The first ever dedicated Irish language children’s TV channel launched today at the TG4 headquarters in Conamara, which has been described as a ‘historic day’ for the Irish language.
The new channel will air for 14 hours every day, from 6am until 8pm, and will include a wealth of entertainment, drama, a children’s news service, a mix of home produced content and acquired shows.
It will also be a valuable source of educational Irish language content.
Aimed at 0-12 year olds, Cúla4 will provide an entertaining and fun daily point of contact to the Irish language for children.
It will be available on Saorview Channel 18, Channel 602 on Virgin Media, and Sky 624, along with Eir.
Cúla4 will also be supported online via the player which is available at cula4.com and also the Cúla4 App.
The channel will have a six-minute news service from Tuesday to Friday at 1.30pm, produced by Fíbín Media and hosted by Aisling Ní Dhonnabháin and Seán Ó Maoilchiaráin.
Schools will be able to tune in from their classrooms and keep up to date with the news of the day.
The channel will be anchored by presenters Seosamh Mac Seoin from Belfast, who wraps the morning slot from 6am, Galway’s Síle Ní Chonghaile who will present the educational zone from 9am, and Niamh Ní Chróinín from Dublin who has a fun packed slot in the afternoons from 3pm for the older age groups.
Karina Feirtéar, Channel Manager of Cúla4, said that it is a historic day for TG4 and the Irish language.
She said the new Cúla4 channel ensures that Irish language content is more accessible for our younger audiences, and will hopefully strengthen their engagement with it.
“We developed a space for our audience to enjoy entertaining content when they like, and will continue to make sure that we represent our diverse audience as best we can by showcasing lives in Ireland today, through a fun and colourful experience – while immersing them in a living language, in the hope that they learn new things about the world around them through a medium they are used to.”
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said she was extremely pleased to be in Galway today to launch Cúla4.
“Young people need to be able to visualise themselves achieving great things in all walks of life, and Cúla4 allows young people with Irish to see themselves represented on screen,” she said.
TG4’s Director General Alan Esslemont, said that he believes Ireland’s biggest single contribution to global diversity has been its ability to pass its own language from generation to generation as the living language of homes and communities.
“In that context, the approval given by Minister Catherine Martin for the establishment of a dedicated children’s channel in the Irish language is of historic significance,” he said.
“The English language is omnipresent in media globally and, if Irish is to continue as a community language, TG4’s services for children must be prominent, dynamic and attractive, strengthening children’s relationship with Irish language media and, through that, sustaining their relationship with the Irish language.
“I commend Minister Catherine Martin for her vision for the future of TG4, I thank this Government for their support and I send my deepest appreciation to everyone who has worked over many years, within TG4 and in the creative sector, to achieve this dream.”
