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

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

#Broadcast DateTitleNarrator
117 April 1978Wool SpinningSeamus Ó Catháin
23 July 1981Irish PatchworkSeamus Ó Catháin
311 April 1983Irish LaceMairead Reynolds
411 May 1989Irish EmbroideryLinda Ballard
518 March 1980Donegal Weavers[6]Ray McAnally
619 June 1981Dublin Woolen MillRay McAnally
724 April 1979Donegal CarpetsRay McAnally
815 May 1979TailorBenedict Kiely
94 March 1985English SilkAlec Taylor
101 May 1978Carriage BuildingSeamus Ó Catháin
111980 Cavan CabinetmakersBenedict Kiely
125 June 1981Cavan CooperRay McAnally
1311 March 1980Chair Maker John SurlisBenedict Kiely
141988 Dublin's Viking LongshipÉamonn Mac Thomáis
151989 Harp MakingMícheál Ó Súilleabháin
161983HurlmakingDiarmaid Ó Muirithe
171991 Irish Spinning Wheel MakingBen Kiely
181988 Shannon One DesignBen Kiely
191980 Carley's Bridge PotteriesRay McAnally
201987Belleek PotteriesBenedict Kiely
211983 Clay Pipe WorksDiarmuid Ó Muirithe
221980A Dublin SilversmithÉamonn Mac Thomáis
231989Powers of the MetalDiarmuid Ó Muirithe
241981 StoneÉamonn Mac Thomáis
251983 Dublin's WorkhorsesÉamonn Mac Thomáis
261979Shoe MakingRay McAnally
271981 A Dublin BookbinderDr. Maurice Craig
2830 May 1983The SaddlerBrian McSharry
291978CurraghsSeamus Ó Catháin
301989 RushworkSeamus Ó Catháin
311978 BasketmakingAndy O'Mahony
321981 Wexford ThatcherDiarmuid Ó Muirithe
331980 Fermanagh CountryBenedict Kiely
341978 StonegroundAndy O’Mahony
351982 A Dublin CandlemakerÉamonn Mac Thomáis
361983 Of Bees & Bee SkepsDiarmuid Ó Muirithe
371989 Lighthouse Crafts[7][8]Dick Warner

Legacy

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.

References

  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.
  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. 1 2 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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