Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1391459
INTERVIEW Q: This has been an incredibly challenging time for sport and sports coverage – and broadcasting in general. How do you feel TG4 have coped? A: Covid-19 has taught us a lot of life lessons, what really matters to us in our lives, our work and our sport. I tend to reverse the order of Dickens' quote from 'A Tale of Two Cities': "the worst of times... the best of times... the winter of despair... the spring of hope..." The pandemic has shown us that things we thought were impossible can be possible if we want them and if they fit our values. I will always be grateful to the sacrifices made by so many people to keep TG4 on air in 2020 and 2021. Our sports coverage, often changed at the very last moment, has been a cherished service for the nation. I hope that as we emerge from Covid, that the whole Gaelic Games family, male and female, work together to create a calendar that truly and fairly showcases all of the variety of Lúthchleas Gael, at all levels, at all ages and for both genders. This worst of times should be an opportunity for reimagination and enhancement. Q: Máire Ní Bhraonáin will lead a star-studded team of analysts for the 2021 Championships. What are your thoughts on the quality of Peil na mBan coverage? A: Our people are working at the highest level and are savvy media performers and practitioners in both Irish and English. Máire and our experts exemplify this quality in their match day performance in fast-moving shows. I am extremely proud of the people who work for Spórt TG4, the wonderful production professionals who work for Nemeton, our core provider of Peil na mBan coverage, and TG4's own web wizards who bring the action to worldwide audiences through the TG4 Player and App. I have also been delighted as, through our documentaries, we have started to tell the human stories of the LGFA's top-class athletes and be given access to their own very personal and moving lives. Q: Cén chomhairle a chuirfeá ar aon duine a bheadh ag iarraidh a bheith ag obair sna meáin? A: Má tá suim agat i scéalaíocht, má tá aon cheann den réimse leathan scileanna atá úsáideach sna meáin, más maith leat obair fhoirne a bhíonn ag athrú gach lá; déan iarracht taithí oibre a fháil; déan iarracht printíseacht a fháil; déan iarracht áit a fháil ar chúrsa. Rinne mise cúrsa léiriúchán físe sna hochtóidí. Chaith mé tráthnóna ag foghlaim eagarthóireacht físe agus fuair mé amach gur thaitin sé thar cionn liom pictiúir a chur le chéile chun scéalta a inseacht. Cuir eolas ar an tionscal seo, faigh amach cén scil is fearr leat agus tabhair faoi le misneach! Q: And who's given you the best advice during your journey to date? A: There are too many people to mention who have helped and supported me along the way. Often it's not a single piece of spoken advice which counts. I like to observe how people work, see the outcomes of their approach and learn from them. Some of the people I've learned most from probably didn't know I was learning from them at all, both here and at BBC ALBA in Scotland. Q: What's it like being a part of the TG4/Peil na mBan family on a big match day? A: It's a really privileged position to be inside the 'machine' on big match day. The LGFA team is full of superbly professional, funny, hard-working, big-hearted characters who light up my day. It is also a day when TG4 can celebrate the success of a partnership which has changed Irish sport and Irish society for the better. Q: What have been the highlights for you of TG4's coverage of Peil na mBan? A: To give a variation on a familiar phrase - all sport is local. With a wife from Mayo, and five kids from Galway, we relished the early years of the century at the LGFA Finals with great Mayo performances. And when Galway won in 2004, our parish team, na Piarsaigh, found local role models, especially in the stars from the Gaeltacht. And then the beginning of the wonderful Cork team under the late and great Éamonn Ryan – and perhaps now a team from Dublin to rival Cork's legacy. What really pleases me about TG4's partnership with the LGFA is our ability to show how innovative the LGFA is in its rules and fixturing. The sin-bin rule really works but without creating too much of an advantage, and I love it that the Final is a showcase for the best of all of the Championship levels. Q: Did you ever think that the relationship that began back in 2001 would go on to become so established and long-lasting? A: At TG4 and the LGFA, we like each other, we trust each other, we respect each other's mission. I always thought that those core empathies would take us a long way. Q: And finally, Alan, how much are you looking forward to the 2021 Championships? A: Tá mé ag súil go mór leis. Aicsean agus cluichí den scoth agus, de réir a chéile, slua ag filleadh chun tacú leis an spórt is suimiúla in Éirinn.