New Ireland TV publishes 100 original content items in less than a year.
Tyrone-based startup TV station has published over 100 original shows, and they're all available to view for free
In less than a year, Omagh-based start up television station, New Ireland TV has published one hundred original content items, and they are available to view for free worldwide on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
The venture, spearheaded by founder James McAnespy, focuses on areas of interest to anyone who wishes to explore the potential for a new Ireland, in genres like Sport, Cuisine, Music, Place, History, Factual and more. It works in a similar way to Netflix, where viewers pick the item they wish to watch from a menu system.
The output has largely centred on county Tyrone (“north of the border, west of the Bann”), with items like an in depth exploration into the history of the village of Trillick, a ‘Fan View’ of the county’s recent GAA triumph and the ongoing saga around the Dalradian gold mine.
The scope has been widening as well, visiting the Headhunters Railway Museum in Fermanagh, to have A Chat With… the owners about the much-maligned decisions to remove the railways in the 1950s and 60s; a series called Club Corner, that explored the north Belfast GAA club, Pearses, as they embarked on one of their most successful seasons in years; WilMacca, a travelling vidcast, featuring the “caustic wit” of James McAnespy and William Devine that has gone as far as Monasterboice in Louth to record their diatribes amid wondrous scenery. Viewers are invited to contribute to an evergreen and growing list of people’s Favourite Irish Songs, where they will discuss their memories of some of the nation’s most beloved tunes. There is an accompanying Spotify playlist of everyone’s choices.
“Getting to 100 original content items is something I’m particularly proud of,” said founder James McAnespy, and his ambition hasn’t dulled. “But in honesty, it hasn’t really started yet - I’ve just demonstrated what is possible. I’d want to be delivering that every few months when the station is fully up and running.”
The in-house productions are a mix of the informative and entertaining, made with enthusiasm and energy, projects can be turned around in a matter of days, giving the output a raw authenticity. The high productivity has maintained a certain honesty, James says.
“While mainstream broadcasters would be trying to mask their output, I’m more laid back about letting the truth speak, even if it does’t always look pretty.”
The station arose out of a need to provide a new voice in television, that isn’t centred on the east coast of the island, especially as the future constitutional position of the island is now moving to the front and centre of the political discussion.
“The existing television stations in Belfast will be taking their instructions from London, so they’ll frame discussions through the tired and predictable machinations of party political posturing,” said McAnespy. “New Ireland TV exists to demonstrate there’s so much more to the question of a new Ireland than just the extremities of Stormont, which I am increasingly convinced is being deliberately and sensationally heightened by the Belfast media to keep the communities divided.”
“This is just getting started, and the self-sabotaging peculiarities of Brexit has made the issue of Ireland’s future the most pressing issue of the next decade. Along with a number of other ground-up organisations who have formed in recent years to advance this discussion, New Ireland TV will continue demonstrating the opportunities that will be presented by a new Ireland.”
New Ireland TV is available worldwide for free on Roku and Amazon Fire TV. No additional signups are required, simply download from the channel store and enjoy!