Sunday Miscellany

New writing + complementary music on RTÉ Radio 1, Irish public radio, Sunday mornings since 1968. Producer: Sarah Binchy. All queries to [email protected]

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

How would you describe a bog, to somebody who's never seen one? That's the conundrum Karen McHugh faced in France, as 'An Emigrant Bog-Dweller'. Listen to this - and all our other Writing the Bog special pieces - from 11 October on our website/RTÉ Listen @RTERadio1 @mchughkar

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

Last Sunday, 11 October, architect Emmett Scanlon explained why he was spending so much time in a midlands bog... Find out why, any time, on https://t.co/hAsLfhVTYJ or RTÉ Listen @IAFarchitecture

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"The slow creep of wet mosses…lime green, raspberry red..swallowing up pools, ferns, rushy grasses, fallen trees, tree roots. And deer with giant antlers. Blanket bog, raised bog, active bog..." finally, Claire Cotter @IAFarchitecture @IrishPeatland @UCCPeatlands @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"Recently I have been spending some time out of my city and down on the bogs of the midlands. Almost three years in fact..." on the way, architect @Emmett_Scanlon @IAFarchitecture @IrishPeatland @UCCPeatlands @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"Growing up in west Roscommon, we were never far from the bog. When I looked out my window in the morning the predominant colour was purple heather,  accentuated by yellow gorse..." up next, Anthony Baggott @IAFarchitecture @IrishPeatland @UCCPeatlands @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"What do you call a sod of turf in French? It’s the only thing I was never able to explain. How do you describe its texture, its weight, how rough it is when it’s dry?..." on the way, @mchughkar @IAFarchitecture @IrishPeatland @UCCPeatlands @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"The old bog road. Immortalised in memories and song anywhere Irish people gather. But have you heard of the oldest bog road? How old, you ask? Would 148 BC impress you?..." up next, Niamh Donnellan @IAFarchitecture @UCCPeatlands @IrishPeatland @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"..Two cousins led me to this bog, bordering on to the Shannon, and as we left the stony road and stepped onto the bogland path, it was like walking on a trampoline...." first today, @mmhhickey in Monakeeba @RTERadio1 @IAFarchitecture

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

Today, the Irish boglands: past, present and imagined future. Writing the Bog (Pt 1), with Irish Architecture Foundation and 12th Field’s Bog Bothy Project. With @mmhhickey Niamh Donnellan @mchughkar Anthony Baggott @Emmett_Scanlon Claire Cotter @IAFarchitecture @IrishPeatland

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

Is it true that Irish people are only a few steps removed from the land? Well, Jessica Freed explains how she felt the call to return in her recent essay 'A Patch of 'Earth'. Catch it on our website, or RTÉ Listen at any time @DubCityCouncil @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

In terms of attractive accents, it seems the north west is where it's at. Recently, Donegal-dwelling Denise Blake explained how outsiders can decipher the unique local idoms. Hear it at any time on our website or on RTÉ Listen @RTERadio1 @visit_donegal @govisitdonegal

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"When Maeve Binchy and I first talked about getting a cat, most of our friends were enthusiastic. One said, cats are no trouble..we went ahead, and never regretted it..." finally today, the late Gordon Snell on a feline love-affair @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"As I walked for the first time through the gates of the Royal and Prior boarding school in Raphoe..in September 1988, I felt the weight of history on my shoulder. Then I realised it was just my father’s large hand..." the penultimate piece today, from @Rego101 @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"There’s a museum of typewriters in Parcines, in Northern Italy. I haven’t been there yet, but it’s shot to the top of my travel wishlist lately because of an intriguing piece of Irish history in their collection..." on the way, @antoniahart @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"Occasionally there are polls on social media asking, what is your favourite Irish accent? The result is often Donegal’s. And I wonder, what exactly does that mean?..." on the way, Denise Blake @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"There is something about a plot of earth to call your own, that satisfies something deep within you. Not that I can call my modest allotment plot ‘my own’, considering that I lease it from Dublin City Council..." up next, Jessica Freed @DubCityCouncil @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

"When I walked to school..I had no doubt that every door I passed concealed something thrilling: secret passages..a forbidden garden; a kindly wizard looking for an apprentice..." first today, Barry McCrea remembers children's author Gordon Snell @RTERadio1 @NotreDame

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

Coming up - allotment delights, the fine details of a Donegal accent and a young boy's life-enhancing correspondence with a beloved children’s author. Sunday Miscellany is on the way, with Barry McCrea, Jessica Freed, Denise Blake, @antoniahart @Rego101 and the late Gordon Snell

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

One of our greatest poets, who exposed the beauty and depth in the mundane and made the everyday remarkable, was remembered by two writers on Sunday 27 September - A.M. Cousins and Denis Tuohy. Hear both their pieces on https://t.co/hAsLfhWrOh and on RTÉ Listen @RTERadio1

[Sunday Miscellany @RTESunMisc]

The 800-year old Ballintubber Abbey, and one family's role in restoring it to all it's former glory - 'The Abbey That Refused to Die', by John Egan. Catch-up with this, or any of our pieces from Sunday 27 September, on our website or RTÉ Listen @RTERadio1