The KCLR Daily with Brian Redmond

Why is Rural Ireland, “Still Waiting for a Lift?” Improving rural transport is the theme of a conference, Europe’s Rural Mobility Future: Setting Standards, in Kilkenny next week, (27-29 October) which will draw around 100 delegates from Ireland and across continental Europe, including speakers from transport ministries and transport authorities. Declan Rice, CEO Leader Partnership chats to Brian about the issue. 

Molly Aitken is the author of The Island Child and Bright I Burn, and her work draws deeply on Irish history, folklore, superstition and the darker stories that linger beneath the surface of rural communities. She will be joining us in Kilkenny on November 1st in Kilkenny Castle Parade Tower for an intimate reading and conversation of her medieval Kilkenny-inspired novel 'Bright I Burn', hosted by novelist Anya Bergman. Kilkenny's Toil & Trouble brings medieval Kilkenny to life and we think that Molly would make a great guest for the show with her extensive knowledge of Alice Kyteler and Kilkenny's witchy past.

Rothe House and Garden on Kilkenny's Parliament Street has received a major funding boost from LEADER for a project that will improve public access to the extensive collection that's been assembled and curated by the Kilkenny Archaeological Trust down through the decades. The project will transform underused areas of the three-house heritage site into new publicly accessible spaces, including museum standard visible collections storage, a public reading room, new archive display areas and a family-friendly interpretation and learning space.KCLR's Dermot Keyes caught up with Valerie O'Sullvian, the General Manager of the Rothe House Trust, to get the lowdown on the latest funding award for one of the city's most treasured and popular landmarks.

Rita Kelly of Carlow Mental Health Association joins us to discuss how our mental health issues can be addressed and the work and support available locally. This was prompted by reporting on the two sportspeople (NI Snooker player, Mark Allen who gave a raw and honest interview on his own mental health struggles and the reported comments from James MacLean on the value of therapy.

The Friday Panel this week is made up of Seamus Marnane - Catering Innovation Agency (a commercial kitchen design and equipment supplier based in Carlow)+Paddy Carroll - from Carroll Estimating (a construction consultancy in Carlow Town). He will be the new president of Carlow ChamberDolores O'Neill - Retail Director and Optics Manager from Specsavers, Carlow