CHARLES O’BRIEN of Fossetts Circus speaks to Ger Leddin on the occasion of their 125th year in existence. Charles talks about the history of Fossetts Circus with the oldest official documentation of it reaching back to 1888, the new audience members attending the circus from outside of Ireland, the generations of families passing on memories…
Northside Today – Community Garden
FIONA ADAM & LINDA DEVLIN of Northside Enterprise Centre discus the Dors Boi Change Community Garden…
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…
United in Adversity: International Representation at EU Parliament
SIMON McKEAGNEY, Irish spokesperson for ‘United in Adversity’ explains the project to Eoin Drinan. United in Adversity began as a five month internship in the European Parliament, looking at how the EU was reacting to the European financial crisis with particular emphasis on youth unemployment. Simon says there is a disconnect between what the general…
Religion in schools creating faith formation
Ronnie O’Brien speaks to MICHAEL MORIARTY, the General secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Authority. They discuss an article which reports that 67% of parents want religious instruction for their children during the school day. Michael spoke of the pilot programme being run by the organisation, which involves faith formation…
Dublin is Open for Exploration of the Universe
Professor LUKE DRURY, Director of the School of Cosmic Physics, commenced a three-year term as Chair of the European Space Agency’s Astronomy Working Group in 2014. He is currently President of the Royal Irish Academy. Here he talks to Mark Finnegan about forthcoming events at Dunsink Observatory. The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental…
World Premiere of “Cleaners”.
Noel interviews COLM MAHER, writer of “Cleaners”, premiered at Axis Ballymun. It follows the relationship of two woman working in a hotel, where the older woman takes the younger woman under her wing, teaching her all the tricks of the job…
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…

Call to elimination of children’s eye care waiting list
Noel McGuinness is talking to LYNDA MCGIVNEY NOLAN about the call to eliminate children’s eye care waiting lists. Is highlighting the fact, that children can’t wait to go to an optometrist. If a child doesn’t go to an optometrist and correct for example lazy eyes until the age of seven, there job chances are going…
Complaints for Garth Brooks Concerts in Croke Park
Pat Meehan interviews ROBBIE COUSINS resident of the Croke Park Area about the proposal to hold 5 Garth Brooks concerts in Croke Park this summer. He denounces that they had agreed with the GAA that if they exceeded the amount of three concerts in a year, they would let them know if it was OK with them, and that…
Men’s Shed Movement Has A Welcome For Everyone
FRANK SCALZO & ROB WALSH talk to Mark Finnegan about the Men’s Shed movement in Ballymun and Ireland as a whole. What is a Men’s Shed? A Men’s Shed is a dedicated, friendly and welcoming meeting place where men come together and undertake a variety of mutually agreed activities. Men’s Sheds are open to all…
Bram Stoker historical walk and museum
Local historian DENIS MCINTYRE joins Pat Meehan in the Near FM studios to discuss the upcoming Bram Stoker historical walk, St Stephens Day 2012. The walk concludes in the Bram Stoker museum in Clontarf where there will be a discussion on the book of Dracula focusing on the links between the story and the area of Clontarf. They…
Lobbying For A Stop To The Kidnapping Of Journalists
AIDAN SULLIVAN joins Eoin Drinan to talk about his website, adaywithoutnews.com. Aiden talks about the idea of the website, how the harm or murder of a journalist should be considered a war crime, how they would be no access to unbiased news from conflict zones if it wasn’t for independent journalism, his goal in raising awareness…
How To Make Life Difficult For Burglars
PETER MURRAY OF stoptheburglar.ie joins Sabrina Ryan about making your home more difficult to burgle. he says most burglars are there only for the goods and cash and want nothing to do with you. Peter outlines three main ways that burglars enter houses: Through the door, through the window, or by pushing past you. He…
Totally Terrific Tomato Festival Introduces New Breeds
Noel McGuinness talks to NICKY KYLE about putting together a local festival called Totally Terrific Tomato Festival. This is the first such festival in Dublin. With rising interest in new and exotic foods, the time seems right for such an event. Tomatoes are very good for you and are great at warding off cancer. There…
