I've been enjoying the Youtube uploads by Nuacht24 recently, but being outside of Ireland it's hard to keep track of what's actually happening in terms of printed Irish language publications. Let's see if I've got this right...

Nuacht24 - Website updated daily, weekly print edition (Fridays), based in Belfast. Launched January 2009.
http://www.nuacht24.com/

Gaelscéal - Weekly print edition (Fridays?), based in Galway. Launched March 2010.
http://www.gaelsceal.ie/

Foinse - Weekly print edition with Wednesday Irish Independent. Website no longer active. Re-emerged with Indo in November 2009.

Is that correct? Does anyone on Daltaí purchase one or more of these papers on a regular basis? I remember when they first launched how it was hard to find them in shops in certain parts of the country. What's the quality like between them? etc

(Message edited by Danny2007 on June 04, 2010)

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weekly print edition (Fridays)

Not anymore. They discontinued it to focus on other things (it was an entirely voluntary, unfunded except by people paying for them).

I've given up on the Foinse supplement to the Independent; it is directed at a different market - learners of Irish.

I liked the Nuacht24 print edition to which I subscribed; I prefer reading longer articles in hard copy.

It's early days yet for Gaelscéal. I've never had any difficulty getting a copy. Shops which stocked the old Foinse seem to be getting a good supply. The team lacks experience though, and it shows. It is more lightweight than the old Foinse or Lá Nua. I'm hoping it will mature.

Ceannaímse GAELSCÉAL agus FOINSE gach seachtain. Léim iad. Níl aon eolas agam faoi NUACHT24.

I really miss the old Foinse and the quality of it. I think everyone can acknowledge that they were true journalists, high quality news stories about the Gaeltacht, well written, with inspiring interviews, funny columns, Ar son na cúise for example. I loved reading that. I really miss that now especially when I actually have more Irish but that's life, it's 2010. Put up or shut up is the mantra of these times.

I'll never understand why the staff of the old Foinse were not all kept on when it came to starting the new paper, and perhaps a couple of new people taken on with fresh ideas as well. I don't get that. It was wrong to put them out of jobs. People of that calibre and talent. One of them Brendan Delap won journalist of the year and he now writes for Beo.

Brendan Delap actually left Foinse for TG Fóir some time ago.

But otherwise I agree with you. Part of the problem was that they were involved ion a rival bid, and took a court case after they failed to get the contract.

I hope we will see them back - Alex Hijmans does write for Gaelscéal, for example. (Think week on the Dutch elections)

Me too. I really hope they can regather. Imagine, how great would it be to have something to read by them (and others) in print at the weekend? An Irish language Sunday paper. That would be a dream come true for me. How much greater would Ireland be then?

One small thing that annoys me about Gaelscéal is that there are photographs of the full-time journalists in nearly every article by them. The main papers only do this for the well known columnists who have already proven themselves. Since one or two in Gaelscéal write such a good chunk of the articles would it not be less obvious and better for them if they just had their name in the byline, instead of a massive pic along with it?

Also, does anyone else think that one writer has too much work to do, and that the paper is suffering as a result? I reckon they'd have a better chance if they had less to write. And make way for other freelance writers to do their thing? It would be win win for everyone, readers, Foras, the editor, the other journalists etc. It seems so obvious, what's stopping them from doing this?

(Message edited by sineadw on June 04, 2010)

How large is Gaelscéal? I read somewhere that it's typically 32 pages full colour? Foinse seems to have no web presence whatsoever. I wonder how many copies Gaelscéal sells per week...

On the issue of mags, is nós* still coming out monthly? Is it available in shops and by subscription?

Don't know about 'nós' but I get An tUltach by monthly subscription. Very informative, well written and 2 pages of grammar for learners.

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32 pages full colour?

Sin é.

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is nós* still coming out monthly? Is it available in shops and by subscription?

I'm not sure: the website seems not to have been updated from March. I believe that the people behind it are focussing their efforts on Nuacht24 which received some funding for the video component; nós* has no funding.

I get Feasta monthly:
http://www.feasta.ie/

There is also Comhar which monthly, but which I stopped subscribing to. An An tUltach, of course: I haven't seen it in a long time (but I haven't been looking)

There is a quarterly religious magazine "Timire an Chroí Ró Naofa" which has been appearing quarterly since 1911.

http://www.spiorad.ie/

The comic RíRá has produced two editions so far

http://www.coimicigael.ie/

My son gave the last one 7/10

There are various other special interest magazines and journals.

An Sagart, for example which seems to be partly going online as well

http://www.ansagart.ie/wordpress/

Thanks Aonghus, that's informative. You're right about nós. I've seen Tomaí Ó Conghaile in a lot of those Nuacht25 snippets lately. He's with nós mag.

Tomaí is something of a dynamo. I think he is the driving force behind nós, and, along with Eoghan Ó Néill, behind Nuacht24.

I just came across the digital edition of Gaelscéal. 14.05.2010. Does the free digital edition come out at the same time as the print edition? Or the week following?

The digital edition is visually appealing. Similar to the UK's Guardian. Can't really speak to the content, although I recognise a lot of the headlines. Protests in front of the Dáil, US oil spill, South Africa, Leinster Rugby etc etc...

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Does the free digital edition come out at the same time as the print edition? Or the week following?

A few days later.

Good news, a chairde. Dea-scéal i dtaobh Gaelscéal:

I bought a copy yesterday in Eason's of O'Connell Street, Dublin, and as I paid for it I asked:

"Does anyone else buy this?"

The reply surprised me:

"Plenty. That's a very good seller!"

Is maith an scéal é sin, cinnte.

It's good news for sure that people are still buying it as it shows serious resilient support towards the Irish language. I definitely do not see it as a thumbs up for Gaelscéal though. More the loyalty and passion people have for the Irish language and the feeling that we have to keep up our support of anything done through Irish.

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The team lacks experience though, and it shows. It is more lightweight than the old Foinse or Lá Nua. I'm hoping it will mature.

In what sense do you mean? In terms of content or the quality of written Irish?

Content.

I'm not one to comment on the medium rather than the message. (Although I'd welcome a master at writing. Those who write columns for the Irish times are pretty good - Alan Titley, Torlach Mac Con Midhe, Sean Ó hÉalaí, .... and Foinse had people like Breandán 'ac Gearailt).

I have to walk about half an hour to the nearest shop that sells Gaelscéal, non of the 4 newsagents on my doorstep stock it.

But, there does seem to be a demand because if I go in after a certain time they are sold out.

Like someone else said, it's early days for Gaelscéal, it looks good, but its a bit lightweight at the moment, I hope the demand is there and so inturn they get more cash to expand. But the first thing they could do it get in in the newsagents over the road!