Television programme simply atrocity propaganda masquerading as history

DIGGING up atrocity stories from Ireland’s past for the purpose of discrediting nationalism is an underhand method of making a political point, all the more so when done through the medium of an seemingly objective television programme.

RTÉ’s Hidden History programme (October 23) on the Pearson tragedy at Coolacrease, Co Offaly, was carefully worked atrocity propaganda masquerading as history. It reflects badly on the national broadcaster and the professionals involved in its making.

During the programme, a member of the Pearson family stated that all the family now wanted was for the truth to be told. Instead, the programme intermixed their story with subtle hints about ethnic cleansing, sectarianism, land-grabbing and a barbarous form of execution, all of which are at variance with the known facts or the documentary evidence.