Press Releases26 Dec 24

Archbishops’ Christmas Message on RTÉ Player

This year’s Christmas message from the Archbishops of Armagh was filmed in Armagh Observatory and Planetarium and drew on the theme of the Christmas Star.  The message was broadcast on Christmas Day on RTÉ One television and on RTÉ Radio One.

The programme is now also available on the RTÉ Player at this link.

The message was accompanied by carol signing by a choir from Armstrong Primary School and St Patrick’s Primary School and interviews with Professor Michael Burton (Director of the Observatory and Planetarium) and other astronomers who are based in the ecclesiastical capital.

Armagh Observatory, one of Ireland’s leading centres for astronomical research and education, was founded in 1790 by Archbishop Richard Robinson, and its outreach work to schools and the wider community was greatly enabled by the opening of the Planetarium in 1968 under the leadership of then Director, Dr Eric Lindsay. Three of the oldest Observatories in the world are to be found in Ireland – in Armagh, at Dunsink and in Birr, and they are part of a unique North–South partnership of Astronomical Observatories.

To find out more about the Observatory and Planetarium, please visit its website – www.armagh.space – or its social media channels @armaghplanet

With thanks to Tony Hudson (RTÉ) for photography