Irish TV launches Christmas schedule
Irish TV has announced its 2015 Christmas schedule. It has a festive mix of brand new home grown programming and entertaining specials, prepare to be spellbound this Christmas on Irish TV SKY 191.
Irish TV will deliver a host of brand new programmes including ‘Susan & Malachi's Christmas Special,’ ‘Lisa McHugh’s Christmas Dinner,’ ‘Oh Me Oh My Songs for Joe,’ ‘Aisling’s Top Ten,’ ‘Play It by Ear,’ ‘Brian Friel: Return to Ballybeg,’ ‘Christmas in New York,’ ‘Christmas in Boston’ and ‘A Craving for Home.’
Christmas has officially arrived at Ireland’s first international TV station as Irish TV announces its 2015 Christmas schedule. With a festive mix of brand new home grown Irish programming and US content, the festive season on Irish TV promises to be more magical than ever.
Irish TV has launched its Christmas schedule and highlights include the documentary Matt Cunningham, ‘Around the House,’ airing Christmas Day as family and friends share fond memories of this much-loved Galway musician as he celebrates fifty years on the road.
Another documentary ‘Daithí’ will bring viewers on an amazing journey of the Arctic Circle, as Limerick native Daithí Ó Murchú sets out to become the first Irish person ever to complete the gruelling 350 Arctic Circle Race. There are also documentaries about Mullingar singer Joe Dolan and Irish writer Brian Friel.
There will be a major focus on the Irish in America with three special shows airing over the Christmas period on Irish TV SKY 191. Christmas can be a lonely time for those away from family and friends and this poignant documentary, ‘Christmas in New York,’ looks at life in the Big Apple and how the Irish Diaspora celebrate away from home.
Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is very proud of his Irish Heritage, in the documentary, ‘Christmas in Boston,’ looks at how the Irish community have dominated social and political life in Massachusetts State for the past century. And a Christmas craving for famous Irish brands like Tayto, Irish sausages or Old Time Irish Marmalade means the Irish Export Industry to the USA is booming at present in this special documentary, ‘A Craving for Home,’ looks at those at the heart of the industry in America.
Foodies aren’t ignored, what with Irish TV Chef, Paul Treyvaud, returning with his Christmas specials, viewers will be treated to some cultural festive feasts.
Many Irish country music stars feature on Irish TV this Christmas including, Lisa McHugh, Susan McCann, Daniel O’Donnell, Nathan Carter, Philomena Begley and Foster & Allen. We also have music from Phil Coulter and Louis Walsh's new band HomeTown.
Irish TV will be broadcasting LIVE from Taylors Three Rock, Dublin 16, on Thursday, December 10th at 8pm, with host, Malachi Cush, as we look forward to getting truly into the Christmas spirit with a fantastic line-up of guests including The Fureys, Hurricane Highway, The Vard Sisters, Foster & Allen and many more.
Christmas Show Highlights:
‘Around the House’
Airing Christmas Day @ 21.00
Legendary Galway musician Matt Cunningham celebrated fifty years on the road in 2015 and this insightful and moving documentary looks back on his memorable career with magical tales and tunes from dance halls and Irish clubs at home and abroad. Matt Cunningham has played in every county in Ireland over the past fifty years with regular tours and shows in America, England, Italy, France and even as far away as Greece. Matt is not only applauded for his powerful performances at Set and Ceilí dances up and down the country but he is also respected for nurturing and passing on the tradition
‘Daithí’
Airing Christmas Day @ 22.00
The ‘6633 Ultra’ is the toughest, coldest and windiest extreme ultra marathon on the planet and IRISH TV sent their cameras with Limerick native Daithí Ó Murchú to see would he become the first Irish person ever to complete the gruelling 350 mile Arctic Circle Race. ‘Daithí’ is a true Arctic experience from Eagle Plains in Yukon to the frozen Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk. At 55 years of age Daithí takes the viewers on a personal voyage of discovery but will he break the world record he has set for himself and will he finish the race?!
‘Susan & Malachi's Christmas Special’
Airing Christmas Eve @ 21.00 & Christmas Day @ 20.00
Packed with charming music, great guests and loads of laughter and fun, Susan and Malachi’s Christmas Special is a show not to be missed over the festive season. These two radiant presenters might even have a few surprises in their Christmas stocking!! It's going to be a cracker!”
‘Lisa McHugh’s Christmas Dinner’
Airing Christmas Eve @ 18.00
Lisa McHugh invites a few very special friends and country music stars to her home in Fermanagh for a festive Christmas dinner and fireside sing along. But can the country stars cook as good as they sing, all will be revealed on Christmas Eve!
‘Trasna na dTonnta’
Airing Christmas Day @ 19.00
Oireachtas na Gaeilge is Ireland’s most renowned and respected annual Irish Language cultural celebration and IRISH TV presenter Síle Ní Dheargáin soaks up the atmosphere at this year’s festival at the City West Hotel in Dublin. The show is jam-packed with brilliant music, song, dance and charming stories from the participants and spectators.
