Ireland in the 80s: The Full Picture | Media, TV and Radio
How did Ireland see and hear itself in the 1980s?
Broadcaster Rick O’Shea and Professor Kevin Rafter of Dublin City University explore a decade of change in Irish television and radio: the programmes and personalities that had the country talking, and the role broadcasting played in public and political life.
Inspired by the National Library of Ireland’s exhibition at the National Photographic Archive, Temple Bar, marking 40 years since Live Aid, 'Ireland in the 80s: The Full Picture' takes a fresh look at the decade.
Rick O'Shea presents RTÉ's arts show Arena on RTÉ Radio 1.
Kevin Rafter is Full Professor of Political Communication at DCU and author of the bestselling and acclaimed Fearless! (2026), a history of Magill magazine and Ireland in the 1980s. He was previously a leading broadcast and political journalist with RTÉ and the Irish Times, among other media outlets. He has chaired the Arts Council and Culture Ireland, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Boston College in 2024.
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