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Agnes Bernelle Courtesy of Amelia Stein

"Women are under-represented": The show bringing gender balance to the Irish arts

Sinead O’Connor, Margaretta D’Arcy and Alice Maher are all set to feature on a one-off edition of Imeall on TG4, which strives for gender-balance on all is shows.

THE WOMEN BEHIND some of the country’s best art, music and literature are to be honoured on a special edition of TG4 magazine show Imeall tonight.

Tristan Rosenstock, presenter of Imeall, said that the first ideas for the all-female International Women’s Day programme emerged last summer, during an interview in Edinburgh with feminist writer Lucy Ellman.

Her discussion on the under-representation of women in public life struck a chord with the show’s team.

Gender balance

While tonight’s special show features only women, every episode of the show strives for equality when it comes to gender.

“One thing we try to do in the programme every week is have a gender balance, a geographical spread and a bilingual balance,” explained Rosenstock.

Looking around, we do notice that women are under-represented in media in general. When we think about famous Irish artists, writers, painters, most of the people that come to mind are men. We wanted to address that and focus on pioneering women who have really shaped culture and life in Ireland.

He said Alice Maher and other Irish artists like Dorothy Cross have “opened up the world of art” to women and younger people in particular, and Maher is one of the women to be featured on the show tonight.

Finding gender balance on an arts show “should be done unconsciously”, said Rosenstock – it shouldn’t be a conscious effort. “It should be done in a very natural way.”

While Rosenstock is the main presenter, more than half of the team of eight reporters on the show are women.

Changes in the future

Noting that artist Eileen McDonagh’s exhibition in Visual in Carlow was hugely ambitious “in terms of scale and terms of scope”, Rosenstock said that “the mould is breaking” for creative women.

“Barriers are being knocked down and more and more female artists are getting the recognition they deserve,” he said.

In literature I think it needs to be happening a bit more. They don’t often market women in a fair way. That needs to be addressed, certainly.

Ireland’s talented women

image

Artist Alice Maher

There will be plenty of talented Irish females to become new fans of on the show tonight.

A section of Imeall called ‘Sí Mo Laoch’ will see film-maker Lelia Doolan pay homage to Margaretta D’arcy, who alongside being a tireless activist is a writer, actress, and playwright.

Artist Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh will look at artist Alice Maher, and the inspiration she has been to her, while journalist Una Mullally will speak about how she sees musician Sinead O’Connor as an iconic Irish artist.

The show will also see Rosenstock meeting American writer Ellman in Edinburgh to discuss her most recent feminist novel Mimi, and a discussion on the spheres in public life in which women are underrepresented.

Also featuring on the show will be Áine Moynihan, actress and artistic director of the Lab Theatre in Dingle.

image

Agnes Bernelle. Pic: Amelia Stein

Finally, Gavin Friday, David Bolger and Camille O’Sullivan will pay tribute to the artist Agnes Bernelle, who brought the razzmatazz of Berlin cabaret to Ireland.

“When Ireland was black and white, Bernell introduced colour,” said Rosenstock of the icon. Bernelle was born in Berlin but had to flee due to war. She moved to Dublin in 1969 and brought Weimar cabaret to the city.

Imeall will be broadcast at 10.30pm on TG4

Read: EU wide survey on violence against women shows startling statistics>

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22 Comments
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    Mute Sam Bartell
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:43 PM

    After a day with my kids, 6 months in a war torn country is actually appealling

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    Mute Dziadek Uncaged
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:58 PM

    Boll0x and whys a c rap comment. Try live in Haiti or Syria.

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    Mute Mark Byrne
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 7:19 PM

    Why IS a c rap comment?

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    Mute stephen
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 7:53 PM

    A sense of humour is a gift a lot of people lack.

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    Mute Glen
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 7:57 PM

    Dziadek
    Could you even attempt understanding humour or are you happy being miserable.

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    Mute gerry campbell
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:47 PM

    Dziaek , get back in that cage.

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    Mute stephen
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:47 PM

    I can lick the back of my elbow,if that’s any good to them.

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    Mute Stephen
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:03 PM

    Gender adviser, that’s a bird that’s a bloke!, handy number!!

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    Mute Martin Hayes
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 7:21 PM

    Gender Advisers, is that a counselling service for transvestites?

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    Mute thejynxeffect
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 8:49 PM

    Ye wtf is a gender advisor? The job titles we create these days

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    Mute mcgoo
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:42 PM

    I’d say now if you were starving for food/clean water, trying to figure out what sex you were, or should have been, would the last thing on your mind

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    Mute david dickson
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:40 PM

    We need them down here in East Galway.
    Rspid!!!

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    Mute david dickson
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:43 PM

    I was too rapid.

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    Mute Bill Rooney
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 6:50 PM

    *rabid

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    Mute Jason D'langer
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 7:23 PM

    You can apply on jobsbridge.ie apparently

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    Mute trickytrixster
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 8:25 PM

    Now this is what job bridge should be for,like the hunger games for minimum wage jobs

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    Mute Martin Sinnott
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:29 PM

    We’ll have plenty of water meter installers looking for jobs abroad next year

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    Mute Moira Green
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 10:16 PM

    It said volunteers.

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    Mute Shane Gill
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:29 PM

    I assume they pay you?

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    Mute Padraig Fitzpatrick
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 11:18 PM

    have a wild guess there, Shane

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    Mute Aengus In Africa
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    Mar 24th 2015, 1:10 PM

    They do pay you, the articles use of the word “volunteer” is misleading.

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:40 PM

    Yes I wear a red cape and have the power to tell people what to do, yes I’m a Cardinal lol.

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Mar 23rd 2015, 9:41 PM

    Do you mean those skills, wouldn’t want a sex workers skills then lol.

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    Mute Live Long
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    Mar 24th 2015, 8:38 AM

    Take a pass, why not volunteer for a needy cause in Ireland? Just a thought

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