BOOK LAUNCH – Ten years of TG4

Eithne O'Connell pictured at the recent Oireachtas award ceremony

An award-winning bilingual book celebrating the first ten years of the Irish language television station TG4 has just been launched.

TG4@10: Deich mBliana de TG4 - Ten Years of was /launched in Aras na Gaeilge, NUI Galway on Friday, 17 October 2008 at 6pm by Michael D. Higgins T.D. who, as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, gave the go-ahead for TG4. The station first came on air as TnaG in 1996.

The book is published by Cló Iar-Chonnachta and edited by Dr. Eithne O’Connell of Dublin City University and Dr. John Walsh and Prof. Gearóid Denvir of NUI Galway.

It is a collection of essays, complete with summaries in Irish, written by both academics and those working in the television industry. Topics under discussion include the historical and political background to the founding of the station, TG4’s language policy, the social and economic impact of the station and the specific challenges of broadcasting in Irish as well as the use of immigrant languages and English. The authors are drawn for all parts of the island, from the Waterford Gaeltacht to Portstewart, and from Dublin to Connemara and the main dialects of Irish are all represented.

“We felt sure that this book will make an impact”, says one of the editors, DCU lecturer, Dr. Eithne O’Connell. Indeed just last week, the book was awarded an Oireachtas na Gaeilge literary prize of €1,000 for a substantial pioneering work in Irish. “The essays are based on a seminar DCU and NUIG organised in 2006 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of TG4 and the book is likely to be appeal to anyone interested in the media or in language and broadcasting issues. We made a point of having full Irish/English interpreting services on offer at the seminar and have translated sections of the book into English as well so as to make it accessible to those who are interested but don’t have great Irish language skills.”

More information: www.cic.ie