On today’s edition of The Afternoon Show Buenos Aires based freelance Journalist Ed Stocker spoke to Clare FM’s Gavin Grace about the new pontiff – Pope Francis. Pope Francis opened the first day of a papacy looking to bring the Catholic Church closer to ordinary people by saying prayers at a basilica. The Vatican said Francis’s inauguration mass will take place next Tuesday — a significant date in the Catholic calendar because it is the Feast of St Joseph, patron saint of the universal Church. The new pope officially leads the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
Pat Moylan is the Chairperson of the Arts Council and also joined Gavin on the show to tell us about how the Arts Council are to invest €208,000 in three Clare-based organisations – organisations with a proven track record of delivering great arts experiences for people all over the county and beyond. The funding comes through the Arts Council’s three main annual grants programmes. In addition, people in Clare will enjoy the arts through Arts Council funding for touring, projects and bursaries for talented artists throughout the year. The Arts Council offered the following annual funding for the period to the end of March 2014 to: Glór – Irish Music Centre – €86,000; Salmon Poetry – €42,000 and Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy – €80,000.
Shane Cauldwell from O’Mara Bookmakers also gave us tips for today’s races at the Cheltenham festival. Everyday this week as part of our Cheltenham coverage we placed a €20 charity bet, courtesy of O’Mara’s Bookmakers – the winnings, if we’re lucky enough, will be donated to Cahercalla Hospice.
Also on today’s show we heard another episode of our “Calling Home” feature. Today we met
Maria Qamar, nee McKenna, a Scariff native who now lives in Vietnam. Maria has spent over two decades living away from her home county and has been living in Vietnam for the last number of years. She spoke with Gavin about what led her to leave home, her travels and her experiences so far.
We want to hear your stories – if you or a loved one has emigrated or has swapped life in Clare for another country we’d love to talk to them about their experiences. Please contact Clare FM on 065 682 8888 or see www.clare.fm or email [email protected]
Susan Ward from Mid West Simon was also in studio to let listeners know about their plans to hold an exclusively male second hand clothing sale on Thursday March 21st in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis, to raise funds for the service. The call has gone out over the past few weeks to the men of Clare to dig deep into their wardrobes to find unwanted quality clothes they are no longer using, have never worn, gifts that did not fit, or professional suits they no longer need. Tickets are €5 each and are available at Mid West Simon Charity Shop on Woodquay, Ennis, or on the door that evening.
Clare FM Movie Reviewer Stephen McDermott was also in studio for our weekly film feature. Today Stephen focused on “Side Effects” starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta Jones and Channing Tatum. It’s reported to be a significant film as its Director, Stephen Soderbergh’s last movie after he announced his retirement from directing because major movie studios would not fund his Liberace biopic.
To contact the show please email [email protected]
