KCLR was live at The Irishmans Bar in the heart of Carlow Town last night for the second programme in our ‘Between Towns And Villages’ series, presented by Brian Redmond, which focused on the Carlow Municipal District.
In the opening hour, we heard about the thriving Irish language and traditional music culture in Carlow Town and were treated to a performance of ‘Dúlra Scriosta’, the winner of this year’s Pan Celtic International Song Competition – an even more significant success given that this year’s festival was held in Carlow. The song was written by Carlow native Dave Barron and performed by Clara Hutchinson and Fiach Ó Muircheartaigh, who were accompanied by Ollie Hennessy.
Dave, along with Bríde de Róiste and Emma Uí Bhroin of the Glór Ceatharlach group, also spoke to Brian about the thriving Gaeilge/traditional scene in Carlow, which is going from strength to strength, as evidenced by the three cafés ‘as Gaeilge’ now operating in the town.
Carlow County Council’s plans to regenerate Tullow Street and adjacent areas along with further reaction to the proposed cycle and pedestrian track in Graiguecullen, continues to generate considerable local comment.
We spoke to Town Councillor John Cassin (II) and Laois-based representative Aaron Kelly (SF) before Brian discussed that proposal, the Tullow Street plan, work-related delays on the Kilkenny Road, the Graiguecullen Water Hub and this September’s Entente Florale Europe Competition with Carlow County Council CEO Cóilín O’Reilly and Paula O’Brien, the Council’s Director of Services for Planning, Economic Development, Regeneration and Corporate Services.
In addition, we also heard about how town centre businesses are faring amidst ongoing global economic uncertainty thanks to a conversation with Carlow Chamber CEO Nicola Doran, Rory Hennessy of Milford Financial (Tullow Street) and Keith Sothern of Sothern REA (Dublin Street).
And we closed out the opening hour with comments from Carlow/Kilkenny TD Catherine Callaghan (FF) and Town Councillor Fergal Browne (FG).
You can hear part one here:
In the second hour of the programme, Brian spoke to our host for the evening, Ivor O’Loughlin of The Irishmans Bar (above), about the challenges and satisfactions in running a 40-year-old family business established by his father Frank and his keen interest in whiskey, which has led the family to exclusively bottle its own whiskey since 2002.
Jamie Alcock and Claire Booth of Carlow Youth Services (CYS) discussed their work with teenagers and young people in the town and the importance of the CYS Vault on Burrin Street as a dedicated, safe space for teenagers. They also spoke about the struggles many young people access the service have faced post-Covid and how the CYS team is encouraging the development of resilience.
Last night’s show was just a short stroll from the front gate of Carlow College St Patrick’s and we were joined by Dr John McHugh, the Programme Director of the highly respected and popular Social Care programme at the college, to further discuss the ongoing uncertainty about the institution’s future.
We also heard from Minister of State and Carlow/Kilkenny TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor (FF) regarding Carlow College and who also suggested that the Carlow/Laois boundary may need to be re-examined. Brian was also joined by Town Councillors Andrea Dalton and Fintan Phelan (both FF), who both struck an upbeat tone about Carlow’s immediate and long-term future given the pending infrastructural developments due to come on stream.
Billy O’Toole, the Chairman of St Laurence O’Toole AC was joined by fellow clubman and multiple Irish National outdoor and indoor hurdler Adam Nolan, with both reflecting on what the club means to them while also paying tribute to club stalwart PL Curran, who died on June 15th.
And our show ended on the sweetest of notes, as Brian was joined by Stephen Harland and Annette Dooley of Carlow Choral Society, the 93-strong group which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Their fellow society member Mary Butler brought our evening to a close with a beautiful rendition of ‘The Parting Glass’.
And you can check out the second part of the programme here:
‘Between Towns And Villages’ is funded by Coimisiún na Meán with the television licence fee.
