TV show sees pupils triumph over adults
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Pádraig Laverty, Cormac Ó Maoláin and Seán Mac Lochlainn from St Catherine’s Armagh compete against the adults in this new Irish language series on BBC Two Northern Ireland. SG3941
GAISCE Gnó - Be the Business - is a new fast-paced Irish language series, which pits teen teams from all over Northern Ireland against adult professionals, in a battle to create new products for the children's market.
And the first programme saw three children from St Catherine's, Armagh - Seán Mac Lochlainn, Cormac Ó Maoláin and Pádraig Laverty - take on the hot shot adults - Jake Mac Siacais and Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, from Forbairt Feirste, and author, Cathal Ó Manacháin.
And their mission - to come up with a brand new design concept for a teenage girl's duvet cover!
The show began on BBC Two Northern Ireland on Monday, September 22, and the idea is to find innovative business solutions to tasks like creating a new ice-cream for the Hallowe'en market and designing a new energy bar.
The young students from Armagh got the series off to a flying start and walked away worthy winners from their task, seeing off a fine challenge from their adult opponents.
Presented by Céara Ní Choinn, this six-part series, with participants from all over Northern Ireland, reflects the vibrancy and talent of Northern Ireland's Irish speaking community.
Armed with ingenuity, creativity and insider knowledge of what young people really want, the teen teams compete against adults with a wide range of life and professional experience and it makes for a fierce and fascinating contest!
Gaisce Gnó appeals to the whole family, as they wait to find out which product will be chosen by an expert teenage jury - only one team can win - but will it be youth or experience which wins the day?
Series producer Fiona Keane said: "Working on Gaisce Gnó has been a lot of fun - this is my first time working so closely with teenagers and I was consistently amazed by their creativity, their knowledge and the way they got to grips with the various challenges we set them.
“We auditioned all over Northern Ireland and I think we may have uncovered the next generation of entrepreneurs!
“And the competition between youth and experience was pretty intense. For most of the adults who took part, working on product design was something completely different to what they do in their day to day lives, but they really got stuck in.
“I know the series will be popular with Irish speakers, but I also think that Gaisce Gnó will appeal to a broad family audience whatever language they speak".
