It's a very popular song that, Lee. I don't really like it myself. Why not? I don't know, it's a bit... Do you know what the most recognised song in the entire English language is? Love it, Happy Birthday. Yay! It is, yeah. Do you know who's birthday? Do you know who's birthday it is? There's a neat tab. Is it not your birthday today? It is my birthday today. Thanks very much for... Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday Noah. It's not for that, daddy. I don't like the focus on myself, and we can't like yourself. Do you know what I like? It's your birthday. It is nice. And it's very smart. I dressed up for today. Someone's getting an invoice. Because I thought somebody would like to take a picture. Someone's getting an invoice. Come here and don't listen to me. I thought somebody would want to take a picture of me today, but not... So how do you feel? Not... I feel older. I feel like every other day, it's just another day. But you're very healthy. You're fit. You've got a positive mental attitude. Do you say that? But do you say, well, should we all have... Do you know what I mean?  No. Well, you're all right. I'm all right. I'm doing good. The wars were great on Sunday night, weren't they? They were fantastic. We couldn't talk about them. I'm glad I went on before you. Look, she's late to the party there now. Look, me... Look, I... Greg, let me tell you, I bought the... Did you ever buy clothes right? So photo shoot takes place now here. Did you ever buy clothes that you never wear, right? I never... This is the first time I wore these trousers. And I got a... I got a shirt in a charity shop for eight euros, right? This is...  We're going to have to pull away from that one. Pull away from that one. It's a bit early in the... It's a bit early in the morning for that one. I don't know. But of course... The awards were fantastic. I have to say that.  But you do a lot of it. But it was a very sensible thing.  And you got the crowd going. And I was like...  Cook is good weather. It's common. It's nine o'clock. We're going to be late for news. But no, it was good night. Dolores Dunleavy says happy birthday, Lee. Paul McGuire, happy birthday, Lee. Fivers are accepted. No? Can I give him out my number? So you're with people every single morning. So you say happy birthday to an awful lot of people. So you've got the triple whammy. You've got Ash Wednesdays and no meet. I do, yeah. That's if you subscribe to that, of course. Yeah. You've got St Valentine's Day. Yes. And your birthday. Yeah. So it's good. It's all very exciting. So what are you going to do? Nothing. Nothing. I do the normal stuff. I'm going to the gym now, towards the 10. A detail over there, she's celebrating her birthday today, too. Very good. Happy birthday, Anita. Come here. You have a romantic thing going on in your program. That's why I played lovingly. I don't know what it is, though. I don't look at the running order. I want a surprise. But we're speaking to someone about who was on first dates. Yeah. Caroline? That's going to be good, right? First dates, okay. Yeah. Which is kind of ironic, because you kind of tried everything when you go on first dates, haven't you? Really? Yeah. I was never no good at dating. I was never, I was never no good at telling somebody. You don't think that boy would talk away, and I couldn't say to them that I liked him? Yeah. I wouldn't have the nerve, or I couldn't, do you know how you chat to somebody? I couldn't chat to somebody that I really liked. Why not? I could chat to somebody I didn't like, but somebody I kind of had a notion of, I couldn't. Oh. Well, surely he did all right. He did all right, surely. You know what I mean? Every saucepan has a lid, and you found your lid. Yeah. Found me air fryer. Yeah. Air fryer's great. Very good luck, right? You are kind of just being for so much treats today. It's just going to come left, right and centre. It's going to be so boring. If I don't get cake today, I'll be really disappointed. You built me up now. It's tough to get a cake for you, though. I know it's gluten-free, you see. All right. All right, good luck, right? You were lucky after with your gluten-free on Sunday, though. You can't complain too much. I got you. There was pancakes yesterday from me, and you're gluten-free. Well, there you are. Love is in the air. Exactly. All right, Lee. Have a good day. Take care of yourself. Merry Clinton. Happy birthday, Lee Gooch. Michael O'Sullivan says good morning. No happy birthday from Michael, though, sir. Ah, I still like him. Right. My little noon show is on the way, but we're a little bit late. But hey, it's to celebrate the great Lee Gooch's birthday. Isn't that all right? Three minutes past line. Let's get a news update, and it's over to Donna Marie Daherty. Thanks, Greg. Good morning. Letter Kenny Milford, Municipal District, has been told there could have been a tragedy on the M13 close to the school at Lurgy Brack after a car aqua plant on surface water. Councillor Donald Coyle told a meeting this week that on heavy rain, water flows down the hill from the vicinity towards the junction at Dromini, and he wants Transport Infrastructure Ireland to install a pipe in the area. He says the council has to go out and deploy sandbags to divert the water, but a more long-term solution is needed. Councillor Coyle says the recent incident on the road is a clear indication of the urgency of the situation. I'm not very near Miss yet. Now, this is a hundred-kilometer national primary road that we're talking about. And when there's any heavy rain at all, persistent rain, it's not just a stream of water. There's nearly like a river running down the road and then it runs across the road. And back about three weeks ago, we got a phone call to say that the car had aqua plant on the road, went across the road, and looking enough, there was nobody coming. Councillor Mary Trezgalher has announced she will not seek re-election. The Glentys councillor said in a statement that it's been an honour to serve the people of the county since 2007. She added it's the right time for someone else to come forward and represent the interests of the workers and families in Donegal. She succeeded Donegal deputy pierce Dordi on the council and he says she'll be greatly missed. Chair of the Aroctus media committee says it will examine whether to compel the former director general of RTE to appear before the committee. Dee Forbes won't appear as part of the RTE delegation before the committee today, where it will discuss the report into Toys show the musical. Miss Forbes has yet to take questions from either media committee or the public accounts committee to date citing illness. However, media committee chair Need Smith says many of those behind the musical have questions to answer. Very conscious that today's deliberation is about Toys show the musical and the key people whose brain child and vanity project this became are not in the room, which seems a bit of a farce. Some have given personal reasons.  It's certainly something we'll consider into the future, into the very near future about compelability but to water outage notices have been issued this morning in Donegal due to repairs to a burst water main works in ran and surrounding areas are scheduled to take place until six o'clock this evening. Meanwhile, those around Ballant Head will take place until three o'clock. Ishka Aaron recommends you allow two to three hours after the estimated restoration time for your supply to fully return. Looking out to weather cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle this morning, the rain will clear away for a time this afternoon with some hazy sunshine developing with highs of 11 to 13 degrees in a southerly breeze. That's all for now from Highland Radio and News back again at 10 o'clock. After a long, hard day, treat yourself to something luxurious. Your drive home. The sleek new Nissan Xtrail has a dreamy, luxurious interior and is now available with e-power. Nissan's unique hybrid driving system that lets you experience the pleasure of electric driving without the need to plug in and it's available in five or seven seats and even the school run feels like a spa break. The all-new Nissan Xtrail with e-power drive it to believe it. Book your test drive today at your local Nissan dealer. Nissan, innovation that excites. And now it's time for the talk of the North West, The Nine Till Noon Show with Greg Hughes on Highland Radio. Hello and a very good morning to you, seven minutes past nine Wednesday, the 14th of February. You're very welcome along to The Nine Till Noon Show. We have a busy day and we have a busy show for you as always, lots of features, lots of things to keep you informed and entertained whilst we're on the birthday train too though. Big happy birthday to another important member of staff here, Canis Wilson. It was his birthday yesterday, not divulging his age. No, we didn't divulge Lee's so why should we? They're both young fellas. But another big happy birthday to Canis Wilson of course, works in production here and also very familiar to lots of you on a Saturday morning as well. Right, the lines are open for anything you want to talk about. Birthday requests are good too, you know, 086625,000 the WhatsApp and text you can send your voice notes to that number as well on WhatsApp or give us a call on 07491 25,000 or email comments at HighlandRadio.com and because of the day that's in it, it's St Valentine's Day, maybe you have a story you wish to share with us, a story of love, maybe you've been married for 50 years or 40 years or in this day in age 10 years is a bit of a milestone. What is the secret to your success? Maybe someone proposed to you in an imaginative way.  You can do it text, you can do it, come on, talk to me, whichever way you prefer to do it. You know, flowers are nice, chocolates are nice, don't know what guy, whatever, women get fellas, I don't know what happens there. I do, I just can't remember. That sounds like I'm saying I don't get stuff, that's not true either.  The point being if you've got a love story to share with us, a romantic proposal, whatever it might be please feel free to do so. A lot of people are single, so St Valentine's Day means different things for different people but if you're happy and you're in love, why not celebrate that too? Share it with us and what a way to spread love and romance to your special other by telling us the story of your success, how you met, how you got together, do you have an interesting story to share? Maybe you met each other 20 years ago and then bumped into each other and it was love again at first sight. We want to hear your beautiful love story, so send them into us 08 660 25000, 08 660 25000 or give us a call in 07491 25000 and if there's a particular you know, if something really catches our ears and eyes and our hearts maybe we can come up with something for you. Alright, okay, so that's part of what we want from you today we could call that sort of our off-topic text in if you wish. Talk to us about love and your love story. Okay, let's go to the newspapers this morning the star of Maureen Bradley continues to rise, the Finvala voice tells us that Balabafe's Maureen Bradley has struck a chord in the music world, earning her first accolade from Ticketmaster at just 17 years old, she's been named the Irish Rising Star in 1824, marking a significant milestone in her expanding career. Oh, and to the nationals, the Irish Times this morning, there has been a hardening of the Irish Government's criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza with Teacher Cleo Varadkar saying it's become blinded by rage and Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney suggesting it is behaving like a rogue state the rhetoric from Dublin comes amid fears that Israel will invade the southern Gaza city Rafa, where more than a million war refugees are holed up in temporary shelters and it's already been pretty much indiscriminately bombing that area and I'm sure it was no coincidence that some of those actions coincided with the Super Bowl where an awful lot of eyes in America were on that and elsewhere people were asleep and I do note and it's you know when we see what's going on and it's horrendous what is going on particularly well not particularly with civilians and you know children, the amount of children that have very sadly been killed and you know people try and find a way to