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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Free TV sport in Irish needed
CONRADH na Gaeilge welcomes the proposal by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Éamon Ryan, to guarantee that Heineken Cup Rugby, the Cheltenham Festival and certain All-Ireland GAA matches will be free-to-air events.
We call on for him to also ensure that a percentage of these free-to-air events have Irish-language commentary.
Minister Ryan has deemed the sporting events that he wishes to have aired for free to the Irish public to be of major national importance. It is also of great consequence that he ensures that a percentage of these events are broadcast in the first national language.
It is clear that there is great goodwill amongst the general public towards both the Irish language and sports, and Irish-language commentary on some of the big races and hurling, football and rugby games should help the transformation of this knowledge and goodwill into everyday use of Irish, a primary objective of the government’s 20year strategy for the Irish language.
Conradh na Gaeilge believes that Irish television services such as RTÉ, TV3 and TG4 should accommodate the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht communities, as well as English-speakers, when broadcasting some of the sporting events of national importance to the whole community free of charge.
If the European Commission agrees with Minister Éamon Ryan’s proposal that whichever finalised list of sporting events should be deemed of major national importance, Conradh na Gaeilge is recommending that a percentage of these free-to-air events be broadcast through Irish.
Sport is ingrained in us as a nation and, as Minister Éamon Ryan has stated, these sporting events are part of what we are.
As such, there is no doubt but that he will agree with Conradh na Gaeilge’s recommendation that some of the free-to-air events should be made available through the medium of Irish when the language is also such an essential part of what we are, and a vital ingredient in our social and cultural make-up.
Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa
President
Conradh na Gaeilge
Tralee
Co Kerry
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