boundaries are redrawn. Three fellas, three fellas. And well, I'm just talking with the councillors, and first we ran four female candidates in the council and they didn't get elected. And Johnny McGinnis is making, you know, Johnny's very experienced through family and politics, and he's very articulate, and he will, you know, he will be a person as well within the organization that, you know, that will mark that ambition. But look, there's always, there's going to be potential council candidates, there's going to be openings in different electoral areas, and let's see what'll happen over the next two years. What has been the highlights of your political career? After putting the children to bed on a Friday night, two most calls, and Leo asking me to become Minister for Education, I just, I couldn't believe it. I think it's the only time I got any way emotional when I got something in politics, and I just felt so good about that, and I wanted to do so much in it. And I was glad that he put his faith in me. Have you had to pick a low point? Look, when I think back to the post-recession years, or not even post-recession during this recession, 11, 12, 13, 14, I think the low point was, you know, us coming into government in 2011 and being, you know, paralysed to an extent that everything that was thrown at us at an official level was, well, look, this is what the AMF says, this is what the trike is saying, and you have to balance your books. And I'll never forget the pain that taking 30 billion euro out of the economy over a very short couple of years inflicts on people and that hurt people. And I was part of a government that tried to get the economy. We eventually got the economy back on track again, but a lot of people have difficult times along the way, and it wasn't nice seeing that and meeting people and trying to explain that to people when people were really, really struggling and 90,000 young people emigrating and all that. Like it's very hard to be part of that and not being able to do something at that given time. Yeah, and we'll talk about the micro situation now, and in your statement, it's front and center that you're going to be committed to doing as much as you can over the next two years, not presuming you'll have influence afterwards and you can exercise that. It's devastating. And once even in two years' time, I'm not sure how much progress we're going to have made for a number of reasons and how many more people might be affected by this. It is almost beyond words what families and businesses and everyone's facing across Donegal and beyond. What can be done? What needs to be done in your view? Well, I think the first thing we don't know is get the memo to cabinet, and that's going to be ready in a few weeks to spoke to Dara Brown last week about that. And the legislation has to be robust enough to cater for all the individual hard cases. There's so many hard cases and you will have got insights on your own radio show there, but it's important that that legislation is completed before the doll rises this summer. And then implementation, implementation, we have to see the work starting, we have to see the work on the ground. And I know we've all, it's a background of constraints and labor supply, cost materials, but all that being said, there's still people building houses on an individual basis against those constraints as well. So we have to figure a way to try to fast track it. And look, it's very difficult for somebody now who's sitting in their kitchen today, maybe listening to this or looking at a cracked wall and trying to figure out children going to college or teenagers going to college and looking at money or maybe looking at their first holiday.  And as somebody explained to me recently, she said, Joe, we were looking at our life. People look at life and steps and the mortgage been cleared, children going to college, things easy enough.  And that's just so hard. You know, obviously everyone's different, but a lot of TDs, you know, they're the front of it. It's almost like an organization or a business. I don't know how to describe it, but there's you there, right? But there's those that support you. There's those in your local area that you might fall out with from time to time, but they remain loyal to you when push comes to shove. There's confidence, and I'm sure, and I'm thinking on the late Vernon McGinnis that are no longer with us, but there's an awful lot of people it takes to get someone elected to support them in that position and to support them, you know, whilst they're in that position. You'd have a lot of those people in your life too, I'm sure, Joe. Yeah, and far too many. I'm not going to name them, but I'm glad you mentioned that the late Bernard McGinnis, because Bernard was very much part of the one candidate strategy in 2007. And I don't know about it, maybe an hour and a half from Malin and Kaldaf, from Carigart, and to top the poll in Kaldaf and Malin in that election. It was just, I mean, it's something that still shocks me, but obviously that was the intervention of Bernard. But there's been there's been so many people from within Finnegale, established Finnegale, new Finnegale, and then non-Finnegale and the people who would meet me in the doorsteps and Joe, I'm giving you the vote, but I'm not giving Finnegale the vote. And that's the personal connection. And I value that. I'll always be grateful because by being in politics, it's given me opportunities that I never would have got. And it's given me an insight into human behavior, human, the human condition. And the overarching, I suppose, analysis of my time in politics is that people in the main are good, people in the main are fair. And it's not a bad job politics. And I would not discourage people from getting into this profession.  But years ago, those same conversations were happening in a pub and the politicians just didn't get a chance to hear them. So just people can protect themselves in politics too. So you'll be having more of these conversations in the Glen Bar and others? I think we're going to have to... I don't know if I'm going to start advocating the return to the pub. No, I know. But listen, obviously, you know, as impressive as the Downing's GA underage structure is, there's not enough there to sustain all of your time. Have you any idea what you would like to do with the extra time that you have? Of course, you've talked about the importance of your family and what have you. So that goes without saying. But personally, on a personal level, I mean, I'm presuming you're not prepared to put on the house jacket and the slippers. Is there an area that you would like to maybe pursue a bit more? Even a return to teaching, dare I say? Well, I mean, look, I'm committed to serving out the mandates. Like the people of Downing all elected me. So that is a full-time job in itself. And it's funny on Bank Holiday Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Like the phone, I was at a tournament in Colrain, and the phone was going and the texts were going about passports and does that. So I'm going to finish out this mandate. But look, during that time, like obviously, I love to start about thinking, you know, as the future gets a bit closer, I have to think about it. But look, I think that's for another day. I'm committed to this. I'll finish it. And even if I was offered something even on a part-time basis, over the next two years, I wouldn't take it because I wouldn't be doing justice to that and I wouldn't be doing justice to my own job. And I'm conscious too. And Eamor and Evelyn and me, offers are impacted by this decision. So that's something I'm conscious of. Yeah, man, I understand that. And listen to the back of my head, because every action has a reaction. And I think you kind of reference that, or maybe explicit reference that, in that you're having to inform people of a decision that you're taking that's going to impact on their lives and stuff as well. Leo for Adcar. I want to thank Joe McHugh for his work and for successive governments for Ireland, for Finnegale and his constituents. He has been and will continue to be a dedicated and hard-working member of Finnegale and Darlaren. I am very sorry to hear that Joe will not be contesting the next general election, but haven't discussed it with him. I understand his reasons. Deputy McHugh and I were elected to Darlaren in the same, at the same time in 207, both regaining seats for the Finnegale party. We served together on the Finnegale front bench in opposition and as ministers in government. It was an honor as T-Shock to appoint him to the office of Chief Whip, Chief Whip, and Minister for Gail Totten, subsequently as Minister for Education. Joe is one of the most compassionate and kindest person in a profession that is often fought from kind. So that's a statement released to us there from Leo for Adcar. Okay, well, sure. We'll be chatting again, I'm sure. Very well, very well. And just thanks as well, Greg, for you and Caroline. I know Caroline has... People who have a politician have a difficult job. Caroline has an impossible job there as well, like herding sheep at times and trying to get... Herding cats more like sheep. Sheep or easy herd. Did you mean herding cats? But thanks to you and yourself, Greg, for allowing me to get my voice out there and let the people of Donegal know what's happening. All right, okay. And it's not easy in government. And those in opposition will see. The other side of it, I suppose, may be down the line who's to say. But we appreciate your time this morning, as I say. I'm sure we'll be speaking again as you continue as TD representing your area for the next couple of years. Thanks, Joe. Thanks, Greg. All right, take care of yourself.  Yeah, just say, Greg, Doreen Sheridan, the constituency secretary, and Harold Orte, the constituency chair. This became news to them over the last couple of days as well. So I'd like to thank them, and I know they have a body of work to do, and I just want to thank them for their support as well. Yes, Doreen, to go a bit easier on me. You know, she can be, she reprimands me far too. Doreen just says it as it is. Oh, I know. I think that's what's needed. That's what's needed. And I wouldn't like her to change this. And thanks very much, Joe. I appreciate it. Great, take care of yourself. That's Deputy Joe McHugh there. 08, 660, 25,000 WhatsApps and texts. Hear that? It's wonderful, isn't it? The sound of appreciation, of love, of gratitude and joy. Yeah, let's hear it for our ears. Love your ears. Book a free hearing test at hiddenhearing.ie. Your hearing is our expertise. At McGee's.ie, you can create gallery quality art on canvas from your favorite photo, direct from your phone, laptop, or PC. Simply upload your favorite picture and have it printed on canvas, transformed into gallery quality art for as little as $44.95. Click and collect or have it delivered to your door ready to hang. Big picks, small prices. At McGee's Chemist, letter Kenny. See McGee's.ie. iMotors Nissan, the place for award-winning range of vehicles, including the Micra, Leaf, Juke, Kashkai, and the all-new Nissan area. There's a model to suit everyone. Call today or visit our website at iMotors.ie for more details. Or call<PHONE_NUMBER> to arrange a test drive. Aren't you the best man? After this ad is kindly sponsored by ShopLK. Donnie Goldfly, letter Kenny, 6th till 8th of May. New this week in home store and more.  Also, all mattress protectors and all kitchen textiles are still half price. But when all our half price mattress protectors and all our half price kitchen textiles are gone, they're definitely gone. Order online before 2 p.m. for next day delivery or drop by your local home store and more. Home store and more. A happy home. This is the new Toyota Yaris Cross, a new kind of SUV, a new point of view, new compact style, new spacious feel, and exclusively self-charging hybrid, the right choice for today. Get a new perspective with the Yaris Cross self-charging hybrid, available now at Kelly's Toyota Port Road, letter Kenny, or drum by Mount Charles. You'll never take a wrong turn with Toyota, built for a better world. COVID-19 booster vaccines, now available for over 65s and all eligible patients in your local HealthWise Pharmacy. Appointments now available. Please ask in store or complete an online form at healthwisepharmacies.ie. COVID-19 booster vaccines are the best way to stay protected against COVID-19 and are recommended by our pharmacists. HealthWise Pharmacies, caring for your community. The Ulster Championship is an association with Henry McGinley and Son's limited Milford Donegal for all your general engineering queries, corner lintels and specialised fabrication. Call for a quote on 074 91 53 181. Okay, we are joined on the program now by Jerry Davenport, former national president of the Community Games and chair of letter Kenny Community Games. Good morning to you, Jerry. Thanks for calling in. Morning, Greg. Thank you for having me. It's one of these things we're really talking now, aren't we, about the very future of the Community Games. That's not an exaggeration, is it? No, it's not an exaggeration. That's why I tried to get on today, Greg, to bring it home to people here within the letter Kenny area, because Community Games have been in existence in the letter Kenny for nearly 50 years. We've seen a decline all right over the last number of years, but with COVID not, no people can blame COVID for maybe volunteers not getting involved not again, but we called our AGM there about a month or so ago and we held only three people turned up. It's heartbreaking, isn't it? We called another meeting there two weeks ago, two extra people turned up. So we had to go again. We decided to give it a third chance on Monday night, half eight, in the station house here in the letter Kenny, just maybe to bring home to people what is happening and what is likely to happen if things don't improve. Well, before we get to that, let's talk about the Community Games and their history. For you, what are the Community Games, who's involved in them and what's their importance? Community Games was established way back in Dublin and Walkenstown to involve communities, areas, housing states in around the Dublin area that didn't have sporting facilities and they were basic at the time, but then as years went on, they grew and they grew throughout Ireland to be one of the major organisations and years ago, 30, 40 years ago, Community Games was the game. That was the only game that was on the pitches and answers at the time, but things have moved on since Greg and other sporting organisations seemed to have caught up and passed us out, maybe, in a way. Well, that's what I was going to say to you, because between all different sports, GEA, boxing, soccer, basketball, golf, young people playing it, and improved facilities in schools, perhaps as well, and more time dedicated to it, my question, I ask, is there a future for Community Games or maybe that area is well-served now? That area is well-served, but I think there still is a niche there. Now, maybe not in the bigger towns like Lederkinny, but certainly in the smaller communities around the country, you know, and when I say Lederkinny and the size of Lederkinny, I also am aware that other areas throughout the country, similarly in size to Lederkinny, that are having difficulties as well. Now, let me say, Greg, we have great support from all the sporting organisations. Yeah, that's not that much. Like, if we went through the swimming organisation, we wanted to do the gymnastics, soccer, Gaelic. The schools helped us with arts and projects and whatnot like that, you know. But they'll still continue. But for them to compete within Lederkinny area, Community Games, there has to be a steering committee in place. And this is where we find that we've no problem getting the support out there within the different sports but it comes down to forming a committee to run, you know, to run the games. And a lot of people may be shy away over child protection and whatnot, but every organisation has the same issues over child protection. I think people should be reassured by that, though. I can understand, oh, God of it. But that's reassuring.  