Documentary on One - RTÉ Documentaries

Free from the constraints of working life, retirement is the time to start embracing a new-found freedom and enjoying your life. Growing old should be celebrated; seen as a chance to explore new interests and embark on adventures. The world is your oyster so time to start ticking off that bucket list. (1993)

Mairead is excited about making her First Communion with all her school friends. But for her non-practising Catholic parents, Anne and Joe, it's not so simple as they navigate their way through this Irish tradition. (2014)

Hugh Lane amassed a collection of pictures with his brilliant eye for art. A man whose life was surrounded by the sort of controversy which was only equalled by his untimely death onboard the Lusitania in 1915. The fate of 39 paintings has been a bone of contention between British and Irish governments that still remains unsolved. (1980)

Being a shy person is often seen as something that you will overcome as you get older. Many introverts feel that there is something wrong with them. Being an introvert is perfectly normal and defining it as something you lack doesn't seem fair. Pauline Dunne decided to challenge the common perceptions. Think you know introverts, think again!

Cistercian bells have been ringing across Europe since 1098. This religious order created the continent's first farmlands. In 1998, they celebrated 900 yrs of prayer and farming. Arriving in Ireland in 1142, their architecture is seen in the picturesque ruins of their abbeys. What influence did they have on economic life in medieval Ireland?

Fr. Pat Noise died when his carriage plunged into the Liffey in 1919. His death is commemorated by a plaque on O'Connell Bridge, installed without permission by a mysterious group. This was also where the Millennium Clock was lowered into the Liffey before disappearing after a few months. Was it coincidental that both events happened at this spot?

Since its foundation in 1988, the Dublin International Piano Competition has grown in stature and now ranks among the most important piano competitions in the world. Previous winners acknowledge the role it has had on their careers. The success of this event relies on the generosity of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes. (1997)

In August of 2006 a small group of anti-war demonstrators from Derry in Northern Ireland took on the might of a multi-billion dollar US defence and weapons contractor with ties to some of the most powerful countries in the world. The protesters faced serious consequences for their actions (2017).

Dr Moosajee Bhamjee became the first Muslim TD in Dáil Éireann when he was elected as a Labour deputy for Clare in 1992. Bhamjee was born in South Africa in 1947, he settled in Ireland in the 1970s after studying medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons where he met his future wife, Claire. What attracted this psychiatrist to Irish Politics?

In 1836, Dubliner James F O’Connell published a book which told of his incredible life story. Shipwrecked on the remote Pacific Island of Pohnpei, he was forcibly tattooed about the body by natives. Eventually escaping, he landed in New York and quickly gained fame. O’Connell is fêted as the first man to publicly display tattoos in America (2017)

The intensity of Flamenco music is brought to life in the town of St. John's in Newfoundland by the members of El Viento Flamenco troupe. Each member brings a flavour of their own musical influences to this traditional art form which gives their performances an added twist. What attracted these artists to the Flamenco genre? (2000)

An Exclusive - Recorded over the last year, this is the incredible story which began last Christmas Eve just as Santa arrived into Ireland and Blitzen, one of his reindeers got badly injured.

Douamour climbs into a small fishing boat to travel across the open sea to the Island of Mayotte - a lesser-known Southern border of the EU. The stretch of water around Mayotte has been described as "the widest cemetery in the world" – thousands have died when their boats capsized. Why is Douamour making this treacherous journey? (2017)

A journey through the boroughs of London city meeting Irish people who left their home to seek fortune in this bright and fast-moving metropolitan. London offers many young Irish a life of opportunity and adventure. But, at this time of year, the city can be a lonely place for those who cannot make it back home for Christmas. (1985)

Niamh has decided to turn over a new leaf for Christmas: she has decided to give up shoplifting. This time of year, it's no easy task - the festive season turns a tidy profit. Niamh wants to go straight for her grandson. She wants him to know her, not as someone with a "five-finger discount” but instead as a local Facebook celebrity and a poet.