Gareth O'Callaghan: Bosco was ahead of its time — why the beloved RTÉ children’s show still matters today

The death of Gráinne Uí Mhaitiú revives memories of a children’s show that quietly shaped generations

Bosco was a small red-haired permanently-five-year-old puppet with red cheeks who lived in a brightly painted box, whose magical interior was more akin to a child’s bedroom. File picture

The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. Sesame Street creator Jim Henson spoke those words. I was reminded of them last week when news reached me of the passing of Wicklow-born actor Gráinne Uí Mhaitiú, who was 72.

Gráinne, alongside her colleague Cork-born actor Frank Twomey, who died in 2023, will be best known to a whole generation of once very young viewers in the 1980s who fell under the spell of Bosco on afternoon television.