Acorn TV Picks Up Gaelic Series 'Crá,' Retitled 'Boglands'

Despite technically referring to two completely different languages, the word "Gaelic" is one that's fraught with emotional baggage in the U.K., as the last century saw the Irish variant become the language of rebellion and terrorists in the most recent major bout of "The Troubles." This is an unfortunate situation because, in light of the Welsh language revival, Irish residents, especially those from Northern Ireland, would like to see their native tongue make a comeback as part of the new emphasis in nationalist heritage and identity, including dual language TV series like the recent series, Cra, which despite having a perfectly serviceable name (translates directly to "Torment,") the series has picked up a new name (Boglands) for American audiences to check out.

While Irish Gaelic was featured prominently in the movie Kneecap, about a trio of Irish rappers who incorporate their native tongue into their art, projects featuring Irish Gaelic have been few and far between. That's why it was a big deal for the BBC to pick up The Island/An t-Eilean, the first primary big-budget dual-language Gaelic-and-English production in history. Cra was produced as a joint project from BBC Gaeilge and TG4.

However, until marketing can take it seriously, we'll be stuck watching it as an "Irish language series with subtitles," as even using the language's actual name can be a contentious decision. It should be noted that the BBC is airing the series in both languages; however, it will only be available in Gaelic with subtitles here.