TV: Tracing your roots, rowing and romance 

The international day of romance is just around the corner, and there is plenty of love to go round on TV for Valentine’s Day on Friday.

A Nationwide special on RTÉ1 that day at 7pm features stories of connection, as the team talk to people who met others through running groups and running events in different parts of the country.

Also in the programme, we visit the new lovers’ bench located on the Banks of the River Liffey in Dublin city, and reporter Valerie Waters hears how an eco-seat was created from waste taken from the river over recent times.

The Late Late Show on Friday on RTÉ1 at 9.35pm is a Valentine special, so expect Patrick Kielty to unearth stories of love and romance to melt your heart.

Meanwhile, the episode of Nationwide on Monday at 7pm explores connections of a different kind, as it focuses on ancestry and tracing one’s roots.

The team meet some Americans who have come to Longford and Roscommon to find the homesteads of their ancestors, and the show explores how they undertake the task.

Because of Ireland’s huge diaspora population across the world, genealogy websites have become very popular. An organisation called ‘Roots Ireland’ helps families trace their ancestors and, in many cases, bring them to the actual place where they lived.

Niall Martin joins the Longford branch of Roots Ireland, who has found a new headquarters in a restored cottage in the townland of Fermoyle.

Plus, in Dublin, reporter John Kilraine hears all about the history of the Huguenots who settled in the city almost 400 years ago.

The word ‘refugee’ originated in the 17th century to describe Protestants who fled persecution in Catholic France. Known as Huguenots, thousands made Ireland their home, particularly in Dublin, but also in Cork.

It is estimated that at one time 5% of the capital’s population was French-speaking. Nationwide looks at the mark that Huguenots have left on Dublin.

The episode of the show on Wednesday heads to Cork, as we meet the next crop of medal hopefuls training at Skibbereen Rowing Club, who hope to follow in the footsteps of the club’s Olympic medal winners, such as Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy.

Plus, Nationwide heads to Áras an Uachtaráin to meet some people who live outside Ireland and who recently received an award from the President for their service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad.