Last Easter Sunday's one-off drama, based on a Maeve Binchy short story, was principally set in South Africa and, while on the most basic level it concerned a love triangle, in essence it was about the new colonial power on the Cape.

The love triangle involved Conor Mullen as an Irish financial whiz living in South Africa, his unhappy girlfriend Flora Montgomery and Liam Cunningham, who'd just packed in his job in a propertydevelopment firm concreting over swathes of Cape Town green belt. (Somewhere back home too was Carrie Crowley, recovering from a broken marriage to Cunningham. ) To cut a long story short, Cunningham and Montgomery were drawn to each other, after Montgomery also packed in her job to pursue her dream of - yes - buying property in the Cape, in this case a small hotel, the Anner House of the title. Throughout, there were mad-dog-like Irish people sweating and fanning themselves under the sun, black servants fussing after them and one of Cunningham's spoilt-brat kids (who were holidaying with their father) was heard to exclaim:

"Dad - there's a lade of hameless kids in the back. What are you gaying to do abate it? You're such a loser." It's hard to imagine anything like this being conceivable before 2000. And people accuse Maeve Binchy of being twee and having nothing to say.

Okay, so it did end up being a bit cosy. It couldn't resist the happy ending and when it did reach the ending you felt that it was only just getting going. But there was a lot to admire along the way - spectacular South African scenery; some nicely restrained performances; and a set of well-drawn characters, each of them faced with very believable dilemmas. It all added up to a perfectly passable Sunday-night feelgood drama.

And what could make you feel better than knowing we're lording it at last on the world stage?

A different Ireland was on display on Frongoch: Col�iste na R�abhl�ide, an Ireland on the verge of independence and in the throes of violent upheaval. In the aftermath of the 1916 Rising, many of the insurrectionists were transported to the prison camp of Frongoch in Wales (christened "Francach" by inmates for the amount of rats in the place). It was one of Britain's biggest blunders in putting so many republican prisoners in the one spot, as Frongoch, under the natural leadership of Michael Collins, became a training ground for future revolutionaries.

In the last few months, TG4 has aired some top-class historical drama-documentaries, and this was the most informative I've seen, if a little too intimate in perspective and small-scale to be hugely evocative.

From an historical point of view it pressed all the right buttons, utilising the personal testimonies of many of those involved, press accounts from the period and parliamentary records to good effect to tell a neglected but fascinating story.

On the production-values front, the programme featured an impressive array of very floppy flat caps, the worst collection of upper-crust English accents I've ever heard and the definitive Michael Collins depiction - honestly, better than Brendan Gleeson or Liam Neeson.

Back in those days, you needed unshakeable ideological principles and a killer instinct if you wanted to be the leader of the country. Nowadays, cynicism, ego, looks, family connections and a brass neck are the most important traits for any aspirant to the top position. So says Ardal O'Hanlon in the first episode of So You Want To Be A Taoiseach.

What a nice surprise this show turned out to be. Fine comic actor though O'Hanlon is, the prospect of a near-hour of patience-testing whimsy bundled up in topical wrapping paper was not an enticing one.

Happily this wasn't that kind of programme. Indeed, O'Hanlon was a pretty low-key presence, and when he was called on to do what he does, he lent some genuinely amusing links to what turned out to be a very educational primer on the Irish political system - Basil Chubb presented by Basil Brush, basically.

Episode one outlined the steps one should take to build a successful early political career, and featured some enlightening contributions from many of the media's top political correspondents. Including Kevin Rafter and Michael Clifford. So you want to get on in the Sunday Tribune? Always big-up your colleagues.

Reviewed Anner House Sunday, RT� One Frongoch:

Col�iste na R�abhl�ide Wednesday, TG4 So You Want To Be A Taoiseach Thursday, RT� One