And I think people should be encouraged by that, but not discouraged. That is correct, Greg. And I always say that the Guard of Ethn is there as much to protect you as it is to protect the child or the children competing. Like, I think this is one of those things, Gerry, that if you build it, they'll come to quote that old film. That in other words, if you get enough people in so that not one or two people's doing all the heavy lifting to get an event organised, get it in the calendar, there'll be no shortage of people to take part in it and to have fun in it and it to be a hugely successful event. It's really getting the event off the ground, is it? That's correct. You're 100% correct. The children are there. They're eager to compete. They're eager to take part. But we need a steering committee in place. There are a few of us stepping down. Some of us have been involved for more years than we care to remember. We've seen our children come through it and we've seen our grandchildren come through it. You know, and, you know, maybe it's just time for new people and fresh ideas and a new outlook. And I think that's what we're looking at at the minute. OK, so paint a picture for us community games. Say, let's just say 2022, right? Where would be hosted? What kind of sports would be involved? What age groups would compete? Yeah, well, you compete from 6 to 16, wide-ranging, maybe 40, maybe too many activities. You have an area final, an area competition, county competition, regional competition now because Donegal are in with Galway and Mio in the Connacht area and then you go on to a national competition. You know, and we've had a lot of people, Greg, I know it's about competing, you know, but you know, competing and participation, but that way element comes into it as well. And we've had here in Lerner County, we've had some great people who started out like of Mark Agneshkin and Sinead Jennings who started out in community games. Probably got the pace for it. Connacht represented Ireland, both at World Shell Baches and the Olympic Games. In terms of sort of organising them on a local level, Jerry, are you, from other people involved in community games nationwide, are you getting the same message from them or are we particularly behind a little bit in terms of interest in Donegal, I wonder? We are not really behind the rest. So there are some very strong counties out there and always has been strong counties. But in terms of interest in organising them, is it really what I'm talking about rather than competition? Yes, yes, there is in certain counties, there is a lack of interest in organising them. Yeah, as I said, the people, the children are there. You know, I'd make an appeal here now today, Greg, for parents to get involved with this committee. The workload will be shared.  And there's a plan as to how to do it. It's not like, well, what do we do first or how do we do that? It's a case of we know what to do and these are the jobs that people have to do. So just to emphasise this, right, because we're at a really, really important point here. There's been a couple of meetings to try and get together a committee and to get people involved. So far at this stage, very few people have turned up. There's one meeting, perhaps even the final meeting, to either, you know, progress or get shot of this whole notion, I think. It's on Monday, the 9th of May. It's at 8.30pm. It's in a central location in the station House, Hotel, Letter, Kenny. And people listening to this have a choice. They can go to that meeting and be the start of saving something and maybe even growing it bigger and better than ever or they can not turn up and it could just fall into history. That is really almost what this meeting is about, Jerry. You've put it very well, Greg, and I would hope that Monday night would not be the last meeting of the Recony community games. 8.30pm in the station House, Hotel. No one's going to be God-overted on the night or no one's going to... That's not... This is about getting as many people as possible together. People, maybe they've retired or in a career break or maybe they're working from home and once by a time. Who's to say? But this is about getting people and the more the merrier into this building at 8.30pm on Monday night and to say, right, let's crack our heads together and see what we can create here. 100% correct, Greg. And as I said before, anybody new coming in and taking up a position will not be left on their own. We'll have enough support around them to ensure that the community games continue in Letter, Kenny, for many, many years to come. And I would hope that we have a good turnout on Monday night so we can continue with community games in the Letter, Kenny area. All right, okay. It's one of those things that I think if we leave it to John or Mary down the road who's big into these things to do it and they've other things on and they don't turn up. This is the type of thing that I think people are going to have to take a little bit and say, right, I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll be the person that does it. And we hope there's a great turnout. We'll mention again on Monday morning as well, Jerry, just in case people need a final reminder. I'd love to see 20 or 20 or 30 people there. There's loads of people out there and we don't need an awful lot of them to make this happen. Yeah. I think by today, Greg, what we're trying to get out there to the people within another sport and I know a lot on their plate on their plate with their own sports and all that but they're going to have to realise that they want their children and their sport to be involved in community games this year and you committee has to be formed on Monday night. Okay, right. It's as simple as that. Not wishing to jump the gun will think too far in advance. When would you be planning theoretically the next community games? Is it 2022? The planning is in place at the minute and we would have to be registered as an organisation by the 31st of May. Okay. So you see we're time pressure and we're working towards a deadline. We have to be up and running by the 31st of May in order to compete this year in the community games. Yeah, okay. The meeting is Monday the 9th of May, this coming Monday, 8.30pm in the Station House Hotel, Letter County, Good Park in there and all. So there's no issue driving in and getting involved, the more the merrier and you can be part of something really important in getting involved in that. And also brilliant for CV, you know, if people are out there looking for work and all. Employers love to see people involved in this type of work as well. We're a voluntary organisation, you know, and I'd love to see a lot of people there and say new faces, new ideas and which I think would be a big help for us going forward. Jerry, I hope you get a good turnout. I think so. Hopefully Greg. And we'll see. I'll mention it again on Monday as well. Jerry Davenport, former National President of the Community Games, Chair of the Letter County Community Games and current legend, I'm told. Not really. Another legend standing in the background here as well. Oh, Caroline, now she's all right. Oh, you're all right here. Oh, yes, yes. Another legend, yes. That's another legend. Listen, the very best luck of that. I mean it genuinely. And I think if people get into that room and listen to you, they'll be enthused as well with your passion. So thank you so much. Can I thank both yourself and Caroline for giving us the time to get this? Anything we can do to support things like this? This is what we're here for. This is why I come to work and I hope we can make a difference. Thank you. Okay, Greg, thank you. Bye-bye. We're all faced with things going up these days, but you'll still find amazing value every single day at Aldi. And you could save over 70 euro on your big family shop when compared to one of our nearest competitors. Nearest and dearest indeed. So don't change your lifestyle. Change your supermarket. Aldi, every day amazing. Comparisons against product sourced in SuperValue 28th of March 22, lowest pro rate used and offers excluded. For full details, see aldi.ie. Atlantic Technological University, Donnie Goals May Open Day will take place on Thursday the 5th of May from 3 to 7 p.m. Join us on our Ladder County Campus to discover the wide range of course options available with undergraduate, postgraduate, and part-time offerings Soak in the atmosphere at Donnie