JANE ALGER, director of the UNESCO City of Literature programme, speaks to John Healy about the purpose of the programme. Jane talks about what the programme encourages, the book that the programme are celebrating this year, the events that they put together that connect to the book, the plot of the book itself based on the…

Homeopathy In The Garden
MARTIN BYRNE tells Noel McGuinness that Homeopathy seems to get results in eradicating pests and diseases in the garden. Homeopathy works by adding tiny amounts of plant extracts into a solution to the body, (or plant in this case) to help eliminate problems that chemicals are generally used for. For example Calendula is used for…
Bram Stoker Centenary Celebrations
PAUL MURRAY, Biographer of Bram Stoker talks to NOEL McGUINNESS about Bram Stokers Centenary. Paul was commissioned to write a biography of Stoker in the 1990s. There were many surprises uncovered in the research for the novel. Stoker was an important figure in Dublin in his day and is, oddly, more celebrated abroad than at…

Bealtaine Fest’s 20th Birthday Celebrations
MICHAEL FOLEY, Head of Evaluation & Public Affairs, Age & Opportunity talks to Noel McGuinness about this year’s Bealtaine Festival events on Dublin’s north side. An estimated 120,000 people now take part in the Bealtaine festival, making it one of Ireland’s biggest arts festivals. From dance to cinema, painting to theatre, Bealtaine showcases the talents…
Lions Club Christmas Food Drive 2013
JOE SMITH of the Lions Club joins Noel McGuinness to discuss the Club’s 2013 Christmas Food Drive. They discuss the work of the Lions Club in over 200 countries worldwide over the past 60 years. In Ireland, the Lions Club liaise with a number of other agencies, including St Vincent de Paul and Women’s Refuges…
Motor Neurone Disease
Ronnie O’Brien speaks to PETER FARRELL, who is the writer of a song called “Hey Mama It’s Christmas”, which is being released to raise funds for Motor Neuron Disease Ireland…

Dublin Fire Brigade Protest
Near FM volunteer STELLA GEBAUER reports from the protests that took place the 9th of April to defend the work of the Dublin Fire Brigade. The workers are worried that the ambulance service could be taken from them and given to the National Ambulance Service; all the firefighters in Dublin are trained as paramedics and they defend…
Live From Darndale Arts Week
Mark Finnegan reports live from Darndale/Belcamp Village Centre on the launch of Darndale Arts Week. He speaks to, amongst others, event organiser BRIDA MURRAY and Minister AODHAN O RIORDAN who performed the official opening ceremony…
The Integration Centre on the “Putting people First” document
Ronnie O’Brien speaks to KILLIAN FORDE of the Integration Centre. They begin by discussing a document released by Minister Phil Hogan called “Putting people first” and what the results of this set of policies will be. They discuss any difference in integration throughout this period. They discuss some of the differences in modern day immigration…
Stefanie Pressner speaks about her new play ‘User not found,’
Noel Mc Guinness speaks to STEFANIE PRESSNER who is screenwriter, playright and actor about her play ‘User not found’ , which is taking place in the Axix theatre in Ballymun. It’s a play about the relationship people have with social media & their phones. Stefanie also talks about her last sell out play called ‘…
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…
Release Of A Herd Of Pigs At Balbriggan Allotment
CATRIONA REDMOND, a food blogger and member of the Balbriggan Allotments speaks to Pat Meehan about the official opening of the allotments and in particular, the release of a herd of pigs into the allotment. Catriona talks about how the pigs will be farmed, how a local supermarket will help supply food for the pigs,…
The Long Walk Home 2013 – Grand canal challenge
JOANNE LINDSAY MARTIN of the Peter McVerry Trust joins Noel McGuinness to discuss “The Long Walk Home” – a charity walk from Shannon harbour to Dublin along the Grand Canal, covering roughly 20kilometres a day. Joanne shares some stories and details from the previous years walk from Shannon to Dublin. She shares specific details of…
Salaries and pension arrangements by Irish Water Senior Management
Ger interviews senator DAVID CULLINANE from Sinn Fein, who critizises the senior management of Irish Water, their salaries and pension arrangements. He talks about the case of former county manager from Waterford Ray O’Dwyer who saw this years in the public service added at his pension arrangements and got later hired as head of operations of…
This Weeks Stories From The North Count Leader Paper
Noel Mc Guinness speaks to PATRICK FINNEGAN from the North county leader paper to update us with the stories from this weeks issue. They start of with the minister James Reilly who will open a new computer room for the youths of Swords, also about the new Lidl that will be opening & finally PATRICK…
