The Week: Covid, Cheltenham, Croaghaun and Castlebanny

You’re reading The Week on KCLR, highlighting some of the stories you may have missed on-air and online.

Today we look at the success for Carlow and Kilkenny at one of the world’s renowned horse racing events, The Cheltenham Festival.

We’ve updates on both the Croaghaun and Castlebanny wind farm proposals.

Vaccines dominated the Covid chat while a local priest weighed in the The Vatican’s stance on the blessing of same-sex unions.

Kilkenny musician and singer Ali Comerford talked of her career and more while MaryAnn Vaughan launched her new series for KCLR, The History Fix.

As always, you can join our news team across the day, seven days a week, read the stories on kclr96fm.com and scoreline.ie or take us with you on the KCLR app.

Covid

The Covid chat this week has primarily been about vaccinations in particular the AstraZeneca one, the administration of which was temporarily halted but has now resumed.

Michael Conway, Consultant Cardiologist at St Luke’s General Hospital for Carlow and Kilkenny spoke to our Sue Nunn on The Way It Is about the vaccine:

No stranger to us here on KCLR96fm, Johnny Barry chatted to Eimear on KCLR Live about receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine:

While Sue Nunn rounded off Friday’s The Way It Is with Carlow-based GP Dr Paula Greally for her last house call before she takes maternity leave:

Cheltenham

image pexels.comWhat a week for those involved in horse racing in Carlow and Kilkenny!

A wealth of winners have ties to one, or both, our local counties, between them breeders, trainers and jockies with some of the horses too very well-known in these parts.

Gowran’s Paul Hennessy chatted to our Sue Nunn on The Way It Is after landing at Cheltenham before all the fun got underway:

He spoke to Sue again after a big victory:

While Assistant Principal and teacher at Kilkenny College Paul Cuddihy on Friday outlined the school’s pride at having a number of former students in action to our Eimear Ní Bhraonáin on KCLR Live:

And as the curtains were about to be drawn on another year Sue Nunn on The Way It Is caught up with Manager of Gowran Park, Eddie Scally about the amazing performance of Irish Horses, riders and trainers at Cheltenham – just in time for another local win too:

Wind Farms

There’s been a lot of chat about wind farm plans for Carlow and Kilkenny recently with two major projects proposed, one in each county.

Many residents in the area however feel there hasn’t been enough awareness of the details, but those behind the applications, Coillte, believe they have carried out extensive consultations and have set up easiliy accessible websites with the information laid bare.

Locals though in and around the site earmarked for the Castlebanny Wind Farm have been sharing their concerns with county councillors who are to discuss the issue at a special meeting of the local authority later this month.

One city representative and a South Kilkenny resident joined our Sue Nunn on Thursday’s The Way It Is:

On Friday morning then, there was a development with the Croaghaun WInd Farm with Carlow County Council seemingly refusing the planning application by Coillte. Read about that here.

Eimear Ní Bhraonáin was joined on KCLR Live by a representative of Save Mount Leinster to hear how residents of The Blackstairs and surrounds were feeling about that outcome:

Ali Comerford

She’s been around the world but Ali Comerford’s now home in Kilkenny and sharing her talented musicianship and voice with us locally.

Ali joined our Edward Hayden for a chat about her music, her career and the industry at large on The Saturday Show:

The Vatican and Same-Sex Unions

This week The Vatican outlined how it cannot bless same-sex unions. (Read about that here).

Many were outraged, including some within the church and of its faith in Ireland.

On KCLR Live with Eimear Ní Bhraonáin, Carlow native Fr Paddy Byrne called on the Catholic church hierarchy to lead the change:

The History Fix

Did you hear our new series as it went to air this week?

The History Fix is presented by MaryAnn Vaughan and it began on Tuesday evening with placenames expert, Dr Pádraigh Ó Cearbhaill discussing places reportedly named after our Patron Saint.

The show featured old ads and curious cases and focused on another piece of Irish history that has its anniversary this week, the establishment of the Irish Republican Brotherhood by Kilkenny man James Stephens. For this MaryAnn spoke with historian Eoin Swithin Walsh and President of James Stephens’ GAA Club Liam Tyrell.

And Dr Thomas McGrath told of the history of the Harry Clark window in Carlow College.

Hear it here:

Catch Up

There’s plenty more from across the week here on KCLR.

You’ll find our news stories here while regular key features from programmes covering a range of topics, including travel, fitness, health care, as well as repeats of our talk shows and more can be found in our Catch Up section.

Best of all, you can read and listen to everything in the KCLR app.