The first Irish language television channel

Summary

Witness History – "The First Irish Language Television Channel"

Aired: June 2, 2026
Host: Lorcan Clancy
Guest: Sinead Ní Uí Fhíoráin (Sinead Niwheer), founding presenter of TnaG (now TG4)

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Episode Overview

This episode revisits the historic launch of Ireland’s first ever Irish-language TV channel, Telefis na Gaeilge (TnaG), on Halloween night 1996. Through an in-depth conversation with Sinead, the station’s first on-air presenter, the episode explores the cultural importance, the excitement and anxiety of launch night, and the broader impact of TnaG (now TG4) on the Irish language and its speakers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Launch Night: Nerves, Excitement and Cultural Significance

• Setting the Scene
  • Halloween 1996, County Galway: festive launch with “fireworks, dancing, carnival performers and a party atmosphere” outside the new TV studios. [00:42]
• Behind the Camera
  • Sinead recounts the anxiety of being the channel’s very first on-air face:

    “I remember telling myself not to trip as I walked towards camera. I had the whole piece said to myself over and over and over.” – Sinead [00:24]

• Adrenaline and Teamwork
  • The opening involved handing over to co-presenter Alva O’Monaghan and leading viewers inside; Sinead describes it as:

    “Really nerve wracking and exciting and adrenaline and a rush and everything. Yeah, I can still feel that.” – Sinead [01:02]

• Launch Words
  • On remembering her opening words, Sinead admits:

    “I do. How sad is that? I said, Tina G, that means tonight is Halloween. Tonight is a magic night. Tonight is the opening night of teenagey.” – Sinead [05:37]

The Road to TnaG: Decades of Activism and Grassroots Broadcasting

• Irish Language as Minority Tongue
  • Irish, though the official language, was mainly spoken in the Gaeltacht (western regions), rarely used publicly elsewhere:

    “Outside those areas, the language is widely learned in schools, but rarely used in everyday conversation.” – Lorcan [01:42]

• Grassroots Movements
  • Since the 1960s, activists set up pirate radio stations (e.g., Free Radio Connemara) to show a real audience existed [01:42]
  • First big breakthrough: Raidió na Gaeltachta launched in 1972, with its first broadcast “Mass… sung by a choir from Connemara…” [02:28]

A New Vision: Modern, Youthful, Secular TV

• Breaking From Tradition
  • TnaG’s creators pushed for new secular, modern programming:

    “They really did want a different approach… move away, I suppose, from all the old connotations of Irish and church and state and all the old guard. And they placed a great emphasis on programs for the youth and for the young.” – Sinead [02:53]

  • Tagline: “Súile eile” (“another perspective, another eye, a different look at things”). [02:53]
• Youth-Focused Recruitment and Training
  • Sinead’s selection process involved BBC-led training, on-camera tests, and finally being offered the presenter role after initially being a backup pick [03:51]

The Technical Challenge and Ambition

• Cutting-Edge Technology
  • News reports highlighted “the most sophisticated in the world” equipment for news and studio [04:37]
  • On launch night, the studio was still incomplete (“laying cables under the floor”—“walking over like stepping stones…”). [04:58]
• Scale and Rehearsals

  “The logistics of that open night program were huge and complex. So we were rehearsing and rehearsing, walking and talking and the moving camera…” – Sinead [04:53]

Cultural Impact: All Dialects, All Levels

• Programming for All Speakers
  • TnaG broadcast news, sport, documentaries, quiz shows, and the now-famous soap opera “Ros na Rún” in Irish. [06:25]
  • Represented all three major dialects and encouraged inclusivity:

    “There are three main dialects in Irish and they’re quite different. … TnaG was for the Irish language for everybody, for learners, for fluent speakers, for native speakers.” – Sinead [06:43]

Lasting Legacy

• Bringing Irish to the Center Stage
  • The launch marked a turning point for visibility and normalization of the Irish language:

