Dáithí Lacha

Dáithí Lacha was an Irish language television cartoon series for children broadcast on RTÉ during the 1960s. The series was not animated, however. For each five-minute episode, the creator, illustrator, and camera operator, Flann Ó Riain, produced a static comic strip which was shown one frame at a time. A single narrator, Pádraic Ó Gaora, described the action and spoke the dialogue. As well as the central character, the series featured Maidhc the dog and Puisín the cat. The first episode was broadcast on December 31, 1962. For the first few years of its run, the series was transmitted three days a week. By the time the final episode appeared in July 1969, Dáithí Lacha had become a weekly show. Today, Ireland's first home-grown television cartoon star is remembered by viewers of that generation for his frequent cries of "Aililiú!", as well as for his large striped underpants — the only garb he wore. Two episodes of the programme were posted online by RTÉ in 2012 as part of the broadcaster's 50th anniversary look back at programmes from the past.