The Claire Byrne Show

With strike action currently in the pipeline for Thursday and the big EU Summit also taking place. Access to Dublin city could prove difficult over the next few days. Olivia Kelly, Dublin Editor with The Irish Times brought us the details of the restrictions.

Unions must decide on a “take it or leave it” pay offer over the next 48 hours. With the government saying it will be withdrawn if nationwide strikes go ahead on Thursday.  To discuss with Claire was Mary Regan Political Editor with the Irish Independent, John Fitzgerald, Adjunct Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin. Also speaking to Claire was  Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive of ISME.

Aoife Dunne is a comedian, poet and storyteller who shot to fame with her hit show “Good Grief”, which blendied humour, heartbreak and insight with its exploration of the strange and hilarious ways we survive trauma.Aoife Dunne grew up in Galway, the second oldest of two girls and two boys. Her parents separated when she was 14 years old. By the age of 23 she was an aspiring actress having attended the same Galway drama school as Nicola Coughlan. Then the unthinkable happened while she was back packing through South America. Her mother died suddenly.Aoife’s life was thrown into turmoil and she returned to Kinvarra to mourn her mother’s passing and assume her role as head of the family.  It was not until more than a decade later that she would find a new calling as a comedian through the telling of that very story. It’s been quite the journey but today Claire wants to explore a different sort of journey.Because according to Aoife, a major turning point in her life came in Brazil when she was 35 and she had a profound psychedelic experience with ayahuasca.  So Claire’s never been on a psychedelic journey, but Aoife Dunne has…Email the podcast on [email protected]

Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Say goodbye.‘The Corona Monologues’ is an original radio drama about the human cost of the coronavirus pandemic, told through intimate, interwoven stories. Set in a hospital intensive care ward and a nursing home in Ireland while the country is in lockdown, the drama brings us into moments of care, crisis and quiet devastation.In a chaotic intensive care unit, a hospital doctor must decide who stays on life support and who does not. Despite a tight lockdown, she allows a young boy in to say goodbye to his mother. Nearby, a desperate man breaks into the hospital to see his dying wife, only to be dragged out by security before he can finish what he came to say. Meanwhile, tensions rise in an understaffed nursing home as a Nigerian care worker tries to phone her own parents back home. A sharp-tongued elderly resident has to share her room with someone she has always disliked. Elsewhere, a vagabond son leans in through an open window to finally speak his mind to his dying mother.‘The Corona Monologues’ features performances from Tina Kellegher, Jordanne Jones, Gabriel Adewusi, Maggie Hannon, Gerry Cannon, Brenda McCann, Francine O’Reilly, Rose Marie Eno and Dylan Phillis.This radio drama was created and produced by Maccana Teoranta, with thanks to Denise Walshe and Karen Hodge. It was recorded at Kairos Studios and edited by Séamus Callagy.The original musical score for ‘The Corona Monologues’ was composed and performed by Maccana.This radio production was funded by Coimisiún na Meán through the Sound & Vision Scheme.

Joining Claire in studio was Academy Award-nominated, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker Kim A. Snyder.  Kim is in Ireland to talk about The Librarians, the documentary screened at the Dublin Book Festival.

Welcome to The Debrief, where we look back on some of the biggest stories of the week.         This morning Claire was joined by Mick Clifford, of the Irish Examiner, Artist, Architect and Lecturer, Roisin Murphy and Senior Lecturer in Economics at TU Dublin, Emma Howard.Also Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for Europe and Defence spoke to Claire with reaction to the disruption caused by bomb threats.

Following the bomb threats made to numerous Irish media organisations this morning. Claire spoke Security Analyst and former army officer, Independent Senator Tom Clonan. 

An investigation has been launched into an Aer Lingus pilot who, it's alleged,  initially refused to land or divert immediately when instructed by French air traffic control. This was during the bomb threat that took place yesterday. For more on this Claire spoke to Cathal Crowe is Fianna Fáil's Tourism and Aviation Spokesperson.

A preview of the weekend of sport with Eoin Sheahan from Off The Ball.

If you are a parent who doomscrolls on Instagram you will have come across different types of advice from medical and non-medical professionals.  How do you know what to listen to and what to disregard?  To tell us was Dr. Afif El Khuffash, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician and host of the Family Tribe podcast.