Episode
The first Irish language television channel
- Podcast
- Witness History
- Published
- Jun 2, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 552
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct985x
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Summary
In 1996, Ireland launched its first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language. Teilifís na Gaeilge, later renamed TG4, went on air on Halloween night. It aimed to appeal to both native and non-native speakers. The launch followed decades of campaigning for more Irish-language broadcasting in the country. Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir was the first presenter to speak on the new station. She speaks to Lorcan Clancy about the excitement of opening night. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space. (Photo: Broadcast from Teilifís na Gaeilge (TG4). Credit: TG4)