Desmond Forristal (1930–2012), was an Irish priest, writer, and along with Fr. Joseph Dunn, the founder of

Radharc ''Radharc'' was an Irish television documentary series broadcast by RTÉ Television from 1962 until 1996. The documentaries were created by a film unit funded by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, in anticipation of the inau ...

, for which he worked as a writer and director. Desmond Timothy Forristal was born in Dublin in 1930, and lived in Glasnevin. He was educated at O'Connell School and

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

. Forristal's essay won the George Dempsey Memorial Prize in 1948, in Belvedere He studied philosophy at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and theology at Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin, where he was ordained a priest in 1955. He was awarded a PhD in 1956. He studied film and television in New York in 1959.Fr Desmond Forristal
Obituary, Dalkey Parish. Fr Forristal and Fr Joe Dunn founded the independent film production company

in 1959, in anticipation at the founding of RTE, which was involved in the production of programmes on topics relating to religious, historical and social issues. Fr Forristal also contributed as a screen and drama critic to ''

The Furrow ''The Furrow'' is an Irish Catholic theological periodical published monthly by Maynooth College. History It was founded in 1950 by James G. McGarry, Professor of Sacred Eloquence and Pastoral Theology at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. Cano ...

'', published in Maynooth. He retired as a priest in 2001, and died in September 2012. His archive was donated to

National University of Ireland, Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

, by his brother Fr. Ciaran Forristal.

Plays

Closely associated with The Gate Theatre, a number of his plays were performed at the Dublin Theatre Festival * ''Black Man's Country'' by Desmond Forristal (1974)Desmond Forristal
www.irishplayography.com * ''Captive Audience'' by Desmond Forristal (1979) * ''Kolbe'' by Desmond Forristal * ''The Seventh Sin'' by Desmond Forristal * ''The True Story of the Horrid Popish Plot'' by Desmond Forristal (1972) * '' Enquiry at Knock'' by Desmond Forristal, produced for Television. (1979)

Publications

* ''Oliver Plunkett'' by Desmond Forristal (1975) * ''Maximilian of Auschwitz'' by Desmond Forristal (1982) * ''The Bridge at Lo Wu'' by Desmond Forristal (1987) * ''The Man in the Middle'' by Desmond Forristal (1988) * ''The Second Burial of Bishop Shanahan'' by Desmond Forristal (1990) * ''Edel Quinn (1907–1944)'' by Desmond Forristal (1994) * ''The TV Generation'' by Desmond Forristal (1970) * ''Superstar, or Son of God?'' by Desmond Forristal (1973) * ''The Christian Heritage'' by Desmond Forristal (1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forristal, Desmond 1930 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Clonliffe College Alumni of University College Dublin Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests People educated at Belvedere College