DONIE TARRANT went to Finglas in north west Dublin to meet THOMAS MCDONNELL, a tin smith keeping the craft alive. Thomas invites Donie into his home to demonstrate the art of tinsmithing, an important part of Ireland’s craft past. Donie captures Thomas moulding a length of Tin into a mug, and Thomas explains how he…
Mark Finnegan talks to Dr AOIFE O’DONOGHUE , Snr Lecturer at Durham Law School. Aoife is Co- Director of The Northern/Irish Feminists Judgement Project, and chats about the idea behind the project and its findings to date. The project aims to bring a new critical methodology to bear on Irish and Northern Irish legal studies…
Cllr PAUL DONNELLY from Sinn Féin talks to Noel McGuinness about the facing of the eviction in Tyrellstown. More than 100 families in Cruise Park Drive face losing their homes as the fund that owns the properties seeks to sell 103 houses in the area over four years. It is understood 40 households in the estate have…
Pat Meehan is joined by PAT MURPHY an historian and they’re talking about this year’s commemoration of the Asgard .He presents the life of this famous yacht from her launch in 1905 to its current conservation in Collin’s Barracks Museum. Her 23 day voyage to collect guns and ammunition for the Irish Volunteers and the…
JACKIE O’REILLY joins Pat Meehan to discuss the launch of the Finglas Heritage Trail, a trail of fourteen heritage sites. The trail was officially launched by councillor Naoise O’Muiri along with Dublin City Council. They move on to discuss the book “The Peoples Portrait” of Finglas. Jackie carries on to explain the tour itself and how one…
NICKO MURPHY of the Darndale Comunity Pride project joins Yvette Reid to discuss the issue of loose horses in the area which at the time of the interview is a large problem. They discuss the lack of a tagging system in identifying the owner and how 78 horses were reported in the course of five…
INAKI IRIGOEN presents a series of recordings from the INTO protest covering proposed increases in class sizes. First we hear a round up of class size statistics from around Europe with Ireland having the second highest rate. Parent Shane Kelly steps up to give an account of his child’s experience at school in Termonfeckin. He…
YVONNE WHELAN of Scoil Catriona joins John Healy to discuss the “Incredible Edible Healthy Eating Month”, an initiative to encourage the growing of vegetables in the school environment. Yvonne shares with us how the children get involved with growing vegetables and complete five tasks over the course of the growth process, with the purpose being…
GRACE WILENTZ talks to Noel McGuinness about her recent week-long trip to the UN in New York as part of the Commission on Population & Development. The Commission is part of the UN’s ongoing plan to focus on improving health in the Southern Hemisphere by 2015. Grace has some good stories about the work being…
Ger Leddin reports from the JFK Memorial in Wexford on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy’s death. Lieutenant AOIFE SHANLEY tells Ger about the planned procession and band fanfare as they prepare to lay a wreath on the memorial. Minister Brendan Howlin will inspect Guard of Honour. Ministers Keogh and Howlin…
Storyteller PAT SPEIGHT, joins Barbara Jennings on the phone to tell some tales about his own life and paddling down the River Shannon. He also tells two short stories. The first story is about two people who are madly in love. The second story is about two mysterious parcels which arrive each year at Christmas…
ANNE MAHER of Ballet Ireland speaks to Noel McGuinness about the origins of the group and the forthcoming production of “Carmen” at the Draoicht and Gaiety theatres. Although normally one thinks of Carmen as an opera, it is also a ballet and Anne gives a brief history of the arrangement that Ballet Ireland is working…
SENIOR PROFESSOR LUKE DRURY, HEAD OF ASTROPHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY SECTION, talks to Mark Finnegan about National Science Week and the international significance of Dunsink in terms of research into outer space. It is rocket science! The Irish Astronomy Trail, taking in Cork, Galway and Newgrange is also discussed. Over 4,000 people a year visit Dunsink…
EIMEAR joins Paula Wiseman to discuss “First Thursdays Dublin”, an initiative keeping a selection of galleries open later on the First Thursday of each month. They discuss the success of the initiative, run in tandem with “Culture Night” which they also organise each September. They share ways to get involved with “First Thursdays” both on…
Doctor ANNE MARIE HALPENNY of DIT’s Early Childhood education programme, joins Ger Leddin to discuss a recent call on the government, made by the Children Rights Alliance, to ban violence against children within the home, aimed at discouraging slapping or physical punishment in the disciplining of children in the home. Anne Marie speaks of a…
The Northside band 16 Layers come into the Near FM studios to play a few of their songs live and chat with Pat Meehan. The songs are: Exile 00.23 03.59 Golden Ratio 06.34 10.25 Nervous Tremors 15.10 19.34 No Strings 24.10 27.34…
TERRY MOYLAN speaks about a new Uilleann Pipe workshop that has opened in Clonshaugh in Dublin 17. Terry explains how Dublin was always a centre for piping going back centuries. The workshop is a three year full time course in Uilleann Pipe making, and there are 10 trainees on the course. It is part funded by…
Noel McGuinness interviews ORLA CROWE, Co-founder of Blossom Ireland, who won the Local Legend Award for the Dublin area, and she explains the work they do at Blossom Ireland and about the importance of the award for her…
BRIAN COLHOUN of Creative Mornings Dublin joins Eoin Drinan to talk about the coffee morning set up as a networking event for people in the creative industries. He shares how they meet once a month and the event tends to draw very high profile members of the creative industries. He explains that each event has a…
American cartoonist, actor, and director CHUCK HUBER is in Dublin for the Anime Society’s Croke Park event. For those who don’t know, anime is the generic name given to those Japanese cartoons, comics and cartoon films that feature big-eyed heroes and heroines and bug-eyed monsters and freaks. The ‘Manga’ comics also feature in a big…
Noel McGuinness talks to MARK DUNKENFIELD, co-founder and director of Laya Healthcare Street Performers Festival about the World Championships, which are being held in Dublin this summer…