Nollaig Ó Gadhra (part 1)

Nollaig Ó Gadhra was born on the family farm in Feenagh, Co. Limerick, in 1943. From January 1969, he worked in RTE in the newsroom, current affairs and radio production. This interview focuses on Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, under which it was prohibited to broadcast interviews with members of illegal organisations. Nollaig speaks of the civil rights marches in Derry in 1968 that signalled the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which would continue for 30 years until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. He recalls the time when the Section 31 ban was introduced, and remembers Kevin O’Kelly’s interview with Séan Mac Stiofán which brought it to pass. Not everybody in Fianna Fáil supported this ban, and Nollaig outlines the reasons why it continued to prevail. Section 31 was repealed by Minister Michael D. Higgins in 1994.