Description of impact
Consultant for RTÉ for the programme on the Noble Peace Prize winner, John Hume, for the “Ireland’s Greatest” series (which Hume subsequently won the national public vote for).Who is affected
General public in both jurisdictions of IrelandNarrative
"I was Series Producer and Director on the RTE TV documentary series, 'Ireland's Greatest', based on the original BBC 'Great Britons' format. The core aim of the series was to bring history & the impact of human achievement to a wide, popular audience. We were very lucky that Peter McLoughlin agreed to be the consultant on our documentary about John Hume for this series. By necessity television requires brevity, but more than ever in this climate it also demands accuracy & fairness. We needed to summarise the achievements of John Hume's entire political career in a mere 52 minutes, and it was vital that the points we made, the events we featured and the social & political context we placed them in were not just factually correct but also fair & well-considered within the scope of modern Irish history. For this we relied heavily on Peter's research & knowledge. We initially approached Peter on the basis of his published work, John Hume and the Revision of Irish Nationalism, but we were also lucky to benefit from his valuable personal time and insight. The TV series, which attracted very high ratings, pitted John Hume against icons such as Michael Collins, Mary Robinson, James Connolly & Bono in a public vote to find a person worthy of the title 'Ireland's Greatest', a vote which John Hume ultimately won. I have no doubt that Peter's presence as a consultant helped Mr Hume's cause and greatly enhanced the quality of the finished documentary. (Gerry Hoban, Series Producer and Director on the RTE TV).| Impact status | Completed |
|---|---|
| Impact date | 2010 |
| Category of impact | Public Service Impact, Cultural Impact, Societial Impact |
| Impact level | Engagement |