Tubridy Show Archive - June 2007

Click on a date to listen to the show.

Friday June 29th
Brian Dalton, Eleanor Fitzsimons and Trish Murphy reviewed our Book Club books for the month of June: The Comfort of Strangers and On Chesil Beach, two novellas by Ian McEwan. 

The reviewers stayed on in studio to pick the winner of our Opening Lines competition, sponsored by Barry's Tea.  Five entrants were asked to submit their Opening Paragraph and the winner was Rick Boelens from Tipperary.  For the winning entry and more on the Opening Lines competition click here.

Leslie Grantham (Dirty Den from Eastenders) will be appearing in The Decorator in Cork Opera House next week.  He spoke to Ryan about playing Dirty Den, his opinion of current British politics and also our Opening Lines winner.

The Deacorator, Cork Opera House, Tuesday 3 - Saturday 7 July, 8pm.  www.corkoperahouse.ie, 021 427 0022

The Celtic Tenors performed live in studio.  They sang All Out of Love and Time to Say Goodbye.  For more details, see www.celtictenors.com

Thursday June 28th
Is there such a thing as Irish cuisine? What is our national dish? Trevor White, editor of the Dubliner, Ross Lewis of Chapter One restaurant and Ashish Sharma of Jaipur debate.

And Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting our Economy (Nicholas Brealey Publishing), talks to Ryan

Wednesday June 27th
Father and son team, Peter and Dan Snow, have been visiting some of the century's most famous battlefields for a new television series.  They talk to Ryan about their love for military history and the effect of the battles on places like Korea, northern Europe and Germany.  20th Century Battlefields is broadcast on BBC 2 television every Monday night at 9pm.

Roland Mesnier was executive pastry chef to five US presidents - Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush.  His new memoir, All The Presidents' Pastries (Flammarion), spills the beans on the eating habits of America's First Families.  Roland chats to Ryan from his home in Washington DC.

Returning to the theme of conflicts and battles, pianist Finghin Collins has put together a series of concerts featuring the music of three war-torn cities - Warsaw, Dresden and St Petersburg.  He performs "Reverie" from Schumann's Kinderszenen, which he recorded for his recent album of Schumann piano music.  You can get further details of Finghin's concerts, which will take place in July, online at www.nch.ie.

Tuesday June 26th
Writer Denise Deegan, Paul Brady, Director of the Belvedere Youth Club and Mary Coll, writer and broadcaster, discuss scheduling the summer holidays for children.  Is it better to sign them up for multiple courses, or to let them relax and enjoy doing nothing at all?

Tara Blaise performs live in studio.  Her new single is called 'Fall At The Start'.  Her new album will be released in Autumn 2007.  More information on www.tarablaise.com

BBC correspondent in Dublin, James Helm, has spent five years in Ireland.  He talks to Ryan about his observations and his experiences here.

Monday June 25th
In a recent survey, 60% of 18-24 year olds said they felt entitled to inherit their parents' home.  Do these "kids of prey" have a right to inherit?  Clear English specialist Margaret E Ward thinks not, while John O'Keeffe of the Sunday Independent supports the would-be inheritors.

Ryan announces the five-person shortlist for the Opening Lines competition in association with Barry's Tea.  The five are: Rachael Hegarty, Anton McGuinness, Joan Hannon, Kieran Kelly and Rick Boelens.  They'll now submit opening paragraphs to an imaginary novel, and the winner will be chosen live on Friday's programme.

Click here for the opening lines...

Ryan talks to Professor James Shapiro about his life-long obsession with Shakespeare and the contemporary parallels with the world of 1599.  James will speak at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 6pm, as part of the Abbey Talks series, while 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare is published by Faber and Faber.

Friday June 22nd
Today's programme comes live from Gaynor's Pub in Leenane, Co. Galway.

Ryan meets Connemara residents Kate O'Toole, Anne Henning Jocelyn and Joe Bosc; discusses the Irish-American connection with Ruth Barton, Ellen McDonagh and Oran Daly; and gets a fly-fishing master class from Peter Mantel and Rory Daly.  Plus there's live music from Frankie Gavin and friends.

Thursday June 21st
Ryan reads some more entries to the Opening Lines competition, in association with Barry's Tea.  5pm tonight, Thursday, is the deadline for entries, and the shortlist will be announced on Monday.
 
A Russian billionaire has announced plans to set up a school in London for would-be political leaders, along the lines of Harvard's Kennedy School and France's ENA.  As two neophyte Green ministers settle into their offices of state, Ryan asks: is it time to set up a school for politicians in Ireland?  He's joined by former Fine Gael leader and minister Alan Dukes, former Fianna Fail general secretary Martin Mackin, and Sunday Tribune business editor Richard Delevan.
 
Carl Bernstein, along with Bob Woodward, helped topple a US president through his investigation of the Whitewater affair in the 1970s.  He's now turned his attentions to another would-be American president - Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Carl talks to Ryan about his new book, A Woman in Charge, which is published in hardback by Hutchinson.

