7 Days (Ireland)
Encyclopedia
7 Days was a Radio Telefís Éireann
current affairs
programme presented by Brian Farrell
, Brian Cleeve
and John O'Donoghue and broadcast in Ireland from 1966 until 1976.
as a replacement for the existing programme Sixty Six. It was developed at a time when the station was expanding its current affairs programming. New innovations included having TD
s and senators from all parties giving their opinions on Dáil proceedings instead of the political correspondents of the daily newspapers. Broadcast live on Monday evenings between 8:45pm and 9:15pm, it quickly became RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme. Seven Days was broadcast for the first time on 26 September 1966.
and Brian Farrell
were the first presenters of Seven Days. All three had earlier worked on Telefís Éireann's first current affairs programme Broadsheet
in the early sixties.
, Ted Nealon
, Bill O'Herlihy
and Paddy Gallagher.
In 1968, it was announced that the current affairs programme, which often tackled subjects of public controversy in a forthright manner, was to be moved to the News Division
within RTÉ. This led to a threatened strike and ultimately to the resignation of several of the programme's presenters.
7 Days was the first home-produced programme to be shown in colour by RTÉ, although colour transmissions of imports predated it.
voted to establish a tribunal of inquiry regarding a 7 Days piece on money-lenders. The programme, which was filmed in part with hidden cameras and microphones, claimed that illegal moneylending was causing misery and that the State was not responding to it. The tribunal's terms of reference were:
The tribunal concluded that the programme content had been exaggerated, although earlier claims that participants had been bribed with alcohol to respond to questions in a certain way were found to be untrue. Following the tribunal's report, comments critical of the manner of its establishment and the implications of the tribunal's conclusions were made in the Dáil on 25 February 1971 and 9 March 1971 by, among others, Barry Desmond
and Garret FitzGerald
.
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
programme presented by Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell is an Irish author, journalist, academic & broadcaster.-Early life:Although born in Manchester, England, Farrell moved to Dublin, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated in Ireland at , Dublin, University College Dublin and Harvard University in the United States...
, Brian Cleeve
Brian Cleeve
Brian Brendon Talbot Cleeve was a prolific writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish father and English mother, he was born and raised in England...
and John O'Donoghue and broadcast in Ireland from 1966 until 1976.
Background
Seven Days was created by RTÉRTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
as a replacement for the existing programme Sixty Six. It was developed at a time when the station was expanding its current affairs programming. New innovations included having TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
s and senators from all parties giving their opinions on Dáil proceedings instead of the political correspondents of the daily newspapers. Broadcast live on Monday evenings between 8:45pm and 9:15pm, it quickly became RTÉ's flagship current affairs programme. Seven Days was broadcast for the first time on 26 September 1966.
Presenters
John O'Donoghue, Brian CleeveBrian Cleeve
Brian Brendon Talbot Cleeve was a prolific writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish father and English mother, he was born and raised in England...
and Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell is an Irish author, journalist, academic & broadcaster.-Early life:Although born in Manchester, England, Farrell moved to Dublin, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated in Ireland at , Dublin, University College Dublin and Harvard University in the United States...
were the first presenters of Seven Days. All three had earlier worked on Telefís Éireann's first current affairs programme Broadsheet
Broadsheet (Irish TV series)
Broadsheet was a Telefís Éireann television current affairs programme presented by John O'Donoghue, Brian Cleeve, and Brian Farrell and broadcast in Ireland live on weekday evenings from 1962 to 1963.-Background:...
in the early sixties.
Rebranding
In 1967 the programme was merged with another current affairs programme, Division, and rebranded as 7 Days. As a result of this amalgamation the team of presenters was expanded to include David ThornleyDavid Thornley
David Thornley was an Irish Labour Party politician and university professor at Trinity College, Dublin.-Political career:...
, Ted Nealon
Ted Nealon
Ted Nealon is a former Irish Fine Gael politician and journalist. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a Teachta Dála for Sligo-Leitrim, and was re-elected at each subsequent general election until he retired from politics at the 1997 general election.He served as...
