UN, RCN Team for Irish Film
Irish Voice
May 5, 2004
Un Secretary General Kofi Annan, Irish tenor Ronan
Tynan, RCN Corporation chairman David McCourt, Congressman
Ed Markey, actor Levar Burton and yes, the ubiquitous
Malachy McCourt were all on hand last week at the
United Nations at the premiere of the new Showtime
television documentary What’s Going On?
The documentary, hosted by Meg Ryan, will air on
Showtime this Sunday, May9 at 11:20 a.m. and May 17
at 7 p.m. The show is a power look inside the lives
of young children in Northern Ireland.
Its is part of a series of reports that the UN and
RCN have co-sponsored in order to help understanding
among differing groups in some of the most troubled
areas of the world.
David McCourt, who is also executive producer of
the show, stated that he hoped the program would bring
home to many Americans just how inspiring young people
on both sides of the divide in Northern Ireland can
be, and how much we can all learn through the eyes
of our children.
Annan officially launched the film at the Dag Hammarskjöld
Auditorium at the UN, and stated that the series has
shone a spotlight on areas of the world that were
most in need of UN intervention and international
help.
The documentary itself features several songs by
the incomparable Tynan, including a wonderful rendition
of “The Town I Love So Well.”
What’s going on? is mainly a heat-rending
look at two boys from either side of the divide, both
of whom have witnessed enormous tragedy. The Catholic
youth saw his father shot dead in front of him, and
the Protestant boy was near by when the infamous Shankill
bombing occurred on his street.
The battle of both young people to put the past behind
them is the centerpiece of the 45-minute documentary,
and it is moving indeed to see how they struggle,
despite the enormous risks, to reach out to the other
side and find a middle ground with their neighbor.
Meg Ryan does a beautiful job of narration, and the
film is scrupulously fair to both sides. It is encouraging
indeed to see the UN and leading Irish American businessman
like David McCourt join forces for such worthy project.
McCourt, by the way, will be honored later this year
as the medalist at the American Irish Historical Society.
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