Waterford father and daughter to feature on new Irish language radio segment

A Waterford family will feature in the first episode of a new gaeilge segment on Irish radio. 

Clár sa Charr - based on a brief conversation between a parent and child in the car on the way to school - will run on Beat 102-103 for fifteen weeks on Tuesday mornings, with a new topic of conversation introduced each week. 

The broadcast will be supplemented with online support where animated audiograms recap the audio with an accompanying vocabulary 'cheat sheet' for anyone wishing to improve on their cúpla focail. 

The new programme is a result of the Sound and Vision funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), which aims to promote greater usage of the Irish language. 

Waterford duo Nick Roche and his daughter Matilda will appear in the inaugural episode. 

As well as encouraging listeners to speak as gaeilge, Beat Breakfast hosts Niall and Sho have also taken on a challenge where they have committed to visiting Waterford’s Gaeltacht An Rinn at the end of the series to use what they've laerned. 

Beat’s resident Gaeilgeoir, Jessica Ní Mháirtín, who fronts the station’s weekly bilingual show, 'Music Dé Domhnaigh', has taken on the role of station lead to manage the project. 

She said, "I am passionate about Gaeilge so I’m really looking forward to seeing an uptake across the South East following the series of broadcasts. If listening to the cúpla focail in the morning shines a light on how much Gaeilge our listeners understand, then hopefully people will gain confidence in speaking it more to each other every day." 

Research has shown that hearing a language in a conversational context elevates the experience from a textbook for the learner. 

Alongside hearing the conversation from the parent and child, the vocabulary will also be announced at the beginning and end of the segment, which means people can practice as the show goes out on-air. 

CEO and Programme Director at Beat 102 103, Gabrielle Cummins, said, "Our presenters Niall and Sho don’t shy away from admitting they have retained only beginner-level Irish, despite studying the language throughout primary and secondary school.

"They are confident about re-learning Irish on-air and at the same time this will encourage the people of the South East to learn too. It will also help them to know that their grammar doesn’t have to be perfect, they can just enjoy themselves and the chats in the morning." 

Beat 102-103 is actively recruiting additional parent and child pairings to take part in future episodes so if you’d like to participate, email gaeilge@beat102103.com.

The Clár sa Charr series is available as a podcast once it is broadcast live on Beat 102-103 and all supplementary material can be accessed for free at www.beat102103.com.