NATIONWIDE WEEK 50
PRESENTER BLÁTHNAID NÍ CHOFAIGH
MONDAY 15TH DECEMBER
CHRISTMAS THEMED SHOW
This evening Nationwide gets into the Christmas spirit with plenty of festive cheer as the team joins visitors on their magical trip to meet Santa Claus.Plus, in Waterford, Nationwide meets the cast of one of the city's Pantomimes which celebrates 40 years of bringing all the laughs of the Christmas Panto to the people of the city and county.
The Theatre Royal in Waterford has a long tradition of hosting the annual pantomime, with generations of families eagerly awaiting ticket sales each year. Today, the Waterford Panto Society, in its current form, marks four decades of entertaining audiences. Nationwide meets the cast as preparations for their 40th anniversary production of Cinderella gets underway.
Next on the show is a very special visit to Santa’s Christmas Wonderland at Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre in County Dublin, where the team meets someone with a very close connection to the man who makes it his mission to visit children everywhere at Christmastime.
Website: www.scw.ie
Website: www.theatreroyal.ie
WEDNESDAY 17TH DECEMBER
PRESENTER ZAINAB BOLADALE
CHRISTMAS THEMED SHOW
Nationwide visits Dublin Castle where the festive season is in full swing as the State apartments and Chapel Royal are decked out in their Christmas finery.The team also explores the historic Neapolitan crib in the beautiful setting of the 19th Century Chapel Royal.
Plus, in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Zainab Boladale meets nativity-crib maker Martin Gilmartin.What began as a hobby 20 years ago has grown into a booming seasonal enterprise.Working from his home workshop, he creates custom-made nativity cribs using locally sourced wood.
Website: www.dublincastle.ie
Website: www.nativitycribs.ie
FRIDAY 19TH DECEMBER
PRESENTER ANNE CASSIN
LAST SHOW OF 2025
In this, the last of Nationwide's programmes of 2025, the team celebrates the Christmas season as they meet singers who are proud members of two very different choirs and at this time of year are busy preparing for concerts and recitals which bring joy to many at this special time of the year.
Diva Voces is an all-female choir which started with just a small group of women in twenty years ago. It has grown substantially over the years and now has over 60 members. Presenter Anne Cassin dropped in to meet the Divas, at rehearsals for their upcoming Christmas concert and to find out what’s so special about this particular choir.
A distinctively Irish Christmas carol has also become a cherished staple of the festive season.Its earliest known origins trace back to the 19th century, to the parlour of a small cottage in Coolamain, County Wexford. Reporter Niall Martin has the story behind it.
Website: www.divavoces.ie