protest it and a lot of people want to express their anger and I do note the thing going around in social media and it's well meant about boycotting the revision because Israel's in it but you know that's ages away and this is happening right now and between now and Israel, God only knows how many innocent civilians, women and children included will be wiped from the face of this earth in Israeli's actions so I don't know maybe I know people want something to do a way to express themselves but the Eurovision perhaps is part of it but certainly not what the totality of what people should be doing if they want to express their disgust with what's going on Egyptian officials reported some progressing talks held in Cairo on yesterday in an effort to reach a ceasefire of some of the 134 hostages captured during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 which was a horrendous act as well by the way but a breakthrough is still not imminent and quite interesting yesterday a big package of aid was OK'd it's a half way there in America for Ukraine, for Taiwan and also for Israel the toy store music I'm going to read this because it's on the front of all the papers I've kind of lost interest in it and I was flicking through the stations this morning and it came on and I switched over but anyway as I say it's not up for me to sort of editorialize what people are interested in and it seems to be the front of all the papers RTE's board is set to blame management at the broadcaster for withholding information about toy show the musical during another committee grilling today the board will also admit failing to ask questions about the debacle which cost the license fee pair the taxpayer 2.3 million and TDs will be told the board apologizes for the serious deficiencies in governance in RTE but the finger of blame will be firmly pointed at RTE management for the musical flop appearing at the Erachtas media committee RTE board chair Rajya Rali will refer to an investigation into the musical now I think ultimately whoever is there to hold management responsible has to take a fair deal of responsibility as well but anyway I don't think ignorance in this case is a defence. Those comments by Maria Walsh MEP Oldsdale and Pail I was off yesterday and the day before and thanks to Donald of course as always expertly sitting in and covering but they got a lot of traction they're still in the papers today Miho Martin as I say this is in the mail Miho Martin yesterday defended his decision to appoint a man as his party's director of referendum saying FINA 4 was not going to exclude men from any form of deliberations in public life junior sports minister and Mied East T.D. Thomas Byrne has been given the role for the upcoming referendums the votes will be held on March 8 to amend Ireland's constitution the first is on whether the constitution should be altered to extend the definition of family beyond only those based on marriage to include durable relationships the second is on whether to delete a reference to the role and duties of women in the home and replace it with a new article placing an obligation on the state to strive to support the provision of care by families there have been some eyebrows raised within the party at Mr Byrne's appointment with FINA girls appointing Heather Humphries as its own director but I think you know at the end of the day I think men have a much to say in these issues in these issues as women so it's the best person for the job I hope at some point we move past debating things just purely based on on gender but anyway he goes on a little in that article to reject Maria Walsh's claims that FINA fall is male, pale and stale okay the children's hospital getting a lot of coverage as well this on this morning the government won't be handing over any more money for the new national children's hospital the T Shockers claimed but the new came after the cabinet agreed another 500 million euro boost to bring the total bill up to 2.24 billion the cost of the national children's hospital in Dublin has tripled since the plan was first published the opening of the hospital has also been delayed several times with Leo Vradkar previously claiming as health minister it would be open by 2020 but it might be open next year and it's an awful lot of money 2.24 billion but then again awful lot of money in this country bandied around on different things some of it you know very important some of it not so much it's an incredible overspend it is ridiculous some might argue the hospital is in the wrong place but if it is a state of the art hospital that's going to save children's lives and I'm sure very sadly from Donagall and from all over the country parents and guardians will end up at that facility praying that their children you know come through whatever illnesses they may have if it's tooled up to give them the best opportunity to save young people's lives 2.24 billion a lot of money and I'm not in any way defending it but on a scale of one to five things you might be angry that two or three billion euros been spent on one that sort of saves children's lives is it not the worst I don't know it's up to you guys I'm just saying RTE has refused to save the word Satan is hidden in Ireland's Eurovision song contest entry after Bambi thugs suggested that there were concealed occult messages in the track this is in the start today the non-binary performer which is an interesting clarification because I don't think really it's would be normal to refer to someone's gender in an article but here we are anyway the non-binary performer who has said their life goal is to make everybody leave all other religions and join witchcraft was chosen to represent us at the competition with their song doomsday blue Bambi thug referred to the song in an interview with tmrw magazine last year and talked about speaking in tongues under the beat speaking backwards and hiding spells using occult language a section of the Eurovision song features a second voice appearing to say Satan repeatedly when played backwards okay is that enough to see disqualified not by Europe but by us or do people really care about that I did know to listen to some of a Galway pre-speaking a few days ago very passionately about it he wasn't happy at all at all and he says what did he say the country's gone to the dogs does that bother you have you a view 08, 6, 60, 25,000 the Irish mirror T-Sharkly overad car persecution fame of desperation as they call for the TV license fee to be abolished and those who haven't paid the fee to be granted an amnesty the motion from the opposition which was debated in the door last night called for direct extracurf funding to be introduced for the national broadcaster and other forms of public service broadcasting speaking on his way into cabinet yesterday morning the T-Shark said he profoundly disagreed with the proposal but you know like is it worth the controversy I wonder because I mean it's not that long ago that the government was dishing out you know hundreds of millions of euros for electricity for people you know four hundred and sixty odd million was given to people to help pay with their electricity is it really worth all this debate for a hundred and fifty million annually from the government rather than all the agro of trying to claw it in catch people who evade it bring people to court who don't pay it you know I mean as I say there's been big bills paid by the government before why not take that one on and put it to bed once and for all it's getting kind of boring I think the whole conversation now anyway 086625 thousand watts apps and text if you want to watch the program if that suits you you can watch us on your big screen your smart TV or your fire stick or Android Google TV go to the Highland go to the YouTube app or go to Highland Radio Ireland you can watch us there as many of you do every day really appreciate it a million live minutes viewed every single month of this show so we really appreciate your support you can watch us to on Facebook Highland Hub, Highland News and Sport and on X Highland Radio right here let us take a break and we're going to be back with business use a little earlier than usual this morning but Chris is going to be joining us in just a few moments the way you eat a cream egg says everything about you if you eat yours with a teaspoon that means you like things just so you turn up the TV in even numbers you pronounce chorizo chorizo and if you find a shirt you like you buy 10 search cream egg test to find out who you really are Cadbury cream egg how do you eat yours need a new mattress why not visit our sleep center on the first floor with a large range of quality beds and mattresses in stock and ready for collection or delivery relax in our coffee shop serving hot lunches daily open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 30 p.m. Patterson's kitchens and interiors the hall effort are you ready to elevate your driving experience look no further than iMotors your only Nissan dealership in the Northwest the Nissan X-Trail has been crowned large SUV of the year that's right it's not just an SUV it's an award-winning experience on wheels available in four-wheel drive and a seven-seater visit us today at iMotors.ie to find out more house to home bridge end Donegal our modest front door opens onto two floors of Irish made furniture suites, beds, mattresses dining and occasional furniture into our showroom and see how we can transform your house into a home house to home furniture, flooring slide robes and interiors bridge end Donegal Donegal County Council is inviting applications for funding under the regional festivals and participative events program 2024 the closing date is the 23rd of February program guidelines and application form can be accessed on the Donegal County Council website and social media or by phoning 074-91539 00 Business matters in association with the faculty of business at ATU Donegal for a career in financial governance consider the level 9 MA in governance and IT in financial services call 9186206 or email donaldonhanigan at atu.ie today OK it is a little earlier than usual business matters with Chris Ashmore good morning to you Chris we're going to get a bit of business news off you and look forward to the podcast which is live right now how are you keeping very good Greg right yo so let's see a report out this week about global organic milk yes this is a report it's about the global organic milk market it's estimated to increase by about 10% between now and 2030 now this latest report mentions a number of major players in the market and one of the companies mentioned is the Donegal Investment Group which is listed on the Irish stock exchange so good news for them it shows there in a market that is expanding and the report notes that growing consumer awareness about health environmental sustainability and animal welfare is driving the demand for organic milk all right another report giving is it a positive outlook for the economy this year with the Ernst & Young it's called the Economic Eye Report forecasting Irish GDP to rise by 2.2% in this year now interesting it just notes comparing Ireland with other economies we're actually going quite well the Euro Area forecasts to grow 0.9% the UK 0.9% United States 2.1 so we're above all of them and inflation for the year the forecast there is 3% and 2% next year so on a downward trend for inflation so that's good yeah nearest neighbours good news on their inflation numbers today they're expecting it to grow up but static at 4% which is good news I suppose for the British right Donegal ETB what if they got coming up yeah Donegal ETB they have a big further education and training fair which takes place at the end of the month there's an open hotel in Lederkenny on Wednesday February 28th it's aimed at school leavers and employers and then on Thursday the 29th geared towards those seeking education and employment opportunities and you know this is an appropriate cue for our first clip from the business matters programme this week there are so many courses out there Greg now Dervilla Kelly she's the Enterprise Engagement Officer with the Donegal Enterprise and Training Board and it's only when you actually talk to her you realise just how much is going on and significantly there are an awful lot of courses out there that are fully funded so if a company is sending somebody out the company is not going to be out