''No Béarla'' is a four-part documentary style programme broadcast on

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

television channel

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known a ...

and produced by Dearg Films RTÉ/TG4. It follows presenter

Manchán Magan Manchán Magan is an Irish writer, traveller, author, and television programme maker. Career Magan has made over 70 travel documentaries focusing on issues of world cultures and globalisation, 12 of them packaged under the Global Nomad series w ...

as he journeys throughout Ireland attempting to show that Irish is spoken only by a minority of the population. The title is derived from the English negative "No" and the Irish word for the English language, "Béarla". The theme tune is " Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

. The first series was originally broadcast on Sunday nights between 21:30 and 22:00 and repeated on Wednesday evenings between 19:30 and 20:00. It aired from 7 January until 28 January 2007. The second series was first broadcast on Fridays at 19:30, beginning on 28 March 2008.

Series one

Episode 1

In which Manchán travels to Dublin. His starting point in his search for Irish speakers is a map shop in Dublin.

Episode 2

In which Manchán travels to Dundalk and Belfast. When his car breaks down whilst leaving Dundalk, he finds he can't find a mechanic as directory enquiries simply laugh at him. Whilst in Belfast, Manchán attempts to find an Irish speaker on the Falls Road.

Episode 3

In which Manchán travels to Letterkenny and Galway. In Letterkenny, Manchán decides to try something he has never done before – bowling – and heads to Arena 7, where he encounters a helpful assistant. He then visits a pharmacy to buy

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

s or ''coiscíní'' and goes out to a nightclub in a bid to "get lucky". After many unsuccessful attempts at asking girls to dance with him, he finally finds an Irish-speaking lady who is happy to oblige. Later that night, he calls a phone sex line but the operator hangs up, not understanding him. Later in Galway, he tries his hand at busking and, singing the filthiest, most debauched lyrics he can think of to see if anyone will understand, old ladies smile and tap their feet merrily as he serenades them with filth.

Episode 4

In which Manchán travels to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and Killarney. Manchán gets lost in the

Crawford Gallery Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

in Cork, while in Killarney he hunts for souvenirs and tests local knowledge of Irish by trying to recruit accomplices for a bank robbery. In Cork, Manchán first visits the English Market and, out on the streets, he meets

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

John Creedon John Creedon (born 1958), also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of ''The John Creedon Show'', weekday evenings 8-10pm on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on '' ...

, an Irish speaker. He also attempts to get his hair cut but needs help from a fellow customer when the female barber, who was educated in Tennessee in the United States and has never spoken Irish, does not understand him. Whilst in Killarney, he successfully hires a bicycle and discovers he is only the second person to have spoken Irish in a souvenir shop (the first being Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, who walked by and said a few words). At the conclusion Manchán visits the grave of

Peig Sayers Máiréad "Peig" Sayers (; 29 March 18738 December 1958) was an Irish author and seanchaí ( or – plural: ) born in Dún Chaoin, County Kerry, Ireland. Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the former Chief archivist for the Irish Folklore Commission, ...

and reads one of her passages aloud.

Series two

The second series comprised a total of four episodes and aired on TG4 on Fridays at 19:30, beginning on 28 March 2008 and finishing on 18 April 2008. It was repeated on the following Sunday of each week at 20:00.

References

External links

Manchán's website

Official TG4 website

* ttp://ocaoimh.ie/tag/no-bearla/ Tag Archive for No Béarla*
The Daltaí Boards
* {{DEFAULTSORT:No Bearla Irish documentary television series Irish-language television shows TG4 original programming 2007 Irish television series debuts 2008 Irish television series endings