Cathal O'Shannon Obituary

CDfm

A teenager when he ran away from home to fight the Nazi's he made and narrated some of the best Irish Historical Documentaries including "Even the Olives are Bleeding" about the Irish in the Spanish Civil War.

The former RTÉ journalist and filmmaker Cathal O'Shannon has passed away. He was 83.
Cathal O'Shannon - Terry Wogan described him as possibly Ireland's greatest television journalist




Mr O'Shannon flew with the RAF during World War II - having joined with a forged baptismal certificate aged 16 - and later became a reporter with The Irish Times.
He also worked on the paper's London desk, where he met and married the love of his life, Patsy.
He was a journalist and documentary maker with RTÉ, filming the first deployment of Irish troops overseas on a UN mission to the Congo, among many other works.
But it is as a television presenter he is perhaps best remembered.
Terry Wogan described him as possibly Ireland's greatest television journalist and programmes - such as his interview with Muhammad Ali - became iconic pieces of television.
Among his other notable achievements was the Spanish Civil War documentary Even the Olives are Bleeding.
Paying tribute, Noel Curran, Director-General RTÉ, said: "Cathal O'Shannon has passed away almost on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the inception of Irish television broadcasting. He was without question one of the foremost talents of these first 50 years, with a combination of remarkable gifts.
"He could handle local Irish stories with charm, grasp major historical themes in longer documentary form, and in all forms and on all occasions he spoke to the viewer through the camera with remarkable ease and facility.
"He was, both on camera and in person, one of the most persuasive and gifted presenters ever to work with and on RTÉ. All of his present and former colleagues join in tribute to his major and singular contribution to our broadcasting. May he and his beloved Patsy rest in peace."
Glen Killane, Managing Director of RTÉ Television, said: "Cathal O'Shannon's contribution to RTÉ Television included some of the great moments in the RTÉ documentary and factual schedule over the past five decades, such as Emmet Dalton Remembers, Thou Shalt Not Kill, Rebellion and more recently his revisits to the Irish experience in World War II in Who Was Gunner Mason and the two-parter Ireland's Nazis. His seminal piece was by his own and many others' reckoning Even the Olives are Bleeding, in 1976, capturing both the Irish experience in the Spanish Civil War and the broader nature of that very bitter conflict.
"Cathal's talent was also measured in more than domestic terms. He was chosen to be one of the frontline talents on the BBC's Tonight programme in the early 1960s when the mould of British as well as Irish broadcasting was being shaped.
"His RTÉ studio interview with Muhammad Ali in 1972 was both one of the best such encounters RTÉ ever carried and one of the most relaxed and entertaining that Ali - then perhaps the world's greatest celebrity - ever did.
"And yet Cathal was equally at home travelling the highways and byways of Ireland reporting for Broadsheet and Newsbeat in the fledgling TV service days of the 1960s. He will be fondly remembered at RTÉ Television, and greatly missed."

I hope RTE mark his passing with some reruns .

His infamous Mohommad Ali interview is here

http://www.joe.ie/news-politics/current-affairs/video-the-late-cathal-oshannon-v-muhammad-ali-0016990-1

sensibleken

Very sad to hear this. He was the best documentarian and journalist RTE has ever had. His series on famous Irish murder cases in the '90s was fantastic

CDfm

sensibleken wrote: »

Very sad to hear this. He was the best documentarian and journalist RTE has ever had. His series on famous Irish murder cases in the '90s was fantastic

I saw one of those last year on one of the crime channels and it really stood up.

He also made a documentary on Eileen Gray the Irish artisan and designer .

Fuinseog

He claimed to have joined the RAf to fight the Nazis and was not merely looking for adventure.
in any case he served in Asia where Nazis were few and far between. it was there that he fought for the glory of the British Empire so that Asian territories could be restored to their rightful owners- the British.

he served a foreign army yet was highly critical of Dutchmen who joined the German armed forces to fight communism.

CDfm

That is a tough one to call in retrospect.

Here is my take on it.

My Dad remembers the Wexford bombing as a witness/survivor and has said that the Germans dropping bombs off the east coast was a regular occurance and as a child during WWII he was not under any illusions that the Germans were in any way lovey dovey.

Those offshore bombings were a mixture of intimidation and lost or scared pilots.

Ireland could have been creamed/flattenned at any time and people were aware of it.

As O'Shannon was 16 (older than my Dad who was a child) when he enlisted and no doubt idealistic he may have had a similar take on it and his posting in the far east might have been to keep him out of keeping him out of being a danger to himself and others.

Another visitor to Britain at that time was Brendan Behan and maybe the British thought it wiser to keep them apart.

Or he might have been like Sean Deegan / Brother Columbanus

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/irish-servicemen-airbrushed-out-of-history-says-dday-veteran-481016.html

Just a thought.

Gee Bag

Fuinseog wrote: »

he served a foreign army yet was highly critical of Dutchmen who joined the German armed forces to fight communism.

Slightly different scenario, I seem to recall the German's invading small, neutral Holland and the bulk of the dutch 'volunteers' being rabid Nazi's.

Anyway, always enjoyed watching Cathal's docs. RTE could do with more people like him.

CDfm

Gee Bag wrote: »

Slightly different scenario, I seem to recall the German's invading small, neutral Holland and the bulk of the dutch 'volunteers' being rabid Nazi's.

Did he ever call them "quislings" far more effective than a Benedict Arnold.

http://www.mnc.net/norway/quisling.htm

Gee Bag

CDfm wrote: »

Did he ever call them "quislings" far more effective than a Benedict Arnold.

http://www.mnc.net/norway/quisling.htm

Don't understand the point being made in this post.

