oconnellbrian

**TX December 29th, RTE Radio 1, 4pm. In April this year, I lost one of my closest friends, musician Brian Carey, to suicide. In this deeply personal programme, I examine the impact of that loss, and look at how grief can be an overpowering yet necessary emotion, especially at Christmas time. Contributors include singer songwriter Jack O'Rourke, Mick Heaney, speaking about his late father and poet Seamus, and Irish Times writer Laura Kennedy on the death of her mother. The programme goes to air December 29th on RTE Radio 1 at 4pm....

ASTI members of Waterpark College in Waterford on the picket lines this morning tell me why they are on strike….

One Turkish national living in Ireland gives his thoughts on the event coup attempt and whether or not Turkey is a real 'democracy'….

I spent some time in several Emergency Departments last weekend, looking at how many people were on trolleys. On Sunday night, I met this woman outside St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, and she told me about her dying father who had spent considerable time on a trolley….

Olga Murphy fled Hungary in 1956, having shot at a Russian General during the uprising. She was given refuge at a former army camp in Meelick and eventually settled in Limerick, Ireland. She is one of Ireland's oldest former refugees. This is an extended interview which aired on Today with Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio 1 on September 17th.

While it's easy to mock the beards, the tattoos, the skinny jeans and the old fashioned bicycles, the hipster generation are beginning to have an impact on businesses, particularly in the area of food and beverages...

Irish emigrant Roisín Fahey and a second generation Irish man explain why both are voting yes in the upcoming referendum.

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald responds to this morning's (2/09/2014) report on Today with Sean O'Rourke where some asylum seekers detailed their experiences engaging in prostitution to generate income..

Michael is 102 years old while his wife Marie is "90 odd". They held hands the whole time I was with them. His earliest memory is his father in 1918 putting down the newspaper and saying to him: "The war is over". They shared their secrets to a long life and romance with me….

Baltimore Industrial School in West Cork began life in 1889 as the Baltimore Fishery School. It was one of the first vocational schools for the fishing trade in the British Isles. It was later designated an industrial school where children were sent from orphanages and children’s courts. Between 20 and 30 former residents are alive today. I went to Baltimore to meet some of those who were willing to speak publicly about their experiences. The report was broadcast on Today With Pat Kenny on RTE Radio 1.

There are fewer persons living over shops in Ireland's towns and cities, with much new development taking place on the outskirts and families choosing to live in the suburbs. As a result, town centres are changing rapidly. I met with three persons who still live over their shop/pub in Clare, Cork and Waterford and heard how life has changed for them in recent years. The persons who speak about their experiences are John O'Dea in Ennis, Donal Jacob in Waterford and Kathleen O'Riordan in Cork.

Home News title music (composed by Raymond Scannell) by oconnellbrian

From at least 700 AD until the 20th century, some unbaptised children in Ireland were buried in unconsecrated burial grounds dotted all over the country. These cilliní rarely had any headstones or inscriptions and those buried there were often not accounted for in official records. They included children, unmarried mothers who may have died in childbirth and persons who took their own lives. I visited two areas on opposite ends of the country and spoke with locals about the cilliní in their areas and efforts to have those buried in them properly documented.

The days of classified advertisements in newspapers may be numbered with the likes of Craigslist and other sites now the first port of call for buyers and sellers. In Cork, the Evening Echo newspaper still publishes a large classifieds section every week. Last Tuesday, I looked at some of the stories behind the advertisements and also spoke with others in the industry about some of the more unusual requests they have received over the years. The report went out on Today with Pat Kenny on RTE Radio 1..

On the night of June 27th and early morning of June 28th, parts of Cork city and county experienced some of its worst flooding in over a century. Hundreds of homeowners and businesses were impacted, and the final bill for the damages is estimated at somewhere in the region of €100 million. Many of those impacted are still looking for answers - how can this be prevented in the future, who, if anyone is to blame and what financial assistance is available to them? I visited three areas - Clonakilty, Glanmire and Douglas to speak with those affected. The report went out on Today with Pat Kenny on RTE Radio 1

In recent weeks, Ireland has had to confront once again the abuse of alcohol within society. I spoke with Claire Byrne and retired Garda and counsellor Donal Kiernan about the issues and mentioned some of the contents of 'Wasted A Sober Journey Through Drunken Ireland.'

There's a lot of debate in Limerick around the word 'regeneration'. For some it's about new schools, homes and playgrounds. For others it is also about fostering a new sense of community and drawing on a pride of place that already exists. The growing hip hop movement in Limerick is going some way towards acheiving greater social expression and cohesion. I met with some young rappers in the city...

A few weeks ago I met a volunteer in a charity shop in Cork, Ireland and she told me about the close relationship her husband had with her mother.