Irish TV series to feature Ladies of Llangollen's story

* The story on GCN featuring the tale of the Ladies of Llangollen.

The famed Ladies of Llangollen will feature in a new six-part series about Ireland’s greatest love stories, Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, on an Irish TV network this September.

That's according to a story on the website of GCN, a free resource for the LGBTQ+ community.

The story says:

"Returning for its second season, the show will share the accounts of six new captivating and heartbreaking Irish relationships, set on the backdrop of some of the most historic events, including the 1798 Rebellion, Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence and American Civil War.

Among the stories featured in the new TG4 series will be that of Lady Eleanor Butler of Kilkenny Castle and Sarah Ponsonby of Woodstock House, Inistioge, also better known as the Ladies of Llangollen.

After their introduction in 1768, through family connections, the pair formed a lifelong bond, resulting in their emigrating to Llangollen in Wales in 1780, where they lived together for the rest of their lives.

The episode will explore how, despite their families’ aristocratic standing, the couple broke the social norms of their time and overcame many obstacles in order to be together.

Defying societal expectations and refusing to conform to traditional gender roles, their story caused a huge controversy at the time but has endured the ages to become an inspirational tale of undying love and unbreakable courage.

The ladies’ journey is not the first LGBTQ+ relationship to be explored by Scéalta Grá na hÉireann, as a previous series featured the tragic tale of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas."

* The new series will launch on Friday, September 8, and will be available to watch on TG4 and online.