Cathal O'Shannon (TV presenter)

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name = Cathal O'Shannon


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residence = Dublin
nationality = Irish
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occupation = Former TV presenter and journalist
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Cathal O'Shannon (born 1928)The Late Late Show (RTÉ 1), Friday, 12 January 2007.] is an Irish television presenter and journalist. He is a former journalist with The Irish Times newspaper and a former TV reporter and presenter for Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ). He probably best-known for presenting documentaries on Irish history, produced mainly for Irish TV viewers and broadcast by RTÉ. On 12 January 2007, after producing his most recent documentary, he stated that he has now fully retired.

Early life and private life

O'Shannon grew up in Dublin, the son of Cathal O'Shannon Snr., a noted Irish Socialist and Republican. He joined the RAF near the end of the Second World War,cite web |url= http://www.rte.ie/tv/hiddenhistory/irelandsnazis.html|title= Hidden History: Ireland's Nazis
work= RTÉ Website
accessdate=2008-05-26] when he was aged sixteen.cite news
last = Kehoe
first = Emmanuel
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title = Hidden History: Much ado about Nazis
work = Sunday Business Post
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date = 21 January 2007
url =http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2007/01/21/story20297.asp| accessdate = 2008-05-26] He was stationed in Burmacite news
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title = PAPER PROPHET – Cathal O’Shannon
work = Sunday Independent
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date = 18 July 2004| url = http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/paper-prophet-cathal-oshannon-482153.html| accessdate = 2008-05-26] — but saw little action. His wife 'Patsy' died in 2006. They had been married for over 50 years.

Media career

O' Shannon first became a journalist with The Irish Times in 1947. Later he joined RTÉ. In 1972 O' Shannon recorded one of his best remembered journalistic coups - interviewing Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer, for Irish television. [ [http://www.rte.ie/laweb/ll/ll_photo_a.html RTÉ's reference to Ali interview] ] His 1976 documentary film "Even the Olives are Bleeding", on the involvement of Irish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War was also highly acclaimed.

In January 2007, his documentary 'Hidden History: Ireland's Nazis' was broadcast by RTÉ as a two-part series. It explored how the Republic of Ireland gave safe haven to a small number of former Nazis and Nazi collaborators after the War had ended — probably the best known of whom was Otto Skorzeny, who lived for a period in County Kildare.

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