any money they're also very keen to talk with industry and businesses to see what the latest trends are where the demand is so it's all evolving adapting to current needs and she has explained to me during the programme just what is possible. We listen and respond to the needs of businesses I think it's really important to listen to what people want and need around up skilling and we skill in and I suppose what we want to do is add value to the workplace to businesses and to individuals because we want to help them advance in their careers and stretch and grow so this training could be anything from digital skills to Microsoft skills to leadership project management and we also offer certified training from levels one to six on the National Qualifications Framework I suppose the beauty of it all is it's fully funded but the cornerstone and this is really important is that employees are released during paid working time. And are you the second guest on the pod this week? Yes, I'm a man you're very familiar with, Sean Quinn, head of sales here at Highland Radio. We were speaking about the hospitality awards which were held last Sunday in Jackson's Hotel. Huge number of nominations, a great night and I think it'll be a date in the calendar going forward every year. It was amazing Chris. We did all the hard work pre-Christmas and it definitely paid off because we got over 13 and a half thousand nominations which was phenomenal but what I was most impressed about was the diversity of it. It went right across the county. I don't think there was any part of Donegal that wasn't nominated so it also was good for Highland Radio as a brand because it showed what the strength and depth of where we go and where people listen. So we had it in Jackson's Hotel and we had 440 in the room for the evening and that was a challenge for Jackson's as well because it was their peers that were in the room but they got it right. They delivered above my expectations which I was delighted at and I think if you saw people today or yesterday who were at the awards, I think they'll all say it was a brilliant night and we had 47 winners in the room but to me there was 440 winners in the room because everybody that was nominated they're there for a reason because their customers recognise the quality and service that they provide on a daily basis. Yeah it was a good fun night no doubt about that and anything that gets 400-500 people out on a Sunday night and everyone seemed to have a great night it's pretty impressive too but it's a testament to the quality of the product that we in this county produce like there are businesses most of the businesses in there they could have won every award and you couldn't have said well that couldn't be that hotel of the year and that hotel of the year you know what I mean but as it turned out the decision and there were some big winners on the night but any of our fantastic hotels, restaurants or bars could have cleaned the boards and you could have made a strong argument for it and I think that's really as I say a testament to the great businesses that we have in this county and the work that they do and the economy, supporting the economy Chris. So there's that and so much more besides coming up on the Business Matters podcast it's live right about now on HighlandRadio.com and you can stream it there download it it's also on Spotify and iTunes and it's played out live in Sunday Chris. That's right after these six o'clock news and if you want to contact me the email address is businessmattersathighlandradio.com Radio thanks Chris back with our next guest after these Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook and at highlandradio.com The Ninetal Noon Show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union Digital Loans now available online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account We're driving the Citroen C4X on Dublin's most speed bumped road as voted by an online poll to test Citroen's progressive hydraulic cushion suspension The music is coming from a vinyl record playing on a record player set up in the backseat Here comes the speed bump Let's see if this record skips Perfect! Without a scratch Book a test glide in the Citroen today Visit Citroen.ie Well Grace, how are you today? I'm good, I've just been down to the mid to measure fireplaces showroom in Chrysla They have an incredible selection of over 40 colours for kitchen work tops and guess what? For a limited time they're offering a 40% discount on any electric fire when you purchase a work top there 40%? That's an amazing deal Grace Absolutely and trust me If the loan doesn't sway you they're a huge selection of fireplaces stoves, wood pellet burners, beams and stone cladding certainly well Contact mate to measure fireplaces Chrysla on 074 91 38 365 on Facebook, Instagram and on mtmfireplaces.ie The Lotto Jackpot is an estimated 3.5 million euro Play responsibly in store and store The National Lottery It could be you Discover comfort with iHeating and Cooling Your trusted heat pump engineers and Mitsubishi approved service providers in Donegal We design, install and maintain cutting edge heating systems Build a lasting relationship with us through annual service and comprehensive after sales support Contact us for a free consultation on low cost low carbon heating solutions Visit a suitcase Suit a suitcase like me What's suitable for a beautiful piece of luggage like me Shannon Airport knows precisely what exactly suits me nicely So find out concisely at Shannon Airport.ie Affordable parking, easy access seamless security and dream holiday destinations like Lanzarote, Paris and New York for a hassle free airport experience for you and your suitcase Start your dream holiday at Shannon Airport.ie Now a caller says Hi, the RTE scandal continues alongside the Children Hospital No accountability. Why have all these investigations if no one gets punished Surely the people responsible in RTE should not get paid with massive pensions I want to see people held to account to regain my trust OK, well that's someone argue you're in the wrong country for that a few people upset that 800,000 euro plus was spent so how is this going to be dealt with? Greg, why would the government spend over 800,000 euro of Irish taxpayers money to bring pets over from Ukraine? The mind boggles I remember when it was first mooted that pets were coming in or would be allowed to be brought here and obviously once the figure was added subsequently that's when people seemed upset about it but there wasn't much talk about it at the time Parking at Kilmachrenner National School At Kilmachrenner National School there are double yellow lines in front of the schools so you can't park any parking at the school is used by staff there's no word of ramps or lollipop people the speed of the cars is terrible the double yellow lines were only put in yesterday what are parents to do I think I caught Donald reading that message out yesterday if you have a view on that let us know Alright we're going to be joined very shortly by Peter Burke, Minister of State with responsibility for EU affairs and defence indeed I think he can join us now are you there? Peter, good morning to you Good morning and good morning to your listeners Thanks so much for joining us we're talking about an invitation to voluntary organisations and civil society groups, educational bodies and local authorities an invite to apply for funding talk to us about this strand of funding how much is available Yeah this is for communicating Europe which the essence is trying to really show younger students and indeed people that are part of civic society groups the value of Europe and what Ireland's place is in it and what we can get out of being European citizens and last year we had a very strong take up in about €350,000 for a series of projects podcasts a lot of students had displays and galleries over that applied for that were successful so we're doing the same thing again this year about €200,000 for voluntary groups and civil society groups and €150,000 for local authorities to apply for to really get to the essence in a very important year which is the 20th anniversary of enlargement when 10 countries come into the EU so it's a very important initiative and hopefully in the year that we have European elections upcoming we'll give people a chance to really see what the value of European citizenship is I think sometimes the government can be at some worst and I mean in relation to this and if you bear with me I'll try and explain because you know I would speak to and we'd speak to MEPs quite a lot and I know they do struggle to get airtime and coverage elsewhere but speaking to them privately both government and non-government what often happens is Europe gets blamed you know when things aren't going great and if there is a win in Europe often the national government takes credit for it do you take my point it's well intended I don't mean it to be argumentative or otherwise but minister I think that's part of the problem here the government tries to take the credit for the wins in Europe and blame the EU when things go wrong Well I am my job of a huge job of work really to point out the benefits of Europe and I would be very clear that the overwhelming benefits have been part of a population of half a billion marketplace an institution that transformed Ireland over the last 50 years but I think the critical thing is Greg some politicians often like to give Europe a kick with the hope that it never bites back because it really has transcended our relationship with civil society our infrastructure if you look in the last 50 years people on average are living a decade longer than they were when we joined the EU we have the single market which transformed our economy and as you well know the infrastructure and the common agricultural policy has touched every corner of as well as cohesion which has been a significant game changer in terms of EU funds so it has really made so much for Ireland and has guaranteed peace in Europe and that's amazing that a transnational body which each of those 27 democracies keep drawing identity but yet together and stand together on certain key issues like trade like trying to get a common view on so many of the geopolitical issues that face the world but you know all the politicians giving out either about the government or about Europe in general and that's just unfortunately common ordinary day of politics and will happen but I have a job to really highlight the benefits of Europe and we have to try and keep doing that I know but do you would you take the point that maybe sometimes everyone needs to stay on message in that regard absolutely and I think that European Union elections now for coming this year will be a key point in that relationship that people when they're looking at candidates you know it's important that candidates really share European values that whole value that we're stronger to get together that we're more united when we stand strong on you know major issues obviously everyone's going to have disagreements on you know policy issues and that's normal that's healthy that's a democracy and you see across Europe how governments change and viewpoints change but at the end of the day this is a peace project that comes together joins nations and like we had during COVID when we could procure a vaccine in record time you know if we were on our own as a small island with five million people we'd never be able to have that opportunity to join collective nations and procure that vaccine quickly and outside of COVID as well when we could get huge significant funding at lower cost rates when the government could put all our businesses into life support during COVID then take out the jump leads and get them going again when the economy took off like a rocket. Europe plays a central role of that and European leaders try and ensure the citizens' lives are improving but absolutely Greg there are always going to be problems I think we can never deny that. Yeah of course and you would also be conscious that there's often a greater bit of work to be done in the north west where there are many within the farming and fishing industries that wouldn't have a great deal of time for the EU but that's the other side of it. 350,000 Euro, 200,000 Euro for community and voluntary organisations, 150 grand for local government projects is this nationwide Peter? Absolutely