Minds At War - Series 3

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Minds At War: James Joyce's Ulysses

20160411

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in their work

To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War.

1. The writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's novel 'Ulysses

James Joyce spent the First World War away from the fields of combat and living as an exile first in Trieste and then in neutral Switzerland. It seemed that he had cut himself off from the war as much as he possibly could. Yet, as Fintan O'Toole argues, his novel 'Ulysses' was a landmark that would arise from the abyss of war . It was Joyce who had the command of words to open up expression again and, by staying out of the conflict itself, he allowed himself to create the great counterbalance to the cratered fields and shattered villages.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

Writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's influential novel Ulysses.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Minds At War: Elizabeth Bowen's The Last September

20160412

20180305 (R3)

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art.

Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel 'The Last September

In 1922, 26 counties of Ireland seceded from the UK, becoming independent, a final epilogue to the Great War. It is this story that Bowen chronicles in her great novel, The Last September - an elegy for the death of the Anglo-Irish class for whom the First World War and the violence it triggered in Ireland marked the end.

Heather Jones explores how the novel mirrors Bowen's own contested loyalties between Ireland and England and investigates how the central character mirrors Bowen herself.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel The Last September.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Minds At War: Francis Ledwidge's Poem O'connell Street

20160413

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art.

To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War.

3. Poet and academic Gerald Dawe explores the little known poet Francis Ledwidge and his poem 'O'Connell Street'.

Francis Ledwidge served as a soldier in the British army and was killed in action in 1917. He wrote poetry constantly throughout his life, drawing on the inspiration of the countryside in which he grew up. But his early death meant that his work was never well known, although there has been a recent resurgence of interest and awareness of his talent.

The poem 'O' Connell Street' was written when the poet returned to Dublin after serving abroad. It sums up how he saw the city in the wake of the Easter Rising with the influence of his army service. It also shows how Ledwidge's war poetry differed from the graphic representations of conflict by poets like Wilfred Owen. It was as if the reality of war was something Ledwidge wanted to circumvent or absorb into the pastoral idyll of his vision of a romantic Ireland.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

Gerald Dawe discusses the little-known poet Francis Ledwidge and his poem O'Connell Street

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Minds At War: Father Browne's Photograph Of A Wounded Soldier

20160414

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art.

To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War.

4. Photographer John D McHugh explores one of the war photos of Father Francis Browne.

Father Francis Browne was an Irish Jesuit priest, and Chaplain to the Irish Guards during the First World War. He was also a keen and highly gifted photographer, and took extensive numbers of photos of the soldiers around him. One of these striking images is of a wounded man on a stretcher, surrounded by other members of the Irish Guards.

As a renowned war photographer himself, John D. McHugh is especially moved by this image. In this Essay he assesses the qualities of the photograph and explores what it tells us about the wartime experience of the man who made it.

The programme contains quotations from 'Father Browne's First World War' edited by E E O'Donnell and published by Messenger Publications

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Minds At War: Sean O'casey's The Silver Tassie

20160415

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art.

To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War.

5. Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's 'The Silver Tassie

Sean O' Casey's breakthrough came when his play 'The Shadow of a Gunman' was accepted by W.B. Yeats at the Abbey, Ireland's national theatre, and received a rapturous response from audiences and critics in 1923. A year later, his subsequent play, 'Juno and the Paycock' got an even more enthusiastic reception and in 1926 'The Plough and the Stars' was also highly praised.

But when O'Casey showed 'The Silver Tassie' to Yeats, the reaction was furious. Yeats claimed that O'Casey had no direct experience of, or interest in the war. O'Casey hit back, saying that, even though he had not been on the battlefield, he had seen for himself the horrific after-effects of the conflict. In The Silver Tassie, he chose a hero, Harry, who begins the play as a sporting hero and, after serving as a soldier, ends up in a wheelchair, watching his sweetheart betray him with another man.

Elizabeth Kuti explores how O'Casey weaves the themes of war, life, death, heroism and victimhood into the play and also analyses the way in which it acted as a precursor for subsequent war drama.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.

Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's play The Silver Tassie.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Minds At War: James Joyce's Ulysses	20160411		How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in their work To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War. 1. The writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's novel 'Ulysses James Joyce spent the First World War away from the fields of combat and living as an exile first in Trieste and then in neutral Switzerland. It seemed that he had cut himself off from the war as much as he possibly could. Yet, as Fintan O'Toole argues, his novel 'Ulysses' was a landmark that would arise from the abyss of war . It was Joyce who had the command of words to open up expression again and, by staying out of the conflict itself, he allowed himself to create the great counterbalance to the cratered fields and shattered villages. Producer: Emma Kingsley. Writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's influential novel Ulysses. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
02	Minds At War: Elizabeth Bowen's The Last September	20160412	20180305 (R3)	How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art. Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel 'The Last September In 1922, 26 counties of Ireland seceded from the UK, becoming independent, a final epilogue to the Great War. It is this story that Bowen chronicles in her great novel, The Last September - an elegy for the death of the Anglo-Irish class for whom the First World War and the violence it triggered in Ireland marked the end. Heather Jones explores how the novel mirrors Bowen's own contested loyalties between Ireland and England and investigates how the central character mirrors Bowen herself. Producer: Emma Kingsley. Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel The Last September. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
03	Minds At War: Francis Ledwidge's Poem O'connell Street	20160413		How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art. To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War. 3. Poet and academic Gerald Dawe explores the little known poet Francis Ledwidge and his poem 'O'Connell Street'. Francis Ledwidge served as a soldier in the British army and was killed in action in 1917. He wrote poetry constantly throughout his life, drawing on the inspiration of the countryside in which he grew up. But his early death meant that his work was never well known, although there has been a recent resurgence of interest and awareness of his talent. The poem 'O' Connell Street' was written when the poet returned to Dublin after serving abroad. It sums up how he saw the city in the wake of the Easter Rising with the influence of his army service. It also shows how Ledwidge's war poetry differed from the graphic representations of conflict by poets like Wilfred Owen. It was as if the reality of war was something Ledwidge wanted to circumvent or absorb into the pastoral idyll of his vision of a romantic Ireland. Producer: Emma Kingsley. Gerald Dawe discusses the little-known poet Francis Ledwidge and his poem O'Connell Street Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
04	Minds At War: Father Browne's Photograph Of A Wounded Soldier	20160414		How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art. To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War. 4. Photographer John D McHugh explores one of the war photos of Father Francis Browne. Father Francis Browne was an Irish Jesuit priest, and Chaplain to the Irish Guards during the First World War. He was also a keen and highly gifted photographer, and took extensive numbers of photos of the soldiers around him. One of these striking images is of a wounded man on a stretcher, surrounded by other members of the Irish Guards. As a renowned war photographer himself, John D. McHugh is especially moved by this image. In this Essay he assesses the qualities of the photograph and explores what it tells us about the wartime experience of the man who made it. The programme contains quotations from 'Father Browne's First World War' edited by E E O'Donnell and published by Messenger Publications Producer: Emma Kingsley. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.
05	Minds At War: Sean O'casey's The Silver Tassie	20160415		How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art. To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, this series of Minds at War explores how Irish artists were influenced by the First World War. 5. Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's 'The Silver Tassie Sean O' Casey's breakthrough came when his play 'The Shadow of a Gunman' was accepted by W.B. Yeats at the Abbey, Ireland's national theatre, and received a rapturous response from audiences and critics in 1923. A year later, his subsequent play, 'Juno and the Paycock' got an even more enthusiastic reception and in 1926 'The Plough and the Stars' was also highly praised. But when O'Casey showed 'The Silver Tassie' to Yeats, the reaction was furious. Yeats claimed that O'Casey had no direct experience of, or interest in the war. O'Casey hit back, saying that, even though he had not been on the battlefield, he had seen for himself the horrific after-effects of the conflict. In The Silver Tassie, he chose a hero, Harry, who begins the play as a sporting hero and, after serving as a soldier, ends up in a wheelchair, watching his sweetheart betray him with another man. Elizabeth Kuti explores how O'Casey weaves the themes of war, life, death, heroism and victimhood into the play and also analyses the way in which it acted as a precursor for subsequent war drama. Producer: Emma Kingsley. Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's play The Silver Tassie. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.