1. At the heart of TnaG's schedule lies Ros na Run, a 15 minute soap opera which will be broadcast four nights a week at 8 p.m. with an omnibus edition at the weekends. Based on a successful pilot series, broadcast on RTE in 1992, it follows the fortunes of a family who move west from Dublin to a Gaeltacht village full of secrets ("Ros na Run" has two meanings in Irish "headland of the secrets" and "headland of the sweethearts").
It will have a contemporary feel and will explore urban/rural tensions, emigration and Irish family life, according to the series producer, Art O Briain. It will be made by Tyrone Productions and Eo Teilifis in Spiddal.
2. One programme which is likely to win a big audience is a music series made by Hummingbird Productions in Dublin. It is presented by Donal Lunny, who gets to jam with a veritable who's who of contemporary musicians.
Van Morrison, Sharon Shannon, Christy Moore, Mark Knopfler, Cooney & Begley and many others take a turn. Lunny lets the music speak for itself and the overall feel is simple and unpretentious. But the musician as presenter format has its pitfalls and the links (in a showcase seen recently at the Galway Film Fleadh) seem a bit cold and formal.
3. One of the most impressive programmes shown at the Film Fleadh showcase was part of a series on Irish neutrality in the second World War. It uses archive material from RTE and elsewhere to great effect - particularly the extended footage from Hitler's speeches.
Watch out for the 10 buses which arrived back in Gort a Choirce in Donegal the day after war was declared. They came from Scotland, full of anxious migrant workers hoping to avoid the dralf.
The series was made by White Hunter and features a fine voice over by actor Mick Lally.
4. Une Histoire d'Amour is a bilingual (French Irish) love story, written and directed by Diarmuid de Faoite for Scothogfise. It is one of six half hour plays based on love themes.
It's a simple story of a Breton backpacker who has a fling with a young man, almost virginal in his innocence. De Faoite is better known as an actor and this is a good effort for a first television drama.
But although the play has a gentle charm - the kind of thing lovers might find appealing on Valentine's night - the script is not strong enough to carry it the fall distance.
5. Yet to be finalised but tipped as a strong possibility, is An Sibin, currently in negotiation between Gaelmedia and TnaG. Set in a pub with an informal feel, the programme will include musical breaks and feature three characters who interact with guests and talk about current events.
Gaelmedia's Christy King is anxious to avoid the inevitable comparisons with RTE's Nighthawks, and says it will try to capture the free flowing spirit of some Gaeltacht pubs. "Somebody could stand up, and sing a Frank Sinatra song, and the next thing is somebody sings one in the sean nos," he says.
