About the presenter.

Páraic Breathnach is the presenter of RTÉ Radio 1's new arts programme, The Eleventh Hour, broadcasting Monday to Friday from 11pm from October.

Páraic Breathnach is an accomplished theatre and film actor, producer, director of theatre, writer and all-round arts expert.

He is originally from Co. Mayo but grew up in Carna in Connemara, Galway, and has spent most of his life in Galway.

His first major involvement with the arts was as a student at U.C.G. where he was involved in the construction of Druid Theatre.  He went on to work as an actor with various theatre groups including Druid and toured Ireland with music groups including De Danann.

He is one of the masterminds of street theatre performance group, Macnas, and has been involved in every aspect of the Galway Arts Festival for over sixteen years.  Some of Macnas' most memorable performances have been the Gulliver parade in Dublin for the millennium; The Celtic Trilogy penned by Breathnach, several St Patrick's Day parades in Dublin and various Galway Arts Festival parades.  With Macnas, Breathnach also joined U2 on their Zooropa world tour.

More recently, Páraic has directed the Morning, Noon and Night parade for Project '06 in Galway.  He has written the play 'Through the Coole Door'.  He has founded FirClis Theatre Company.  He has acted in several Irish films including Michael Collins and Breakfast on Pluto and is well-known for his role as 'Jacksie' in the RTÉ Television series, Killinaskully.

Páraic is a former member of the Arts Council and in 2005, NUI Galway conferred him with an honorary degree in the Arts.