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…
Mary Coughlan at the Axis, Ballymun
Singer MARY COUGHLAN joins Noel MCGuinness to discuss an upcoming gig at the Axis Centre in Ballymun. Mary gives details of the concert and a new album being released early in 2014. They also discuss the recent death of Nelson Mandela and the effect of his passing on her. Mary shares details of her new…
Sing Project at Axis in Ballymun
What a night it was on Wednesday 19 December in Axis, Ballymun when the combined voices of the National Chamber Choir and the Sing project participants joined forces in a celebratory carol service under the baton of Paul Hillier. The finale was the whole auditorium singing Silent Night and O come all you faithful, spine…
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…
Birdwatch Ireland
Ronnie O’Brian speaks to NIALL HATCH from Bird watch Ireland about the ” Roseate Tern” a sea bird that come to Ireland in the summer months…
Camara charity reaches 500,000 children with Technological Assistance
Pat Meehan speaks to John from Irish charity “Camara” in light of them reaching their half million mark in terms of helping children access technology in Africa. We hear the history of the organisation since 2005 and some of their plans for reaching the two million mark by 2016. We hear of how prevalent technology…
Should slapping children be made illegal in Ireland?
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…
Novels, Plays and Schooldays Plays on Near FM
Producer and presenter DEBBIE HUTCHINSON talks to John Healy about ‘Novels, Plays, and Schooldays’. Novels, Plays and Schooldays is a new nine-part radio series produced by Near fm with financial support from The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The series looks at the novels and plays that form part of the Junior and Leaving Certificate English…
Halloween festival in Darndale 2012
John Healy speaks to MADELEINE EBBS of Dublin City Council to learn about the Darndale Halloween festival 2012. They discuss the dangers of Bonfires and Fireworks at Halloween and also talk about the four supervised bonfires happening in the area, organised as part of the Halloween Festival 2012. They discuss what will be a part of the festivities…
Mammas in their Pyjamas
Pat Meehan interviews MIRIAM O’NEILL from AA Ireland about a funny situation coming up quite often, and they’ve called it “Mammas in their Pyjamas”. They’ve had to rescue some mortified mums in pyjamas in the school run, as well as some other funny rescues, as Batman or a clown…
Claim our Future’s Plan B for fixing our economy
Ronnie O’Brien speaks to part of the group “Claiming our Future”. The group lobbies to create a more sustainable Ireland. They discuss the group’s “Plan B” (Plan A being the government’s plan to fix the economy). They speak about the details of the alternative plan that they have put together and the changes they would suggest…
Celebrating Stoker’s Centenary in Dublin 2012
PAUL MURRAY (author of From the Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker [Jonathan Cape, 2004]); David J. Skal (author of Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen [Norton, 1990]; The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror [Faber and Faber, 1993]) tells Noel McGuinness about the forthcoming…
Forest Eireann, Plain Cigarette Packaging
Mark Finnegan speaks to JOHN MALLON who is the spokesman for the speakers group Forest Eireann. He talks about plain packaging cigarettes & how it would be a huge & unnecessary risk for the government to take. If this was to happen it would make it a lot harder for sales assistants to distinguish the…
Sight Loss
RONNIE O’BRIEN speaks with Des Kenny, who is CEO of the National Agency of Working for People with Sight Loss. Des speaks about making a case to the government for the investment of eye care in the form of treatment & how in the long run we can save money by doing this…
I Only Miss You When You’re Gone: Photography At Axis, Ballymun
Photographer AIDAN KELLY joins Noel McGuinness to discuss the exhibition “I Only Miss You When You’re Gone” at the Axis Centre in Ballymun. Aidan says himself and Mark O’Brien collaborated on the project. It began with a discussion of why they took photographs and evolved into a debate about what Ballymun would be like if…
