The Kennedys of Castleross

"The Kennedys of Castleross" was an Irish serial drama or soap opera which was broadcast on Radio Éireann from 1955 to 1973 [In the early 1960s, the series was also broadcast on Radio Oglaigh na h-Éireann, a shortwave service for Irish troops serving overseas.] .

The serial was devised by Arks advertising agency on behalf of its client, Fry-Cadbury and the first script writers were Mark Grantham and Bill Nugent."The Irish Times", "An Irishman's Diary", January 16, 1965] The opening episode was aired on April 14, 1955. [ [http://www.rte.ie/laweb/brc/brc_1950s.html RTÉ Archives (article and link to sound file)] ] The cast included Marie Kean, T. P. McKenna, Vincent Dowling, Angela Newman, and Philip O'Flynn.

Each fifteen-minute episode was transmitted at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The programme's signature tune was the second movement of Hamilton Harty's "An Irish Symphony", sub-titled "The Fair Day".

During its long run, various other scriptwriters worked on "The Kennedys of Castleross", including playwright Hugh Leonard, and broadcaster, David Hanly ["The Irish Times", "Morning becomes David", April 21, 1994] .

When Fry-Cadbury withdrew its sponsorship in the 1960s, Radio Éireann bowed to popular demand and retained the serial as part of its regular programming. However, after an almost 18-year unbroken run, the station announced in January 1973 that "The Kennedys of Castleross" had reached the end of its natural life and would be cancelled. As a measure of how much the long-running soap opera's popularity had declined since its heyday, Radio Éireann received only one letter of protest following the announcement. ["The Irish Times", "Only one letter mourns the 'Kennedys'", January 11, 1973]

For the final episode, Radio Éireann broke with convention and broadcast a special one-hour edition on Saturday February 24, 1973. ["The Irish Times", "Radio Today" (radio listings), February 24, 1973]

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