Kildare students get behind the scenes trip to TG4 studios

A team of talented young content-creators from Kildare Town Community School enjoyed a behind the scenes trip to TG4 studios this week as reward for triumphing to win publicjobs.ie’s The Pitch Schools Advertising Challenge.

The 5th Year students Emma Wilson, Ruby Balmer, Kerry Behan, Lou Pinlac, Michael McNamara and David O'Dwyer took home one of three top prizes for their short video “The Public Sector ní neart go cur le cheile (Many hands make light work)” showcasing the scope and breadth of the exciting career opportunities on offer across the public sector. The group made it all the way to the finals in 2022 so were delighted to be among the prize winners this year.

The group visited TG4 studios in Galway, receiving a behind the scenes all access studio tour. They were introduced to presenters Caitlín Nic Aoidh and Niamh Ní Chróinín who showed them the ropes across all aspects of the TV station including news, weather and camera operations. They also heard about the exciting internship programmes and career opportunities with TG4.

The students then got to meet Darach Ó Tuairisg, CEO of Fibín Media an Irish language production company which is currently resident in an Taibhdhearc, the national Irish language theatre company. There the students got the chance to write, present and film a short children’s programme.

Speaking about their trip to TG4 Ruby Balmer said:

‘It was unreal, this has been one of the best experiences of my life. It was great to see behind the scenes and everyone was so lovely, I’m really glad I entered. Of all the school tours I’ve ever had this is definitely number one. I would be very open to working with Irish because I love my language and I love my culture and being out here in Galway and seeing everyone speak the language is great to see and I’d like to be part of that.’’

Kildare Town Community School Career Guidance Counsellor Liz Urell said:

“I would recommend highly students get involved in The Pitch. The day out has been wonderful from start to finish, it’s been educational, it’s cultural, it’s social, it’s so meaningful on so many levels.”

Caitríona Nic An tSaoir from TG4 said:

“We were delighted to have the students here to show them around TG4 and Fibín Media. We really hope that we will see some of them coming here to be part of the internship programme in the future.”

The Pitch competition is organised by publicjobs.ie and is a key part of its educational programme for post-primary students aimed at informing and sparking interest in the wide variety of career opportunities available in the public sector. This is the second year of the competition, with entries received from schools across Ireland. 

Other winners included students from Nagle Community College, Mahon, Co. Cork and Fingal Community College, Swords, Co. Dublin. The Cork students will be brought on an expert guided tour of any Office of Public Works Heritage site, plus everyone in their class will receive an annual Family Heritage Card. The Dublin students will enjoy an action-packed visit to the Defence Forces at Curragh Camp DFTC.