Episodes

EpisodeFirst
Broadcast
Comments
0120191104By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles. Abridged by Sara Davies and read by Finnian Garbutt.

As he's out digging illegally for peat with his uncle, Fergus finds the body of a child, who seems to have been murdered. He tries to concentrate on revising for his A levels, as a means of escape from the 'insane' world around him: his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and being blackmailed into acting as a courier for the IRA . A voice comes to him in his dreams and the story of the bog child unfurls.

Set in the summer, 1980s, in Northern Ireland, this beautiful, subtle, intriguing and uplifting story, a 'radiant work', is one you'll never forget. Its setting is a vital historical context for current Brexit confusion: a deeply appealing and timely story set around the complex politics of the Northern Irish border.

Mel...Catherine Cusack

Reader...Finnian Garbutt.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

By Siobhan Dowd. Cutting peat in the bog, Fergus finds a body. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

0220191105By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus' A levels are a way out of here. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0320191106By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus has named the bog body Mel. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0420191107By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus is going to help move the bog body. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0520191108By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus is couriering packages over the border. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0620191111By Siobhan Dowd.

Digging for peat in the mountains, Fergus has found the body of a girl, who seems to have been murdered around two thousand years before. He has got to know the archaeologist in charge, and her daughter, Cora.

Fergus knows his A levels are a way out of the 'insane' world around him: his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and being blackmailed into acting as a courier for the IRA across the border, where he has befriended the sentry, Owain.

A voice comes to him in his dreams and the mystery of the bog child unfurls.

Set in the summer, 1980s, in Northern Ireland, this beautiful, subtle, intriguing and uplifting story is one you'll never forget. Its setting is a vital historical context for current Brexit confusion: a deeply appealing and timely story set around the complex politics of the Northern Irish border.

Abridged by Sara Davies and read by Finnian Garbutt.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery

By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus is remembering kissing Cora. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0720191112By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus is dreaming of Cora. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0820191113By Siobhan Dowd. It seems that Mel's death was a sacrifice. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

0920191114By Siobhan Dowd. Fergus knows what was in the packets. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.

1020191115By Siobhan Dowd. The family is split over what to do about Joe. Read by Finnian Garbutt.

By Siobhan Dowd. Award-winning novel set on the Northern Irish border during the Troubles.