WEDNESDAY 6TH MAY
PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH
THE LEGACY OF MICHAEL DAVITT AND MAJOR MOMENTS IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF IRELAND
On this evening’s programme, Nationwide visits the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin, where a new exhibition celebrates the life of land reform activist Michael Davitt. Fittingly titled Character is Better than Wealth, the exhibition draws on Davitt’s personal archive, which was donated to Trinity’s library by the Davitt family in 1978.
Born in Mayo at the height of the Great Famine in 1846, Michael Davitt overcame many challenges to become an Irish nationalist leader, a Westminster MP, a founding member of the Irish National Land League, and an international campaigner and investigative journalist. Presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh meets the exhibition’s curator to explore the story of this remarkable man, and she also speaks with members of the Davitt family who are visiting the exhibition.
Also featured on the programme is a preview of an upcoming exhibition from the Irish Architectural Archive, which traces key moments in the construction and design of Ireland’s buildings over the past three centuries.
FRIDAY 8TH MAY
PRESENTER RICHARD DOWNES
MAYO TIDY TOWNS SUCCESS
This evening’s programme is from County Mayo and focuses on the success of Westport in the Tidy Towns Awards down through the years. Also, in Ballina the team hears about a Creative Climate Action project exploring how Ballina’s historic laneways can adapt to increased rainfall.
It’s a busy time in Westport, County Mayo as the town prepares to welcome thousands of visitors this summer. Behind the scenes, the Tidy Towns volunteers are hard at work making sure everything looks its best. Their efforts have earned national recognition over the years, with Westport taking home the title of Ireland’s tidiest town on three occasions since 2001, but they’re not slowing down. Reporter, Tommy Stenson recently met the volunteers to hear about their latest projects.
There was a time when Irish rain was soft and misty. Today, we’re far more likely to experience sudden downpours that can lead to flooding, forcing towns and villages to prepare for increasingly frequent deluges. The Nationwide team has been in Ballina, County Mayo, to see one response to climate change that could be replicated across the country.
