New Irish language `glossy' casts its readership net wide

It may have pinched some of its best and brightest, but Teilifis na Gaeilge can't be too worried by the arrival of the new independent…

It may have pinched some of its best and brightest, but Teilifis na Gaeilge can't be too worried by the arrival of the new independent channel, TV3, on the airwaves this week.

After all, the new station has already been chided by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, for its lack of Irish language content; and viewers in parts west of Clifden and north to Mayo will have trouble receiving it anyway.

Even as TnaG publicises its autumn schedule, a new Irish language monthly takes to the newsstands. Cuisle, which translates as pulse or heartbeat, is due to be given its formal blessing in Croke Park, Dublin, on Friday. The eagarthoir is former Irish Times western correspondent and Irish language editor Uinsionn MacDubhghaill.

The 40-page "glossy" is grant-aided by Bord na Gaeilge, and has a full-time staff of four in its premises in Costello, Connemara. It is the outcome of a report commissioned by the board on the state of publishing in Irish, which has already resulted in Foinse, the national weekly, replacing the former Anois.

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With an initial print-run of 10,000 copies, the magazine's formula will recall Vanity Fair, with a "catch-all" approach including news, politics, features, gossip and competitions.

This first issue, which promises a strong current affairs cover report, includes features by Guardian journalist Maggie O'Kane on living back in her native Belfast; Prof Gearoid O Tuathaigh on the proposed EU Objective One status designation for poorer regions; singer Antaine O Farachain on the state of seannos; cartographer and writer Tim Robinson on place-names in Connemara and Diarmuid Johnson on the death of the Breton language.

The editor of the North Belfast News, Sean Mag Uidhir, argues that people-power, rather than repressive legislation, stopped the Real IRA; there is the first instalment in a regular feature for parents raising their children through Irish; and there is a learners' section, An Fhuinneog, with articles on Viagra (or "Via Gra") and the Taj Mahal.

As Mac Dubhghaill observes, very little of the recent renewed interest in the Irish language has been channelled into the print media. "We're conscious of the fact that there are still few outlets for journalists writing in Irish."

He aims to "cover the margins" and provide a platform - similar to that required by western artists who have staged an exhibition out in the bog as part of Plearaca Conamara's current festival to highlight their own situation. One of the works, a ninefoot nude woman painted by Inis Mor artist Sean O Flaithearta, has already been baptised "Monica" by locals.

Cuisle will be distributed through Eason's nationwide at £1.50.