Murder in Melbourne
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
If someone asked what was the most dangerous city for Irish people to emigrate to, the answer might be Melbourne. Between 2012 and 2013, three Irish people were brutally murdered in the Australian city. David Greene was attacked at a party by a convicted criminal; Dermot O'Toole was stabbed to death in a botched armed robbery that left his wife badly injured; and Jill Meagher was brutally murdered by a convicted rapist in one of the highest-profile cases in Australia. The murders were unconnected, except that the killers were all convicted criminals who were out of prison, two of them on parole.
This documentary examines these three shocking crimes which happened within months of each other, and looks at the trauma the victims’ families went through as they travelled to Australia and faced their loved ones’ killers in court.
Frontline Doctors: Winter Migrant Crisis
Monday, BBC One, 9pm
Twin brothers Chris and Xand Van Tulleken, both doctors and aid workers, follow the migrants' trail to Europe to see for themselves what is happening in Europe's biggest migrant crisis since the second World War. They travel to the island of Lesbos in Greece, where half a million refugees have passed through on their journey, through the Balkans, to Berlin and on to Calais, meeting people fleeing war in Syria and Afghanistan and encountering and aid workers trying to manage this unprecedented migration of people. Will Boris Johnson watch this documentary and change his mind about backing a Brexit?
True North: Pets at Peace
Monday, BBC One, 10.45pm
When a beloved pooch passes away, its owner can feel levels of grief similar to losing a close friend or relative. True North: Pets at Peace looks at how dog owners in Northern Ireland deal with the deaths of their canine companions. In this film, we meet Trevor and Diane, who are making the most of the remaining time with their ailing 15-year-old "surrogate children" Mena and Lahl, and two women who are preparing to have their beloved pets put to sleep. Also, two women who still haven't got over the deaths of their dogs several years ago have decided to attend a pet seance to contact their pets in doggie heaven.
The Toughest Trade
Tuesday, RTÉ Two, 9.55pm
A two-part documentary which sets out to learn how GAA players compare with their international counterparts. In the first programme, Tipperary hurler Brendan Maher swaps his hurl and and goes to bat for Australian cricket team the Adelaide Strikers, switching roles with former England cricketer Steve Harmison.
Sheehy Skeffington – Síocháiní
Tuesday, TG4, 9.30pm
Another doc, this times telling the story of journalist Frank Sheehy Skeffington, a feminist and pacifist closely acquainted with James Joyce and James Connolly who opposed the armed struggle, yet was executed at the outset of the Easter Rising.
Dunblane: Our Story
Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Sunday March 13th marks the 20th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre, when 16 primary school children and their teacher were shot dead in what remains the worst gun atrocity in the UK. For the people in this small Scottish community, life would never be the same again. Parents and siblings of the victims here speak about their unimaginable loss, including the daughters of schoolteacher Gwen Mayor, who died trying to protect the children. Also speaking – for the first time – is a survivor who was shot and who still remembers vividly the horror of that day.
Sensitive Skin
Thursday, Sky Arts, 9pm
You're on the wrong side of 50, your career is on the wane and your sex life badly needs some spicing up. Nothing unusual there, says you. For Davina Jackson, however, the struggle to keep things interesting continues in the second series of this Canadian comedy-drama. Kim Cattrall returns in the role of former model and actor Davina, dealing with a midlife crisis, sexual temptation and professional jealousy. Cattrall is best known as Samantha from Sex and the City, but the response to series one of Sensitive Skin suggests she might soon become better known as Davina.
