TG4 is to Irish broadcasting what BBC Radio 4 is to the UK

Perhaps it was down in part to the dearth of real quality content elsewhere, but the Christmas season showed just why TG4 is far and away the best television station in Ireland.

There are still those who think it’s a station for Gaelgoirs alone – and therefore of no interest to anyone else – but the truth is that their indifference is really only depriving themselves of the best of originality on the box.

The new UTV Ireland may well herald the dawn of a new era in Irish terrestrial television – but to do so with an hour-long episode of Emmerdale is almost as ridiculous as launching a new channel with the news service limping into view nearly a week later.

That said, the news coverage was impressive when it did arrive – none moreso than the station’s fast-rising political correspondent, Mary Regan from Moycullen, who almost crowned her admirably assured opening broadcast by being creamed by a passing van across from Leinster House.

And as for the grand opening, Pat Kenny is a fine broadcaster but traipsing around Ireland is search of the pulse of the nation – and fortunately finding it every time he meets one of the new station’s staff – is trying to dress up a promo video as a programme….even if it was great to see Mary Regan at home in her family pub in all of its glory.

TV3, now under greater pressure than ever before, finally shouting from the rooftops that it is creating its own content – 17 years after coming on air – only highlights the fact that it didn’t bother for two decades because it relied so heavily on ITV programmes to justify its existence.

And it is only doing it now because it has had the rug pulled from under it.

There’s no reason for RTE to feel overly smug either because it relies on a formula that’s been there almost as long as Gay Byrne – a couple of chat shows, soaps (original and bought in) and a diet of movies that only prove the station has deeper pockets than its competitors.

There’s a heavy investment in news and current affairs – although how they can continue to justify cutting the main evening bulletin in half every time there’s a public holiday beggars belief – and occasionally something like Barry O’Kelly’s expose of conditions at Aras Attracta justify a slice of the tax take it benefits from.

But the only station that consistently produces original programming is based on our own doorstep.

Yes, TG4 imports a fair degree of programming too but it has fulfilled its original purpose – to produce programmes for Irish language speakers that don’t alienate the rest of us – right from the night it went on air closing in on 19 years ago.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.