Tag: News and Current Affairs

MONDAY 20TH JANUARY

PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN

PROGRAMME ON THE FRANK AND WALTERS BAND

Ahead of Cork Person of the Year awards which will be presented this Friday, Nationwide meets the winners of the 2023 Award, the Cork based band, The Frank and Walters.  In a musical ode to Cork, the band takes presenter Anne Cassin on a personal tour of the city and reflects on their career over the years and on how the city by the Lee influenced them and their music. 

WEDNESDAY 22ND JANUARY

PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH

SHOWCASE IRELAND 2025

On this evening’s programme the Nationwide team are at Showcase Ireland at the RDS which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.  What started as a small event, a half a century ago, has since grown into a major selling opportunity for Irish makers and designers.  Presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh meets some of the many talented Irish producers who are exhibiting their produce at this annual event and she meets some of the buyers from around the globe to discover what they are looking for. 

Among the talented exhibitors at Showcase Ireland this year is artist Brid Fanning, from the heart of County Meath.  Her captivating work explores the essence of Irish history, identity and our native landscape and through her vibrant paintings she connects aspects of the past and brings them to a modern-day audience.  Zainab visited her to find out how events, such as Showcase, are important to her business.

FRIDAY 24TH JANUARY

PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH

HOLIDAY IDEAS IRELAND 2025

This evening’s Nationwide programme looks at potential holiday ideas in Ireland for 2025. The team hear about new projects, and they visit a Castle which has been completely refurbished and opened as a hotel in County Armagh and Houses for Hobbits, how a Mayo farm is booked out all year to young guests accompanied by their parents. 

While the Wild Atlantic Way provides a brilliant route for visitors, it’s only a guide, you can go off route and explore some of the inland attractions.  Recently reporter Niall Martin headed to Mayo glamping near Castlebar to see what the imagination can create.   

The tourism industry has ensured that a number of Ireland’s great houses have been maintained, this is as a result of many being utilised as hotels.  There are some lovely restoration projects being carried out around the country that breathe life back into formerly derelict buildings.  One such project is Killeavy Castle in Armagh which has been utterly transformed by a family with a real love for the area. 

MONDAY 13TH JANUARY

PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH

TRADITIONAL SKILLS PROGRAMME

On this evening’s Nationwide there are stories of efforts to keep traditional crafts of the past alive in different parts of the country including a forge, which has found a new lease of life in the Banner County.   Also featured in the programme is a group in County Cavan who have undertaken a number of Men’s Shed’s projects in their community.   

The first report is from County Clare where the old Blacksmiths forge in Mountshannon is back in operation again with crafts now being produced. 

The Irish Men’s Sheds Association has been growing since the first shed opened its doors in 2011.   The men support each other by working together on a wide range of projects.  In Belturbet they have a few on the go including the restoration of old railway carriages and recently John Kilraine went to visit. 

WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY

PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN

On this evening’s Nationwide, the team meet the Donegal walkers whose efforts have helped raise substantial sums of money for “Cancer Care West” in Donegal. Plus, in North County Dublin reporter Valerie Waters meets the Fingal artist in residence at the boat house art studio workshop in Loughshinny.   

Last year over one hundred thousand euro was raised in support of the Cancer Care West Centre in Donegal.   This massive sum comes from many different community initiatives but especially from an event known as “The Donegal Camino”.  Reporter Mary Harte visits the drop-in support clinic in Letterkenny to find out more.

The next story features the photographer and artist Louis Haugh who is the recipient of the Loughshinny Boathouse Artists’ Studio Award granted by Fingal County Council.  Reporter Valerie Waters went to visit Louis in his workplace on a bright sunny day by the seashore.    

FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY

PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN

This evening’s programme is from County Kildare with stories on fashion with a visit to the Museum of Style Icons and the team meet a family who have been making shoes for generations. 

The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge has brought much Hollywood glamour to Kildare since it opened back in 2007.  One of the most recent exhibitions, Iconic Costumes of the Silver Screen showcases costumes from legendary Irish films and TV series and reminds us of unforgettable performances by our leading Irish actors.  Presenter Anne Cassin visits this exhibition which continues until May 2025. 

Anne also visits Naas in County Kildare to meet the Tutty family, who have been crafting handmade shoes for nearly 80 years.  She explores the dedication and skill behind their craft.

WEEK 50 

MONDAY 9TH DECEMBER 

PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN 

ORDNANCE SURVEY OF IRELAND PROGRAMME 

This evening’s Nationwide programme focuses on the organisation, Ordnance Survey Ireland, whose job is to update our maps ensuring changes on the ground are included in the latest maps for publication.  The programme explores how Ireland was one of the first countries in the world to be mapped, beginning 200 years ago in County Donegal.  Additionally, the Nationwide team delve into the remarkable advancements in technology that have transformed mapping techniques over the centuries. 

The work on the world’s first Ordnance Survey of an entire country began in Ulster. The Foyle Estuary between Donegal and Derry became the baseline for all mapping on the island, but it was from Ireland’s most northerly Peninsula, Inishowen, that much of the innovative work began.  A team of Royal Engineers, cadettes and civilians were tasked with creating the large-scale map of Ireland which would set the template for mapping in Britain and her colonies around the world, effectively a 19th-century precursor to modern tools like Google Earth and it began in North Donegal and Lough Foyle. Reporter Mary Harte finds out all about the history of mapping Ireland. 

Today Mapping techniques have indeed developed beyond anything that could have been imagined 200 years ago and the maps produced by Ordnance Survey Ireland over the years provide their own history of our towns and villages.  Now the mapping service is being combined with the Property Valuation Office and Irish Property Registry Authority to create Tailte Éireann.  Millions of historical property records are now being integrated under one roof in Dublin and reporter John Kilraine has been visiting the old and new offices to hear all about this groundbreaking initiative.  

WEDNESDAY 11TH DECEMBER 

PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH 

TRANSPORT AND DISABILITY PROGRAMME 

On Nationwide this evening, stories of inclusion and participation as reporter John Kilraine visits a state-of-the-art training facility in Dublin which was opened by Vision Ireland to address the challenges faced by those with sight and mobility issues in using public transport.  The percentage of visually impaired people using public transport is relatively low and the aim of the Wayfinding Centre is to make public transport more accessible to people with disabilities. 

In Waterford, Nationwide hears about a friendship and a love for the stage which has led to a production called ‘Up Down Boy’ where the star is a young man with Down Syndrome.  The play is a funny and uplifting story of a young man growing up with Down Syndrome and the programme hears the story behind this special production.   

FRIDAY 13TH DECEMBER 

PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN 

The bustling market town of Macroom in County Cork has struggled for the last eight years to find suitable venues to showcase its rich heritage of drama and musical theatre, ever since a fire closed the town’s much-loved theatre.  However, all that changed recently with the building of a new state of the art theatre and library.    Reporter Marian Malone visits Macroom to find out about its flourishing musical groups and to attend the opening of the new facility and to see a performance by locals of a musical production first performed on the Gay Byrne Radio show 30 years ago.

On Tuesday 26th November, Prime Time will feature the final debate of the campaign. The leaders of the three largest political parties have been invited to participate, with presenters Miriam O’Callaghan and Sarah McInerney asking the important questions.