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In 1996, Ireland launched its first television channel broadcasting exclusively in the Irish language.

Teilifís na Gaeilge, later renamed TG4, went on air on Halloween night. It aimed to appeal to both native and non-native speakers. The launch followed decades of campaigning for more Irish-language broadcasting in the country.

Sinéad Ní Ghuidhir was the first presenter to speak on the new station. She speaks to Lorcan Clancy about the excitement of opening night.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: Broadcast from Teilifís na Gaeilge (TG4). Credit: TG4)

"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety." She's the most famous character in antiquity, made more famous by Shakespeare and Hollywood films. But this Cleopatra is not the one Kate Williams has come to nominate. She wants to move from the cliches and reclaim her as an astute politician determined to keep Egypt from falling to Rome. The discussion includes Professor of Egyptology Joyce Tyldesley and is presented by Matthew Parris.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Following the phenomenal success of Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell returns with Land, an epic novel of upheaval and loss beginning in 19th century Ireland, with its roots in Maggie's own family. We sat down to speak with her about such personal inspiration, the mapping of her narratives and what it really feels like to be on the Oscar's red carpet.

Charlotte Metcalf talks to the multiple-award winning writer Margaret Drabble about her books, her upbringing, her early life in theatre and her new book, The Great Good Places and discovers why she will never write another novel nor be publishing her long memoir during her lifetime.

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the perils and promise of AI as outlined in the papal encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” and a forthcoming law review paper, “AI and Existential Risk.”

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Han Ong joins Deborah Treisman to discuss “The Fugitive,” by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, which was published in The New Yorker in 2014. Ong is the author of numerous plays and of the novels “The Disinherited” and “Fixer Chao.” “Fixer Chao” was first published in 2001 and will be reissued this July by Outsider Editions.

Jamil Jan Kochai reads his story “The Twice-Widowed Khala Helai,” from the June 8, 2026, issue of the magazine. Kochai is the author of the novel “99 Nights in Logar” and the story collection “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories,” which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2022 and won the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize.

My daughter’s tattoo taught me an important lesson in parenthood: nothing can become between me and my daughters and cast a shadow.

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The powerful and fearsome John Charles McQuaid was the archbishop of Dublin from 1940 to the early 1970s, and was described as the ruler of Catholic Ireland. He was obsessed with protestants, communists and "moral purity", and ran a huge spying operation on the Irish population, both at home and abroad, to keep everyone in check. In the first part of this series, Diarmaid and Catriona chart his early life, his ascent to power, and his often difficult relationship with Eamon De Valera.

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In this special edition of The Verb, coming from the Hay Festival, Ian McMillan's guests are:

Nicola Davies, the Children's Laureate Wales, who will be talking about how the natural world inspires her poetry and why she thinks writing is a superpower;

Novelist Joanna Kavenna will be taking on The Verb's Neon Line challenge where a guest chooses a line that they feel shines out from its poem;

Nathan James Dearden is the composer-mentor for this year's Composer's Medal. A former Composer's Medal winner himself, he'll be helping the shortlisted composers create new choral works using the poetry of Waldo Williams. He discusses the art of setting poetry to music.;

clare e potter will be reflecting on her her participation in The Clearing - a Royal Society of Literature project where four poets from the home nations of the UK have written poems separately and together inspired by the myths and stories found in their respective parts of the British Isles.

Presenter Ian McMillan