it is and we expect a good take up and there has been over the last few years that this initiative has been going and it's great to see school children especially Greg in primary schools we had so many primary schools that are now involved in the blue star initiative which really opens up young people's minds about Europe and their places European citizens but there have been lovely projects that have come through and visits that have been intertwined with that to either the doll or Department of Foreign Affairs that we can organise as well so we're really out there open for students that want to get their ideas together it's lovely to see primary school kids with huge ideas about Europe and especially you can have that place for voluntary groups as well that have ideas or do want to do a showcase or a catalogue or a history of like we had with 50 years anniversary of being members of the European Union there's some great projects that really took a snapshot of photos that characterised how Ireland transformed over those 50 years so all those type of projects are welcome. Yeah and it was quite interesting actually because there was a debate amongst teenagers in Donegal towards the end of last year about Europe and the future of Europe and what Europe means to you and it was all about encouraging them to sort of care about Europe and understand what they're doing but some of the amazing arguments that were made by these amazing young people 16 and 17 year olds was I can't vote in the upcoming elections so I can't engage I don't feel I can engage because it's not really for me which as I say it was a really really strong argument that was made there of 16, 17 year olds being able to vote in EU elections going forward Well that would have to be a government decision But you have an opinion there What's your opinion? I wouldn't be 100% committed to reducing it it's a very difficult call I know there's a strong case that's been made before reduced it down to as far as 16 I think that might be slightly low 17 potentially I could concur with but I do think that when you see young people that are placed in Europe those young people now can have an access to free travel right across 27 countries that therefore there's 50 years ago could never have imagined that have to get visas they can have the same currency in the majority of those countries when they qualify be it an apprenticeship or a degree or whatever method of qualifications that's going to be recognized right around the 27 states under the qualifications directives so the opportunities that those people you refer to have by being a European citizen is incredible it's you know no resemblance of what it was 50 years ago young people need to realize this that they're in the land of opportunity by being part of the European Union by their EU membership and their citizenship and what that means for them How do people apply minister or groups or individuals how do they apply to our website there's a link on the DFA website to DFA website to share yourself that is minister of state with responsibility for EU affairs and defence minister Peter Burke that's a funding of 350,000 euro hey make an application why not and go to the DFA website there's a link there 350k will spread quite thinly across the country though I thought that might have been specific for the north west but anyway there it is righty oh just before we take a break we got sent a poem in case you forgot how dare you if you've got someone special in your life or maybe you celebrate being single want to hear from you too maybe today is a great day you go suckers I'm on my own here I can do whatever I like I don't have to run it past anyone I don't can just do whatever I like so maybe for a lot of people Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate your singleness and your contentment in that maybe you're in a throuple oh wait 60, 60, 25,000 the whatsapp and text number do you want to hear your love stories okay and maybe we'll come up with a prize for the best love story out there if you've been together for a long time what's the secret of your success maybe you met in an interesting way whatever it might be let us know oh wait 60, 60, 25,000 now just a quick mention of our competition we are running it in association with the Hollywood Hotel one lucky winner is going to win a cracking prize Kanis Wilson how's the details, stay right where you are plus full use of the blue river leisure center swimming pool and Canadian hot tub your spa experience includes a private session in the outdoor hot tub and sauna and a 60 minute spa treatment each inspired to give you a captivating night sleep beginning with a serene back massage followed by a beautifully soothing scalp and an arm massage to begin with a chance of winning this fantastic prize on Friday simply answer this question often called the city of love and is home to iconic sites such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral text or whatsapp your answer name and address to 086 60, 25,000 OK we're joined on the programme by councillor Maritore Gallagher of Sinn Fein who will not be seeking re-election in the upcoming local elections it has been announced today Maritore, thank you so much for joining us this morning morning Greg, how are you? I'm doing good, how are you? I am mixed emotions glad to have the news out though I suppose that's just the way that it is it's just the right time for me and my family at the minute to make this announcement and to give somebody who'll be coming in to fight an election in the area a chance to to make their own name Have you been mulling this one over for a while or maybe you have had your mind made up for a while? Yeah but yes I have my mind made up for quite a while over the last six months anyway so as I say it's been a long thing when you have it in your mind and you know people who have supported you over the years and you know your local community like it's been a long time to be a public representative I think at the time I was the youngest in the council when I went in and so I suppose I grew up on it and I have made great friendships and across the political divide I would hope a bit almost and yeah as I say the day of mixed emotions you know it's a day for looking forward but also a day of looking back all the people that were there supporting you over the years that are not there anymore and you know it's tough in one way but at the right decision for me at this stage What's your take away from your 17 years I mean there's an awful lot of highs an awful lot of lows it's especially as all of our lives change and we develop and our families grow and what have you done has it been a tough 17 years so what's your overriding emotions about it yeah I suppose I suppose every council or any public representatives have different things you know that they're interested in and I love the policy side of it I love developing policy and you know seeing that it work comes off it and I know how important it is and because that's actually what affects people's lives there's a lot of frustration because an awful lot of the rules and regulations and laws that you want to change are national so you're hamstrung in a way both as an elected representative but also the staff you were about Lifford for a long time yourself Greg what the atmosphere was like up there at times there were good days there were bad days but as I look back now there were an awful lot more good days there's been an awful lot of progress in the Nigel County council since the day I went into it and you know we have a power sharing agreement now that has lasted over 10 years and I think that it has transformed the council to be honest I think you've been involved in some of the you've been involved in conversations on this programme about the life in politics as a woman because it is different I think also you've been involved in the women in politics platform as well I mean all things considered do you feel it is a job you can recommend to a woman in this day and age with everything that's going on I mean since you started arguably the scrutiny the abuse it's gotten much worse like so is it a job that you could say to a fellow woman go ahead you love it yeah well the way I would describe it it's like any job there's good there's bad and there's the in between and those are challenges what I have found and I suppose it is the same whether you're in the county house at meetings or you're meeting people on the road or you know people are ringing you up or whatever those that shout the loudest are not the majority you know and people can be nasty and all of that they're all challenges but what you can deliver and how you can help people out like the community groups the voluntary sector you know the youth council there is so much positive in your life when you are in the job and sometimes the negative is elevated over what the actual positive is Greg so I suppose what I have tried to do over the last number of years because of the situation that we found ourselves in the council with the negativity and I try to concentrate on on that you know on the good stuff on the delivery and I think I think for any I actually believe I really believe that we need more women because I think that an awful lot of the the baggage or the I don't know the right word Greg to say to you but you don't have to choose the most you don't have to choose the most carefully maybe today as you might have any more yeah a lot of the animosity could be dealt with in a better way I guess is there any reform that may have happened because there's been talk about reform about you know sort of getting the work-life balance the long hours the timings of the meetings then things happening in the evenings is there any reform do you think could have happened over the course of this this is completely hypothetical that might have altered your decision do you know what I mean if rather than just talking about it in a way that people could strike a better work-life balance and be an elected rep is it possible you might not have made the decision if we'd have made those inroads I don't know as I say just for my family life as at the minute as the right decision for me as the right decision for my family that is really what it is like I have had so much support over the years we can I can give out of it all of the things that you've mentioned there you know of that you were very rarely at home and that's the same for every councillor and that is the same and I do think that there are changes needed there you know to I suppose maybe a bit of understanding as well maybe from the general public you know of what the job is and what people can actually achieve for you and what people can do but just at the minute as I say it's not really I don't think there's a policy that could come in at any level you know that would have changed my circumstances and as I say over the years Greg I think I would I don't think all county councillors like even from a party perspective you know they put me forward as the whip of the party you know I've sat on all of the you know the CPGs and you know I've headed up SPCs and you know that's quite unusual actually to be honest with you I may have been the first woman to take those positions on the council and they're enjoyable roles and women can do them better you know as good or better than men so you know there is plenty of opportunity there and there's plenty of opportunity to change people's lives so I wouldn't be negative Greg in any way I do the challenges they're supposed to vary in your face whereas the good part of it may be not spoken about as much I get that I understand and that's unfortunately the way life often is but we've had an opportunity to focus on that today Councillor Marie-Therese Gallagher enjoy your retirement I don't know how you describe whatever else you're doing I'm sure you'll be busy I know you'll be busy with whatever you're doing but thanks very much for your time and thank you Greg and thanks to Hayland and all of the people who supported me over the years that is Councillor Marie-Therese Gallagher who has announced formally and it had been broadly anticipated has announced formally that she'll not seek re-election in the upcoming local elections that's two Sinn Fein councillors now who have opted to go a different path rather than seek re-election okay back with more on the Night on Noon show shortly the Night on Noon