Wednesday June 20th
Liam Cahill is from Waterford City and lives in Dublin.  Joe Ambrose is from Clonmel and lives in London.  Cleo Murphy lives in Kenmare, having spent years in Dublin and Dubai.  They talk to Ryan about their view of their home places and how some people can never contemplate going back to live where they grew up, and how others long to do that all their adult lives.

Sophie Labbé is a 'nose' who won an award for being the best perfume-maker in 2005.  Johnny Ross is a coffee master with Starbucks cafés.  They talk about smell and the effects of smell - what memories, tastes and emotions smell can evoke.

Tuesday June 19th
Simon Delaney, Anne Gildea and Donal O'Kelly talk about the rite of passage that is the one-person show.  Simon will be in the Tivoli in Defending the Caveman from June 28th, Anne is preparing her solo show Anne Gildea Goes All the Way in The Bankers on Dame street at the end of July and Donal will be touring Running Beast, his solo show based on Hugh O'Neill later this summer.

Singer Leanne Harte performs Resolution live in studio.  Her album is called An Irish Girl in Paris.  More information on www.leanneharte.com

Harry Bosch is the fictional LA detective created by Michael Connelly.   His new book is called The Overlook (Orion Books) and he talks to Ryan about terrorism, his characters and living in LA.  

Monday 18th June
Sinead O'Connor's new album, Theology, will be released on Friday 22 June.  Sinead comes into studio to perform two songs from her album and talk to Ryan about matters of faith, fame and family.

The MBNA Shannon International Music Festival will take place in Limerick from the 11th to the 15th of July.  Carmel Mulkearns from Galway is the winner of a prize that includes five nights' accommodation and tickets to all twelve concerts at the Irish Chamber Orchestra's annual musical event.  Further information about the Festival is available online at www.irishchamberorchestra.com.

George Lee is a worried man.  He's discovered that oil supplies are dangerously low, and is concerned for the future of the oil-dependent Irish economy.  George explains to Ryan about the issues that inspired his television programme, Future Shock: End of the Oil Age, which will be shown on RTE 1 television tonight at 9.30pm.

Friday 15th June
A new exhibition entitled Life and Death in the Roman World will open at the National Museum on Dublin's Kildare Street next week.  So this morning we ask: what did the Romans ever do for us?  Ryan asks the question of Mark Humphries, head of classics at NUI Maynooth, and Rob Vance, presenter of Secret Sights.  You can get more information about the exhibition online at www.museum.ie.

Cork band Fred perform their new single, Good Things, live in studio.  Check out their website on www.fredtheband.com.

Rageh Omaar found fame as the BBC's reporter during the Second Gulf War.  He now works for Al-Jazeera's English service.  He tells Ryan about his experiences as a war reporter.  Rageh's book, Only Half of Me, is published in paperback by Penguin.

Thursday 14th June
Irish woman Kristina Grimes was the runner-up in The Apprentice on BBC1, narrowly missing out on a job with Sir Alan Sugar.  She spoke to Ryan about the television programme and also her family and her future plans.

Caroline Casey presents the O2 Ability Awards on RTÉ 1 at 10.45pm tonight.  She speaks to Ryan about her desire to bring the awards to an international audience and her recent Eisenhower Fellowship.

Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli is in Dublin for the Taste of Dublin festival in the Iveagh Gardens.  For more information on the festival, go to www.tasteofdublin07.ie

Wednesday 13th June
Gilbert O'Sullivan talks to Ryan about his relationship with Ireland, his legal battles, his songwriting and his new album Scruff at Heart.

Alex Kurzem was born a Jew in Belarus.  He narrowly escaped a mass killing in his village and he was later found by a Latvian battalion who adopted him as a mascot.  His extraordinary story has been researched by his son Mark, who has written a book about his father's life. The Mascot: The extraordinary story of a young Jewish boy and an SS extermination squad by Mark Kurzem (Rider Books).

Tuesday 12th June
Hayley Westenra was a child star, with a string of platinum-selling CDs by the age of 16.  She's now a member of Celtic Woman and will perform with the RTE Concert Orchestra at Dublin's National Concert Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8pm.  Hayley talks to Ryan about her career and performs two songs - Scarborough Fair and Pokarekare Ana.

Dawn Eden used to be a liberal, Jewish rock groupie.  Today, she's a committed Christian and an advocate for chastity.  She tries to persuade Ryan of the thrill of the chaste.  The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfilment While Keeping Your Clothes On by Dawn Eden is available in shops now.  Dawn's blog can be accessed on http://dawneden.com/blogger.html

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is WB Yeats' birthday; meanwhile, the 2007 Seanad election campaign is underway.  Poet Theo Dorgan comes into studio to read one of Yeats' poems, A Statesman's Holiday, and talk about Yeats' career as a senator.  The National Library is hosting a month-long celebration of WB Yeats.  More information is available online at www.nli.ie.

Monday 11th June
Gilly Savage is selling her home in Dorset and she's put a legal condition on the sale - whoever buys the house must continue her monthly book club!  She tells Ryan her story.  And don't forget to email your reviews of this month's Book Club choices - 2 novellas by Ian McEwan - to tts@rte.ie.

