Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know by Colm Tóibín (Omnibus)

Award-winning writer Colm Tóibín explores the complex relationships between three of Ireland's literary giants and their fathers

From Oscar Wilde's polymath father who was a doctor specialising in diseases of the eye and ear; an amateur architect, as well as a statistician who was knighted for his work; to WB Yeats's father a brilliant correspondent and impoverish artist who struggled to complete a painting; to John Stanislaus Joyce, a drinker and storyteller who was unwilling to provide for his family.

Colm takes a literary walk around Dublin, stopping off at a variety of landmarks immortalised in the works of some of Ireland's most famous writers. At the same time he reflects on his own writing life.

Omnibus of five parts abridged by Richard Hamilton

Producer: Elizabeth Allard

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.