show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union with monster loans available up to 60,000 euro for all occasions visit letterkennycu.ie after a long hard day treat yourself to something luxurious your drive home the sleek new Nissan X-Trail has a dreamy luxurious interior and is now available with e-power Nissan's unique hybrid driving system that lets you experience the pleasure of electric driving to plug in and it's available in five or seven seats so even the school run feels like a spa break the all new Nissan X-Trail with e-power drive it to believe it book your test drive today at your local Nissan dealer Nissan innovation that excites at Hickey Clark and Langan Insurance Brokers they compare quotes from all the leading insurers so you get a great price home, motor and van farm, holiday home travel and liability insurance they quote them all and it happens you're covered for a competitive insurance quote today called Hickey Clark and Langan on 912688 or pop into their office at Bally McCool Letter Kenny Hickey Clark and Langan General Insurance is limited trading as Hickey Clark and Langan is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland the County Donegal Blackface Sheep Breeders Association in conjunction with the Sleeve League Blackface Sheep Breeders Association and the Broca Perth Blackface Sheep Breeders Association will hold a women's lamb, female and dry-hugged sale at Bally Buffet and Stronauer Mart this Saturday the 17th of February at 12 noon the sale will be available to view and bid on Mardai.ie have you discovered the Donegal Boardwalk Resort restaurant yet open every Wednesday to Sunday take leisurely strolls along the boardwalk and treat yourself to light bites, hearty lunches or comforting dinners complete your stay in your cosy lodges explore more at DonegalBordwalkResort.ie Unwind, dine and savour the moment at Donegal Boardwalk Resort Carry Gart contact Northwest First Service Bally Buffet on<PHONE_NUMBER> Highland Radio Weather Updates brought to you by Grant building a new home choose Grant's a triple plus rated air-ona, air-to-water heat pump and you flex under floor heating visit grant.ie It was a funny misty-misly day coming into work this morning I wonder was it the same way you are but that rain that was about to clear away with perhaps some hazy sunshine developing later however another band of rain will spread over this area during this evening mild quite muggy and highs of 11 to 13 degrees in a southerly breeze what does muggy mean but anyway it's a weather, apparently it's a weather phrase we had an email in I'm a construction worker finding it hard to get here hard hard to get work here I do metal studs MF ceilings, plasterboards fire tape and joining they're going to pay all that to get people back here I love to see where they're going to put them so you're looking I thought there's a ton of work around this is an initiative isn't it and it was discussed when I was off about come home and work in construction and as soon as I didn't want to be negative there's plenty of work I thought of that come home and work in our hospitals thing right Kathy on Facebook good morning Greg I watched the awards on Sunday night it was fantastic thanks to all involved and if you that missed it will be getting the full show up on our website in the not too distant future happy birthday Lee coming in from Kathleen we have Pedro Pedroa who's watching the best show live and clear inside Indianapolis in Tannaso alright thanks very much good to have you on board I think you watched on I thought you watched on X but you're over on Facebook now and I good to have you wherever you're watching the show that Bernie good to be back second family here amongst listeners and watchers it feels great to be here happy birthday Lee Gooch I can't believe you had trouble chatting up the ladies I didn't buy that either I think he was fishing for compliments there wasn't he and lots of happy birthdays for Lee and there's another happy birthday for another person here Tanya Rasher happy birthday to my lovely sister Tanya Rasher that comes in from Lisa Gallagher you are tuned to the Uncle Noon Show here in Highland Radio it's a busy couple hours on the way just to remind you that we want to hear your love stories as well as I said earlier on how you met maybe it was something particularly nice maybe a lovely proposal maybe you've been together for a long time and you can give us the secret to your success conversely maybe you're a happy contented single and this is a great day for you because you can celebrate your freedom and individuality whichever way there's reasons I suppose to be happy and sad for all of us let us know 08 660 25000 we'll be back after the news unabituary notices about to text you your dreams mean stuff and you keep all your birthday cards in a special box search cream egg test to find out who you really are Cadbury cream egg how do you eat yours in 1951 Michael and Maureen O'Hara baked their first loaf in Fox with Cantimeo now O'Hara's is launching Baker 51 in their honour an authentic sourdough loaf made pure and simple with no added yeast baking one bite and you'll see why true taste takes time ah looking to upgrade your home ready to dine in style and lounge in comfort well get ready for our sofa and dining sale happening now at Easy Living Furniture scoring incredible deals on sofas dining sets and more from sleek and modern to cozy and traditional we have the perfect pieces to match your style and budget the spectacular sofa and dining sale sale is now on in Easy Living Furniture present link retail part if you weren't quite ready to drive a fully V you'll be going in the right direction with the Mazda CX-5 this SUV comes with fuel saving Mazda M hyper technology and a six year warranty you'll find across the entire Mazda range test drive the 241 Mazda range at McGinley Motor's Mazda letter Kenny Mazda crafted in Japan Malawi communities are facing extreme floods followed by extreme dry spells Malita is a single mother who farms to support her four children in 2023 a record cyclone ripped across her farm with rain waters destroying crops and damaging her home when her farm faced a withering dry spell later in the year Malita was left wondering how she would access safe water or feed her family again trocura is working with Malita and thousands more like her to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change you can help them build a more secure future visit trocura.org or call 1-800-408-408 together we can make a lasting difference this extreme weather report on Highland Radio was brought to you by trocura Good morning it's 10 o'clock Kavanaugh at the news desk letter Kenny Milford municipal district husband told there could have been a tragedy on the N13 close to the school at Lurkey Brack recently after a car aquaplained on surface water consular Donald Coil told a meeting this week that on heavy rain water flows down the hill from the vicinity of the school toward the junction at Drumini and he wants transport infrastructure Ireland to install a pipe in the area he says the council has to go out and deploy sandbags to divert the water but a more long term solution is needed Councillor Coil says the recent incident on the road is a clear indication of the urgency of the situation I'm very near missed yet now this is a hundred kilometre national primary road that we're talking about and when there's any heavy rain at all persistent rain it's not just a stream of water it's like a river running down the road and then it runs across the road and back about three weeks ago we got a phone call to say that the car had aquaplained on the road went across the road and look enough there was nobody coming Councillor Mary Trace Gallagher has announced she will not seek re-election to Dunningall County Council the Dundee's councillor said in a statement it's been an honour to serve the people of the county since 2007 she says it's the right time for someone else to come forward and represent the interests of workers and families in the area she succeeded Dunningall Deputy Pierce Doherty on the council when he was elected to the Dull he says she'll be greatly missed and we've got her set on today's 9th to noon show that she's considering this move for some time I have a main made up for quite a while over the last six months anyway it's been a long thing when you have it in your mind and you know people who have supported you over the years and your local community like the time I was the youngest and the council when I went in so I suppose I grew up on it and I have made great friendships across the political debate the media committee says it will examine whether to compel the former director general of RTE to appear before the committee Dee Forbes won't be part of the RTE delegation appearing before the committee today where it will discuss the report into Toy Show the Musical Ms Forbes has yet to take questions from either the media committee or the public accounts committee to date citing illness however media committee chair Neve Smith says many of those behind the musical have questions to answer very conscious that today's deliberation is about Toy Show the musical and the key people whose brain child and vanity project this became are not in the room which seems a bit of a far some have given personal reasons Dee Forbes as you know has presented a sick note but there's no sick notes presented by anybody else just unavailable it's certainly something we consider into the future into the very near future about compelability with those people Three Water Outage Notices have been issued this morning in Donegal works in the Ran, Leck, Old Town, Old Brook Newbrook, Lismonahan and New Mills the careers of letter Kenny are set to take place until six o'clock this evening while works in the vicinity of Malin Head should be finished by three 3pm is also the projected end time for a Valve installation program in Bondoran for their details on our website highlandradio.com Today marks the 43rd anniversary of the Stardust Tragedy 48 young people lost their lives when a fire broke out at the Artain nightclub in the early hours of Valentine's Day 1981 It's been 43 years since North Dublin became Sea of Blue Lights as emergency services rushed to the scene of the Stardust nightclub A fire had broken out as around 800 young people were enjoying a night of music and dancing 48 young people lost their lives Family, friends and survivors then campaigned tirelessly for years asking for fresh inquests to find out what happened They finally began last April where almost 400 witnesses have given evidence The inquests have now reached their final stages before the jury begins considering its verdict Brother Cloudy today with outbreaks of rain and drizzle this morning that rain clearing for a time this afternoon some hazy sunshine may develop however later another band of rain was spread during the evening Mild and quite muggy today highs of 11-13 degrees Celsius in a southerly breeze Cloudy and mild with outbreaks of rain and drizzle later but it'll clear away overnight winds falling light allowing for mist and fog to form that could be slow to clear it'll be very mild tonight lows of 9-11 degrees Celsius Cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle tomorrow persistent across the east and south rain gradually easing but it'll stay rather cloudy with some mist and drizzle lingering Mild again with highs of 11-13 degrees Celsius in light winds and that's Highland Radio News back with news headlines again at 11 o'clock check all of today's news of course on our website highlandradio.com but for now from the news team good morning this Wednesday morning February 14th the death has taken place of Vincent Doherty Claude Ballendrait-Lifford reposing at his home today from 2pm funeral leaving his home on Friday at 20 past 10 for Ray Quay and Mass in St Patrick's Church Murlock at 11am interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery family time please from 10pm until 12 noon Ray Quay and Mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam the death has taken place of Jacob de Bec late of 17 Glen Patrick Donnie Galroad Ballet Buffet reposing privately to family and friends at McGown's funeral home Drumbo Avenue St Norlor leaving from there this morning at 10.45am for Mass of the Resurrection in the Church of Mary Immaculate at 11am interment afterwards in