    “It was no longer in books, it was no longer in the corner on the radio. It was front and central and people could watch it. … This just makes a huge difference to the strength of a language, to the life of a language.” – Sinead [07:45]

• Personal Significance
  • Sinead on her pride:

    “Actually, I think since I was really small, I wanted to be on television. And here I was on television. I opened the station. … it’s a really significant moment that there I am launching a new station. And, yeah, it was a very proud moment.” – Sinead [08:27]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Launch Night Jitters:
  “All I wanted to do was get it out cleanly, clearly, without tripping up my words or my feet.” – Sinead [00:24]
• On TnaG’s Vision:
  “New and modern and to move away, I suppose, from all the old connotations of Irish and church and state and all the old guard.” – Sinead [02:53]
• On Representing All Learners:
  “Telefish Nguylge was for the Irish language for everybody, for learners, for fluent speakers, for native speakers.” – Sinead [06:43]
• On Cultural Shift:
  “This just makes a huge difference to the strength of a language… There were parties all over the country celebrating.” – Sinead [07:45]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:24 – Sinead describes the pressure as the first presenter
• 01:42 – Discussion of Irish language status and early broadcasting activism
• 02:53 – The station’s secular and modern approach
• 03:51 – Presenter recruitment and Sinead’s selection story
• 04:37 – Technical innovation and challenges in the studio
• 05:37 – Sinead’s memorable opening lines
• 06:25 – Emphasis on diverse programming and inclusivity
• 07:45 – Long-term significance for the Irish language
• 08:27 – Sinead reflects on personal pride

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is both nostalgic and celebratory, blending archival detail with Sinead’s vivid, heartfelt personal recollections. Sinead’s enthusiasm and pride animate the narrative, giving listeners insight into the nerves, joy, and cultural hope that surrounded Ireland’s first Irish-language television station.

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Summary Takeaway

Through Sinead’s testimony and historical context, listeners learn how the opening of TnaG signaled a new era for the Irish language—transforming it from a sideline cultural artifact to a vibrant, modern, and inclusive national presence on television. The episode highlights the power of media to revitalize language and culture, and the enduring pride of those who made it possible.

Transcript

[A]

Hello and welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Lorcan Clancy. I'm taking you back 30 years to when a new television channel launched in Ireland. It was the first of its kind, a station broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language.

[B]

I remember telling myself not to trip as I walked towards camera. I had the whole piece said to myself over and over and over. All I wanted to do was get it out cleanly, clearly, without tripping up my words or my feet.

[A]

Sinead Niwheer was the first presenter to speak on the new station, which was called Telefishne Guelga or Tina G. The launch was on Halloween night in 1996. That evening there were fireworks, dancing, carnival performers and a party atmosphere outside the new TV studios in County Galway.

[B]

So, yeah, I had to walk out the door and as if I was inviting everybody in. This is the party. Come in, come in to the house. We'll show you around. So I had my piece to say and then I had to turn to the other presenter, Alva o', Monaghan, Tina G. And he had a piece to say and then we followed back indoors again. It was just. It was really nerve wracking and exciting and adrenaline and a rush and everything. Yeah, I can still feel that.

[A]

In the Republic of Ireland, Irish is actually the first official language, but it's also a minority language. Most native speakers are in the Gwaeltacht regions, traditional Irish speaking areas on the west coast. Outside those areas, the language is widely learned in schools, but rarely used in everyday conversation. From the late 1960s, native speakers campaigned for more Irish language broadcasting. Some even set up unofficial pirate stations like Free Radio Connemara, to prove there was an audience for it. Responding to this growing pressure, the national broadcaster, or te, launched a dedicated Irish language radio station, radio Nagoyltucta, in 1972.

[C]

St. Magdara's Church in Carrot was packed for Radio Nagaeltukta's first live transmission. Mass was sung by a choir from Connemara Coulee and the Dominican choir from Tala.

[A]

The next step was a dedicated TV channel. But by the time Tina G launched in 1996, times had changed and the focus shifted to a new, more modern vision for the language.

