The Brontës: An Irish Tale 

Original version

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One

BBC One Northern Ireland

The Brontës: An Irish Tale

BBC Two

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Paul McGuigan

Andrea McCartney

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

BBC One - The Brontës: An Irish Tale

Actress Aoife Hinds explores the little-known Irish part of the Brontë story.

Actress Aoife Hinds explores the surprising Irish chapter of the Brontë story and reveals how two Ulster men played key roles in supporting and preserving their literary legacy.  

Actress Aoife Hinds (Derry Girls, Normal People) explores the little-known Irish part of the Brontë story. Aoife’s first memory of the Brontës is as a child when she watched her father, the actor Ciaran Hinds, play Mr Rochester, one of the most iconic figures in literature. In a journey which takes Aoife from County Down to St John’s College, Cambridge, she discovers how the father of the Brontës, Patrick, rose from humble beginnings in Rathfriland to become curate of Haworth parsonage. Then, unusually for the time, he encouraged and supported his daughters’ desire to be educated and to write.      
 
Aoife discovers the impact a second Irish man had on the Brontë story. Arthur Bell Nicholls, from Killead, Co. Antrim, courted Charlotte for many years before she finally agreed to marry him. The newlyweds honeymooned in Ireland, and Aoife visits the archives of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where she reads one of the letters Charlotte wrote while in Ireland.  

Aoife’s journey concludes in Banagher, where Arthur Bell Nicholls lived after Charlotte’s death. She learns of the role he played in preserving all the priceless Brontë manuscripts and precious memorabilia beloved by scholars and the visitors who flock to Haworth parsonage today.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Brontës: An Irish Tale

Contributors

Genres

Formats

BBC One Northern Ireland

About BBC One