Goals' newest university. If you're not able to come in person, log on to our Virtual Open Evening Platform on Thursday from 3 to 7 where you'll be able to join live webinars, take a virtual tour, and talk to academic and support staff. Atlantic Technological University, the future is here. The Michael English Celebration Tour comes to the Millennium Forum Dairy on Wednesday, May the 11th, and the Strule Art Centre Olma on Friday, May 20th. Come and join Michael in a Superband for a spectacular musical extravaganza. A brand new tour is the best, yes. Celebrate once again with a night of non-stop sing-along favourites. It's a show you simply won't want to miss. For more on the dairy show, see Millennium Forum Dakota, UK. And for more on the Olma show, see Strule Art Centre, Dakota, UK. For details of all Michael's shows, see MichaelEnglish.ie. Ireland West Airport, you're flying. Okey-doke, cloudy start today, although it's already starting to brighten up a little bit. Dryer and brighter for the afternoon, with sunny spells developing, feeling humid, with highs of 13 to 15 degrees in the light to moderate, south-easterly breeze. Business matters in association with the Faculty of Business at ATU Donegal. Looking for a career in financial services? Consider the Level 9 MA in governance, compliance and data protection. Take the next step in your career and contact the exec ed coordinator on 9186206 or email execedexeced.ie today. And on to a really busy show. We're delighted to welcome the presenter of Highland Radio's Business Matters podcast, Kieran O'Donnell. Good morning to you, Kieran. How are you keeping? Good morning, Greg. I'm very good. It's good to have you in with us. Right. I'm doing good, actually. You're busy. It is always busy. Spending plates. Spending plates, yeah. But I've done much harder work, too, Kieran. So I'm not complaining, man. I enjoyed your interview with Julia. Yeah. It's an interesting one. It's got to prompt a lot of emotions out there because there are going to be those, and I think those particularly affected by the microcrisis. And although Joe was committed to work hard for them for two years, there's going to be a sense that they feel that he's walking away. You know, that he's walking away from the problem. And that's something he's going to have to deal with and contend with. And that's an emotion I can understand that some might say, well, if you've had that much, stay on and fight for it. But there comes a point where you have to make your own decisions for your own sake as well. That'll be teased out, I suppose, over the next couple of years. I don't think it's going to be the first, sorry, the last that might choose not to go the next time either. Anyway. Right. Okay. On to the business news. The ATU, Donnie Gull, formerly L-Y-I-T, formerly the regional. It's, there's an open evening. Tell us about that. Yeah, we're still getting used to the new name, Greg. ATU, Donnie Gull. It's such a big step. We're not saying it. Well, host an on-campus open evening in Lyric, Ennis tomorrow, Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. This event will provide perspective students with the chance to connect face to face with ATU, Donnie Gull's academic and student support staff. It's worth noting this is the final on-campus event before the leaving certificate begins, Greg. So those considering ATU, Donnie Gull and their CEO choices are advised to register and attend the event. More information is available on ATU, Donnie Gull's social media platforms. I wonder whether there'll be a huge interest from the get-go or will it take a couple of years for the penny to drop that this is, you know, it always has been a legitimate alternative, but more so now than previously. If you get where I'm coming from. Yeah, I suppose not. Maybe in the age we live in now where everything is at the touch of a button and I think that the change in the branding and the change of the name will happen much quicker given the ease that we're living in now, Greg, maybe. Yeah, because I saw a few signs for ATU Sligo and it kind of was... I was ATU Sligo. It's a major job for an institution to sort of switch over like that and get that message out there. I think it will take time, but I think it's catching on well to be fair. But maybe to be seen as a whole rather than as an individual camp. I don't know. Anyway, that'll all be teased out, I suppose, as they do their work in terms of PR. Another mention of this new cancelled grant scheme, for those that are tuning into this hour but didn't hear the last one. Yeah, I know you have Keir Martin on later on this morning. Yeah, Donegal County Council has launched a new grant scheme for local businesses that aims to support the development of overnight facilities for the caravan, camping, camper van and motorhome sector in the county. The grant date has been offered at up to 50% of actual costs for local businesses and the application process is open until Monday, May 30th. It's also proposed that a further call for applications from community and voluntary-based groups will open in early June. Further information contact Amanda McNamee by emailing ccc grantschemeat.onegalcoco.ie or telephone 9172282. All right, are we going to use from the Letakini Chamber? Yeah, just a wee thing that caught me there last night. Letakini Chamber held its first in-person board meeting for over two years recently since the start of 2020. So it's another sign that thankfully things are returning to normal. All right, the Education and Training Board have a walk-in information session. What's this about? Yeah, it's going to take place on Wednesday, May 18th on us on two traineeships, data science and international trade. The session will take place at 6 p.m. in the ETB's Letakini Training Centre on Remelton Road and will provide an opportunity for people to talk to staff about the course content and future employment opportunities. Yeah, indeed. This is a story that caught my eye. A Donegal Man winning Deal of the Year, the Deal of the Year award. This is property-related, is it? Yeah, Kevin Sweeney from Crossroads and Kelly Gordon has won the Deal of the Year award for the letting of a combined 60,000 square foot at the new Cleary's Quarter on Dublin's O'Connor Street. Kevin is Director of Retail at Savils Ireland and was presented with his award at the inaugural Property Award ceremony in Dublin last Thursday night. So nominations were judged by a panel of six experts across 12 categories and these identified the highest level of achievement across both residential and commercial sectors. So well done to him. Yeah, another local person doing good on the big stage. Great stuff. Congratulations, Kevin. Right, okay. That's a look at some of the news. Let's talk about this week's Business Podcast, Kieran. Yes, my guest this week, Greg, is Moncranab-based Irish designer, Bernie Murphy. Bernie worked at Fruit of the Loom for 21 years and set up her own business in 2017. She grew up in a family with traditional sewing and knitting were valued skills and at a time when the textile industry was still a major employment provider throughout the Northwest. Bernie is passionate about traditional Irish fabrics and exports her creations all over the world with Europe and the United States being her biggest markets. Bernie also teaches the skill of sewing to children and adults at Spray, August Sport and Cairndonna. In this clip, Bernie talks about the advantages of working from home while working for herself. It depends on what the workload is. You can work late or you can work early, you know, get up at six and finish at six, but usually in busy times you'd be getting up at six and finishing at 12, you know, but and no, it's great and to be able, like my parents are thankfully both with us now but it's to be able to have that flexibility to be able to do other things in your personal life that you wouldn't have that opportunity if I was still working I'm afraid of a loom. You know, maybe their their policies would have changed and you could work for extra time but no, it's just the that's you're working for yourself and creating beautiful things for other people. So working from home to me suits me well. Yeah, and serves me well. All right, another