Week 7 Blog “An Unholy Trinity”

Rte’s gripping radio documentary “An Unholy Trinity”, released in 2017, is a historical piece that sheds light on a rather convoluted scenario that occurred in the early 1900’s. The radio doc features an engaging narrator who helps thread the narrative together. The narration carries us through a story that includes elements such as corruption in the catholic church and war politics. Throughout the piece there are sound effects, actors recreating scenes from the story, voicers from credited historians and the reading of historical materials that support the authenticity of the documentary. We hear actors reading letters – primary sources of history – and other historical documents that are relevant in the contribution to the story. At one point, there were pencil sound effects in the background of a letter reading, which contributes greatly to the immersion of the listener. I found the pacing to be rather effective also; when the narrative grew in intensity the sound effects and music in the background also began to increase in pace, establishing an incredible sense of atmosphere. Then, there would be a brief pause and the narrator would pick up elsewhere in the story. The music would retract to a slower pace, allowing the listener to take a beat. This established a rather interesting pace and rhythm which was quite effective in engaging the listener. I found the documentary quite atmospheric and intense; all the choices made for this production completely sold this historical narrative about war politics, conspiracy and corruption during the era of the Irish war for Independence. There was a strong sense of purpose, audience and register.