Westport based television station Irish TV who had suspended production on new programming last week was awarded High Court protection yesterday with Michael McAteer appointed as interim examiner. The petition came after a funding shortfall left it with a shortfall of liabilities over assets of €8.7m. The station was founded by husband and wife couple Pierce O’Reilly and Mairéad Ní Mhaoilchiaráin. It was launched in 2014 and has been available on Sky TV and the Freeview platform among others, and had recently been in negotiations to be available on the Saorview platform.
The company had been bankrolled to John Griffin, a London-based millionaire who has now resigned as a director of the companies controlling Irish TV. When contacted by the Mayo Advertiser for a comment on the reports, a spokesperson for Irish TV said he was unable to provide one at present. The station is well known for producing the County Matters programme which broadcasts 30 minutes of content from each of the 32 counties in Ireland each week. The company has offices in Ireland, the UK, and the USA.
