RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by RTÉ. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the internet. In 2022, Raidio na Gaeltachta celebrated its 50th year in broadcasting. The station's main-headquarters are in Casla, County Galway with major studios also in Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal and Ballydavid, County Kerry.
History
Background
After the Irish Free State was formed and the Irish Civil War was concluded, the new state set up a single radio channel named 2RN in 1926, launched by Douglas Hyde. This was run by the Irish Post Office and was not a private enterprise. The radio program, operating out of Dublin, largely served the Anglophone population and at best reached as far as County Tipperary; a situation which did not change until more powerful transmitters were adopted in the 1930s at Athlone. Those involved in setting up 2RN and J. J. Walsh (Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1923 to 1927) discussed the possibility of setting up an Irish-language radio service for the Gaeltacht community and more widely were sympathetic to Irish culture which included language revival, but the project was frustrated due to economic reasons and came to little.
thumb|200px|[[Éamon de Valera, Taoiseach and later President of Ireland, supported the idea of establishing a Gaeltacht radio station.]]
As the Irish language was valued as part of Irish national identity and a marker of the young state's independence, there were some broadcasts in the language such as Nuacht and Tréimhseachán Teann (shows with English equivalents), the latter written by Séamus Ó Néill and Ciarán Ó Nualláin (brother of Brian Ó Nualláin). These featured alongside focus on Gaelic games, Irish traditional music and Catholic religious programming as part of a general nation-building content focus. In the 1940s, there were shows which sought to proactively teach the language such as Is Your Irish Rusty? and Listen and Learn. Irish-language programming suffered from a shortage of materials and for audience figures. In 1943, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera – whose wife Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin was a keen Conradh na Gaeilge activist – promoted the idea of a Gaeltacht station again, but there was no breakthrough. This set the subsequent discourse for Irish-language and Gaeltacht issues as a civil rights and minority rights imperative.
Foundation
thumb|240px|Raidió na Gaeltachta headquarters in [[Casla, County Galway. It is located in the Conamara Gaeltacht.]]
Gerry Collins, the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, announced in the Dáil in February 1971 that a new radio station for the Gaeltacht would be created. Raidió na Gaeltachta began broadcasting at 3pm on 2 April 1972 as part of Easter Sunday programming. During the very first broadcast, the main station at Casla, County Galway was not yet finished and the studios in County Kerry and County Donegal were still in construction, so it was broadcast from Galway. The first Ceannaire (Controller) Pádraic Ó Raghallaigh opened the show, which was followed by a recording from President Éamon de Valera. A recording of Seán Ó Riada's Irish-language Mass, Ceol an Aifrinn (which includes the hymn Ag Críost an Síol) from the Seipéal Mhic Dara at Carraroe was also played.
At foundation, the station began with a staff of seven, including six former teachers and a businessman: Ó Raghallaigh, Breandán Feiritéar, Timlín Ó Cearnaigh, Máirtín Ó Fátharta, Seán Ó Tuairisg, Maidhc P. Ó Conaola, Mícheál Ó Sé and Feardorcha Ó Colla. Initially, Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcast for only two hours a day and was only available in or near the three largest Gaeltacht districts. The local studio at Derrybeg in Gweedore, County Donegal, under the direction of Ulstermen, Ó Cearnaigh and Ó Colla, aided the native Irish music scene there. In the 1970s, Raidió na Gaeltachta gave early coverage to Clannad and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (later the singer for Altan). These groups would gain popularity not only in Ireland, but on the international stage, selling millions of records during the 1980s especially.
Pay parity
On 12 July 2024, staff at RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta won the right to pay parity with journalists working through the medium of the English language in Ireland. <blockquote>The development follows a long running campaign by the NUJ, SIPTU and the RTÉ Group of Unions and is in line with the recommendations in the report by the Expert Advisory Committee on Contractor Fees, HR and other matters, the report by the Joint Oireachtas Media Committee and the report of the Future of Media Commission.
These three Irish language job grades are: Clár Reachtaire, Reachtaire Rúnaíochta Grade 1 and Reachtaire Rúnaíochta Grade 2, and the National Union of Journalists press release on the matter notes that the job grades combine a range of journalistic and production skills and that they differ only in title from their equivalents working through English.
Locations
RnaG is based in Casla, County Galway. It also has studios at Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), County Donegal; Baile na nGall in Ard na Caithne, County Kerry; Castlebar, County Mayo; with a smaller studio in Ring, County Waterford and the RTÉ Radio Centre in Dublin. The station is operated by RTÉ, but has a separate advisory council, Comhairle Raidió na Gaeltachta, which is appointed by the RTÉ Authority. RTÉ also appoints the Ceannaire, or Controller, of RnaG, who has day-to-day responsibility for the service.
Notable presenters
Audience
According to the 2011 JNLR survey, RnaG then had a weekly listenership of 100,000 which equates to a 3% market share. This is similar to Welsh-language BBC Radio Cymru, with 116,000 listeners and a 2.4% share.
See also
- Tuairisc.ie
- BBC Radio nan Gàidheal – Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) radio service.
- TG4 - Irish language television service
- List of Irish-language media
- List of Celtic-language media