, Bill O'Herlihy
Bill O'Herlihy
Bill O'Herlihy is an Irish sports broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He also heads one of Ireland's largest public relations firms.-Bill's life:...
and Paddy Gallagher.
In 1968, it was announced that the current affairs programme, which often tackled subjects of public controversy in a forthright manner, was to be moved to the News Division
RTÉ News
RTÉ News and Current Affairs , is a major division of Raidió Teilifís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. It is, by far, the largest and most popular news source in Ireland - with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main...
within RTÉ. This led to a threatened strike and ultimately to the resignation of several of the programme's presenters.
7 Days was the first home-produced programme to be shown in colour by RTÉ, although colour transmissions of imports predated it.
Tribunal of Inquiry
In December 1969 the OireachtasOireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
voted to establish a tribunal of inquiry regarding a 7 Days piece on money-lenders. The programme, which was filmed in part with hidden cameras and microphones, claimed that illegal moneylending was causing misery and that the State was not responding to it. The tribunal's terms of reference were:
- That the allegation of the use of strong-arm methods by unlicensed moneylenders was unfounded
- That the numbers and scale of illegal moneylenders operating in the country were far less than those suggested by the programme
- That the statements made in the programme purporting to be confessions by moneylenders as to strong-arm debt recovery tactics were entirely valueless
The tribunal concluded that the programme content had been exaggerated, although earlier claims that participants had been bribed with alcohol to respond to questions in a certain way were found to be untrue. Following the tribunal's report, comments critical of the manner of its establishment and the implications of the tribunal's conclusions were made in the Dáil on 25 February 1971 and 9 March 1971 by, among others, Barry Desmond
Barry Desmond
Barry Desmond is a former Irish Labour Party politician and government minister.He was educated at the Presentation Brothers, the School of Commerce and University College Cork, and became a trade union official with the ITGWU and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions...
and Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
.
Sources
- Dowling, Jack & Doolan, Lelia. Sit Down and Be Counted: The Cultural Evolution of a Television Station. Wellington Publishers (1969)
- Horgan, JohnJohn Horgan (academic)John S. Horgan is the Press Ombudsman in the Republic of Ireland. An author and former Labour Party politician who served from 1969 to 1981 as a senator and then as a Teachta Dála , he was Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University before taking up the ombudsman post in 2007.- Political...
. Broadcasting and Public Life: RTÉ News and Current Affairs 1926-1997. Four Courts Press (2004). ISBN 1-85182-839-7
External links
- Clip of 7 Days from 1967 (Windows Media PlayerWindows Media PlayerWindows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
). Report on a public meeting about the Irish languageIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, featuring Brian CleeveBrian CleeveBrian Brendon Talbot Cleeve was a prolific writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish father and English mother, he was born and raised in England...
and John O'Donoghue. - Excerpt of 7 Days from 1969 taken from the 1960s section of RTÉ's Libraries and Archives Web Site (RealMediaRealMediaRealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks. Its extension is ".rm". It is typically used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio and is used for streaming content over the Internet....
). Opening credits and John O'Donoghue on personal debt. - Excerpt from 1971 taken from the 1970s section of the same web site (RealMediaRealMediaRealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks. Its extension is ".rm". It is typically used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio and is used for streaming content over the Internet....
). Opening credits and John O'Donoghue on the first Section 31 directive issued to RTÉ. - Dáil motion to create a tribunal of inquiry, 16 December 1969
- Seanad motion to create a tribunal of inquiry, 17 December 1969
- Dáil Éireann - 25 February, 1971
- Dáil Éireann - 09 March, 1971
- OPEN – One Parent Exchange and Network publication "Do the poor pay more?" PDF document, at page 34
- Conversations with Eamon Dunphy - Bill O'Herlihy, 9 February 2008 MP3 file, beginning at 5 minutes 55 seconds.