RONNIE O’ BRIEN speaks to MICHAEL STUBBS from about Dublin Innovation Festival, which will take place all over Dublin for four weeks this year…
What is the “One Percent Difference” philanthropic campaign?
SEAMUS MULCONRY, Executive Director of Philanthropy Ireland speaks with Pat about the “One Percent Difference” campaign, where you are asked to give one percent of your time or money to a cause which you can believe in. Seamus talks about the pros of volunteering time for sports and other organisations in Ireland, the generosity of Irish people as…
Malahide Tidy Town
Heidi Bedell speaks to GERRY RAFFERTY from castle lodge in Malahide about how they have been entering the competition for the past twenty years . They also talk about concerts taking place in Malahide castle & how well organised they have gone…

What is Change.org?
JOHN COVENTRY of Change.org explains to Eoin Drinan the purpose of the site as an online platform for people to talk about the issues that they care about and actively petition for change. In the UK at the time they have 2million users and over fifty campaigns have been successful in getting action implemented. John…
Festival of Flowers in Malahide
VICTOR BLACK, director of the Festival of Flowers in St Doolough’s Church in Malahide talks to Pat about the logistical problems involved in putting together a top-class floral event. This 2014 Malahide show brought together top flower arrangers from all over Ireland to display their art to a very wide audience. The international flower show…
“Sleepwalkers” exhibition @ Hugh Lane Gallery
Noel McGuinness interviews GAVIN MURPHY an Irish artist, who’s presenting his latest exhibition “Sleepwalkers” at the Hugh Lane Gallery. He talks about his relationship with the gallery, as he has done research about the Gallery for this new exhibition and the role of the citizens of Dublin on the Gallery…

Surpressed Histories Archive
MARY CONDREN talks with Pat Meehan about Suppressed Histories Archive founder Maxine Dashu, who is coming to Ireland courtesy of Woman’s Spirit. Suppressed Histories teaches global women’s history through images. Maxine is exploring if there was ever a time in our human history when men and women lived in harmony, and in religion where women are not treated…

Educate Together
MARY ROSSITER speaks with Pat Meehan about the campaign to launch a new ‘Educate Together’ school in Clontarf/Fairview area. The closest ‘Educate Together’ school is currently in Glasnevin. Mary represents a group of parents in the area who are working with ‘Educate Together’ to lobby the Department of Education for a new ET school in…
‘Miss Ethnic’ Contest Highlights Horror of Female Genital Mutilation
IFRAH AHMED, organiser of the Miss Ethnic Ireland contest joins Noel McGuinness. The contest is now in its fifth year and Ifrah explains that its major aim is raising awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Ifrah tells Noel that the practice is outlawed in Ireland, having been made illegal in 2012. The UK, France and…
Artane Man Alan Bracken Joins Fianna Fáil National Executive
ALAN BRACKEN comes into Near FM to chat with Mark Finnegan. Alan was elected to the Fianna Fáil National Executive last week. “I was delighted to be elected and now hope to get Fianna Fáil moving in Dublin once again. Fianna Fáil must work hard to show an alternative in communities across the country. I…
Learning about the Asylum seeking process for children in Ireland
CAROLINE REID, Communications officer with the Irish Refugee Council, speaks to Sabrina Ryan about a new multimedia guide released by the organisation. Caroline explains how the guide came about and the process by which it was created in collaboration with children who were going through the asylum process at the time. Caroline explains how people…

Traditional Music from the EU concerts in Dublin
Noel McGuinness is joined in studio by PAUL LOUGHRAN and a number of musicians from the EU. It begins with a performance from the Hartz Mountain Yodellers. The musicians are in Dublin to perform a series of concerts which Paul gives all of the details for including a live broadcast on Near FM and subsequent…
Glasnevin Cemetery 1913 Lock Out tours
SHANE MAC THOMAIS of the Glasnevin Trust speaks to Pat Meehan about the tours being held in the Glasnevin Cemetery as part of the celebrations of the book “Strumpet City” which is based at the time of the Dublin City Lock Out of 1913. Shane speaks of how many of the main people involved in…
A Widow’s Paradise in a Mobile Home!
THERESA CASHEL from the Grange Woodbine Drama Group talks to Noel McGuinness about their 2015 production of ‘A Widow’s Paradise’. This play by Sam Cree is a farce in which five women travel to stay in a caravan in the Ards peninsula, some trying to get away from their male partners and others hoping to…
The Big Green Apple: Taking Irish Playwrights Across The Atlantic
CAMILLE DONEGAN, co creator of transatlantic theatre troupe “The Big Green Apple”, joins John Healy to talk about their new project in which ten short plays will be written in one week. Of these, five will be chosen to travel to Broadway in New York to be performed at the first Irish Festival. Camille tells…
