On The Afternoon Show today Gavin Grace spoke with Ruth Cullen of the Community Foundation for Ireland. A new report has shown that Ireland remains a nation of scholars. The study, which was carried out by Community Foundation has found Irish people rank education as one of the most important things in life. Findings of the same report show that religion and spirituality ranked as one of the least most important elements of Irish life. Out of the 119 options presented to those surveyed, 9 of the top 10 items were related to education and learning. For more details from the report see www.communityfoundation.ie
Gareth Neill of Grant Thornton also spoke to the show about the “psychology of debt”. ‘Psychology of Debt’ research looks at the fact that financial debt creates psychological distress and psychological distress creates financial disorder. The result is combined, unproductive financial and mental pressure. People suffering require emotional understanding and not only financial guidance in order to cope. Grant Thornton is holding a seminar on the topic ‘Debt is a problem, sorting it out shouldn’t be’, in Galway today and tomorrow in Limerick.
Also on today’s show Conor O’Neill, a Mayo native and former UL student who is now at Newcastle University, spoke to Gavin about how he and a team of scientists have been blowing up train carriages with good intentions! They have undertaken research to help minimise the loss of life from bombs. Their work is a direct response to the Madrid Bombings in 2004, which killed 191 people and the 7/7 attacks in London a year later when 52 people died. They’ve found by making some simple, low cost changes they can reduce damage caused by a blast and save lives.
Aisling Moloney and Jackie McCarthy are Ennis based Solicitors who joined Gavin in studio to discuss the role of mediation. Mediation is a private and confidential dispute resolution process in which a neutral third party, the Mediator, seeks to help parties in conflict to reach a mutually acceptable settlement. Aisling and Jackie have set up Mediation Matters in Ennis and deal with issues of employment and family disputes among others.
Brigid Barron from Caring for Carers in Ennis also let us know about a poetry competition for all family carers. The competition has recently been launched by a partnership involving Caring for Carers Ireland, the Ennis Book Club Festival and Clare Three-legged Stool Poets. This year the theme of the competition is “Friendships” – a topic that may inspire the many Family Carers around the county to put pen to paper. Poems should be no longer than 30 lines and entries should be submitted by Friday 15th February to Brigid Barron, Caring for Carers Ireland, National Office, 2 Carmody St. Business Park, Ennis, Co Clare or email bbarron@caringforcarers.org
To contact The Afternoon Show please email afternoon@clare.fm