Next Friday is Irish AIDS Day.  Liz Martin contracted the HIV virus from her partner, a drug user, in the 1980s.  Twenty years on, thanks in part to new drug therapies, Liz is happy and healthy.  But that wasn't always the case.  Ryan asks Liz about the events described in her new book, Still Standing, which will be published by Aids West in Galway on Wednesday 13 June.  If you have any concerns about HIV or AIDS, the Health Service Executive's AIDS information helpline is open on 1800 459 459, Monday to Friday, 10am - 5pm.

David McWilliams, author of The Pope's Children, is just back from a trip to the UK.  There, he unearthed a new tribe - the Hi-Brits - who form a powerful force within the UK's entertainment and sporting industries.  David explains to Ryan who the Hi-Brits are, where they live, and why they've become so powerful.

Friday 8th June
Jim Power of Friends First and Dr. Ruth Casey, Carlow IT, on holiday homes.  Increasing numbers of Irish people can now afford a second home, but do they contribute much to the local economy or to the community?  Leo Hallissey joins the discussion from Letterfrack and David Carthy is in Leitrim.

Robert Greene has written a manual for the modern Machiavelli.  It's called 33 Strategies of War (Profile Books).  He talks to Ryan about politics, power and learning to deal with your adversaries in a strategic fashion.

Thursday 7th June
Shane Kenny, Director of Public Affairs in DCU and entrepreneur John Beckett discuss Business Networking - the best ways to make contacts and whether you need formal networking structures to enhance your business.  Martin Lawson is with Business Networking International and Alison Herbert is with Network Ireland.

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and writer who was an advisor to Bill Clinton when he was in his early twenties.  His book is called Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance (Profile Books)

Wednesday 6th June
Stephen Benedict talks school movies with Ryan, from To Sir with Love to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
 
Padraig O Morain, journalist, counsellor and psychotherapist explains why he thinks men may need help getting in touch with their emotions. His book, Like a Man: A Guide to Men's Emotional Wellbeing, is published by Veritas.

Tuesday 5th June
The annual torture chamber that is the Leaving. Is it really the hardest exam anyone will do? And why does it fascinate us so? Dr Diarmaid Ferriter, historian and broadcaster, Leeanne O'Donnell, presenter of the podcast Getting it Right (http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_gettingitright.xml), Niall MacMonagle, teacher of English at Wesley College, Dublin, discuss.

David & Josh, aka violinist David MacKenzie and pianist Josh Johnson perform live in studio with guitarist Stephen Mc Farlane.  They will be performing in the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire on Sunday 17June at 8pm.  More information on www.davidandjosh.com

And Ryan talks to AM Homes, author of Jack and This Book Will Save Your Life, who tells the story of just what happened when her birth parents came looking for her when she was in her 30s. It's documented in her new memoir, The Mistress's Daughter.

Monday 4th June
This morning, we take a trip back in time to the 1940's. 
 
Brother Columbanus Deegan gives Ryan his eye witness account of the Normandy beach landings in 1944; the liberation of Belsen and his return to Ireland in the late forties in search of an ordinary life.   

Professor Michael Kennedy of the Royal Irish Academy and Professor Clair Wills, author of That Neutral Island discuss the impact of the war in Europe on Ireland. 

Paul Rouse tells us about the GAA All Ireland final in New York in 1947, while Mick Higgins recalls his trip to New York and winning his first All Ireland medal with Cavan.

And Grainne Humphries and Professor Luke Clancy recreate the romance of going to the cinema in Ireland in the 40's

Friday 1st June
Today's programme, presented by Anton Savage, comes live from La Speranza Café at White's Hotel in Wexford.

Soprano Marketa Matlova, accompanied on piano by Carmen Santoro, opens the programme with an aria from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

The opening production at this year's Wexford Festival Opera was The Silver Lake by Kurt Weil.  Anton talks to one of its stars, former Eastenders actress Anita Dobson, and to its translator, satirist Rory Bremner.

Ian and Kenny Doyle, two of the band Chaplin's five members, perform "Story Goes" from their forthcoming EP.  Chaplin will perform at the Wexford Arts Centre as part of the Fringe Festival this Sunday evening, the 3rd of June, at 8.30pm.  Ian also tells Anton about the live music scene in Wexford.

At this time of year, hurling jostles with opera for the loyalties of Wexford people.  The programme goes out onto the streets to ask: "Which do you prefer - hurling or opera?".  Marketing Director of Wexford Festival Opera, Ursula Sinnott, and former Wexford hurling All-Star, George O'Connor, argue the toss.

If hurling is such a passion for Wexford people, how do you go about motivating a sports team to victory?  Anton discusses sports psychology with Liam Griffin, manager of Wexford's 1996 SHC All-Ireland winning team, and Ciara Losty of the Waterford Institute of Technology.

A big thank you to all the people who made this broadcast possible, including all the staff at White's Hotel, Christine and Nik at Zoetrope, the people at both Wexford Festival Opera and the Arts Centre and, of course, to the 5th class of Kennedy Park National School and their teacher, Ms Wickham.