fascinating business story but personal story, personal journey there, Ciaran seems to be you hit the nail in the head in that regard often. Yeah, look, Bernie went back to college and she upskilled and retrained herself. She was actually teaching part-time and she's teaching now and spring yoga sport as well. And look, she's talked about being able to work from home and the advantages of working from home while working for herself. One thing that she did amazing during the podcast and asked me the amazing what the visits to the studio are about appointment only so you can contact Bernie but you need to do it by appointment only. But the fact that she talked about starting from nothing, creating something from nothing and literally sent it to all parts of the world most probably a sense of job satisfaction for her as well. All right, and the interview in its entirety available right now? Yeah, Business Banners is available on our website heilingradio.com and on Spotify, iTunes or wherever you get your podcast. And if you just want to listen to it on the radio as a schedule shows up on Sunday, isn't it? Yeah, Sunday evening Greg after the six o'clock news. All right, okay. You'll be probably listening to that on your way back from Clonus, will you? Correct. Are you looking forward to it? How do you think it's going to go? I think we'll win, yeah. Yeah, okay. All right, I agree. Okay, email the show Business Matters at HighlandRadio.com must be close to 100 at this stage, Kieran. 90. It just tends to go. Good, man, Kieran. Thanks very much for that as always. Good morning, Greg. All right, 086 6025,000 is the WhatsApp or text line 086 6025,000 or call us an 07491 25,000. The chair of the Donegal executive of Finnegale, Harold Daherty, has been on to us. He wants to wish Joe McHugh well. He says while we are upset that he's stepping down, we wish him well and thank him for all his work and the investment he brought to the county. We look forward to working with him over the next two years. I mentioned actually in the course of that interview with Joe McHugh that Leo Veradkar is in Donegal on Friday and we're hoping to have him on this program at some point between 9 and 12. So if you're a fan or otherwise, tune in between 9 and 12 here on this program. True gentleman and great help to us in the Glenn Swilly community. He is minister for education, played a vital role in getting us our long-awaited extension. Joe McHugh won't be missed as a politician, did nothing for Donegal, probably wouldn't get voted in the next election anyway. Joe McHugh would not get elected the next time anyway, says another caller and all valid points and we'll get to all of those and I'm sure it will be debated and tossed backwards and forwards but at the end of the day we are all humans and individuals and try to focus a little bit on his views and what he thought was positive and otherwise but as I say everyone will have a view don't you know over the next wee while. Right, we'll be back with a wrap up on the program after this break. I just want to mention to actually I'll do that after we have this break. Be right back. The Blue Stack Special Needs Foundation presents its 20th anniversary Blue Stack Challenge fundraising walk on the 21st of May. The Blue Stack Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with additional needs. They offer a range of supports to children, vulnerable adults and their families. This year's ambition is to fund expansion into the wider Donegal area. Registration closing soon To register or donate visit www.BlueStackFoundation.com This ad is sponsored by Print Supplies Donegal Chagosk are holding a spring crop walk this Wednesday the 4th at 7pm on the farm of P&D Killen Labadish, Manor Cunningham F92, K7, 29 Topics include spring and winter crop management nutrient management and outlook for tillage. Speakers are Shea Feelen Chagosk Crop Specialist and Martin McCullough Chagosk Donegal All are welcome. In the build up to the kindy flower which takes place in Lettercanny this weekend, John Braslin will present Around the Northwest from Lettercanny's Main Street just outside Dillon's Hotel this Thursday. Tune in to find out about the kindy flower weekend as well as the Killies concerts and sessions that will take place at various locations throughout the town this weekend. That's Around the Northwest live from Lettercanny's Main Street this Thursday from 12 noon. All right we were chatting to Jim a farmer earlier on his views on support for farming Paul on social media says listening to your program about farming and it's it being a family business looking for help from government I wish the same applied to the haulage industry as I used to own my own business had to close up because I never got any help from government and I can understand exactly why you might feel like that. Another caller says where is this message that I had? Yep, hi Greg. Following on from my message yesterday on breast check I phoned them this morning and after taking my details and after asking why I had not had an appointment since 2018 I was told they were running behind because of Covid and when I said a few of my friends got their checks last year and I was always before them and Covid-19 was still around she couldn't say what had happened but after checking my details and as if by magic I had an appointment she said I see you are scheduled for an appointment on the 13th of May what a coincidence. In Lettercanny should be in the post as we speak so if in the post I should receive it today and I hope you do. The moral of these health appointments is if running behind schedule chase it up with a phone call I did and it got sorted. Okay, there's more to that message actually which is quite important which I'll get to tomorrow but that's where we have to leave


Welcome, once again, let's talk about urban planning. Today we explore a topic that often goes unnoticed in urban planning, which is the rule of young people in shaping today's smart cities. And we have the pleasure of welcoming Simeon Tabunaev from the Birmingham City University. So he will tell, but together we will talk about young people's perceptions, values. So the key considerations for planners about this, we focus this conversation on a question. How can we shape the future of our cities with the voices of the next generation? So let's jump into it. Simeon, welcome. Hi, welcome then. Thanks for having me on the podcast. It's fantastic. It's a very good question. I mean, I didn't have the framing, but that's a very good question. I think very personal question. And it's really nice that you opened it up beyond just smart cities, but also just future cities as a whole, because I think that's quite a key distinction as well. Yeah, do you have any questions for me, or do you want me to just go into background of the paper? Yeah, so I'm... I wanted to ask you, and correct me if I'm wrong, to give you, to start this conversation. So the main message of your article is the importance of engaging with young people in shaping future cities, smart city initiatives. Can you elaborate on that about the importance of this research? Yes, so smart cities people might have been familiar with for quite a while, since 2010s. It became a visionary and idea about the future city that took a lot of root, specifically with politicians, and specifically with decision makers and budget holders. And there was a lot of pushback from social sciences and urban planning where some of those visions were very technocratic, very much rooted in efficiency, rooted in computer science. There was a shift towards human-centric visions. But in that shift, that sort of multiplicity of voices of what does it mean to have a human-centric vision just kind of go lost, I think. And from my perspective, my interest was, well, who has the least amount of power in the decision-making process? When I set out on this research, I was really looking at citizen's power and citizen power relationship in the smart city context. And actually, when you start thinking children and teenagers are quite often the least consulted, don't have enough financial power, don't have enough political power, they don't have a lot of the levers that maybe other groups of