MONDAY, 5TH JULY – Presented by Zainab Boladale
CORK BIKE CHAMPION – A teenager who won gold at the World Mountain Bike Championships in Austria last October made history as the first Irish rider to win a rainbow jersey – worn by the reigning world champion – in any mountain bike downhill event. Marian Malone has been to meet him and his family at their County Limerick home.
LIMERICK SKATER – The action sport of ‘Skateboarding’ would have made its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had it not been cancelled due to Covid-19. While Ireland did not have any entries, we wanted to know what it means to be an Irish skateboarder. On Nationwide this evening Zainab Boladale heads to Limerick city to meet a man who’s been skateboarding both as a hobby and as a profession for over a decade.
GALWAY COMMUNITY CIRCUS – The government’s announcement that restrictions will be easing over the summer has been welcomed by sports clubs and community groups all over the country. For young people it means returning to some sense of normality, for activity organisers, it means welcoming their members back. Our Reporter, Zainab Boladale met with Galway Community Circus on their first day back in action this year.
WEDNESDAY, 7TH JULY – Presented by Blathnaid Ní Chofaigh
COUNTRY SINGER MAGS MCCARTHY – Covid has forced the return of many an Irishman and woman to their native shores and it has interrupted careers. Mags McCarthy, a young singer and musician from County Cork was making a name for herself in Nashville but the forced interruption of her touring life was put to good use. She shot her latest country single video on her family farm in Dripsey. Mary Fanning went to meet this dynamic artist.
ON LINE PERFORMANCES – Keeping people connected and busy during the Covid Pandemic has at times proved challenging. However, over two thousand people of all age groups from all over Ireland and beyond have become involved in an online music forum called ‘The Backline’. Recently Helen McInerney was in Carlow to see what it’s all about.
FRIDAY, 9TH JULY – Presented by Blathnaid Ní Chofaigh
IRISH HARPIST – One of our most iconic musical instrument’s, the Harp, is enjoying a resurgence of sorts according to those in the know! A young woman from Dundalk – who won the prestigious Sean O’Riada gold medal competition – is leading the charge. Fionnuala Donlon has been playing the ancient instrument for more than a decade.
IRISH DANCER – In the Summer of 2020 the World Championship Irish Dancing Competition was cancelled due to Covid 19. So many young Irish dancers around the world were disappointed. One particular young girl who was hoping to regain her throne decided to take this time off to continue practicing and training. Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh went to Ballybrack, Co. Dublin to meet World Champion Irish Dancer Niomi Hayes. Since then, the 2021 competition was also cancelled but is now scheduled to take place in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast in April 2022. Let’s hope all Niomi’s practice will pay off.