The President of Ireland celebrates Irishness; James Nesbitt kicks off his new travelogue; and a drama-documentary about the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster are our selections for tonight.
Glaoch - The President's Call, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
Bono, Séamus Heaney, Druid Theatre's Garry Hynes, playwright Tom Murphy and Christy Moore are among the guests of The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, in this special programme dedicated to Irish people worldwide. At the invitation of President, some of the world's most-renowned writers, musicians and singers, as well as emerging artists, gathered at Áras an Uachtaráin to celebrate Irishness, Irish creativity and its reach and impact across the world. There are performances from Steve Cooney, Glen Hansard, Lisa Hannigan, Martin Hayes, Imelda May, Christy Moore, Róisín O, Iarla O Lionaird, Peadar O Riada, David Power and The Script. The programme also includes poetry and drama. Actress Marie Mullen performs the final scene of Tom Murphy's play Famine; poet Louis de Paor reads An Glaoch, a bilingual poem he created for this project; Paula Meehan recites her poem Home; and in Airspace, Joseph O'Connor reflects on the richness and diversity of the Irish experience and perspective. In a first for RTÉ, Glaoch will be premiered on RTÉ.ie, RTÉ YouTube and on the digital channel and mobile app RTÉ News Now enabling the Irish community abroad and friends of Ireland across the globe to celebrate with President Higgins this St. Patrick's Day 2013 at 9.30pm (GMT/UTC).
James Nesbitt's Ireland, ITV, 8.00pm
A couple of years ago, bluff old cove Terry Wogan did a jaunt around Ireland for a TV series and now it's the turn of another Irishman, actor James Nesbitt to flog the old sod to the Brits. In this new eight-part series, the personable Nesbitt brings his own perspective on bear on our beautiful (looking) country. He visits the Giant's Causeway, the Cliffs of Moher, as well as less well-known places of interest including the traditional seaweed baths at Strandhill. In episode one, James heads down to the South West of Ireland. He says: "Miles of white sand and crystal clear waters. This stretch of coast was once cited as the most beautiful place on earth by National Geographic. The water might be a bit chilly, the sun may not always be shining, but the warmth of the Irish people will give you just as good a time."
The Challenger, BBC Two, 9.00pm
This new BBC factual drama stars William Hurt as American physicist Richard Feynman, the man determined to reveal the truth behind the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster. When Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight on the morning of January 28 1986, it represented one of the most shocking events in the history of American spaceflight. A Presidential Commission was immediately convened to explore what had gone wrong, but with the vast complexity of the space shuttle and so many vested interests involved in the investigation, discovering the truth was an almost impossible challenge. A truly independent member of the investigation was Richard Feynman. One of the most accomplished scientists of his generation, he had worked on the Manhattan Project to build the first atom bomb and won a Nobel Prize for his breakthroughs in quantum physics. Feynman deployed exceptional integrity, charm and relentless scientific logic to investigate the secrets of the shuttle disaster and, in doing so, helped make the US space programme safer.
