122 RADIO AND television projects relating to history, culture and women’s issues have been awarded €5.9 million in funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). 

Projects in which women take a lead creative role saw a significant increase in funding awards compared to the previous round of funding from this scheme. TV projects recommended for funding with a female director increased by 67% and 50% for those with a female writer. 

The most popular category for both TV and radio was documentary pieces. The funding is awarded through the Sound & Vision 3 scheme which is funded through the television licence fee. 

236 applications were sent for this round of funding. The BAI is the regulator of broadcasting in Ireland. 

Many applications for projects in drama, animation, education and entertainment were also sent to the authority. 

A RTÉ 1 project called Cold Case Collins intends to analyse the killing of Michael Collins in 1922. Dóchas – A place of hope is a three-part documentary planned for Virgin Media One featuring stories of Ireland’s female inmates. 

A bilingual documentary for TG4 will examine what it is like to be old in Ireland in the 21st century. For young people, Youthquake 2 from WLR FM will aim to get this age group to develop scripts and story lines for radio plays dealing with topics such as underage drinking, peer pressure and sexuality. 

A radio documentary called Hidden History: Ireland & The Slave Trade will examine Ireland’s role in the slave trade. A project for Dublin City FM called Murder, He Podcasted plans to examine the implications of Ireland’s podcast age. 

Chief executive of the BAI Michael O’Keeffe said that these chosen projects are indicative of the “quality, variety and diversity” of content produced under the funding scheme. 

Applications for the next round of funding will close on 7 November.