Tubridy Show Archive - November 2006

Click on a date to listen to the show.

Thursday 30th November
To discuss the role of the political spouse, Ryan is joined on the show by Christine Hamilton, author of The Book of British Battleaxes, and Shane Coleman, political correspondent of the Sunday Tribune.

Barry's Tea Book Club: Ryan announces that the book for November will be Hard Times by Charles Dickens.

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy is Ryan's Children's Book of the Year. He meets its author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers.

Wednesday 29th November
Broadcast from the City Library on St Augustine Street in Galway

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain kicks off the show with a performance of the theme from Dick Barton.

Barry's Tea Book Club: It's judgement day for The Diving Ball and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Ryan is joined by nurse Maeve Heaney, local rector Patrick Towers and poet Louis de Paor. We also hear from Professor Des O'Neill of Tallaght Hospital.

Ryan meets people with special links to the Library, including County Librarian Pat McMahon, the 6th class of St Nicholas' National School in the Claddagh, Dr. Enda O'Byrne and former RTE producer John Quinn.

More music from the Ukulele Orchestra: Too Hot to Handle by Otis Redding.

To end the show, Ryan talks to some of Galway's "tribes", including NUIG students Damian Corridan and Roisin McGrogan and Polish man Christian Karas, who works on Inis Mor.

And a big TTS "thank you" to Martin Keating and the all the staff of the Galway City Library for hosting the show!

Tuesday 28th November
Amo, Amas, Amat is a newly published book about Latin by Harry Mount (Publisher : Short Books).  Ryan enjoyed a discussion with his former Latin teacher Geraldine Fitzgerald, and with Dr. Martin Brady and Emmet Kiberd.

Beatrix Potter has enthralled generations of children with her books about Peter Rabbit and friends.  Her biographer Sally Floyer spoke about the author and about a new film that has been made about her life, starring Renee Zellwegger (Miss Potter).

Monday 27th November
Peter Murtagh of the Irish Times and John O'Connor of the Munster Express spoke about the art of the obituary writer.  They referred to the Telegraph's series of books on Obituaries - Rogues, Eccentrics etc.

Neven Maguire was in studio to talk about his new venture to improve children's eating habits.  He spoke to Ryan also about his home and restaurant in Blacklion, Co. Cavan and his upcoming wedding.

Kildare man Damien Leith won Australian Idol on Saturday night.  Australian radio producer Damien Botha told Ryan about the competition and the performance before Damien spoke about his achievement and the celebrations in Australia and Milltown.

Friday 24th November
On the day that Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy meet on the sidelines as managers, Paul Howard talks about the falling out in Saipan and some other famous Irish sporting rows - Mc Guigan and Eastwood, Higgins and Taylor and Charlton and Brady.

Doctors Clíona Buckley and Sam Mc Conkey on the Mini Med School, which will be run by the Royal College of Surgeons next January.  Details on www.rcsi.ie

Carrickmacross butcher Kevin Crosby tells Ryan about the pig that ran amok in the town and ate the flowers in the convent garden.

Thursday 23rd November
Who judges the judges and how are they chosen for the position?  Rossa Fanning and Alan Ruddock discuss the judicial system in Ireland and Jennifer Carroll talks about her research into the profile of judges.

PJ Gibbons and Nicky Wallace on ties - the history, how to tie them, what to buy as presents and whether the tie is going out of fashion.

Wednesday 22nd November
John Humphrys, well known as host of Mastermind or BBC Radio 4's Today show, gave Ryan his take on Tony Blair, Ali G and the Green Ink Brigade.  John's book Beyond Words (Hodder and Staughton) has just been published.  And Maeve Binchy, Denise Deegan, Pol O Conghaile and Rachel Carey talk about the enduring value of friendship.

