Dereliction is not a new phenomenon in Drogheda, but in the last couple of years there has been great public debate and anger over the levels of dereliction and vacancy in the streets of the town and only after one building had to be partially demolished in the name of public safety was any positive action taken.

Now a group of concerned citizens has organised a three day “Festival of Ideas” to be held over the weekend of June 13–15, 2025 at which the public can have their say and explore and reimagine dereliction, vacancy, and revitalisation through a bold, interdisciplinary programme of events rooted in architecture, urban planning, art, and social change.

Organised by Drogheda Dereliction and Vacancy (DVD) in collaboration with Development Perspectives and Upstate Theatre, the Festival of Ideas brings together communities, creatives, and change-makers to rethink the spaces often overlooked — from abandoned buildings to forgotten infrastructure — and envision possibilities.

Dom Gradwell from DVD spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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Liverpool football club’s Premier League victory parade descended into chaos on Monday evening after a car collided with pedestrians in the city centre, leaving nearly 50 people injured including children.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sinn Fein Councillor Fionnan Blake, who was at the parade.

Fionnan opened up about the chaotic scenes he witnessed.

We also spoke to Off the Ball Reporter Nathan Murphy, who was also at the parade when the incident took place.

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There are calls for water safety and swimming lessons to be incorporated into primary education in Ireland.

It comes in the wake of two tragic incidents in the water in the North West in recent weeks.

Louth-based Fianna Fail Senator Alison Comyn feels that more needs to be done to prevent such tragedy from happening again, and she joins us on the line now to talk to us some more about this.

She spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this

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Louth County Council, in collaboration with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, have announced the allocation of nearly €114,000 through the Local Biodiversity

Action Fund (LBAF) to support eight biodiversity projects across County Louth

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Biodiversity Officer at Louth County Council, Helen Hanratty, about this.

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Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has criticised what he said is the Government's "dysfunction, incompetence, lack of accountability and refusal to listen to the people", in a keynote speech at his party's Ard Fheis.

Speaking at the City North Hotel in Co Meath this evening, Deputy Tóibín said while Ireland is "a great country", he believes it has been "cursed with incompetent political leadership".

Deputy Toibin spoke to us about this morning on The Agenda about this.

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Ireland's asylum system is "wide open" for exploitation with people able to come here with false passports or no passports at all, a former Army intelligence chief claimed yesterday.

Michael Murphy, who is the former deputy director of military intelligence of the Defence Forces, said this represents a serious risk to the State. The claim came as a report warned the Government that immigration officials here may not be able to perform proper identity checks and security screening due to the country's lack of access to key EU security databases.

Michael spoke to us on The Agenda this morning about this.

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An umbrella group for European consumer organisations has called for an EU-wide investigation into seven airlines – including Ryanair – for charging “undue fees” for hand baggage.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to journalist & travel writer Eoghan Corry to find out more about this.

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US president Donald Trump’s threatened 50 per cent tariff on EU imports would effectively halt trade between the United States and European Union, a Government minister has warned.

Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne said it was really important for EU member states and the European Commission to remain calm and measured in response to president Trump’s warning and not react to “every single utterance of provocation”.

We spoke to Minister Byrne on The Agenda this morning about this.

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Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan will deliver a public apology to the family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell in the Dáil next week.

The apology follows years of campaigning by the family of the 23-year-old who was killed while out cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on 2 August 2011.

This morning on The Agenda we spoke to Sinn Fein TD in the area, Matt Carty, who knows the O'Farrell family and has been speaking to us about this case various times in the past.

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