TEILIFIS na Gaeilge is a service for all Irish people, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said in a message broadcast on the new station last night. The President, Mrs Robinson, said it marked a "further step forward" on her personal journey to rediscover Irish and invited viewers to join her on that journey.
More than 45 groups in sports clubs, universities, pubs and other ceatres celebrated TnaG's arrival with parties. Among the celebrants were gardai at Templemore Training College, while republican prisoners in the Maze prison also marked the occasion.
TnaG came on air at 8 p.m. with a programme which celebrated the old and the new - the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain and the new departure for the language.
Other programmes broadcast included Draiocht, a drama written by and starring Gabriel Byrne, news, and a concert featuring the traditional band, Altan.
Mr Bruton said Irish speakers would naturally welcome the station. "But Teilifis na Gaeilge will also serve as a second chance for people to re acquaint themselves with the language and be entertained and informed at the same time."
The Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, said TnaG was of "fundamental importance" for citizenship, the Irish language and democracy. He was speaking in Irish at a reception in Connemara attended by hundreds of guests from politics, arts and broadcasting.
"As I have said before, the debate on Teilifis na Gaeilge was about national self respect. At this crucial time in the history of broadcasting, when hundreds of new services are promised as a result of the commercial exploitation of developments in technology, the opportunity to establish Teilifis na Gaeilge had to be seized now if it was not to be lost forever," he said.
The chairman of the RTE Authority, Prof Farrel Corcoran, said the event marked an "evolution" in Irish broadcasting.
Conradh na Gaeilge predicted TnaG's programming would have "a major positive influence" on the attitude of young people towards Irish. Comhdhail Naisuinta na Gaeilge said it represented a "new vision" for the country.