Westmeath county matters wins national award
• Westmeath County Matters is broadcast on Tuesdays at 8pm on Sky TV channel 191, Freesat 400, all free to air boxes, eircom’s eVision and online at irishtv.ie.
• This week’s show is to feature the Westmeath Examiner Sports Awards, which the Irish TV crew covered on February 6 at the Mullingar Park Hotel.
The production company responsible for Westmeath County Matters on Irish TV has won a national TV award.
It is run by Martin Devaney and his wife Claire and their prize is for a special documentary they filmed at the National Community Games finals for Irish TV. “We are just thrilled to have received this award for our production team here in Westmeath but also for the fledging new TV channel Irish TV on Sky 191,” said Martin.
“It means everything to us as a small production company to have our work acknowledged and endorsed like this on a national stage. This award is also a huge boost to Irish TV as a new TV channel and broadcaster in Ireland and we are just delighted to be part of that success story.”
The award for ‘outstanding TV coverage’ was presented to Martin and Irish TV CEO Pierce O’Reilly at a function in Letterkenny, County Donegal.
Mr O’Reilly said the award would take pride of place in the offices of the Westmeath County Matters production team in Athlone: “Martin and his team deserve great credit for delivering this award winning production to Irish TV – they are out and about filming every week of the year for us and this accolade is in recognition of that dedication to their county and to Irish TV.”
The winning documentary was part of the weekly Westmeath County Matters half-hour show every Tuesday at 8pm (Sky TV channel 191). “When we started filming at the National Community Games we realised that instead of a five-minute feature the event deserved a full half-hour stand alone show and that is what we did,” said Martin.
Martin is a native of Mayo but moved to Westmeath a few years ago to be closer to his family after working in Dublin for several years. He is the author of the RTÉ Writer’s Guide published by Blackwater Press and he has written for The Abbey Theatre, RTÉ and the BBC.
He recalls being in Portugal last year in a small village and by coincidence seeing Westmeath County Matters was playing on a TV screen in the corner. “It seems there is a truly global interest in local stories,” he said.
Martin says that while he has worked in broadcasting and the creative arts for over 20 years that he has never experienced the feedback he is getting while recording his show in Westmeath for Irish TV.
“I am constantly finding that members of the public are coming up to us on the streets while recording to make comments about the show. There is a real sense of community ownership with Irish TV and I think that has being the key to the success of the channel,” he said.
Sarah Foster, granddaughter of the legendary Westmeath singer Mick Foster, presented the award-winning Westmeath show.
• Westmeath County Matters is broadcast on Tuesdays at 8pm on Sky TV channel 191, Freesat 400, all free to air boxes, eircom’s eVision and online at irishtv.ie. This week’s show is to feature the Westmeath Examiner Sports Awards, which the Irish TV crew covered on February 6 at the Mullingar Park Hotel.