In this episode - Conor O'Hagan talks to Niall Hatch of Birdwatch Ireland about the evolution of birds from the dinosaurs - how it happened, where it led and where it might go next.

Who is Niall Hatch ?

Niall heads up BirdWatch Ireland's membership recruitment, fundraising, education & communications work and edits our membership publications.

A keen birdwatcher since early childhood, he is a frequent contributor to radio and television programmes and works closely with our BirdLife International Partners. Niall is a qualified solicitor and is a graduate of University College Dublin and Cornell University, New York. For details on Birdwatch Ireland https://birdwatchireland.ie

George Hunter chats with Jazz legend and radio host Paddy Cole.

From his first performance in his native Castleblayney at 12, to meeting Elvis, and good friends with the singing cowboy Roy Rogers, to appearing on stages all over the world, including a sell-out concert at the London Palladium, Paddy Cole, the King of the Swingers, relates his personal and professional life in this warm and engaging chat with his long-time friends and fellow entertainer George Hunter.

Paddy talks affectionally of his early days with the Maurice Lynch band, to joining the Capital Showband and the Big 8, before playing for years in Las Vegas.

He pay tribute to Helen his wife of more than 50 years who, as he say, has kept him on the straight and narrow. He reminds us that grumpy Vincent Brown remarked when he learned he was marrying Helen: ‘How have you stolen best looking girl in Limerick’!.

Paddy is still as active as ever playing gigs whenever he can and has a hugely successful radio programme on Sunshine Radio every Sunday. Next year he’s organsing a national tour of many of the theatres where he and other showband legends appeared in the glory days.

Golf is his main passion after music and he’s been a member of Lahinch and the Castle in Dublin for years as well as regularly featuring in the legendary Sean Skehan golf and entertainment tours.

So reminisce and reflect on the life and times of one of Ireland’s best loved entertainers in this podcast brought to you by sponsors Doro Phones, Expressway and Senior Times.

In this podcast Mairead chats with an Irish Organic Wine Importer Seamus Goulding who in 2011 set up this Wine importing company with brother Fergal.

Organic wine is wine made from grapes grown in accordance with principles of organic farming, which typically excludes the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

The wines Seamus tells us he imports are exclusively organic or biodynamic wines.

He says “Our aim is to forge links with artisan producers of high quality wines who are as passionate about organic as we are.

In selecting our wines we visit each vineyard in advance to build up the personal business relationship with our future partners.

“We currently import wines from France, Germany, Spain and Italy, and are constantly working to expand our range of wines.
The business model we have initially adopted has been to deal directly with the consumer, offering quality organic wines at a reasonable price. “

www.seniortimes.ie

A Fireside Chat with Harry Bradshaw Irish professional golfer as he recounts his career in his own words.

With an entertaining tribute from Peter Alliss and narrated by Niall Tóibín

Dermot Gilleece received a Lifetime Achievement and Service to Golf by the PGA. In a career that spanned numerous Majors and Ryder Cups, Dermot has been greenside to record some of the most remarkable moments in golfing history.

From the glory years of O'Connor, Carr and Harry Bradshaw to the more recent Irish successes of Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry, he has seen it all and retains an encyclopedic knowledge of names, dates, facts and figures,

Harry Bradshaw lost the 1949 The Open Championship following a playoff against Bobby Locke at Royal St George's, after an extraordinary incident in the second round when his drive at the 5th hole came to rest against broken glass from a beer bottle on the fairway...

A fireside Chat with Harry Bradshaw one of Irelands greatest golfers as he recounts his career in his own words.

With an entertaining tribute from Peter Alliss and narrated by Niall Tóibín

Dermot Gilleece received a Lifetime Achievement and Service to Golf by the PGA in a career that spanned numerous Majors and Ryder Cups, Dermot has been greenside to record some of the most remarkable moments in golfing history.

From the glory years of O'Connor, Carr and Harry Bradshaw to the more recent Irish successes of Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry, he has seen it all and retains an encyclopedic knowledge of names, dates, facts and figures,

Harry Bradshaw lost the 1949 The Open Championship following a playoff against Bobby Locke at Royal St George's, after an extraordinary incident in the second round when his drive at the 5th hole came to rest against broken glass from a beer bottle on the fairway...

A Fireside Chat with Harry Bradshaw Irish professional golfer as he recounts his career in his own words.

With an entertaining tribute from Peter Alliss and narrated by Niall Tóibín

Dermot Gilleece received a Lifetime Achievement and Service to Golf by the PGA. In a career that spanned numerous Majors and Ryder Cups, Dermot has been greenside to record some of the most remarkable moments in golfing history.

From the glory years of O'Connor, Carr and Harry Bradshaw to the more recent Irish successes of Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry, he has seen it all and retains an encyclopedic knowledge of names, dates, facts and figures,

Harry Bradshaw lost the 1949 The Open Championship following a playoff against Bobby Locke at Royal St George's, after an extraordinary incident in the second round when his drive at the 5th hole came to rest against broken glass from a beer bottle on the fairway...