society could utilize in sort of getting their voice heard. So for me, that was really interesting. And I was thinking if I'm going to test smart cities as a vision for our future, youth is the bed that is really, really key to engage. And probably in my view is if you're actually doing a proper future city vision, that's a good test to see if you're actually really engaging everybody because the ones without power engaged. And yeah, that makes the most sense. Of course, yeah. I would like to explore a little bit is what just said. This question is two-fold now. I would like to go deeper into the relevance of the topic and understand specifically so what was missing before and who are in your article, who are these young people? So who was the focus of your research specifically? So as I was saying, there was a lot of research which emerged around how do we actually construct smart city visions with people? So in collaboration and co-creation models. But when you talk about people, so that's where the kind of the research gap was. It was about engaging people, but not which people and also how. So for me, teenagers became a demographic which I've worked with in the past. I've been an educator in secondary schools and so on. And for me, that was a demographic which is really interesting to think about. Okay, if we're talking about people-centered smart cities, we should be really be thinking as well who were the people. So for me, that 50 to 19 year old group of young people who were just about getting their citizen rights and voting rights and becoming workers and contributors to the economy and how are we actually engaging them in the creation of those visions? So that was very important. And I think that was the gap in the research and it's still quite a big gap I think when we talk about creating future visions is how do you actually create an intersectional and intergenerational body of collaborators to actually create that. So it's not just technocratic decisions there is space for that but when co-creation is considered it needs to be intersectional. Okay, so let's jump into the findings. What can you tell us about that? Well, I mean, one thing which I always find quite surprising is when you actually talk to teenagers so I talked to 121 teenagers across four contexts. So Manchester and Birmingham in the UK and then Valencian in Spain and Sophie in Bulgaria. So there was a bit of a European context from three different nations. Everybody talks about how young people were very digitally savvy. Actually the perception of youth was quite negative about that. They didn't feel as confident. So it's really interesting that there was a key reflection about them being users of digital technology and then actually creators. So what does that mean to the smart cities if you have a population that doesn't feel confident in using some of the smart tools? There was critical engagement missing in the urban realm. People weren't entirely sure about how to engage, what urban technologies are. But there were a lot of similarities, a lot of priorities such as health, safety, education, which are all kind of missing from a lot of smart city models. What top priority for that generation? Also sustainability and post-antropocentric models. So how do we engage different parts of animals and falcon and so on in the way that we plan the city? So it was really interesting to see how many new nuances there were and how teenagers were really able to understand that there is a shift in the way that we plan our cities and how that shift is actually being controlled, how that shift is being channeled in funding and really kind of able to advise on that. I think that was quite surprising for me that there was a lot of nuance. A lot of people spoke about policies, especially the UK mixed communities and things like that came up and also talking about post-capitalist models as well, which was really interesting. Of course, and I would like to follow on that. I'm curious about now about the policy impacts because, well, there are teenagers as you said. And because there's a geographical diversity, as you indicated, how do you see the policy makers or other actors using research like this to inform, to shape policies related to urban planning and development of smart cities? Yeah, so I think, I mean, there is a big myth that teenagers are not hard to connect to and to kind of engage. That's not true. If you actually go and ask them, it's quite easy. So I think one of the bits is actually when you start planning a process, think about who do you actually engage, how do you actually engage them? I think also for an individual level, there could be more critical engagement with the planning of the cities. So when a city vision gets announced, do people actually engage with that? And on an educational level, the young people get thought about that. And I think for planners, I think when you actually start defining a project, that should be a demographic that you should be thinking about, okay, how do we include that? But I think there was a bigger issue as well. And we talked about the smart city domain that a lot of smart city visions don't necessarily rest with the planning and the urban planning departments. Quite often it's economists or tech departments that are actually dealing with the smart city planning, which even though it has a spatial element, doesn't necessarily kind of correlate with the planner. So I think there is another bigger question which maybe urban planning has some of those answers and it has done some of that engagement in the past, but we really need to be reaching beyond those silos and really be saying, what actually if you're gonna be doing a future city vision which is going to impact spatially, we should be talking to people that live in the area. So I think it could be a nice wake-up call and also a nice cross-section to kind of start a conversation maybe with your colleagues in a different department or so on. Yeah. Of course, it's so a bigger stage for urban planning and also teenagers as you're valuable. So their voices is more valuable than what people would expect. And based on this, I'm interested in the possibilities. So you touched upon this a bit. I'm interested in the possibilities that your research creates for future research. So in your opinion, what are now some promising avenues for further study in this field? How can, as you said, researchers and planners listening to this episode have a further understanding of youth engagement in smart city planning? So youth engagement as a whole in urban planning is on the research topic. So there is plenty there to kind of dig into. I think in the small city planning field, there is a lot to think about the digital tools that actually could be used. I think there isn't a lot of funding and a lot of research going into how do we actually create that interface between citizens and the smart city or whatever the smart city takes shape as. So there is opportunity there. There is opportunity as well to really kind of do a full blown cross national research beyond just three contexts to understand if the values are actually overlapping because in my research, the trends were very, very similar even though the context were very, very different. So there is some generational kind of alignment around what the priorities are at that age. So that would be something interesting to look at. And also after COVID, I mean, my research was impacted by COVID. So after COVID, there is a lot to discuss about how health is actually kind of risen of the priority, especially with young people. So it's really, really interesting to think a bit about, okay, all those visions that we developed about smart cities before COVID are they still serving the same population and how we're going ahead with it? And I think also on the climate side, a lot of the young people are very, very skeptical about whether smart cities are the answer because they're saying, okay, that's fine, but it's still creating new emissions is still kind of dealing with that presumption of growth. So actually that was, I was really surprised about that. But there is research there to realign some of those visions and to really think critically how we're testing