BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal has been named Radio Station of the Year at the 36th Celtic Media Festival – a three-day celebration of film, television, radio and digital media from the Celtic ‘nations and regions’ – which culminated in Inverness on Friday night.
The evening saw the handing out of gala awards, the conclusion to three, day-by-day awards, which had seen Scots entries among the winners.
Said the award organisers of BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal: “The station delivers a comprehensive speech and music service for Gaelic speakers, covering a wide range of genres.”
And Marion MacKinnon, of the BBC Gaelic Language Service, was quoted, as saying: “This award is in recognition of our community, of the people who deliver BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal and the people who listen to BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal across the world.
“It’s recognition for a team that are really dedicated and talented, and to win an award is an opportunity for us to say thank you very much to our audience and our teams.
“For us as a Gaelic language service, it’s just so important that you’re measured on the same basis as every other station, and to be in competition with nine stations and to come out winning is a great privilege.”
The final winners list read as follows…
Gala award winners:
Category – winner – country – production company/broadcaster
Radio station of the year – BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal – Scotland – BBC Radio Scotland
Drama series – Love/Hate – Ireland – RTÉ/Octagon Films Ltd
Kieran Hegarty Award for Innovation – Prosiect iBeacons Oriel Plas-Glyn-y-Weddw – Wales – Cwmni Da
Factual single – Close to Evil – Ireland – RTÉ/Praxis Pictures
Spirit of the Festival Award – Páidí ó Sé – Rí an Pharóiste – Ireland – TG4/Magamedia
Day one winners:
Arts – Dolores Keane: A Storm in the Heart – Ireland – RTÉ/Scratch Films Ltd
Animation – The Hunchback in the Park – Wales – BBC Cymru Wales
Children’s – Katie Morag – Scotland – Move on Up
Entertainment – Dim Byd – Wales – S4C/Cwmni Da
Sport – Arkle – Ireland – TG4/Touchline Media
Best app – Seamus Heaney: Five Fables – Ireland – Flickerpix / Touch Press
Day two winners:
Feature-length drama – Patrick’s Day – Ireland – Ignition Film Productions
Factual entertainment – Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience – Wales – BBC Wales/Zipline Creative
Short drama – Sínte – Ireland – Síol Scéal
Current affairs – The Disappeared – Ireland – BBC NI/RTÉ/Erica Starling Productions
Young people – Being Sixteen in 2014 – Scotland – BBC Scotland
Day three winners:
Radio documentary – Call of the Dark – Ireland – RTÉ Radio 1
Sports programme – Documentary on One, Never Knocked Down – Ireland – RTÉ Radio 1
Factual series – The Quest for Bannockburn – Scotland – BBC Scotland
Radio music programme – Another Country – Scotland – BBC Radio Scotland
Radio presenter/personality – Michelle Nic Grianna – Ireland – RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
