The first ever dedicated Irish language children’s channel was launched on Friday September 8th 2023. Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin was invited to the TG4 headquarters in Co. Galway to carry the official launch of the new TV channel.
Cúla4 will air for 14 hours daily, from 6 every morning until 8 every evening. Saorview, Virgin Media, Sky and Eir will all carry the young people’s channel. Cúla4 will also be supported online via the player which is available at cula4.com and also the Cúla4 App.
The free to air children’s channel will include a children’s news service, a mix of home produced content and acquired shows, as well being a source of educational Irish language content.
The new channel, aimed at 0-12 year olds will provide an entertaining and fun daily point of contact to the Irish language for children. The channel will include newly commissioned content from the Independent production sector in Ireland, as well as acquired international animation, which are revoiced to Irish by the independent sector.
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.
The channel will be anchored by presenters Seosamh Mac Seoin who wraps the morning slot from 6am, Síle Ní Chonghaile presents the educational zone from 9am and Niamh Ní Chróinín has a slot in the afternoons from 3pm for the older age groups.
“This Government has demonstrated the importance it places on making the Irish language a living language,” Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. “The increase in funding and support I have provided to TG4 to ensure increased Irish language content is available, is a clear signal of the important role that public service media can play in this regard.”
“As Minister for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht, I am particularly pleased to be here today to launch Cúla 4, a dedicated Irish language children’s channel that will embed and normalise the daily use of Irish for the next generation. 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.”
A national survey carried out by Ipsos MRBI last year showed clear support and demand for the Cúla4 channel. 89% of respondents agree or strongly agree that it is important for Irish society that a children’s channel is available in the Irish language on a free-to-air basis.
In addition to this in-home viewing, the new Cúla4 channel will also provide support content in classrooms. To date TG4 content has been an important Irish language resource for primary schools nationwide. Independent research, carried out by RED C shows that 44% of primary school teachers, 80% of teachers in Irish-speaking primary schools and 250,000 primary school children throughout Ireland, regularly use the TG4 or Cúla4 Player in the classroom. A dedicated Cúla4 channel will enable TG4 to provide even more, interactive educational content with clear ties to the curriculum.
Cúla4 will support television production in Ireland and invest in new independent productions. A number of Irish Independent production companies have multi-annual contracts or single series contracts to produce children’s content that reflects the diverse backgrounds of children living in all parts of Ireland, and particularly in Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities.
Programming available on Cúla4 includes the following:
Anfa is an action-oriented and high-energy game show based on the weather. The series is produced by Fíbín Media.
Uiscenauts is a fun all action water-based game show produced by Abú Media
Nuacht Cúla4 is a news programme for young people covering local, national and international news produced by Fíbín Media.
M’Ainm Mo Scéal is a children’s series about the meaning and the stories associated with given names, produced by Ronin Films Ltd.
Teach Spraoi: Every week, a different group of children have two days to design and build their choice of playhouse. Produced by Macalla.
Uisce Uisce: A new series for children who love water activities, be it sailing or zorbing.Produced by Paper Owl Films Ltd.
For more information on Cúla4’s programming, click here.
