Born August 20th, 1970
Died October 2nd, 2025
When Manchán Magan was a young man exploring the world in the 1990s, his travels in India led him to the Himalayas. In a remote hill station high in the mountains, he took up residence in a disused cowshed. The accommodation could hardly have been more basic. But there were stupendous views of the snow-capped Nanda Devi, India’s second-highest peak and a place of deep mythical significance.
Magan was tracked down there by his brother Ruán, who worked in film. He had a minor commission from the start-up Teilifís na Gaeilge, as TG4 was then known, to provide a short item on the unlikely Gaelic romantic who had shunned modernity in the Himalayas. “I went to India to make a video diary but came back with two documentaries,” Ruán said.
It was the beginning of a fruitful partnership, with Manchán in front of the camera and Ruán behind it. Together they produced some 60 programmes, pushing out the boundaries of Irish-language broadcasting. It made a national treasure of Manchán Magan, who has died of cancer.
Described as a “gatherer of light”, this was no ordinary media personality.
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