RTE Bernard's Big Year & The Olive Loughnane Story

Bernard's Big Year

Wednesday 30th December at 8.00pm on RTة Two

"Bernard Dunne: The Ecstasy and the Agony." That's the title of the Dublin boxer's biography - and it sums up, in seven words, the story of Bernard Dunne's 2009. Crowned WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion in March, after defeating Ricardo Cordoba in an 11 round thriller, Dunne then lost his title in September, downed by Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. This hour long documentary is the story of a rollercoaster year which may, or may not, see the end of the little man with the big heart.

Walk, Don't Run - The Olive Loughnane Story

Thursday 31st December at 8.30pm on RTة Two

With just four members, it's one of Ireland's most elite clubs. Three women are members, and just one man. The latest recruit is Olive Loughnane, whose silver medal in the 20K Walk at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin this year places her alongside Sonia O'Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan and Gillian O'Sullivan as the only Irish athletes in history to win world outdoor medals. This half-hour documentary tells the story of how the smallest girl in Carrabane National School, in Galway, grew up to be a three-time Olympian and a world medallist.