“The country music is more popular than ever at the minute, there is a huge audience for it and I think that is the secret”
— Daniel O'Donnell, Newry Reporter, 07/09/16
“...it is a great challenges and they take on the challenge very well and execute it brilliantly”
— Daniel O'Donnell, Newry Reporter, 07/09/16
“I think the success is a combination of things, The show as well as having the music itself, there is an insight into the performers with a visit into their homes.”
— Daniel O'Donnell, Newry Reporter, 07/09/16
The Big House
“This series has the inspired idea of getting 13 people whose relatives had been in service in Strokestown to re-create life below stairs by living and working there…so there’s a real sense of living history.”
— Irish Times
“The Big House has been clever in its choice of participants. All of them are descendants of people who worked in Strokestown House”
— Sunday Business Post
“TV series like The Tenements and The Big House are reaching out and filling that need, where you fit in things and where your family fit in……that’s the reason why the response to The Tenements was so great, people feel it’s about them, their lives, they can relate to”
— Irish Daily Mirror
“Big House…..is shaping up to be a very accessible and watchable history series”
— Irish Times
“Big House…making history accessible but relevant to modern audiences is no mean feat””
— TVNow
“…to shine a light on an aspect of Big House life that has been ignored until now.”
— TVNow
“Big House, made by the same team – including its affable , engaging presenter, Bryan Murray – that made the excellent social-history series The Tenements , this new series takes the formula of a mix of academic commentary, historical research and role play, and applies it to life in Strokestown House.”
— Irish Times
The Genealogy Roadshow
“Whether pinpointing on which foreign field and Irish World War I volunteer perished or establishing a link between Ballyknock family and Charlie Chaplin, their enthusiasm for the task in hand was contagious and made for a riveting hour of historical detective TV”
— TV Now
“At this ancestry roadshow, there may be gold in those old genes. The trio of experts who joint he host, Derek Mooney, wear their knowledge lightly. They relate sometimes complex family histories and draw elaborate family trees with an enthusiasm and a clarity that make the programme work”
— The Irish Times
“If the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ showered ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ with wine, flowers, chocolate and little love notes and then took it away for a dirty weekend, the eventual offspring would be ‘The Genealogy Roadshow.’ This is ideal Sunday night teatime material, brand new but with a comfortingly familiar feel, that taps into the current craze for clambering up the family tree.”
— The Evening Herald
Craft Master
“Craft Master seeks to discover new craft talent in Ireland. It’s a project which chimes neatly with his (Paul Costelloe) own take on the flourishing of creativity and talent in Ireland.”
— Sunday Business Post
“On a basic level it’s a beautiful thing, it’s an ideal to work towards. But to get from that thought to reality, it’s a very long arduous road. The physical labour is unbelievable.”
— Sonya Lennon
“The word crafts always scares me — the idea of a little thatched cottage and people selling a pile of Aran sweaters made in God knows where. But craft, I believe, in many cases is an art form and should be respected and there are a lot of wonderful things going on in Ireland. I believe that the small businesses in Ireland should be encouraged to grow and develop. It can be a niche market for more sophisticated European customers, not only for those traditional, stage-Irish shops which you find throughout the States.”