Tuesday 21st November
Irish Times film critic Michael Dwyer joins Ryan for a reflection on his life at the movies on the occasion of his award of the honour, Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, by the French Government.  And Tim Moore, author of Nul Points (Jonathan Cape), tells Ryan about what happened to the Eurovision losers of yesteryear.

Monday 20th November
Last week, a woman won the right to see negative references that cost her a job promotion in the Southern Health Board. It got us thinking about the recruitment process. How should you go about choosing your referees? And what things should you include on, or leave off, your CV? Ryan talks to a panel of experts: Margaret Ward is a journalist who runs Clear Ink, a company that specialises in teaching people to write plain English; Anna Pringle is human resources director for Microsoft Ireland; and Vikki Pettit works for Competitive Resources in Cork and provides a CV makeover service on www.irishjobs.ie.

Ryan meets Julie Rugg and Lynda Murphy, the authors of A Book Addict's Treasury, which is published in hardback by Frances Lincoln.

Newspapers at the weekend reported that the government is planning a state funeral for the so-called Manchester Martyrs, three Fenians executed in Britain in 1867. Ryan speaks to Professor Michael Laffan of the School of History and Archives at UCD.

Friday 17th November
Peaceful protest through history: from Gandhi to Malcolm X, or in this country, from Daniel O'Connell to Carnsore Point to the Rossport protests: what is the common thread, and how does the Irish tendency to take to the streets compare with other countries' experiences? Historians Dr Diarmuid Ferriter of St Patrick's College, Drumcondra and Dr Sinead McEneaney of NUI Maynooth discuss.

Fantasy writer GP Taylor, former vicar, policeman, self-published author at 42 of a book that's now a New York Times bestseller, talks to Ryan about his extraordinary life.

Thursday 16th November
Party conference season has just ended, election fever is in the air, and most people are agreed that politicians are a switch-off. So what can Irish politicians learn from the principles of marketing? Ryan talks to Sunday Tribune political correspondent Shane Coleman and to Michael Cullen, editor of Marketing magazine.

The Barry's Tea Book Club book for November is The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (Harper Perennial). Congratulations to Margaret Murphy from Kilkenny, who won a €250 book voucher by registering with the club at www.barrystea.ie .

The latest James Bond film, Casino Royale, opens in Irish cinemas tonight. Ryan went to see a preview, along with journalist Kevin Myers, archaeologist Jane Ruffino and actress Tatiana Ouliankina.

Wednesday 15th November
Greg Delaney in Paris on Ségolène Royal's chances for the French Socialist Party's Presidential nomination, being voted on tonight.

We investigate the world of the recluse, from Abba's Agnetha to Howard Hughes to, reputedly, the American winner of the Prix Goncourt, Jonathan Littell. Anna Carey, deputy editor of The Gloss magazine, and Professor Gerard Casey, head of the School of Philosophy at UCD, discuss.

Tuesday 14th November
Siobhán O'Connell, director of Business Plus magazine and Derek Adams of Douglas Wallace architects join Ryan in a discussion about open plan offices versus the traditional cellular style.

Michael Birch, one of the founders of Bebo.com, talks to Ryan about the website that is huge with teenagers and students.  Dr Rachel O'Connell now works for Bebo and she addresses the security concerns of many parents about the safety of the website and the potential for bullying and abuse.

Afshin Rattansi is a former employee of Al Jazeera and he previews their new English-language service which is being launched this week.

Monday 13th November
David McWilliams, author of The Pope's Children, discusses his current TV series based on the book and tells Ryan about his business and family background.
 
Secrets of the Alchemist Dar is Michael Stadther's new book in the Treasure Trove series.  It's a fairy tale and it hold the clues to a treasure hunt, with rings valued at $2m to be won.  It's published by Treasure Trove Inc and distributed by Simon and Schuster.
 
Boxer Bernard Dunne won the European super bantam weight title in the Point Theatre on Saturday night.  He tells Ryan about the fight and his plans for the future.