Drumbo Cemetery St Norlor house strictly private to neighbours and friends flowers welcome donations in lieu of flowers if so desired to Cunove, care of any family member or Martin McGown, McGown's funeral home Ray Quay and Mass will be streamed live on the parish webcam the death has occurred of Mary Brennan Baker's Bush Court Shelburne Road Dublin 4 and formerly of Hillhead Ardra remains are posing at McCabe's funeral home Commonbridge Ardra today from 12 noon until 6pm followed by removal at quarter past 6 going to the Church of the Holy Family Ardra for half past 6 to repose overnight funeral mass at 11am tomorrow morning followed by interment in the adjoining cemetery the death has taken place of Mary Doherty, Sean Summerhill Moville remains are posing at her late residence funeral leaving there tomorrow morning at half past 10 going to Sympias the 10th church Moville for Ray Quay and Mass at 11am followed by burial afterwards in Bakken Cemetery, Caldough Mary's Ray Quay and Mass can be viewed live on the parish webcam house private pleas from 10pm the death has occurred of John McCool 562 Ardra McCool's Drinordler and formerly Dairy City remains are posing at McCool's Chapel of Rest Bally Buffet today from 5pm until 10pm Rosary tonight at 9pm funeral leaving there tomorrow morning at half past 10 for 11am the death has taken place in the church of Mary Immaculate Drinordler interment in Drumbo Sanitary the Ray Quay and Mass will be streamed live via the parish webcam the death has taken place of Margo McColgan St. Jude's 20 Dairy Road Straban Ray Quay and Mass is ongoing at the moment in the Sacred Heart Church Dairy Road this morning interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery the Ray Quay and Mass can be viewed live via the parish webcam starting weeks and funerals please go to highlandradio.com for when a right turn becomes a wrong turn get up to 70€ off car insurance with onpustinsurance at onpustinsurance.ie or call us today 70€ or 20% discount will be applied whichever is lower subject to a minimum premium of 355 or 345€ depending on policy underwriter applied consecutively for new customers only acceptance criteria terms and conditions apply the one direct Ireland limited trading as onpust insurance is regulated by the central bank of Ireland one direct Ireland limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of onpust best price online and now Imrow's 2023 best local original news program the voice of the north west the 9 till noon show with Greg Hughes good morning to you welcome back to the show thank you so much for continuing to listen we're broadcasting across the north west on air and across the world online and we've got people listening really good to have you on board. Thank you so very much indeed and we're getting in some lovely Valentine's Day stories by the way so hopefully get a couple of listeners on air a little later on some of your comments. RD can do what they like and the government will throw all the money they demand at them. Amazing. The Guardian not in there seizing files and carrying out a criminal investigation. A poor woman selling a few flowers on the streets of letter Kenny to feed her children will be going to Mount Joy. Greg I'm just wondering if the people that haven't paid their TV license get an amnesty. Do we the people that have paid a license fee get our money back? What a very interesting question because that is part of a Sinn Fein motion that was debated last night. I didn't just quite get the outcome of it. I presume it was defeated given the numbers in the door but part of their proposals was an amnesty for those that didn't pay their TV license and everything has to be fair. Would the people that paid for this year get a refund? I'm not sure if that formed part of the debate but I think it's an excellent question. And someone's texted in they're really quite angry but I think it's best to address texts so people are heard. So I'll read it and then I'll respond to it.  One of the best broadcasters in the whole world has died. Steve Wright. Excuse me. One of the best broadcasters in the world has died Steve Wright and did you not even give him a mention? Now I'm going to be completely honest with you. I did hear this news yesterday evening. Very saddened to hear of anyone passing suddenly. I know he was on radio on Sunday and really quite sadly signed off saying I'll see you next week and such is live. Unfortunately he has lost his life and he died suddenly at just 69 years of age with so much left to give. Very saddened to hear about it generally speaking. The reason I didn't reference it is because I am not really very familiar with Steve Wright. I wouldn't have listened to him. I wouldn't be familiar with his work and obviously you attempt to get people on who know what they're talking about and someone who can pay a fit and tribute to someone and that's some of the stuff we're working on. But me personally I would have to have made it up because I'm very saddened to hear if he's lost my sympathy with his family and his fans and his friends but I wouldn't have been familiar with him to pay a tribute and that's just to be completely honest with you. I know he was incredibly influential and I know he was a superstar DJ which you don't really see much now anymore but beyond that unfortunately I wouldn't have been able to pay a tribute fitting of him. Good morning Greg. Leo Varadkar was questioned in the door yesterday about the 800,000 paid for bringing refugees pets into Ireland. He said he wasn't aware of this and would have to check it out. What does that tell you about this government? Thank you. A scam going around at the moment by the way I had a couple of messages on Facebook which I don't mind at all. People run things past me through a wee bit nervous. A lot of people got a text this morning saying that they'd received a God of Fixed Charge and it reads as follows. You have a fine to pay to avoid any penalty please pay with your file number 578909 in this case. Now it is a complete scam. A couple of things that will point that out to you but you need to check a couple of things. Firstly it's coming from a random mobile number okay. It's a number that's cloned. It's people from outside the country doing this. It's a cloned number. That's not in and of itself because they can clone the local guard station number if they wanted to. If they wanted to put that effort in. But the website finds-guarder.com. It doesn't exist. It's been manufactured just to make it a little bit more realistic but it's not. The guarder.ie is the website finds-guarder.com not an official website so forget about it. Also the guardie will not contact you in this fashion due to a fixed charge. So there's three good reasons and all are present to prove to you that it's a scam. Delete it. Do not panic and go on to finds-guarder.com because as soon as you do they'll start asking you to input your information and they will clean you out. And they only need one of us to have a good day's work. They only need one of us to fall for that. So just let your friends and family know as well if they don't listen to Ireland that's a scam going about the place. Hi Greg 2.24 billion how is this even possible? That's 2,240 million euro. If you could spend one million per day it would still take 6.14 years to get to 2.24 million and even one million a day is 41,670 euro per hour if you can't if you can spend all in 24 hours madness it is when you break the numbers down. Leech from County Councillors issued high court proceedings to stop asylum housing in hotels. They say they say planning permission was granted for tourism use not asylum accommodation. The County Council should follow the example. I do think there's a move away from hotel accommodation so maybe that would have been interesting a year back but anyway let's see. Hi Greg so what flag should we have up? Israel or Palestine because I still have my Ukrainian flag. I understand what you're doing. I don't think people would mind the money being spent on the children's hospital but the main benefit just now are a company who could keep within their budget. Was there not a bit of a scandal about the company being away over budget but still picked? There's a loss. That whole project has been mired in scandal from almost the get go and happy 65th wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife Maj Calahan in Grove Hall Remelton. I love you as much today as the Valentine's Day I met you all those years ago. Lots of love to you Maj from your husband Mickey. So Mickey and Maj 65 years married today. They met on Valentine's Day. What a beautiful story. I need to love people. I've plenty of love in my life but I want more love. Bring it into me. Let me know. 08 6, 60, 25,000. Give us your love stories. We have a few coming up later. They're quite interesting actually and quite touching and as well don't leave out the singletons out there you know you can talk about how it's lovely to be single as well. Be able to go to mass to get your ashes on your own in peace. I don't know it's horses for courses isn't it. All right let's take the bingo numbers and we'll be back with more quality content in just a couple of minutes. It's time for a Vision Ireland bingo on Highland Radio. It's Wednesday the 14th of February. You're playing on the blue sheet. The reference number is s13. It's game number 7. The numbers are 87, 46, 21, 89, 37, 8, 3, 57, 4 and finally 14. Phone your claim to 9104833 before 8 tonight. Leave in your name, contact number and the name of the shop where you purchased your book and we'll call you back the next working day. Get all your Vision Ireland bingo information at highlandradio.com. Mike Denver in concert with guests Declan Ernie and Brendan Shine at Angrenon Theatre Letter Kenny on 30 February 29. Tickets on sale at Angrenon box office. That's Mike Denver with Declan Ernie and Brendan Shine at Angrenon Theatre Letter Kenny on 30 February 29. Don't miss a great concert. Nutrious Milk Replacer range which includes Nutri-Start and Nutri-Start Plus offers the best start to your calves this spring season. With 23% and 25% crude proteins ideal for calf to beef and heifers raring systems. Give your calves the best possible start available in your local homeland store. Visit nutrious.ie for full nutritional information. Hi, Patty here at Shea and Connolly Cars in Donegal Town. Are you looking to upgrade your car? With Shea and Connolly Cars you'll find mix and models for every budget. Great finance options and may also accept returns. Check out sheaandconnollycars.com or call onto us at Shea and Connolly Cars from London Road, Donegal Town. Join home instead and make a difference in older people's lives. Home instead hiring week is Monday the 19th to Friday the 23rd of February. For event details or to apply now visit careers.homeinstead.ie. Home instead. To us it's personal. The Ninetown News Show is brought to you by Letter Kenny Credit Union offering low-rate car loans with fast approval. Apply online at letterkennycu.ie or in office today. All right, Mark is with me on the show now. Hi, Mark. Hi, Greg. How you doing? I'm all right. It's a bit taken aback. I'm looking at these images you sent us here. A new road in Trenta. Talk to me about it. Paint the picture for those who aren't watching. Well, the road was now the road narrow down by where at that section of the road just and the car's looking about and they widened it and raised it and left it in good shape. But everything sunk since. And there's bank mints. There's an embankment on one side and there's pipes sticking through the floodwater to get away. But the road sank that much now. The pipes are sticking up above the water and there's massive big potholes and the puddles of water are huge. Your tires cover completely when you drive on it. You don't see the bottom of your tires at all and the water. And for those who may not be aware, Mark, can you describe where this road is? I know it's in Trenta, but just so people know the road. It's just every one kilometre on the Kilmocranian side of the Presbyterian church in Trenta. Right. Okay. Go ahead and for where, sorry? Headed for Kilmocranian.  