Michael McDowell, former Justice Minister and Attorney General, has a new TV documentary airing on RTÉ tonight looking at how the Catholic Church took over Ireland.

Rome v Republic was made with director Niamh Sammon and aims to "examine the interaction between the Catholic Church and the Irish Republican separatist idea over two centuries" as well as how the Church came to be so dominant in Irish society.

The documentary starts with the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion, working its way through to the 20th century when the Catholic Church gained control over the country's social infrastructure, largely through economic reasons.

Michael McDowell joined us to discuss the documentary.

Rome v Republic is on RTÉ One tonight at 10.15pm.