Irish rugby has produced many charismatic figures over its history. None more than Willie Anderson.

Most sports biographies are written too soon after the final whistle. The rush to cash in on hard-won, short-lived fame means that many such books lack perspective, focusing instead with wearying repetitiveness on the pressures of being a professional sportsperson: the drudgery of training, the constant injuries, the elation and relief of victory, the gnawing self-doubt in defeat.

Anderson describes how alcohol was a factor in his life from his teenage years, taking control of him by the time his coaching career was in full flow. When rugby went professional his coaching talents were sought by London Irish, Leinster and Scotland – but the head coach role in Ulster, the job he wanted most, never came his way.

Anderson’s book is different. Written more than 30 years after he won his last cap for Ireland, Crossing The Line is raw, uncompromising, sometimes brutal and always passionate; a perfect distillation of Anderson the player and Anderson the man.

By today’s standards Anderson’s international career was only moderately successful. Twenty-seven caps was a decent haul in the amateur era, and he was part of the 1985 Triple Crown winning team, but as a player he is best remembered for the challenge to the All Blacks’ haka in 1989 in Lansdowne Road, when he led the team in a Walls-of-Limerick style incursion into the heart of opposition territory during the ritual. Asked if he was scared, New Zealand captain Wayne Shelford said Anderson came so close he was afraid the Irish captain was going to kiss him. Willis book was ghost written by Brendan Fanning

Irish rugby has produced many charismatic figures over its history. None more than Willie Anderson.

Most sports biographies are written too soon after the final whistle. The rush to cash in on hard-won, short-lived fame means that many such books lack perspective, focusing instead with wearying repetitiveness on the pressures of being a professional sportsperson: the drudgery of training, the constant injuries, the elation and relief of victory, the gnawing self-doubt in defeat.

Anderson’s book is different. Written more than 30 years after he won his last cap for Ireland, Crossing The Line is raw, uncompromising, sometimes brutal and always passionate; a perfect distillation of Anderson the player and Anderson the man.

In this podcast interview willie describes how alcohol was a factor in his life from his teenage years, taking control of him by the time his coaching career was in full flow. When rugby went professional his coaching talents were sought by London Irish, Leinster and Scotland – but the head coach role in Ulster, the job he wanted most, never came his way.

By today’s standards Anderson’s international career was only moderately successful. Twenty-seven caps was a decent haul in the amateur era, and he was part of the 1985 Triple Crown winning team, but as a player he is best remembered for the challenge to the All Blacks’ haka in 1989 in Lansdowne Road, when he led the team in a Walls-of-Limerick style incursion into the heart of opposition territory during the ritual. Asked if he was scared, New Zealand captain Wayne Shelford said Anderson came so close he was afraid the Irish captain was going to kiss him. Written by Brendan Fanning

A fireside Chat with Harry Bradshaw Irish professional golfer as he recounts his career in his own words.

With an entertaining tribute from Peter Alliss and narrated by Niall Tóibín

Dermot Gilleece received a Lifetime Achievement and Service to Golf by the PGA. In a career that spanned numerous Majors and Ryder Cups, Dermot has been greenside to record some of the most remarkable moments in golfing history.

From the glory years of O'Connor, Carr and Harry Bradshaw to the more recent Irish successes of Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry, he has seen it all and retains an encyclopedic knowledge of names, dates, facts and figures,

Harry Bradshaw lost the 1949 The Open Championship following a playoff against Bobby Locke at Royal St George's, after an extraordinary incident in the second round when his drive at the 5th hole came to rest against broken glass from a beer bottle on the fairway...

Mairead Robinson talks to Tom Finn, CEO of Silver Stream Healthcare Group.

"All the nursing homes within the Silver Stream group have their own identity and personality, with the ethos firmly on the care of the residents, their health, happiness and wellbeing.

While we start from the premise that nobody wants to live in a nursing

home, we have come to realise that for many of us this can be not only a relief but also a very welcome phase in our lives.

In recent times there has been more emphasis on keeping people in their own homes for as long as possible, and certainly none of us would argue with that. We all want to stay in our homes surrounded by family, neighbor's and the familiar area while enjoying a good degree of independence.

but there does come a time in many people’s lives when due to physical or

mental issues, this option is no longer possible and nursing home care

is required. This can bring great relief not just to the person themselves,

but also to their families when the safety and well-being of their relative

is assured.

For the many of us who will spend time in a nursing home, it is very

encouraging to learn of the developments in the sector where there is

no longer a fear of being locked away from our previous lives, maybe

heavily medicated and perhaps also all but forgotten about. That is very

much an outdated view, and certainly not one that is borne out after my

discussion recently with the CEO of Silver Stream Healthcare Group."

Tom Finn . [email protected]