad is her past and Jeremiah her future. As the third and final series of the romantic teen drama begins, Belly has finished her junior year in college and is looking forward to an idyllic summer with Jeremiah. The stakes are raised when he proposes marriage, sending their moms into a bit of a tailspin. And when Conrad unexpectedly comes back on the scene, all bets are off.
Untamed
From Thursday, July 17th, Netflix
Kyle Turner is a special agent for the National Park Service, and his beat is the vast and untamed wilderness of Yosemite National Park, in California, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the US. The thousands of visitors who come here every week see only “maybe 10 per cent of the park”, Turner tells rookie park ranger Naya Vasquez, adding ominously: “Things happen different out here.” When someone is murdered in the park, Turner and Vasquez – who knows about policing in the city – must pool their disparate talents to track down a killer whose knowledge of this wilderness seems almost as good as Turner’s. Eric Bana is the gimlet-eyed Turner, with Lily Santiago as Vasquez and Sam Neill as chief park ranger Paul Souter.
