Press

Dunnes Stores Documentary wins Radharc Award for TG4

21.10.16

The winner, Torthaí na Daoirse, tells the story of the controversial Dunnes Stores strike 1984-86.  This bitter dispute centred around the actions of Mary Manning, a 21 year old worker at the supermarket in Henry Street, Dublin, that brought her and some of her co-workers into conflict with her employers and was critised by both employers and some unions as well.

In compliance with a directive from her own union, Ms Manning refused to register the sale of an Outspan grapefruit from South Africa, a country whose apartheid policies had resulte in wide condemnation and trade sanctions. This documentary recalls and  exposes the bitter rivalry that escalated between the parties concerned as the eyes of the world shone on the strikers in their fight against apartheid.

Many years later, during his visit to Ireland, Nelson Mandela met with the strikers and expressed his gratitude for their solidarity, something that had heartened him while serving his long jail sentence, he said.

Participants in this programme include: Mary Manning, Áine Ní Éalaí, Ben Dunne, Brendan Archbold, Brendan Ryan, Des Geraghty, Bishop Desmond Tutu  and Finian McGrath, TD.

The winning documentary was produced for TG4 by Ferndale Films and received support from the BAI Sound and Vision scheme and from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board.

The Radharc Awards are one of Ireland’s most coveted audio-visual prizes for factual content.  Established to honour the pioneering Radharc  team of priest-producers who made over 600 film documentaries broadcast and widely praised in the early decades of Irish television, they are awarded every other year.   The winner of the main award at the last prize-giving in 2014 was also a TG4 commissioned work.