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Two new presenters have joined TG4’s weather and continuity team creating an even more diverse panel. They are, Caitríona Nic an tSaoir from Antrim and Darragh Ó Caoimh from Cork.
Caitríona grew up watching TG4 and is looking forward to presenting for them while Darragh is hoping for a heatwave so he doesn't have to impart too much bad news!
Caitríona, hails from County Antrim, was raised bilingually by her parents in the rural community of Creggan. Singing, Irish dancing and attending annual Gaeltacht courses (Gael Linn-Machaire Rabhartaigh, Co Donegal) all contributed to her love for Irish language and culture. An avid lover of GAA sports, she holds all-county and provincial medals in camogie and football with her club Kickhams Creggan. Amongst her many interests, Caitríona also enjoys travelling and experiencing a range of cultures and cuisine.
Having qualified as a primary school teacher from St Mary’s University College Belfast, she spent two years teaching in the Middle East and travelling, before moving home to teach in Magherafelt (Gaelscoil an tSeanchaí, Co Derry) up until 2022.
During the pandemic, like many others, she was inspired to change career and joined the Communications Department in TG4 in 2022. She recently completed a master’s in Management & Digital Business through the medium of Irish with DCU, which. When TG4 announced it was recruiting for a panel of weather and continuity presenters, Caitríona saw this as an exciting opportunity to further develop her media skills and was delighted to be appointed.
She explained: ‘I would have grown up watching TG4 at home all the time, so this is a full circle moment to go from watching the shows and watching the likes of Cáitlín, Mairéad and Fiona on the weather never dreaming I’d present them to being on screen.’
Darragh Ó Caoimh is from Kanturk, Co. Cork. First learning Irish at school, his grandmother Maureen Conran and the history of his own area sparked an interest in the language from an early age, and he later attended summer Gaeltacht courses in Corca Dhuibhne and Co. Mayo.
He graduated from UCC with a degree in Law and Irish in 2022 and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach Irish at the University of Montana for the 2022/2023 academic year. Following his return from the Rockie Mountains, he began a Masters in Modern Irish at UCD where he is currently.
A keen-student of Irish literature, Darragh also writes poetry. His work has won various prizes and has featured in Comhar and Aneas, as well as on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and BBC Radio Ulster. His hobbies include running, hiking, hurling, and choral singing.
In 2022, Darragh was co-presenter of the Junior Eurovision Éire song competition on TG4 together with Louise Cantillon. Darragh says, “TG4 is one of Ireland’s most important broadcasting and cultural institutions, and to join it at this exciting time in its history is a real honour and a brilliant opportunity. I hope I can add to the wonderful service TG4 already provides, and am looking forward to working with everyone in Baile na hAbhann, all of whom have been so welcoming and friendly to me since I’ve started. Here’s hoping for a heatwave this summer; I don’t want to be the bearer of too much bad news!”
Aimsir TG4 provides the Irish weather service through Irish. Three linear bulletins are broadcast each day and there are more on the station’s website TG4.ie/aimsir as well as its own social media on X @AimsirTG4.
The weather service is provided by New Zealand based Metraweather, using the Weatherscape XT graphics system and supported by their Meteorology team. Every dialect can be heard on Aimsir TG4. The presenters also do the continuity for the station as well as the social media. TG4 presenters are the faces and voices of the station. Previous TG4 Weather Presenters such as Dáithí Ó Sé, Síle Seoige, Páidí Ó Lionáird, Aoife Ní Thuairisg and Ailbhe Ó Monacháin continue to be familiar faces on our TV screens.
