Zak and Talia (far left) with presenters Síomha Ní Ruairc, Gráinne Ní Seoige and James Kavanagh and the other contestants of the first season of the Virgin Media show Grá ar an Trá. Photo: Ruth Medjber Síomha Ní Ruairc has described the second season of Grá ar an Trá as "sexier” and a “little bit naughtier” as the show is set to return this autumn. The brand-new season of the Irish dating show, hosted by Ní Ruairc, James Kavanagh and Gráinne Seoige, will welcome ten new singletons to the Gaeltacht to find love for both the Irish language and each other.
While speaking to the Irish Independent , Ní Ruairc said: “There was a lot of sexual tension in the house this year, it was palpable.” This year will also see the first LGBTQ+ contestant in the dating show. James Kavanagh said: “At times, you almost felt like a mad scientist watching all these things go on.
"But the representation of a gay person in there was brilliant, and it does work. So hopefully, shows like Love Island can see that. "Also, not to have just an LGBTQ+ Grá ar an Trá and a straight one, it's nice to just have it mixed and and this show has shown that that does work.
” Kavanagh said, adding the show is “first of its kind in Ireland”. It added a “new dynamic to the show” which wasn’t seen last year, Ní Ruairc said. "We keep talking about being fresher and different this year, they really did bring some extra spice and relationships that we didn't see last year.
"I'm really proud to have worked on a dating show that, for the first time, has LGBTQ people in it. We're at the forefront.” The fact that the Virgin Media dating show depicts people learning Gaeilge contributes to the shift in Ireland’s relationship with the language, she said.
"People are just seeing Irish being more normalised in the content we consume, in the TV and the movies that we watch. So I'd love to think that Grá ar an Trá isn't an anomaly anymore. It's just another amazing show going out on Virgin Media that just happens to be bilingual.
“I grew up with Irish. It was the language of my household at home, and I live a lot of my life through Irish. So I always talk about the importance of normalisation of Gaeilge, that it's not just a school subject.
“It's really refreshing for people to see it in a new environment, in a modern environment, in a sexy environment like Grá ar an Trá and that people go: ‘Oh, wait, I can actually have a different relationship with the language. What I did with it in school doesn't define my relationship with it’. " Grá ar an Trá is an amazing platform for that to be shown.
It's also important that there's different levels of Irish in the show. I come from a bilingual background, whereas James would have only had the experience in school.” Kavanagh said he was “dormant” with his Gaeilge for years after secondary school.
“In the last 10 years or so, I've done a few things that have awakened it. I'm really enjoying getting back into it and just learning the cúpla focal,” he said. "I've had friends who've watched Grá ar an Trá and are now learning Irish in the evening, or picking up the dictionary at home and trying to make their language a bit broader.
” Grá ar an Trá returns to Virgin Media in October. Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
