Image by: John and Helen Haynes

John Haynes, a Protestant, from Sydney, Australia, was cut out of three wills for marrying Helen, a Catholic, in 1962

MARRYING OUT PART 1 - NOT IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR

From: Siobhan McHugh
Length: 53:20

Mixed marriages - family fatwas and ruptured romance due to religious bigotry in Australia, told through compelling personal stories. Winner, GOLD medal, New York Radio Festival 2010 Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: MARRYING OUT PART 1 - NOT IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR
From: Siobhan McHugh

Haynes_wedding_1962_small Part one of a two-part documentary on clashes between the Irish Catholic underclass in Australia and the English Protestant establishment. The series is highly crafted, interweaving powerful personal stories with composed music, archive and dramatisations. These tales of political and religious bigotry will resonate with any ethnicity demonised by the majority.
Part 1 tells the stories of spouses - those who married across 'enemy' lines. Time period covers Australia from 1920s-70s, but connections are made to treatment of Muslims in Australia today - the current underdog.

Piece Description

Part one of a two-part documentary on clashes between the Irish Catholic underclass in Australia and the English Protestant establishment. The series is highly crafted, interweaving powerful personal stories with composed music, archive and dramatisations. These tales of political and religious bigotry will resonate with any ethnicity demonised by the majority.
Part 1 tells the stories of spouses - those who married across 'enemy' lines. Time period covers Australia from 1920s-70s, but connections are made to treatment of Muslims in Australia today - the current underdog.

Broadcast History

ABC Radio National, Hindsight program (Australia)
RTE Doc On One (Ireland)
Radio New Zealand

Transcript

MARRYING OUT

PART ONE – NOT IN FRONT OF THE ALTAR
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A RADIO DOCUMENTARY FOR ‘HINDSIGHT’

TRANSCRIPT
Music, archives, actuality and effects in bold and italics
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ANNOUNCER - Michelle Rayner:

Today, the first of a two-part series, Marrying Out. It’s about the passion and the prejudice aroused when couples married across the Catholic-Protestant divide in pre-multicultural Australia. It’s written and presented by Siobhan McHugh.
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MUSIC: CATHOLIC HYMN: THE BELLS OF THE ANGELUS

GAY WILSON
My mother came from a strict Methodist family and they were absolutely horrified to think that she was marrying a Catholic, because of people's perception of Catholicism in those days.

“JAMES”
We were second-class citizens. One line in the emplo...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

Today, the first of a two-part series, Marrying Out. It’s about the passion and the prejudice aroused when couples married across the Catholic-Protestant divide in pre-multicultural Australia. It’s written and presented by Siobhan McHugh.

OUTRO:

That was 'Not in Front of the Altar', the first of a two-part series, Marrying Out, about mixed marriage between Protestants and Catholics in pre-multicultural Australia.

The series was written and produced by Siobhan McHugh, and the sound engineer was Steven Tilley. The series music was composed and performed by Thomas Fitzgerald with assistance from the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong. The vocalists were Kavisha Mazzella and Lawrence Allen.