THE FIGHTING IRISH

RTE TELEVISION has substantially increased its commitment to Irish language programming in recent years, and a good thing it is too.

"In the last three or four years there has probably been a 100% increase in Irish language programmes," says Cathal Goan, who is RTE Television's Editor of Irish programming. "We've also increased our intake of outside material from independent production companies and we're involved in several co-productions with BBC Northern Ireland. We're working with them on a drama series at the moment and we've also bought in a drama series from S4C in Wales."

This increase in programming covers the whole range of programme material including current affairs, youth programmes, arts and music as well as children's animation features and cartoons. With snappy titles like ECU! ECU!, Eureka, Bouili, and Dinín in evidence, one of the more notable features of the new schedule is the shift in emphasis away from the more obvious kind of programming covering subjects like traditional music and crafts, to a more youth oriented output. No longer is Irish language programming synonymous with boring discussions about basket weaving or bodhran making.

The arrival of Network Two over a decade ago and the increase of daytime broadcasting has undoubtedly helped boost Irish language output, but a willingness to experiment with new programme formats and innovative video editing techniques has also improved the image of Irish language TV shows.

"We've had a deliberate policy of taking on young researchers and presenters from a variety of backgrounds including theatre and community groups," says Goan, "and we're happy with the way this has worked out."

He also stresses that the viewers of these programmes are no longer confined mainly to Gaeltacht areas. "It's difficult to get hard audience figures," he says, "but our own research indicates that our main audiences are on the East Coast though we're strong in Munster as well. Of course, viewing figures vary, depending on the particular type of programme."

CONFIDENT

The Irish language organisations have often been critical of the station's coverage of Irish. Do they exert any pressure on RTE to come up with programming which they might find more acceptable?

"No, our brief is to make and schedule Irish language programmes and we do it the best way we can without bowing to lobbying organisations of any kind."

Another feature of some of the newer programmes has been an increased use of subtitles. This has the obvious advantage of attracting viewers who might be interested in the subject matter but not conversant with the language.

"There was a certain amount of resistance in the past to any form of subtitling," says Goan, "But it seems to be more acceptable now. Also with the development of Aertel, the viewer can now choose whether to have subtitles or not."

One area which hasn't been satisfactorily resolved is the thorny question of an Irish Language teaching programme. It's almost ten years since the last series of this kind was broadcast ("Anois is Arís") and the whole question is tied up in the wider discussion and review of the teaching of Irish. The bottom line, however, is that there aren't any plans currently for an Irish teaching programme.

"We did have discussion recently on some kind of language tutoring series but it hasn't quite worked out in the past," says Goan. "The problem with those sort of programmes is they normally start out with the best of intentions but the enthusiasm drops off after the first few shows. There has to be participation and a certain amount of work is required to get the best from teaching programmes, which might explain why they're not so successful."

With an all-Irish television station looking more likely at some stage in the near future, is it likely that Irish programmes on the mother station might be scrapped altogether or decreased considerably?

"Michael D. Higgins is on record as stating that he intends to keep Irish programmes on the national station," says Goan. "There is always the danger that Irish would be marginalised if it was packed away on an exclusively Irish channel, and this could alienate viewers who want to improve their understanding of the language but not necessarily switch to an all Irish station. So we're confident that the Irish output will remain high on the national channel."

• Colm O'Hare