Over the last month, a further two stories from Come Here To Me! have been aired on RTE’s The History Show. These stories have tied-in with content on the programme, or have been aired to coincide with historic anniversaries.
The first story was aired on 24 February and dealt with the controversy surrounding Dublin Corporation’s original decision to place a statue of Prince Albert, and not Henry Grattan, at College Green in the 1860s. Grattan took his spot and is still there today. Prince Albert’s statue sits hidden in the grounds of Leinster House beside the Natural History Museum. The story, read by David Herlihy, can be played here.
Henry Grattan statue. nd.
On 24 March, the story of John McGrath (Ireland’s only prisoner of Dachau concentration camp) was read on the progamme. This week marked the 80th Anniversary of establishment of Dachau Concentration Camp. McGrath, a World War One veteran and manager of the Theatre Royal cinema on Hawkins Street, fought against the Nazis and was imprisoned in four different German camps. Never fully recovering from the physical and psychological trauma of his imprisonment, McGrath passed away in Dublin in November 1946. The story, read by Dave Sherry, can be played here.
John McGrath. The Irish Times, 29 Nov 1946.