And before you know it, you're on it. I mean, looking at the pictures, Mark, it's an unfinished service. It's an unfinished service, Mark. It doesn't look like, I mean, that's hardly the way it's going to be left or has been left really. Is this not ongoing? Well, it was. It was right up before Christmas and I haven't seen anybody working on it since Christmas now. But it has sank now. I know where they're at is pretty sharp ground, like in the wall we sinkage, but like it's sunk by a fire of two. It's down so far now that it's not safe just. No, the road wasn't the class that didn't see it. And I suppose, too, there is also a situation whereby there's local knowledge, but there's going to be people on that road that come over that bray straight down into that that wouldn't be familiar with it. And that's where it gets particularly worrying. Yes, is that if you get somebody say that hasn't known the road like somewhere where there are a couple of accidents in Chelmucana, Crossroad Drive where they didn't know when they went straight through, he just came straight over the hull and happened to that day, you're going to be embollished here. Right. I was going to get damaged, and you'll be lucky if you stay on the road. Okay, well, listen, thanks for highlighting us. I thought it was a little bit of a lot of that. Got kind of stuck up on the credit model and speedy because that was going to be as an accident wouldn't happen. Oh, for sure. For sure. And listen, and the road conditions contribute to it to accidents and collisions. Okay, listen, thanks for helping us highlight it, Mark. I appreciate it. Thanks, Greg. All right, take care of yourself. All right, that's, and for those of you who are watching the program, you'll see the images not good at all.  If you believe you can beat that, we'll post those images on our Facebook page as well, because the absolute majority of you listen and we want everyone to be able to see what we're talking about, as well as those who watch the show. So we'll get them up on Facebook.  What's up here? Let's see if we can beat that. And it's, you know, it's a rose gallery, so to speak. We don't want you know, we're not making fun of it. But if you think you've spotted a road that's worse than that one, and it is bad, send us in your pictures, your potholes. Oh wait, six, we're going to pothole watch.  The worst road conditions in Donegal. Oh, eight, six, 60, 25,000, or across the region, for that matter. Also two, some, I don't know what you would call it, graffiti, something painted on the road out in Guidore overnight. Arland is full, Arle is full is how it reads. It's appeared on a back road. What's not a back road? It's probably a main route. But someone's went out in the middle of the night and put Arland is full on it. I'm not sure. I think our services are under severe pressure.  Actually, what's happened is is a depopulation if you go to places like, I don't know, Downings, for an example. Back in the day, if you talked to people from the area, you looked at, and there's, you know, 20 houses scattered across all had families in all had young people in them. And now it's older people, which is ground to. But a lot of the houses lie vacant most of the time, because they're holiday homes effectively, little shops that used to be there no longer there. And people milling around talking to each other outside of the summer season, just not the way it used to be. And that's replicated in many, many places. Homes just lying, lying empty. So in terms of accommodation, is Arland full? I don't know. Our services arguably, yep, at capacity, but I don't know. Someone's took the time to quiet and make this statement on the road that Arland is full Arle is full IRL. They didn't go the full Arland. I'm surprised they didn't go where actually. But anyway. So for those of you watched it, you've seen that. And we'll see if they get up on the social media, up on the social media as well. Right, we did the bingo numbers. I did do them, didn't I? I did. Did I do the bingo numbers? I think I did. Let me see. One, two, three. No, I didn't. Okay, here's the bingo numbers, I think. Watch the show live now on YouTube, Facebook, and at HighlandRadio.com. The nine-toned show with Letter Kenny Credit Union. Simplify your debts with a debt consolidation loan from Letter Kenny Credit Union. Call us on<PHONE_NUMBER> or apply online via our app or in-office today. In the final clearance of Watson Men's Wear, there's great savings across top labels. A great selection of footwear, shirts and knitwear. Half price. Selected suits and kids clothing also half price. 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Visit RadioCenterIreland.ie to see what radio can do for your product or brand. Hiya, good morning. We are joined on the programme now by John, who's got a, I tell you, the scams and exploitation are getting worse every day. John, thanks very much for helping us get the word out. How are you keeping John? How are you? Good, good. Good morning. How are you? Good stuff. Good to have you on the show. So what happened to you, John? Well, I'll tell you what it was. It happened there about in the middle of the week, the beginning of the week there last week about Tuesday night. I noticed my Facebook was playing up and I couldn't get access to it at all. I couldn't log into it and I thought something's wrong. Maybe Facebook was down. I was thinking maybe my Wi-Fi was weak. I just couldn't get into it. And then it kept popping up to reset my password, reset my password, but I just couldn't understand. But eventually on Thursday, I tried again, I was just busy, and then I tried again to get into my Facebook account and I was completely frozen out. They managed to get into my actual email account and they got my email address and they changed my email address on my Facebook account and also they changed the password and the mobile number that I had on it.  They actually had all that changed that I actually couldn't get any access to my Facebook account at all. So you couldn't even post on your Facebook to say, sorry, I've been hacked. I've lost that account completely. I've lost everything of that account and I've had that account from the day Facebook started. You know, all the photographs, all my memories, everything's gone because they really got into it and they really, but it was probably that afternoon that I was actually annoyed to contact the Facebook and I said, listen, I'm showing up here an email address that's not mine attached to this account and I'll send them away at emails to obviously the Facebook, explain to them, but nothing came back like I wasn't satisfied how Facebook was handling it at all. And there's no contact telephone number that you can talk to anyone. There is a number that you contact and double it, but it rings once and then they hang up and rings once they hang up and I just could not get through at all. So, but what happened, it was the next morning about past eight, I got the phone call from one of my brothers all excited and I was like, oh, how can I help you? And he goes, you know, Charlie, how did you get a hold to Taylor Swift tickets? I'll buy them off you. And I was like, what are you talking about? He goes, Charlie, you're selling for Taylor Swift tickets? I go, he goes, you're selling them for a mate in Scotland? I went, no, I'm not. And I couldn't believe it then that the sort of the penny dropped. So I was like, oh my God, please don't answer the message. It's not me. It's a scam. It's definitely not me.  So, and, but, you know, it was so, but I must have got about, and total that day, I must have got about 20 phone calls from people in front of me asking me going, Charlie, when I try to ring you on Messenger, you're not answered. It's everything all right. Like it's not me. It's not me. I promise you I'm not selling Taylor Swift tickets.  He goes, I don't want him over me to say, I'll give you a phone to save it, you know. And I said, and I was luckily, because he said, they're not even there. There were 175 each. But for four tickets, and if you do, if you do that a number of times, I think I'll soon add up, you know, I'm actually annoyed. I never thought of myself. But the thing is, is to the whole thing is, I would say what's part of the scam is they don't just take the 170 per ticket, they'll probably say, oh, well, you know, we need, if you send me 200, I'll send you back 30 if you give me your bank details or something like that there.  Because we don't often admit if we've been scammed. But I wonder, was anyone able to make contact with you to say that they actually fell for it? Nobody's gotten contact. One of my mates in Scotland said he was so close that he was just about to give his bank details. But whatever it is, he says something came over him. He says, to phone me. And he says, and I phoned you. And he says, thank God, he said I was literally I had the numbers typed in ready to send, you know, but the thing was clever about it. So we're using my account, but they were saying, I'm selling these for a friend. And then some of my mates in Scotland were telling us that see whenever they message them, they were like, Oh, I'll give you her direct date. I'll give you her mobile or number or message or whatever. And you can message her direct. They were so convincing that they were using like, see whenever you log into your Facebook account, you know, you have up your job where you work and what you do and all that. They were like, they were so convincing. Tell them, Oh, I worked with Charlie for you or John for years. Yeah. And you know, and oh, no, no, that's why I told them to put these tickets up for me.  They were so convincing. Wow. So it's to get them out of the space where you might be to get them contacting them and messaging them directly. And like, there's two things going on here. Obviously, you're advising people about these scams to get on about, but you're out of your Facebook account as well. Now, it might not be, I know some people that that is their life and memories, you know what I mean? And if they lost access to that, they'd be absolutely devastated.  Yeah, but I'm totally you wouldn't believe like I'm talking for community confirmation.  But at least on Facebook, there was always this background of a copy of them, you know, and not only that place, which you've seen all over the world, as I said, I've had that since Facebook came out, maybe shown me age now. But at the end of the day, it's a massive idea. But I really have to be honest to the people out there, Facebook have been so so poor on it. Yeah, because this two verification and all that crack, that's designed to protect us. And I cannot get through to a person to speak to and explain to them because as I said, I'm still getting messages even today. I obviously had to make up a new Facebook account. And then I put it up there on the public page to say, by the way, this is my old account has been hacked. And then I read a week, sort of a thing on it to say, avoid people are trying to sell Taylor Swift tickets. I don't go near it. It's a scam. But you know, I hope we can stop a few people from doing it. But it's happening. How do you think they got in? Did you click a link or something yourself for all that? That's funny you say I my I had a message from my I got this random message about two weeks ago from my brother. And it was like, Oh, Charlie, do you know that I've been working here now for so long? And he goes, and I was able to claim back all my tax rights. Okay. And I and I text him back ago. Oh, wow. So was that a work for me? I said, even though I've moved away from that country, I said, what worked for me? He goes, well, well, if you're if you're too busy, send me a bank details and I'll check for you. Oh, my words. Okay. And that's that's really struck home with me. So then I went into and I went in and I've screen shot of it. And I phone Martin on the phone, my brother on the phone, I says, listen, by the way, are you said, you said that's genuine. And he goes, what are you talking about? So it started from hands. When I accepted has new friend request. Yep. Yep. That's where I seem to have made the problem. You don't have a you don't have a car connected to your Facebook account. I think anyone who has, you know, for marketplace or what have you should know it's good to break those those connections. And if anyone's got any tips as to how our caller you've called yourself about four different names at this stage.  