Seven Ages: The Story of the Irish Stateis a landmark documentary series produced in 2000 by Araby Productions for RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland. Directed by Seán Ó Mórdha, this influential seven-part series chronicles Ireland's evolution since its founding in 1921 through key political, social, and cultural moments in history.

The series offers a comprehensive exploration of how Ireland, as a new nation-state, evolved a collective identity over its first seven decades. The shared national narrative, initially framed by founding leaders, evolved through a dynamic interplay of internal and external socio-economic-cultural forces. It reveals the complex process through which societies construct and sustain their sense of collective self

Episode 1 examines the critical emergence of Irish national identity during the struggle for independence, revealing how new nations craft foundational myths to establish legitimacy. The narratives constructed during this period reflect a deliberate process of mythmaking essential to nation-building, with resistance and self-determination becoming central motifs in Ireland's emerging story of itself.

Seán Ó Mórdha's series presents Ireland's evolution as an intricate interplay between historical realities and collective self-perception, demonstrating how cultural narratives function as essential tools in national formation. The series brilliantly illustrates how societies construct meaningful narratives from historical raw material, selecting and emphasising certain elements while downplaying others to create a coherent national identity.

Each episode explores critical junctures that shaped modern Ireland's self-conception, showing how nations require not just political structures but also shared stories to bind citizens together in common purpose. The series is enriched by interviews with influential figures including former Presidents Patrick Hillery and Mary Robinson, and former Taoisigh who themselves participated in Ireland's evolving story.

By examining the dialectic between historical events and evolving national mythologies, the series offers a sophisticated understanding of how narratives serve both to reflect and to create social realities. First broadcast in 2000, Seven Ages remains a valuable resource for understanding how national identities are consciously crafted and unconsciously absorbed, showing that the stories we tell about our origins profoundly shape our understanding of who we are and what we might become.