The documentaries were created by a film unit funded by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, in anticipation of the inauguration of television broadcasting in Ireland by RTÉ in December 1961.
[1] Initially founded in the late 1950s by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin,[2] the Radharc film unit was staffed exclusively by Catholic priests, including the founders Joe Dunn and Desmond Forristal (1930-2012),[1] as well as Peter Lemass.
Dermod McCarthy, editor of RTÉ Religious Programmes from 1991 to 2008, worked as a producer for Radharc from 1965 to 1982.
[8] Radharc has been the subject of academic research, including about the changing representation of priests on Irish television.
It was shown on RTÉ and won the Irish Film & Television Academy "Best Current Affairs" prize in 2013.