Beyond Borders - Brenda McAnespie's 'Laochra Gael': Thursday April 9, 9.30pm, TG4

LAOCHRA GAEL Season 18

Thursday 9^th April @ 9.30pm on TG4

REPEAT: Friday 10^th April @ 11:40 pm on TG4

The definitive GAA sports series returned to TG4 this spring for an 18th series. The series hour-long format has proved a huge success, bringing each player’s personal stories to screen. The series featured six Laochra with genuine star quality and reveals deeper, fresh and sometimes unexpected insights into the lives of these icons.  While their sporting careers continue to provide the backdrop to the story, the series travels well beyond the four white lines.  Gripping personal storylines will compel viewers to travel towards territory unique to the GAA television landscape. and “Laochra Gael” returned to the screen for an 18^th series on TG4 on the 5^th March 2020. Six brand new programmes, featuring six legends who performed heroics on the field and who each have a unique and extraordinary story to tell.

 

The acclaimed Laochra Gael returned for an 18th series and this season began with the story of Kerry’s Kieran Donaghy, Wexford’s Diarmuid Lyng, Dublin’s throughbred Alan Brogan, The lynchpin of the Galway hurling revival, Iggy Clarke,  Mayo’s midfield maverick David Brady and finishes with a pioneer of Peil na mBan Brenda McAnespie.

 

Brenda McAnepsie – Beyond Borders

Brenda McAnespie was the rock of the Monaghan Ladies footballers, even playing in an All-Ireland Final when she was pregnant, but away from the field she has had plenty of experience with personal challenges and tragedy. A pioneer of the woman’s game from its infancy, Brenda became a bedrock of a Monaghan team that conquered the sport in the 90s. As a footballer, she truly did not know the meaning of giving up, and played long enough to win an All-Ireland club title with her daughters. But life on the border meant that trouble and tragedy were never far away for Brenda and her family.

 

Brenda’s story is told through the eyes of her proud twin daughters Aoife and Ciara McAnespie, her husband Vincent McAnespie, former Waterford Ladies Football Manager and Ballymacarbery legend Michael Ryan, Former Monaghan Ladies football Manager and friend of Brenda’s Michael Morgan and broadcaster Gráinne McElwain.

 

Along with Brenda McAnespie  – this new season’s batch of GAA legends also included Kieran Donaghy who started out as an Underdog but ended up changing the game forever. Diarmuid Lyng, The wandering Wexfordian wizard who travelled around the world in search of release after retiring from hurling., A blue blood throughbred…Alan Brogan who turned the tide for Dublin, and built the foundations for the greatest team in history. Iggy Clarke, The lynchpin of the Galway hurling revival, the hurler and priest who started out on a brand new life after the loss of his faith and Mayo’s midfield maverick David Brady who was combative as a Mayo footballer, and is even more contentious today as a pundit.

The new Laochra Gael season began on TG4 on the 5^th March and finishes with this program on the 9^th April, with a repeat on Friday night.

The series is produced by NemetonTV, the independent production company from Ring in the Waterford Gaeltacht which has produced much of TG4’s acclaimed sports coverage.

Welcoming the new series, TG4’s Head of Sport, Rónán Ó Coisdealbha says “the channel takes great pride in its live match coverage but the Laochra Gael series also plays an important part in TG4’s Gaelic games coverage.”  He said: “The Laochra Gael series illustrates the achievements and the sacrifices of these wonderful sports people. This documentary series has become a key component of our Gaelic Games coverage since Laochra Gael began in 2001.”

Laochra Gael Series:

Programme 6: Brenda McAnespie, 9.30pm, Thursday 9^th April