Let The Rest Of The World Go By, RTE 1, Monday
WHEN civil partnership was introduced in the Republic in 2010 and same-sex marriage in 2015, the anomaly of siblings and friends living together featured in the debate.
Some raised the position of two elderly bachelor brothers sharing a farm, asking why they wouldn't be able to benefit from the tax advantages of a legal union.
It wasn't a surprise, then, that the marriage of convenience of Dubliners Matt Murphy (84) and Michael O'Suillivan (58) became an international story.
Despite the age gap, they had been friends for 30 years from when they were both working at Eircom and their situation in 2017 required an imaginative solution.
Michael was temporarily homeless after being declared bankrupt, while Matt was getting to an age where he felt he needed help and didn't want to move into a care home.
Theirs was a friendship of deep, but platonic love.
Michael had three children from a previous marriage and works in the fruit and veg delivery business.
Matt was born in a stately home outside Thurles, in Co Tipperary but not into the money.
His early life was one of fancy-dress parties, hunting and shooting, but as Matt explained he had been "born under a big black cloud". His mother was unmarried and Matt went on to be a butler, actor and model.
He was also gay in a difficult time to be homosexual.
Between them they hatched a deal. Michael would move into his Stoneybatter home and take care of Matt, while in return he would inherit the house when Matt died.
The cunning bit was getting married to each other and then Matt would avoid an estimated £50,000 tax bill.
There were some difficult moments, such as when someone complained that Matt was being hoodwinked and the couple had to endure an official investigation, but their marriage day and short life together was one of joy.
Like all friends and couples they had their routine. Daytime, when Michael wasn't working, was walks in nearby Phoenix Park which involving hugging and kissing trees.
Evenings were spent in a very narrow double bed watching football on television. At least, Michael was watching football. Matt was enjoying his friend's over the top reaction, in between bouts of stepping out to the kitchen for a cigarette.
Unfortunately, Matt began to develop what Michael believed was dementia and deteriorated mentally and physically to the point where he had to move to a care home.
He died in January 2020 and due to his pre-Covid timing they were able to have a traditional wake in the Stoneybatter home which had now passed to Michael.
Let The Rest Of The World Go By, a line from a favourite song of Matt's, was a touching tribute to the power of friendship.
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A Perfect Planet, BBC 1, Sunday
David Attenborough may be past clambering through jungles, but we can still enjoy his majestic narrating voice on this BBC nature classic.
A Perfect Planet covers areas familiar to Life on Earth and other series, but it's still a fantastic treat.
Episode one focused on the importance of volcanoes to our existence.
We were brought stunning images from some of the world's 1,500 active volcanoes and also the acidic waters nearby.
This included Kurile lake in the Russian far east peninsula of Kamchatka, one of the most isolated areas on earth.
The lake is so full of nutrients that it attracts masses of red salmon to spawn and in turn the world's largest congregation of fishing bears.
Fantastic family viewing in a particularly desolate January.
