Athlone and Ballinasloe highlighted in "Hector Goes" show tonight

Visits to both Athlone and Ballinasloe by Hector Ó hEochagáin will be televised tonight (Monday, January 14) as part of his new four part series "Hector Goes". The series began on January 7 with "Hector Goes Holy" and featured Hector finding out what happened to the church of his youth. The second programme of the series - due to be aired on RTE 1 at 9.35pm tonight - is entitled "Hector Goes Traveller". According to a press release about tonight's show Hector wants to know whatever happened to the Irish traveller, and what being an Irish traveller means. For the programme Hector visited the Ballinasloe Horse Fair and met traveller Geraldine Stokes in Athlone. He also linked up with traveller sulky racers at the Offaly Traveller Movement Horse Project in Birr, worked with tinsmith traveller Tom McDonnellon in Finglas, met traveller barrister Davy Joyce in the Dublin Four Courts and returned to his roots in Navan where he met up with the McDonagh family who used to camp across the road from him in his younger days. "So here's what we're trying to do," Hector said of tonight's programme. "It seems to me that our tv screens are awash with programmes about travellers, about their weddings, about their sulky racing, about their bare knuckle boxing. There's obviously great ratings in travellers. And yes, we've joined the countless other camera crews jumping on the gypsy bandwagon. Ok - we can say we're looking for a different type of traveller but the irony of making yet another programme about travellers isn't lost on us. "I'd like to think we're approaching this with an open mind," he said however, "something I'm not sure can be said about every film made about the travelling people." "Hector doesn't walk around the car, kicking the tires and banging the doors," a show spokesperson said. "Hector is more of a jump in behind the wheel and take the thing for a spin kind of a guy. We won't spend a huge amount of time in a camouflaged hide slowly approaching the water hole. We'll be more diving in and striking out for the opposite shore. We'll be immersed. We'll be embedded. The resulting stories will be told in a bold, informed and entertaining way." The final two programmes in the "Hector Goes" series will be aired on January 21 and 28 and will see Hector dive into country and western music in the company of Mike Denver and look at the Irish hunting scene.