‘Oh Me Oh My Songs for Joe’
Airing Stephen's Day @ 21.00
OBE and Emmy Award winner Albert Louis Hammond is an English singer-songwriter who grew up in the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar. His musical repertoire spans the entire globe but few know of his close ties with Mullingar singer Joe Dolan. Hammond wrote hundreds of Number One songs and it was two such numbers ‘Make me an Island’ and ‘You're Such a Good Looking Woman’ that launched Joe Dolan onto the international stage. Joe Dolan was the first Hammond later wrote number one hits for Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Niall Diamond and Tina Turner. Presented by Henry McGlade, this poignant documentary looks at the close links and ties between Dolan and Hammond.
‘Irish TV Gaelic Masters’
Airing St. Stephen's Day @ 14.00
Tyrone lifted the IRISH TV Gaelic Masters Trophy for the first time ever in 2015 and you can relive all the action, drama and excitement in their pulsation victory of Galway on St. Stephens Day. The Shield Final was won by Westmeath who dramatically overcame Monaghan at the death to steal victory.
‘An Irish Holiday with Phil Coulter’
Airing Christmas Eve @ 22.30
In this special Christmas celebration Phil Coulter welcomes his closest friends into his home for some music, chat and reminiscing. A Derry native, Phil has amassed 23 platinum discs and is renowned worldwide for his musical genius.
‘Aisling’s Top Ten’
Airing Christmas Day @ 16.00
Fishing to Fashion and Football to farming all feature in Aisling Carragher ‘Top 10’ from the 2015 IRISH TV County Matters archives. The ‘Top Ten’ stories were moving, engaging, uplifting and inspiring.
‘Malachi’s Music Highlights’
Airing St. Stephen's Day @ 21.30
Nathan Carter, Lisa McHugh, Big Tom, Margo, Liam O’Connor, Matt Molloy, Hometown and Johnny Brady are just a few of the artists to feature in Malachi’s Musical Highlights from 2015.
‘Knock - A Pilgrimage of Faith’
Airing Christmas Day @ 18.30
The first ever transatlantic flight from New York to the west of Ireland was a momentous occasion for all at Ireland West Airport Knock. IRISH TV travelled with Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan on the historic flight and this special documentary relives the joyous occasion for all involved.
‘Mary from Dungloe’
Airing Christmas Eve @ 11.00
Relive all the glamor and excitement from the 2015 Mary From Dungloe Festival and Crowning Ceremony in this special programme. Edinburgh native Siobhann Dunn was crowned the 2015 Mary From Dungloe and the IRISH TV cameras broadcast this prestigious event live for the first time ever.
‘Play It by Ear’
Airing Christmas Eve @ 19.00
IRISH TV presenters Alan Brereton and Susan Hughes are eminent musicians and performers and in this peaceful Christmas Eve celebration they gather a host of highly respected artists for a special Christmas ensemble of festive music.
‘Christmas in New York’
Airing 23rd December @ 23.00
Christmas can be a lonely time for those away from family and friends and this poignant documentary looks at life in the Big Apple and how the Irish Diaspora celebrate away from home.
The programme is full of great stories and tales of life in the city that never sleeps and how the Irish have settled and influenced the social, cultural and economic fabric of this great metropolitan.
‘Christmas in Boston’
Airing Christmas Day @ 18.00
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is very proud of his Irish Heritage and this documentary looks at how the Irish community have dominated social and political life in Massachusetts State for the past century. The IRISH TV crew attend the Boston Christmas tree lighting ceremony, catch up with a group of young Irish in Boston and discuss life for the thousands of young Irish that now call Boston home.
‘A Craving for Home’
Airing 22nd December 22.00
A Christmas craving for famous Irish brands like Tayto, Irish sausages or Old Time Irish Marmalade means the Irish Export Industry to the USA is booming at present and this special documentary looks at those at the heart of the industry in America.
‘Brian Friel: Return to Ballybeg’
Airing Christmas Day @ 17.00
This special hour-long documentary looks at the life of distinguished dramatist and short story writer Brian Friel. Presented and scripted by IRISH TV’s Frank Galligan the programme explores Friel’s fictional Ballybeg, an imaginative townland which permeates so much of his work, and which his mother’s town of Glenties can now lay legitimate claim to, as the great writer was laid to rest there in a humble wicker coffin in October. Friel was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the British Royal Society of Literature and the Irish Academy of Letters.
He was appointed to Seanad Éireann in 1987 and served until 1989. In later years, Dancing at Lughnasa reinvigorated Friel's oeuvre, bringing him Tony Awards (including Best Play), the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It was also adapted into a film, starring Meryl Streep, directed by Pat O'Connor, script by Frank McGuinness.
‘Half Door Christmas Special’
Airing Christmas Day @ 23.00
The Keane family from Caherlistrane, near Tuam in Co. Galway are regarded as the finest exponents of traditional singing and music in Ireland. In this special Christmas programme renowned broadcaster Michael Commins visits the family homestead and chats with Sean and Matt Keane about the handing down of the traditional and the legacy they inherited.
The Keane home was a scene of pilgrimage for musicians and singers every Christmas and this one hour special on IRISH TV captures the magic of the music and the warmth of the rambling house as it used to be.