Athena Media - Podcast Directory

This is the third in our series following a community arts project in Carlow which is an opera being crafted by conductor Fergus Sheil and written by the Belfast composer Brian Irvine in collaboration with the people of Carlow. Next May the opera will be staged in Carlow in one of Ireland's newest and most impressive new theatres - the George Bernard Shaw Theatre at Visual. The opera will feature the stories and voices of Carlow town and county. We'll be tracking the progress of the opera here on In Tempo over the coming months. Today we are hearing from Regina Hanley, a professional opera singer who has been brought in by conductor Fergus Sheil as a vocal coach. We meet Regina at a singing workshop where she lends her singing expertise to the choir. She also tells us about her hopes for the opera.

This is the second in our series following a community arts project in Carlow which is an opera being crafted by conductor Fergus Sheil and written by the Belfast composer Brian Irvine in collaboration with the people of Carlow. Next May the opera will be staged in Carlow in one of Ireland's newest and most impressive new theatres - the George Bernard Shaw Theatre at Visual. The opera will feature the stories and voices of Carlow town and county. We'll be tracking the progress of the opera here on In Tempo over the coming months. Community youth choir, Aspiro, will be one of the community groups taking part in the opera. Now we find out what the choir members and its director, Mary Amond O'Brien, think about this unique project.

The clash of the ash and the pride of local clubs. It's been a golden age for Portumna GAA and its legendary hurlers, All Ireland Club

Champions for the last two years and pushing for a third title in 2010. In Club Heroes we meet the champion hurlers of Portumna and find out why,

for many players, a club victory is even more important than a county title. As team player Leo Smith puts it 'for a small town like Portumna theres a great buzz around the place. I mean you've grown up with these guys. You'd die for each other out there. It means so

much to be out there and representing your club, your county, your province.' In this radio feature we hear the story of Portumna

from the players themselves, a story of brothers, like the famous Canning brothers including team captain and corner back Ollie Canning.

It's been a golden decade for the club which is now considered one of the most successful teams in the country. The senior hurlers have

just celebrated their 3-in-a-row county victory and are aiming for another 3-in-a-row in the All-Ireland Finals. Given that the Club only gained

senior status in 1992 its success has been phenomenal. In this special documentary we meet senior team manager, Johnny Kelly, captain Ollie

canning and players Leo Smith and Eoin Lynch. For Ollie the bond between the team players is as close, if not closer, than brothers. 'I know if

any of the lads where in trouble I'd stand up for them same as I'd stand up for the brothers'. The spirit that binds them together is, they say,

more than sport, its about family, locality and belonging. The sense of pride when they bring home the cup is often better than All Ireland county

titles. 'Its what we dream about since we were young lads' says Leo Smith 'hurling together in the under 10, under 12. Running out with

your club mates that's what it's all about'.

In Sisters Act we meet two sets of competitive sisters; the Ffrench O'Carroll twins, Rebecca and Charlotte, in athletics and the Murphy sisters,

Annalise and Claudine, in sailing. Two different sports but both sets of sisters have their eyes on one prize, the Olympic Games, but to get there may

well mean having to beat their own sister. For athletic champions Rebecca and Charlotte Ffrench O'Carroll there's never any problem finding

someone to train with or run against. They're identical twins who both compete in cross country, middle and long distance races and have

grown up in their sport together. The girls, now 20, started running at school and were coached by Dundrum South Athletic Club coach Eddie

McDonagh. For the twins it's never a case of sibling rivalry; 'its almost like you feel you're not racing for yourself, you're racing for your twin

to win as well,' says Charlotte. For Ian O Riordan of the Irish Times the girls have the mark of champions and compared their track record to

date with legendary stars like Sonia O Sullivan. In this radio special we hear the story of the girls, their coach and their decision to go stateside

to advance their athletics. Sonia O'Sullivan says it's these coming years which will prove decisive while coach Eddie McDonagh

says athletes like Sonia didn't reach their stride until their mid twenties so much can be expected from the twins and their hopes for the next two

Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016. The challenge of sisterly competition in a completely difference sport is what we hear from

the Murphy sisters whose mother Cathy McAleevy, competed for Ireland in the sport they now follow, the single handed women's laser.

Claudine and Annalise know that if they are to make the Olympic Games for Ireland that theirs is a sport in which only one woman can be

selected so it may well be they are competing against each other for that place. But that does not divide them. 'We'll push for each, we're

both going to strive to be the best' says Annalise and they support each other in their efforts to win. We hear from their coach

Rory Fitzgerald, their mum Cathy and from Ireland's Olympic competitor Ciara Peelo who carried the Irish flag at the Beijing Games.

March 21st is International Day against Racism and this feature showcases how sport can unite and cross all boundaries that divide us.

In Count Us In we hear the story of how a sports initiative in Dublin's inner city primary schools is not just introducing children to new sports but

encouraging and promoting multi-racial play and integration. 'Count Us In' is run by Sport Against Racism in Ireland, SARI, with boys and girls in

primary schools in Dublin's heartland, Dublin 8, the Liberties. This radio feature follows the project through its run across Spring 2009, and find

out how sports unites and what the children think of it. As the project gets underway again this year we hear the voices of former Ireland manager,

Brian Kerr who talks about his own deep commitment to SARI and we get the story from SARI's founders Frank Buckley and Ken McCue.

One of the players who has come through SARI's soccer league Emecka Onwubiko shares his story, coming to Swords as a boy of 11 from

Nigeria and his pride in playing for Ireland in the U19 team. For Brian Kerr the work SARI does in schools is even more essential in a recession

when the concept of integration may become more challenging. But like many he's concerned about funding and state commitment;

'the big thing for SARI is survival because obviously funding and resources are very scarce these days. Without funding we can't sustain our

efforts or continue to roll out events like the schools programme'. The real stars of 'Count Us In' are the children who share their stories and

thoughts, who learn to take on new sports and make new friends.

dublinwaste.ie is an interactive website run by Dublin City Council which provides a free

trade facility where you can offer unwanted household goods from furniture to musical

instruments or find something you need for free. This short video tells the story of

dublinwaste.ie and features the experience of one couple who got rid of their old piano

and made a 12 year old girl very very happy indeed. This video has been created for the

Eurocities conference in Stockholm.

A video edited for the Headstrong young people's public forum launch in December 2009. This is one of a

series of four videos of first person stories about young people.

A video edited for the Headstrong young people's public forum launch in December 2009. This is one of a

series of four videos of first person stories about young people.

A video edited for the Headstrong young people's public forum launch in December 2009. This is one of a

series of four videos of first person stories about young people.

A video edited for the Headstrong young people's public forum launch in December 2009. This is one of a

series of four videos of first person stories about young people.