them. So whenever the next crisis comes, we're not necessarily having to scratch everything, but there are better frameworks, yeah. Of course, yeah. And so with so many to explore still, research and not research, are there any additional materials that for our listeners would be interested in delving deeper into this topic? Yeah, I mean, I think one of the bits obviously is the special issue of the journal because this is part of a special issue on smart cities and there is actually, I was reading some of the other papers and there's a really, really nice rounded view of what smart city literature is at the moment. We published at Birmingham City University some podcasts called Driver of Change and one of them is on youth inclusion. So that might be something accessible for people to listen to. And similarly, there is a podcast, Green Thinking on the BBC Three, which I was contributing to, which is about youth and activism. So if people are interested on that, that would be another angle to hear about. And maybe the thought and education trust, that's another charity in the UK, which has been collating a lot of planners, architects and other people engaging with young people and sort of collating with a bit of a database. So that might be an interesting place for people to go and look and understand how they can engage young people in their own work, whether they're doing smart city planning or just urban planning more generally. Okay, that's very good. And if you are watching, for those who are watching this episode on the Let's Talk About Urban Planning websites, below you can find the recommended materials that Simeon just got us, including, of course, the thematic issues of some self-promotion, both from our board and Simeon. So all the materials are below the video of this episode. Simeon, let's wrap this episode up. What would you say is the key punchline or the main takeaway from today's conversation? So in a nutshell, what should all listeners remember and consider when it comes to involving young people in the planning of future cities? I've worked with young people for the last 12 years and obviously I've been a young person before. So one thing which I always think, and it comes very strong from the paper, is young people are not a homogenous group. Teenagers are not a homogenous group. There is as much nuance and as much variety and complexity in that group as in any other. And they are also capable of generating variety and complexity in a lot of nuanced opinions, which actually quite often are quite informed because with the knowledge economy, people are out there learning new information from anywhere. So it doesn't matter what age they are, if they really want to learn something, they go and do it. So that's the one thing I would say, just shift your perceptions of teenagers. Actually imagine them as a more complex and nuanced group and go and actually discuss some of those issues with them. That's the main takeaway. Sure, inspiring and promising. Simeon, it was a pleasure. Thank you very much. For our watchers, if you are watching us on YouTube, you can find all the resources. As I said before, all the materials have this conversation on the Let's Talk About Urban Planning website. And you can also listen to this episode, whatever you get your podcast.


What is going on everybody? My name is Alex Freeberg. Thank you so much for joining me. Today we are talking about the top 10 Coursera courses that you can take to become a data analyst. Now there are so many courses on Coursera, so many courses that you can take to learn SQL, Python, Excel, Tableau, all these skills. Which are the ones you should take? Which are the ones that you should be focusing on to become a data analyst the fastest? I tried to come out this from the perspective of you're only using Coursera. You're not using Udacity, edX, Udemy, any of those things. You only want to be sticking on the Coursera platform. I have taken so many courses on Coursera. I literally went through all the ones that I had taken and kind of filtered and picked out the ones that I remember were the best. And so today I'm going to show you the top 10 courses on Coursera that I recommend taking. I'm going to go through each one individually. I'm going to give you a really brief introduction of the course and what I liked about it. And I'm not going to go super in depth because I could take hours going through that. And so I'm going to take you through these 10 courses and they're going to be in order of the place that I would actually take them. So the very first one that I show you is the one that I would take first all the way to the very end. And I'll talk about that throughout the video. With that being said, let's jump into it with our very first course. The very first course that I recommend is this databases in SQL for data science. I think it is a fantastic course. And if you know anything about my channel is that I love SQL. I highly recommend you learn SQL as one of the first things that you learn to become a data analyst. So let's look at some of the things that you're going to learn and go over in this course. So there are four sections to this course. The first one is introduction to databases and basic SQL. Basically goes over relational databases and the select from where group by order by those kind of things. And then you're going to go into advanced SQL, which isn't super advanced, but it goes into joins and sub queries. So it definitely is things that you need to know. The next thing is accessing databases using Python. I personally love this section the most because I liked learning how Python could interact with SQL and how those two could work together. So it was really, really cool. The next section is the course assignment and the course assignment here I don't think is extremely difficult, but it is very good for beginners who are trying to figure things out and work through problems. But if you already really know SQL, I wouldn't think this is super challenging. This is going to be the only SQL course that I recommend in Coursera. And I took a few other ones and I just didn't like them as much as this one. And I will say that if you are a beginner and if you're trying to learn the basics, this will teach you everything you need to know and it has quizzes along the way. So you can really test your skills. The second course that I recommend is this introduction to data science specialization. Now I know I'm a data analyst channel, but trust me, there's a lot of overlap between data science and data analyst. And in this course, I really did learn a ton about how data science work, the methodology behind it. So let's look at some of the things you're going to learn in this specialization. The first course is what is data science? The second course is tools for data science, which I really liked because I did not know a lot of tools or what tools were actually used for data science or data analysis. The third course is data science methodology. And I really liked this course because they actually looked at the data and kind of walked you through how to get a solution from the data, which is really, really important. And then the fourth course is the databases in SQL for data science. Now, if you remember, the very first one that I recommended was this databases in SQL for data science. You can take this as a standalone course, or you can take it in the actual specialization. I recommend if you were just wanting to learn SQL skills that you just take this course by itself because it is cheaper. But if you were wanting to learn all those other things that I just talked about, I'd recommend taking the specialization. I originally did the specialization and took all those courses, but the SQL one definitely stood out to me as one that you could definitely take as a standalone course. The third course that I'm going to recommend is this data visualization with Tableau specialization. Now, right after you learn SQL, I highly recommend you learning some type of data visualization tool like Power Be High or Tableau. On Coursera, the best data visualization course that you can take is this Tableau specialization, and I highly recommend it. So let's take a look at some of the things that