CDfm

Gee Bag wrote: »

Don't understand the point being made in this post.

Quisling was a Norweigan WWII leader who colloborated with the nazi's against his own people when they occupied Norway and entered the english language as a word for traitor collabotator.

My point being that Cathal O'Shannon could not be described as a quisling and there is a distinction between him and the Dutch nazi's.

Gee Bag

CDfm wrote: »

Quisling was a Norweigan WWII leader who colloborated with the nazi's against his own people when they occupied Norway and entered the english language as a word for traitor collabotator.

My point being that Cathal O'Shannon could not be described as a quisling and there is a distinction between him and the Dutch nazi's.

Think we have our wires crossed.

I wasn't describing him as a traitor or quisling. Someone else made the comparison that joining the RAF to fight the Nazi's was no different to dutch lads joining the Germans to fight communists. I thought that point was ludicrous.

pedroeibar1

Fuinseog wrote: »

He claimed to have joined the RAf to fight the Nazis and was not merely looking for adventure.
in any case he served in Asia where Nazis were few and far between.

C O’S served in Asia because that is where he was sent; as a very junior recruit he had no option but to do as he was told and go where ordered.

Fuinseog wrote: »

it was there that he fought for the glory of the British Empire so that Asian territories could be restored to their rightful owners- the British.

You might like to read up on the role of the Dutch and their aspirations for their territories in the area (and the subsequent role of the British); perhaps you have forgotten, too, about the French in Indochine? And the role of the Communists in Malaya, funded by Russia and China? Ever hear of the Batu Caves massacre?

Fuinseog wrote: »

he served a foreign army yet was highly critical of Dutchmen who joined the German armed forces to fight communism.

:rolleyes: Enough said
P.

slowburner

It is so sad to see the passing of such a great broadcaster from the days when broadcasters actually knew what they were talking about. Cathal O'Shannon had a wonderful ability to articulate and communicate the subject in a manner which was always clear and entertaining.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Snickers Man

Perhaps it is more seemly to wait until he is cold in his grave before embarking on a negative critique of his work.

But for what it's worth, I thought his interview with Muhammad Ali, which I remember watching at the time, was great TV. And he did a good job, which so many modern "Anchors" (is that rhyming slang?) don't do, of taking a back seat, allowing himself to be the fall guy and allowing the personality of his interviewee to come through. And what a personality!

However, I thought his self-justifying documentary on "Ireland's Nazi past" was rubbish and I said so at the time.

CDfm

Snickers Man wrote: »

However, I thought his self-justifying documentary on "Ireland's Nazi past" was rubbish and I said so at the time.

In fairness , he had been out of the business for years and if he was a rock star we would call it his "difficult" album.

He did pop up in places and I wonder if he did much voiceover/narration work ?

CDfm

Here is something I came accross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FcwXncMCB4

Fuinseog

Gee Bag wrote: »

Think we have our wires crossed.

I wasn't describing him as a traitor or quisling. Someone else made the comparison that joining the RAF to fight the Nazi's was no different to dutch lads joining the Germans to fight communists. I thought that point was ludicrous.

there were two main political ideologies at the time-communism and nazism. thousand of young Europeans from all over Europe enlisted to fight the red menace, something the allies would later spend forty years doing.

he may have claimed to have wanted to fight fascism but probably like any 16 year old was jumped at the chance to fly a plane.

losthorizon

Snickers Man wrote: »

Perhaps it is more seemly to wait until he is cold in his grave before embarking on a negative critique of his work.

But for what it's worth, I thought his interview with Muhammad Ali, which I remember watching at the time, was great TV. And he did a good job, which so many modern "Anchors" (is that rhyming slang?) don't do, of taking a back seat, allowing himself to be the fall guy and allowing the personality of his interviewee to come through. And what a personality!

However, I thought his self-justifying documentary on "Ireland's Nazi past" was rubbish and I said so at the time.

I agree totally with you I have to say and he seemed to have a big hang up about this. The point he made about not being let wear a British army uniform in Dublin in WW2 was simply stupid. A great broadcaster though. Sadly missed.

Gee Bag

Fuinseog wrote: »

there were two main political ideologies at the time-communism and nazism.

There were three major political ideologies, you seem to have forgotten about Liberal Democracy.

Robert Hand

Cathal O'Shannon had an exceptional voice and credibility until he sold out with the Ireland's Nazis series. Subsequently my brain automatically thought he was treacherous to his heritage!
Time since allows me to consider that he just sold out for money just as is now newly divulged about SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny who is NOW known to have sold out to Mossad/Zionists. Deception, Assassination and Blackmail are their Hallmarks!
On this occasion, it is now proven that it was the Irish public who were duped in spades using O'Shannon as the device to deceive.

Arsemageddon

Robert Hand wrote: »

Cathal O'Shannon had an exceptional voice and credibility until he sold out with the Ireland's Nazis series. Subsequently my brain automatically thought he was treacherous to his heritage!
Time since allows me to consider that he just sold out for money just as is now newly divulged about SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny who is NOW known to have sold out to Mossad/Zionists. Deception, Assassination and Blackmail are their Hallmarks!
On this occasion, it is now proven that it was the Irish public who were duped in spades using O'Shannon as the device to deceive.

How exactly were the Irish public duped?

Del.Monte

Manach

MOD NOTE:
As it is against boards custom to resurrect on old thread unless there is a compelling reason, then this closing this.