Cúla4 (Irish: Cúla Ceathair) is an Irish languageprogramming block and a stand-alone television channel for Irish-speaking children in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is operated by the Irish broadcaster TG4. The channel airs from 6am to 7:54pm, timesharing with TG4 +1 (which starts at 8pm).
The strand was first established in 1996 as Cúlabúla; with the rebrand of TnaG to TG4. In 1999, Cúlabúla was renamed "Cúla4".
As of 1 September 2009, Cúla4 is available as a separate channel to Virgin Media Ireland customers on channel 602.[1] A new schedule coincided with the launch on UPC.
The majority of programming is a mixture of homegrown and international programmes which are either dubbed or subtitled in Irish. Cúla4 works with international broadcasters to produce Irish versions of hit TV series which are seen on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, PBS and Discovery Family. It also works with homegrown animation companies to produce localized series. Cúla4 offers something unique in an already saturated kids television market in Ireland with the existence of RTÉjr/TRTÉ, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Cúla4's programming is either in Irish or in Irish and English, unlike its competition where the majority of their programmes are entirely in English.
An educational programme, Cúla4 Ar Scoil ("Cúla 4 at School"), was created in April 2020, in response to the closure of all schools during the COVID-19pandemic in the Republic of Ireland in 2020.[2] This followed RTÉ's launch of its Home School Hub in March 2020. It is recorded in Connemara, with teachers Caitríona Ní Chualáin and Fiachra Ó Dubhghaill presenting daily lessons for the 30-minute show.[2] A second series began in September with teachers Orla Ní Fhinneadha and Micheál Ó Dubhghaill.[3][4]
In November 2021, TG4 announced that it planned to make Cúla4 as a channel available for all Irish TV providers.[5][6] The channel launched on September 8, 2023 At 4pm. The first program that aired on the channel was an episode of Pat The Dog. An ad campaign for the channel was launched in early September of that year and advertisements were played on TV and in cinemas.
The channel broadcasts from 6:00 AM until 7:40 PM and is a free to air channel.
Media related to Cúla4 at Wikimedia Commons
