How To Behave In Church in Ireland 1967

A humorous look at how some worshippers behave or misbehave in church.

By highlighting poor behaviour observed amongst church-goers, ’Radharc’ offers an entertaining take on appropriate conduct for church.

Parishioners are shown arriving late, blessing themselves incorrectly, praying too loudly, standing at the back of the church, or even chatting and smoking outside the church itself.

Of course no-one ever behaves like this in your church. But just make sure to keep it that way, not a place for bad manners and distraction but a place for reverence and prayer.

‘Radharc’, a series specialising in religious programming, was produced for RTÉ by Radharc, an independent production company run by Catholic priests and lay staff. ‘Radharc’ can be translated to English as ‘view’ or ‘panorama’.

Co-founders Fr Joe Dunn and Fr Desmond Forristal who had received training in television production in New York in 1959 gathered around them a team of like minded priests with creative talent.

The ‘Radharc’ team made their first production in 1960 in Donegal, a short film about customs relating to St Brigid’s Day. The first programme in the ‘Radharc’ series for RTÉ was broadcast on 12 January 1962.

Between 1961 and 1996 the ‘Radharc’ team would produce over 400 films in Ireland and 75 countries worldwide. The films dealt with human rights, injustice, faith, religion, persecution, struggles against oppressive regimes, famine, and Christian heritage.

The popular series ended production in 1996 after the death of Fr Joe Dunn.

This episode of ‘Radharc’ was broadcast on 15 September 1967.