you're going to learn in this specialization. In the first course, you're going to learn the fundamentals of visualization with Tableau. In the second course, the essential design principles for Tableau. The third course is the visual analytics with Tableau. The fourth course, creating dashboards and storytelling with Tableau. And the fifth course is data visualization with Tableau project. It is basically taking you from the very start, the very basics, all the way to creating an entire project. I personally need to walk through a project to really understand all the concepts from start to finish. And so if you are wanting to learn Tableau, I highly recommend taking this specialization. The fourth course that I recommend is this introduction to data analysis using Excel. Excel is extremely important. So you really need to know how to use it. Let's look at some of the things that you'll learn in this course. The first section goes over the introduction to spreadsheets. The second section is going to go over spreadsheet functions to organize data. The third section is going to go over introduction to filtering pivot tables and charts. And the fourth section goes over advanced graphing and charting. Now, when I was walking through this, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on Excel. I thought I knew it really well. But as I was going through, I learned so many little tips as well as really big things that I just had no idea or had never used before. So if you know you're going to be using Excel, which I think the majority of people are going to be using Excel a lot, I highly recommend taking this course. Now, before I get into this next course, I wanted to say that the next three courses are all Python related. I don't think you need to take all these next three courses. I would just choose one that you think is the most interesting and run with that one. I think learning the basics of Python is a very valuable skill to have. So let's look at our fifth course, which is the Python for everybody specialization. If you do not know who Chuck is, he is a legend. He is amazing. He is just a very good teacher. Let's look at some of the things that you're going to learn in his specialization. The very first course is programming for everybody. The second course is Python data structures. The third course is using Python to access web data. The fourth course is using databases with Python. And the fifth course is the capstone project retrieving, processing and visualizing data with Python. This is a phenomenal, and let me repeat this, phenomenal specialization. And I personally learned an extreme amount, even from just the very first course, which I just enrolled in for free and took that and then realized it was incredible and he was a fantastic teacher and ended up taking the entire thing. So if you were looking to learn Python and you don't know where to start, this is the course that I would recommend for you to take on first. Our sixth course is another Python one is the crash course on Python, a really good one by Google. It starts off very simple and is a very good introductory course and goes through all the little pieces of Python that you should know about and how to use them. So let's look at some of the things that you'll learn in this course. The very first section is Hello Python, which just gives you an introduction to what Python is and how it's used. The second section is the basic Python syntax. The third section is loops. The fourth section is strings lists and dictionaries. The fifth section, which I think I learned the most from because object oriented programming is extremely difficult or at least for me to really understand and conceptualize. And this section did a really good job at explaining it. So I understood a ton better after that. I think I recommend this course for people who have never done a programming language reform because it starts at a very basic level, takes you all the way up to where you at least feel comfortable doing the intermediate stuff. The seventh course that I recommend is data analysis with Python. Now for this one, I highly recommend you already know some Python because it does start out right at the beginning already expecting you to know some. The other courses were more introductory. Here's what Python is. This one is very specific for data analysis and it goes very in depth into how to actually do the entire process. So let's look at kind of the things that you'll learn in this course. The first section is importing datasets. The second section is data wrangling. The third section is exploratory data analysis. The fourth section is model development. The fifth section is model evaluation. The sixth section is the final assignment. And the seventh section is an IBM digital badge you can put on your LinkedIn if you want to. Now after you've learned SQL, Tableau, Excel and Python, a very valuable skill to learn is a cloud platform. And the two most popular ones right now are probably AWS and Azure. I'm going to show you two courses that I took that got me comfortable in both platforms so I at least felt like I could use the platform if I needed to. With that being said, the eighth course is the AWS Fundamentals Specialization. The first course that you're going to go through in this specialization is the Going Cloud Native. The second course is addressing security risk. The third course is migrating to the cloud. And the fourth course is building serverless applications. But trust me, this is the first course that I ever took on cloud platforms and I understood everything in here as I walked through it. And I feel like I knew it a lot better after I took this course. The ninth course that I recommend is getting started with Azure. I use Azure at work every single day and I had absolutely no idea how to use it when I first started. This is the course that I actually took when I was trying to learn the basics of Azure. Some of the things that you're going to learn in this course are navigating Azure tools and services, deploying virtual machines, Azure network security, deploying an Azure network, firewall configurations and resource groups, and lastly, storage. Although you may only use a handful of the tools that are in Azure for your actual analysis, it is very good to understand how Azure actually works. Now, a lot of this does not sound like anything related to data analytics. And you're kind of right because a lot of this is managed by DBAs or data architects or data engineers. But I will say that understanding it, knowing it and being able to work in it is extremely important. The tenth and the last course that I recommend is data analysis and presentation skills, the PWC approach specialization. I took this course right before I started my current job. It was very helpful in understanding how to actually help present my analysis. So let's go through the courses that you actually take in this specialization. The first course is data driven decision making. The second course is problem solving with Excel. The third course is data visualization with advanced Excel. The fourth course is effective business presentations with PowerPoint. And the fifth course is data analysis and presentation skills, the PWC approach final project. This course did a phenomenal job in walking through the process of actually getting your analysis and then showing you how to present them and how people at PWC actually present their analysis. If you were someone like me who's not super confident in presenting their analysis, I highly recommend taking this course. So those are my top 10 courses. Again, if you did not catch it at the beginning, I highly recommend taking the SQL course, then the Tableau course, then the Excel, then one of the Python courses. And then if you're up for it, taking one of the cloud platform courses and the presentation course. If I were only able to give you 10 courses from Coursera to help you become a data analyst without using any other platform, these are the 10 courses that I would recommend. So I hope that this video has been helpful. Thank you guys so much for watching. I really appreciate it. If you liked this video, be sure to like and subscribe below and I'll see you in the next video.