[B]

They really did want a different approach. It was secular, it wasn't going to be blessed with a Mass. Sulele was their tagline, still is, which is another perspective, another eye, a different look at things. You can interpret it so many different ways, but it just give that different angle to it. And they wanted it to be new and modern and to move away, I suppose, from all the old connotations of Irish and church and state and all the old guard. And they placed a great emphasis on programs for the youth and for the young. Always

[A]

in the run up to the launch, Irish language programs were being recorded while the live on air talent was recruited. Sinead sent in a showreel, she was called to an audition and then a training week where a group of potential presenters were put through their paces.

[B]

It was a week in Galway and they had people from the BBC training us on how to perform in front of camera. We had to go out and record things outside, walk and talk, doing pieces to camera. They were just throwing stuff at us to see how good we would perform live on camera or recorded. And then I got a call to say that they had selected two for continuity and weather and presenting on Tina G. And I was number three. They had selected a man and a woman and the woman subsequently turned down the offer. So they rang me as the next in line and I said yes.

[C]

They'll be the new faces and the new voices of the nightly news service on television. The service will be one of the driving forces of the station's four hour nightly schedule. The equipment the news teams are using is the most sophisticated in the world.

[A]

That report from RTE News emphasized the scale and the ambition of the new station.

[B]

The control room was all new, cutting edge in the mixing room, in the director's room. The studio was newly built, the whole station was newly built. So even on open night they were still laying cables under the floor. So there were square tiles, some of them were up and some of them were down and you'd be walking over like stepping stones across the tiles. The logistics of that open night program were huge and complex. So we were rehearsing and rehearsing, walking and talking and the moving camera to broadcast live the pieces to camera that we were saying.

[A]

And do you still remember your opening words and what you said?

[B]

I do. How sad is that? I said, I said, Tina G, that means tonight is Halloween. Tonight is a magic night. Tonight is the opening night of teenagey. I remember actually afterwards I drew the short straw and I had to stay to do the weather at the close of the station at 11 o' clock that night and everybody went off to a party in the hotel down the road and I was left there to do the weather. And by the time I got down to the party they were closing the bar.

[A]

Tina G offered sport, news, documentaries, quiz shows, even an Irish language soap opera, Rusnaroon Everything you could already get in English was now available in Irish. And crucially, it was a platform where all the main dialects of the language could be heard.

[B]

There are three main dialects in Irish and they're quite different. They really are quite different. I was coming from Dublin with learned Irish. I was not a native speaker, and I had great difficulty understanding the native speakers when they would speak too fast, you know, as we all do, we run words into each other and we skip over words when we're really fluent in the language. And we already had, at that point, Radione Geltachte, where in the main native speakers were the voices that you heard. Telefish Nguylge was for the Irish language for every everybody, for learners, for fluent speakers, for native speakers. So they wanted all dialects and all levels to be heard and for it to provide a way into the language for everybody all over the country.

[A]

The station was renamed TG4 or TG Caher in 1999, and it's still broadcasting today.

[B]

It was hugely significant for the language because it brought the Irish language into the modern day. It was no longer in books, it was no longer in the corner on the radio. It was front and central and people could watch it. This just makes a huge difference to the strength of a language, to the life of a language. There were parties all over the country celebrating that on the night that it launched. This had been sought for so many years to put Irish on the same footing.

[A]

And what did it mean to you personally to be that opening voice, the first presenter on Tina G?

[B]

Actually, I think since I was really small, I wanted to be on television. And here I was on television. I opened the station. It was really even just in recent years, when I think about it, it's really significant moment that there I am launching a new station. And, yeah, it was a very proud moment.

[A]

Today, Sinead Niguir is a lecturer in education at the University of Galway. She was speaking to me, Lorcan Clancy, for the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service. And if you've enjoyed listening, please write a review and share this with anyone you think would like to hear it. That really helps us to let people know about the amazing stories that people tell us here on Witness History. Bye for now.