Monday 15th May, 7.00pm on RTÉ One
It’s National Volunteering Week and Nationwide samples some of the work done by volunteers in County Sligo. The team also travels south to Munster where a major voluntary drive is underway to raise funds for a helicopter.
This year the focus of National Volunteering Week is on the benefits volunteering can have on your health and well-being, to do good and feel good, and one place where a lot of people are doing just that is Sligo. It’s been designated as the European Volunteering Capital for 2017 and RTÉ’s North West Correspondent Eileen Magnier has been out and about capturing just some of the fantastic voluntary work that’s made Sligo the showcase for volunteering this year.
Living in a rural area can sometimes mean a delay in receiving critical care following an accident, and this delay can mean the difference between life and death. The Irish Community Rapid Response Service was set up in Munster ten years ago and since then they’ve helped to save lives and improve outcomes by providing the right medical skills at the right time. Now the next stage is to provide a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service staffed by a team of trained trauma doctors. Helen McInerney has the story.
Wednesday 17th May, 7.00pm on RTÉ One
Tonight Nationwide is in County Waterford to explore the spectacular and recently opened Waterford Greenway. The programme starts in the village of Kilmacthomas at the magnificent Viaduct which, up to 50 years ago was the railway line from Waterford to Mallow. Today, it is the newly opened Waterford Greenway which is 46km of track going from Waterford city to Dungarvan in the west of the county and is designed for running, walking and cycling with stunning views of the River Suir, Comeragh Mountains and the ocean at Dungarvan Bay. Mary Kennedy walks the route from Kilmacthomas to Waterford City while Anne Cassin cycles from Kilmacthomas to Dungarvan taking in all the wonderful sights along the way.
Friday 19th May, 7.00pm on RTÉ One
On this evening’s Nationwide, reporter Colm Flynn has the story of a charity in Northern Ireland, Abaana, who have been working with some of the poorest children in Uganda for the past number of years now. Recently the charity started a very special Ugandan choir which visited Ireland last month.
The programme also looks at the 2017 GAA championships which are about to get into full swing this weekend. The Dublin team are hoping to write their own piece of history by winning three All Ireland titles in a row. Tonight, Nationwide reflects on another special era for the sport in the capital. Back in the 1970s, a team managed by Kevin Heffernan took Irish sport by storm, and in the process helped push Gaelic games from the fringes to the centre of Irish cultural life. The Little Museum of Dublin is currently hosting the Heffo’s Army Exhibition which tells the story of one of the most important periods in the GAA’s history. Darren Frehill reports.
Many of our provincial towns have suffered in recent years with the economic collapse and from the effects of bypasses or out of town retail parks. The town of Callan in County Kilkenny has intervened to try and find a new purpose for one of their neglected main streets, Bridge Street. They have encouraged a new spirit of creativity to save the street from dereliction that may well be a template for other towns to follow. Reporter Niall Martin goes along to find out more.