Tune in and celebrate Mayo Day on TG4

EIBHLÍN Ní Chonghaile and Dáithí Gallagher will host a one-hour flagship programme broadcast on Mayo Day, May 1, on TG4 at 9.30 p.m. and on the TG4 Player worldwide to celebrate all things Mayo.

The programme will feature the best of Mayo music and culture, conversation and craic, and showcase the beauty of the county.

Guest appearances are expected from the Mayo diaspora in every corner of the planet and even beyond, with aeronautical engineer Norah Patten due to drop by. They'll chat with photographer Fergus Sweeney about Blacksod Lighthouse and continue to head along the Lost Valley and sample local produce on the Gourmet Greenway.

The standard of musical performances will be exceptional with Matt Molloy of The Chieftains, Laoise Kelly, Billow Wood, Chantelle Padden, Lisa Canny, Emer Mayock, Tom Doherty and family and more.

There are over 3.5 million people from all over the world with Mayo connections and some will tell of their lives abroad. They include Andrew Walsh, a professional chef from Breaffy who runs three restaurants in Singapore, Dr. Lisa Ní Chuinneagáin, a flight doctor from Ballina who is located in the UK, while Mary O’Halloran from Foxford brings tales from the city that never sleeps where she owns Irish pub Mary O’s.

The hugely successful Mayo Day celebrates its seventh year on Saturday, May 1, with an outstanding programme of events to be viewed from around the globe. The Mayo Day Festival is virtual again this year, but this has brought unexpected opportunities and expanded the reach of the celebration.

Mayo Day is a unique occasion as Mayo remains the only county with its own name day, celebrating achievements, heritage and culture, diaspora and community spirit.

The emphasis is on People and Place and taking this opportunity to showcase the best of Mayo.

Presenter Dáithí Gallagher hails from Achill Island and lives and breathes all things Mayo. He is heavily involved in promoting the culture and language in Mayo and as a musician, is part of a band called Pitch Slapped.

Although from Connemara, journalist and presenter Eibhlín Ní Chonghaile is now an adoptive Mayo woman, having moved and settled in Ballina 10 years ago. She has three children who she says she will soon have to give in to and buy Mayo jerseys for!