{"id":613358,"date":"2026-09-03T18:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/613358\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T18:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:08:11","slug":"arranmore-producer-shines-a-light-on-irelands-new-islanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/613358\/","title":{"rendered":"Arranmore producer shines a light on Ireland\u2019s new islanders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Arranmore Island native Helena N\u00ed Ghallach\u00f3ir has produced and directed a new TG4 documentary series exploring the lives of people from around the world who have made Ireland\u2019s offshore islands their home.<\/p>\n<p>Trasna na dTonnta begins on TG4 on Monday, 14th September at 8.30pm and follows the experiences of the \u201cNew Irish\u201d who have settled on five islands, including Arranmore and Tory in Donegal.<\/p>\n<p>Produced and directed by Helena N\u00ed Ghallach\u00f3ir of HG Productions, the four-part series explores migration, identity and belonging through the stories of people who have travelled from across Europe and beyond to begin new lives in some of Ireland\u2019s most remote communities.<\/p>\n<p>Donegal features prominently throughout the series.<\/p>\n<p>The opening episode follows Ukrainian refugees Krystyna and Diana, who found sanctuary on Tory Island after fleeing war in their homeland.<\/p>\n<p>Colm Mac Ruaidhr\u00ed, manager of An Club on Tory Island, describes the arrival of new islanders as something positive.<\/p>\n<p>He also welcomed their interest in learning the Irish language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew people, new blood, new accents even,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-sans font-semibold text-xl md:text-[30px] leading-9 text-primary w-full\">\n        You may also be interested in\n    <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/news\/donegal-heating-oil-hits-three-month-high-as-summer-ends-648157\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Donegal heating oil hits three month high as summer ends\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/donegal-heating-oil-hits-three-month-high-as-summer-ends.jpg\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Donegal heating oil hits three month high as summer ends\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/lead-stories\/plans-resubmitted-for-major-donegal-town-bar-expansion-648142\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Plans resubmitted for major Donegal Town bar expansion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/plans-resubmitted-for-major-donegal-town-bar-expansion.png\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Plans resubmitted for major Donegal Town bar expansion\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-648107 in-content-img not-prose w-full\" height=\"681\" width=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/arranmore-producer-shines-a-light-on-ireland-rsquo-s-new-islanders.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-serif font-normal text-base leading-6 text-tertiary not-prose\"> Colm Mac Ruaidhri\u0301 &#8211; Manager of An Club Tory Island in <\/p>\n<p>Trasna na dTonnta<\/p>\n<p>Arranmore features in the final episode, which follows Father John from Nigeria, who has become a valued part of island life as the local priest.<\/p>\n<p>Filmed over 12 months from January 2025 to January 2026, Trasna na dTonnta also follows people from Ukraine, South Africa, France, Scotland and Germany who have settled on Sherkin, Bere and Dursey islands in Cork.<\/p>\n<p>Some had never travelled by boat or lived beside the sea before arriving on an Irish island.<\/p>\n<p>Across the series, they share the journeys and life-changing decisions that brought them to Ireland and reflect on building a new sense of home and belonging within their adopted communities.<\/p>\n<p>Trasna na dTonnta begins on TG4 Monday 14th September 8.30pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arranmore Island native Helena N\u00ed Ghallach\u00f3ir has produced and directed a new TG4 documentary series exploring the lives&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-613358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}