The Angelus (Irish broadcast)

The Angelus is an Irish radio and television programme, first broadcast in 1950, of the sound of an Angelus bell ringing for one minute. On radio[1] it is broadcast at 12 pm and 6 pm every day.[2] On television, it is only broadcast at 6 pm, immediately before the main evening news. Since 2009, the programme on television no longer includes Catholic imagery and the Angelus prayer itself is never broadcast.

For other uses, see Angelus (disambiguation).

The bells were recorded at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral,[3] although initially broadcast live.[4]

Radio Éireann first broadcast The Angelus on 15 August 1950. The Secretary of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, Leon Ó Broin, and the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, had discussed the original idea in the late 1940s.[4]

The Catholic broadcast has sometimes been challenged,[5][6][7] while some non-Catholic faith leaders have called for its continuation,[8] notably the Church of Ireland (although less prominent than in the Roman Catholic church the Angelus is also part of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition)[9] and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Archbishop Eames of the Church of Ireland welcomed the new version in 2009.[10] The secretary of the mosque in Clonskeagh and the Chief Rabbi supported keeping the broadcast.

Television format

Televised programming began at Telefís Éireann's launch. Images shown were pictures of the Annunciation.[4] More recently, it showed "a number of people of varying gender and ages pause to pray at the sound of the bell".[11] Art 1970's until 1998 in color.

2009 relaunch

From 21 September 2009, RTE Television reformatted the broadcast before RTÉ News: Six One.[3] It features seven different editions, with a different person shown in each one.[12] Featured people include a chemist from Finglas, a mother from Sixmilebridge, grandparents feeding swans in Shannon, a fisherman from Enniscorthy and an office worker from Zambia at her office near the Phoenix Park.[13] The one-minute feature attracts an average audience of 318,000.[3] It was developed by Kairos Communications.[13]

2015 revamp

From 2015, a new form of the Angelus, The People's Angelus, are transmitted on Fridays, produced by ordinary people, artists, and aspiring filmmakers.[14] Angelus films produced by Kairos are transmitted on the other days of the week.[15]

2023 revamp

Saturday to Thursday Angelus had a revamp in late May or early June 2023.

References
  1. Hegarty, Shane (26 September 2009). "A joyous moment". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  2. Kenny, Mary (23 September 2009). "The angelus rings on". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  3. McGarry, Patsy (19 September 2009). "Angelus undergoes revamp but gongs remain the same". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  4. "Irish Public Service Broadcasting - 1950s: Broadcast of the Angelus". RTÉ Libraries and Archives. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  5. Sectarian ring of the Angelus, Wesley Boyd, The Irish Times, 3 March 2002, retrieved 24 April 2009
  6. Learning the lessons from Ferns, The Irish Times, 10 October 2005, retrieved 24 April 2009
  7. Angelus criticised as `wildly divisive', The Irish Times, 5 May 1998, retrieved 24 April 2009
  8. "Future of Angelus on RTÉ debated". Irish Emigrant. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  9. The Angelus, An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, Episcopal Church
  10. The Angelus rings on by Mary Kenny, The Guardian, 23 September 2009.
  11. Collins, Dan (23 September 1998). "Angelus will sound the same but look different". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  12. "RTÉ Launches a New Version of The Angelus". RTÉ Press Office. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  13. Cooney, John (22 September 2009). "Angelus rings the changes with new views of life". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  14. Reports 2016 Church of Ireland, General Synod. Retrieved: 2021-02-17.
  15. Updating of Angelus films on RTE iCatholic, 23 November 2015.
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