Friday 10th November
In response to Duncan Stewart's points earlier in the week, Ryan speaks to a developer, an architect, a county councillor and a planner about who is to blame about the poor quality of our built environment.  Matt Gallagher, Gary Miley, Bill Carey and Andrew Hind join Ryan in studio for a robust debate.

Thursday 9th November
Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, the British style divas, join Ryan to talk about their new book Trinny and Susannah: the Survival Guide (Wiedenfeld and Nicholson). 

Professor Michael Hanneman, Dr Bjorn Lomberg and Dr Jerry Murphy talk global warming and greenhouse gas angst.

Wednesday 8th November
On the morning after the mid-term elections in the US, the American ambassador Thomas C Foley joins Ryan in studio to discuss his appointment and the election results.
 
Director John Boorman speaks to Ryan from his home in Annamoe in Wicklow about his new film The Tiger's Tail.

Tuesday 7th November
Duncan Stewart is an architect and presenter of About The House on RTE television. He talks to Ryan about the quality of housing and the planning system in Ireland. About The House is broadcast each Tuesday evening at 8.30pm on RTE 1.

Reminder: the Barry's Tea Book Club book for November is The Diving Bell and Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Ryan is joined in studio by a panel of guests to discuss the cult of the celebrity chef. Raymond Keane of Barabbas is rehearsing for a new production of Cyrano de Bergerac, where Cyrano is a TV chef. The play opens at Dublin's Project Arts Centre on Wednesday 8 November. Louise Lennox is a pastry chef who has worked in a number of well-known Dublin restaurants. And Trevor White is the author of Kitchen Con and The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants.

Monday 6th November
Pat McCabe joins Ryan in studio to talk about his bleak new novel, Winterwood (Bloomsbury), and his attitude to book reviews.

Legendary crooner Tony Bennett is 80 this year. He chats to Ryan about his career.

RTE's Julian Vignoles discusses the selection of Sligo traditional band Dervish as the Irish performers in this year's Eurovision song contest.

Friday 3rd November
As ticket prices for the National Lottery go up and rumours of a house price collapse continue, we examine Irish people's relationship with financial risk. Liam Delaney of the Geary Institute in UCD, Jill Kerby, personal finance expert with the Sunday Times, and Senator Shane Ross, business editor of the Sunday Independent, discuss.

Where do Irish county identities and county clichés come from? Liam Cahill, Brian Leyden and Professor Paddy Duffy discuss.

Ninety-five per cent of the social housing in Northern Ireland is divided along sectarian lines, but for the first time at Carran Crescent housing estate in Fermanagh, the authorities promise a regulated social mix. Trevor Ringland of the One Small Step campaign explains why he believes this is not social engineering, but necessary for Northern Ireland's future.

Thursday 2nd November
They Call Me Naughty Lola is a collection of lonely hearts ads from the London Review of Books. Anton talks to its editor, David Rose, and to Fiona Kelly, who has scoured the Irish newspapers for examples closer to home. They Call Me Naughty Lola is published by Profile Books.

With just days to go before polling in the US midterm elections, Richard Delevan and Brian Lavery offer their analysis of the campaign so far. Plus, Anton plays some examples of attack ads currently running on American television.

October was yet another record-breaking month for weather. Evelyn Cusack from Met Eireann tells us how such records are evaluated and offers her predictions for the winter ahead.

Wednesday 1st November
Designer Peter O'Brien and dancer and model Jean Butler talk to Anton about their collaboration for a|wear.  Peter has designed a "capsule" collection for women and Jean is "the face" of the campaign.
 
Dr Leslie Shoemaker and Martina Gibbons are in studio to talk about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Anton also speaks to David Quinn, who has OCD.

Louis de Paor is the director of the Centre for Irish Studies in NUIG.  He is setting up a new course in Irish Studies for Japanese students interested in distance learning.  The facilitators will be Japanese tutors living in Ireland - all fluent Irish speakers.