Moving West has returned to TG4 for a fourth season, continuing its focus on the people who have chosen to build new lives along Ireland’s western seaboard.
Presented by Mary Kennedy, the six-part series airs on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm and follows individuals and families who have moved, returned or relocated to counties including Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon.
Produced by Dundara Television and Media from its studio base in Allenwood, Co. Kildare, in partnership with the Western Development Commission and with support from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, the series explores themes of home, work, community, lifestyle change and regional opportunity.
In the fourth episode, airing on Tuesday, June 23, Mary Kennedy travels to Roscommon, where she meets retired teacher Máire Ní Dhonnchú, who reflects on her own journey home.
Máire moved to England in the 1980s at a time when teaching jobs were scarce in Ireland. She later returned home and now enjoys life surrounded by the countryside she always loved.
Also featured in Roscommon is Aisling Owens, who has returned home after more than a decade away. Having built a career in fashion buying in Dublin and later Toronto, Aisling made the decision in 2024 to step away from that fast-paced world and return to the countryside outside Strokestown where she grew up.
What she did not expect was to find work connected to the industry she loved.
That opportunity came through CycleUp in Athleague, a social enterprise run by Roscommon Women’s Network which repurposes discarded textiles into bags and homeware.
Aisling now works as part of a small team giving new life to materials that would otherwise be thrown away, while also helping to build meaningful employment in the west.
Mary also meets Aisling’s colleague, Alena Gurn, who originally moved to Ireland from Belarus and joined the CycleUp project in 2023.
The episode also features David O’Connor in Sligo, who returned to Ireland after years living in New Zealand and working on boats across Asia. Drawing on that experience, he now runs Wild West Sailing, sharing his love of the Atlantic with visitors and locals alike.
Mary then travels to Donegal to meet Abdul Ahmad and his wife Malek, who fled Syria and eventually settled in Carndonagh after spending time in direct provision. A former teacher, Abdul has returned to a tradition he learned as a child: beekeeping. He now produces honey and candles while raising his family in Donegal.
The series has resonated strongly with audiences since it first aired, particularly among viewers interested in lifestyle change, work-life balance, regional opportunity and reconnecting with place.
Earlier this year, that impact received formal recognition when Dundara Television and Media, TG4 and the Western Development Commission won Best Collaboration at the 2026 Spider Awards, often described as Ireland’s digital Oscars.
“One of the great privileges of presenting Moving West is meeting people who have made brave and often life-changing decisions to start again in a different part of the country,” said presenter Mary Kennedy.
“Every story is different, but there is a common thread running through the series — people searching for connection, balance, community and a better quality of life.”
Moving West airs on TG4 on Tuesdays at 7.30 pm. A promo for the new series is available on YouTube.
