The RTE Radio 1 Synge Season, which begins tomorrow (see highlights below) and runs until next Sunday, celebrates the life work of Irish playwright John Millington Synge (1871-1909) and marks the 90th anniversary of his death. The drama initiative involves more than 50 actors and directors, including Garry Hynes and Laurence Foster, broadcasting Synge's eight plays, each of which is accompanied by a talk. There are six new productions and two from the archives - Riders to the Sea from 1948 featuring Maire O'Neill (broadcast on Friday, 10 p.m.) and The Well of Saints from 1989 (broadcast next Sunday, 8 p.m.). To coincide with the festival Bosco Hogan reads excerpts from The Aran Islands, Synge's travel accounts written in four books from material gathered on the islands between 1899 and 1902, in The Book on One each weekday at 2.45 p.m.
TOMAS LALLY'S first documentary, Cats and Dog Collars, about priesthood, friendship and the famed Maynooth "cat", is The Documentary on One (RTE Radio 1, 7.05 p.m., Wednesday). Lally focuses on three men who studied for the priesthood in St Patrick's College, Maynooth - Dr Michael Neary the Archbishop of Tuam, Father Padraic Standun, author of Ag Siul le Breith and Paddy Greally, who was ordained, but is now married - all of whom received "cats" and were disciplined for some serious offence.
Peter Snow is back with Random Edition (BBC Radio 4, 11 a.m., Monday) spinning his gizmo and stopping off in April, 1739 when Dick Turpin's heroic status was rapidly developing.
KERRY Senior Football Manager, Paidi O Se, former Kerry captain and holder of a record eight All-Ireland Senior football winner's medals, talks to Colm Keane in A Cut Above the Rest (RTE Radio 1, 7.05 p.m., Friday).