April 4th’s Morning Focus included a nod to the World Record attempt in Limerick; sports management students from LIT organised the world’s largest scrum in tribute to the late, great Axel Foley. They successfully broke the record at lunchtime, before which we spoke to organiser Alexsandra Skalska.
The show opened with ShannonDoc Chairman Dr Pat Morrissey who was responding to criticism of changes that had been made to the ShannonDoc service. A review of how these changes affected patients has since been carried out and the HSE says it hopes there will be no further cuts to the service.
We heard from Lisseycasey councilor PJ Kelly who labelled Ennis as the ‘Banner Pale’, on the back of figures which show that Ennis has received nearly 80% of all planning contribution money spent in Clare in the last two years. Councilor Johnny Flynn joined PJ for a debate on the issue, you can listen back below:
Clonlara resident Gerardine Quinlivan spoke to Gavin about proposed plans for a permanent flood defence. Following severe flooding in the area over the last number of years, the OPW is proposing the construction of two large embankments and a nearby pumping station.
We have two regular guests on a Tuesday; Tommy Corbett from Carey Corbett Financial Services in Ennis joined Gavin for financial advice and to answer questions from listeners. Our second Tuesday regular is Frankie Coote, the County Dog Warden. He began with a touching tribute to the late Delia Keary and Gary Kelly. Delia’s mother had asked that donations be made to the Ennis Dog Pound, which Frankie says has given the Pound a huge boost.
Paddy Murray from the Kilkee Forge also spoke to Gavin. He won the commission to a new monument on the Carrigaholt Road Roundabout in Kilkee. He discussed the inspiration for the piece and when he expects people might get to see it.
We also made a return to the issue of illegal dumping which we discussed on the show yesterday. Today’s mention was more positive; the Burren Eco-Tourism Network have banded together to keep their area clean. A number of businesses have volunteered to look after and clean the area, and Janet Kavanagh spoke to Gavin about the work they do.
We heard from Deirdre O’Mahoney who is curating a series of films at the X-Po in Kilnaboy. The films all revolve around the issue of aging and are discussed afterwards. Deirdre explained that she’s been hoping to foster a discussion on aging in a rural community.
Gavin also spoke to Declan Smyth. He’s the father of a Naomi, a girl who was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis in 2014. Naomi is monitored regularly at Crumlin Children’s Hospital, but the hospital is coming under increased pressure and parents say that appointments are cancelled regularly. iCan, Irish Children’s Arthritis Network, are lobbying for services at the main regional hospitals to cut down on the cost and stress of travelling to Dublin.
The show rounded up with a chat with Carmel T Madigan, a Barefield artist to discuss her artwork.