I'll be honest. I don't want anybody I just trying to save people from getting caught out because I know what it's like when you and I don't know if you you've seen the video with a scam or there's a video about YouTube you can see it is incredible where a woman was scammed out of 1200 for two Taylor Swift tickets to take her daughter. I don't know if you've seen that. And then she had to go and explain to her daughter that the money was gone and that they're not going to Taylor Swift. But this radio station, I'm not saying you should do this for me to be great. But this radio station came up and got them tickets for Taylor Swift. It was actually unbelievable. But you want to see the reaction, but it's on YouTube. You can type it up. I mean, I could rustle up a mug. But no, I get you. I know exactly what you're saying. But come here before I let you go, right? Are you a Taylor Swift fan or would you just go for the experience? No, no, I would have went just to see her. Like, I mean, I watched Super Bowl just to see her and I wasn't ready. I didn't get to see that yet. All right, listen, come here. Thanks for helping us to get the message out there. I'm sorry. I can't just sort of say, oh, and by the way, we just don't have that swing. No, no, no, not at all. Not at all. No. Thank you very much. And as I said, all I'm trying to do is get the word out there for people to be careful what they're clicking on to on Facebook or even their email accounts. It's so easy to think that you're, do you know what's actually just before I go? There are a movie in the cinema just now called The Bee. I've seen it. The Beekeeper. I don't know if you've seen it yet. And do you know what? I went to the cinema to see that last week and I came out and I thought myself, my God, that'll never happen to me. There you go. And by God, was I so sorry that I said that because it's really all about that situation of these horrible, horrible scams. What did you think of the film? Yeah. I actually totally loved it. I thought it was actually very good. I loved the storyline. And maybe if there's somebody out there listening and can catch the person who's doing this and do that to them, I'd be very happy. Well, I don't think we would have gone to Brother Bob, but anyway. No, I mean, like it's his type of film, isn't it? It's not a documentary. It is a film. But yeah, it was, it actually was interesting in highlighting the scams and what have you. Listen, take care. That's the whole point of it. Thank you very much. Take care of yourself. Thank you. And listen, hopefully you get to see Taylor at some point. That's John there. 08 660 25,000. 08 660 25,000. All right, let's see. We're going to talk love now. Kevin's with us. Hi, Kevin. Just to remember what that was low. Yes. Yes. Just about, yeah. Well, this whole conversation, right, is about how you met your wife, you're still together, beautiful children, all romance. And the first thing you say is, just about remember what love is. Now, come on, Kevin, work with me here. That's how long. Why is this e-grade? You know, you're already a young fella yet, like you have a good memory of it. Come here, Kevin. Right, take us back to the late 70s.  You're walking through Letter Kenny like John Travolta and Saturday Night Fever. You can pick up the story from there. What happened? Who's been talking about me? Go on. How did you meet her? 1979, Sunday Night in the Grill. Yeah. The end of March, I met her. And she's just after coming into the room now and putting the, I'm dead. Oh, no. Right. The the old home across the night, right? You got me and baller. Okay, come on. We can be quick while he's still here. The pile of dollar, right? Yes. We dated the Monday night. She went back to work and had to go to a concert during the week and she came back at the weekend. And on the Monday, we got engaged. What? So that's a week, that's a week later. And did you pop the question? Of course I did. Down on one knee and all? No, just I was sitting at the time as well. Like, how did you phrase that?  Like, you couldn't have got a sense of what she wanted at that point. Like, how did you know you weren't going to get thrown back into your face? What? Well, if I did get thrown back in my face, well, look, that would have been it. But I didn't get thrown back in my face. Yes. I was accepted and I went and I bought the ring. I didn't take her with me for buying the ring. I went and bought the ring myself. Yes. And she's still wearing the same ring. Wow, beautiful. And how did you, we is engaged for long, Kevin. People are going to get engaged now for five or 10 years, which is fine. It's up to them. But how long after you got engaged, did you get married? The following April. Wow. So it was obviously love at first sight. It was love at first sight for the pair. You just knew that that was it. Well, I'll tell you a story, a funny story. Well, it's not funny, but it's one of the things that might have been meant to be.  And a boy and a girl walks up together to receive their first holy communion. It just so happened, it was pretty that I was paired up with. Oh, wow. We walked out and then turn the clock on now. 45 years later from getting married, we're still together. Beautiful family. 17 years.  Yeah, good family. What's the secret? What is the secret? Please. Well, the secret is she's very forgiving. Right. Right. Just because I was no good boy, but no, you just get on with it. Mistakes are made. You write it by the mistakes, and hopefully you don't make them again. You carry on and be able to listen. Just whatever life throws at you, you have to take it. Just remember at the end of the day, two years together. What about going to sleep on a round? What about going to sleep on a round? Did you ever try to avoid that? Or is it important to tell each other that you love each other every day? Is that important, or maybe not so? Well, we would do, yeah, but that's could go to sleep in a room, right? No more. Get up in the morning and think, what was that all about? That could work, too.  You dropped her name. Is it Greta? Greta. Greta, okay. G-O-R-E-T-T-A. 45 years married, engaged a couple of days after they met, married the next year, 45 years on, three beautiful children that you're very proud of. It's a wonderful Valentine's story, Kevin, and I'm so happy for both of you. Well, though, when he comes to the funeral now after a couple of days, staying out there, she just throws me out. Do you know what, if he's going to give you a big kiss, I would say? Have you used the house to yourself? Slapping the kissers, you mean?  You're not going to stay on lane as a witness. I don't think I want to now. I don't want to hear those noises. I know she's going to give you a cuddle. Have a good one. Good luck to you, Kevin. Good luck, Gretty. All right, let's see. Danny's with us. Hi, Danny. Are you there? Hello, dear Greg. How are you doing? I'm doing good. Good to have you on the show today. Right, okay. We're going to talk about being single, too, on Valentine's Day, Danny. Yeah, well, this is it. I'm in the 70s now and I caught it, you know, but never got married. And after listening to Kevin and Gretty and not so much of things, you know, I used to work a bit harder than Kevin had to. But I would say, you know, that's all right, romance. Yeah, and I'd say in there, a couple of dodgy dates? Oh, yeah. Well, no, no. And there wasn't so much, well, there was dodgy dates, but unfortunately, it was always the same girl. And two of them was around Valentine's Day. You know, there was one Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day fell on the Saturday and I was working up to Friday. So I left it till Friday night to go to the flower shop and the card shop and everything. And this is over 40 years ago. I'm rushing to the card shop. I said, I'm looking for a Valentine's Day card. Oh, we have none. We have none. Like, you know, there wasn't, there couldn't get that rushed into the flower shop. I want a dozen red roses. There's not a rose to be had, the man says. So I ended up getting white and red carnations and, you know, and the things. So the Valentine's Day was the following day. I booked a restaurant to go there. That all went well. I gave it the flowers. And she was, I think, like expecting red roses. So the carnations was nice, but it didn't go down too well. And the things.  So I was talking to a friend of mine who was married. He says, Danny, he says, you're doing it all wrong. He says, the next time you said, if you want flowers, he says, go down Columbia Road. It's a flower market. You can get a dozen roses down there for three pound. So the next year was Valentine's Day was on the Sunday. So I went down to Columbia Road on the Sunday. I got the dozen roses. It's cheap. We went to a restaurant called Garfunkels where you could get the main meal and the salad. And then afterwards we went to the pictures. Sounds fantastic. Yeah. No, I'm listening here. I'm just wondering, Danny, how come that didn't work out? Because what more can a man do? No, well, like, see, the pictures we went to after that, like, was not the, you know, I was just thinking about it there, Greg. It was back before the time of the internet. So I had to look up in the local paper where the movies was on, like, you know, and I think the movie went to is like Officer and a Gentleman, which all went down well. OK. You know, the thing and then. Is that not a bit saucy, Danny? No, well, I suppose no, at the end, I wouldn't say saucy, more romantic. Like, you know. I just had this memory of that being a saucy film. Anyway, what happened after that, then? Well, we came out the pictures. I didn't know the area, you know, we got, because it was not, like, in the area of London that we was. It's a bit further over. So we had the taxi. I said we might as well finish off the evening, like, in this bar across the road, which is not a bar, but a big pub. And she said, yeah, that's good. That would be good. We went in there, opened the door and everybody looked at us, turned and looked at us. We was dressed normally and everybody else in there was all bikers.  That's more saucy, like going into a biker sort of. But everybody was very good. They was all very nice, like they just wondered how we had the nerve to go into their pub. Okay, come here though, Danny. Is it possible, like you've talked about how hard you worked out to wine and dine your lady. Do you think, you know, we have it tough for us men. Do you think there's too much responsibility on us to get it right at this time of year? Well, yeah, there can be, especially when you're caught in. It's all right. Like, you know, most of the people I know is married.  A friend of that particular friend, he says, yeah, no. He said, what I do, he said, if I get flowers, I go down the market and get them. And if we have a meal, you know, you didn't order in the takeaway then delivered. You just went and got a takeaway. That's what, that's as far as these roments went when he was married.  You couldn't ring up and the things. I had to do everything by foot. You know, go into restaurants, into restaurants, book in the table, get in the flowers, doing that. And, and, you know, like I say, I'm single now, my hair's gone gray from old age, not from stress. But I do know a lot of my friends that are married have all gone bald. So I don't know if there's any relationship to that. I don't know. I think there might be. I don't have a hair in my head. Danny, I don't know if that's, maybe we're getting down to the nitty gritty. But anyway, Danny, you're happily single. Sounds like it to me. I was explaining that I'm not against Valentine's Day.  But, but all I can remember back then, especially for this particular one girl, we, we, we dated a lot like, you know, but there was four dates we, I took her on and, and they, it wasn't disastrous, but, but they just sort of backfired on me, you know. And I was just saying, I don't know how people can afford it now, because back then, even that girl, I treated her one time to go to, not treat it, because I enjoyed. Also, we went to the theater to go and see a Vita. Now, now you couldn't go to a Vita and have a meal afterwards and walk away with anything like under about, say, 500 euros in this day and age, you know, there was an actor on the other day saying how expensive is now that only the rich can afford to go to the theater. That's true. But do you know what? If it's real love, money doesn't matter or shouldn't come into it. It's just as I think that people. Oh, no, no, no, it didn't, it didn't back then. No, no, but I know you're happily single, right? But you sound like a charmer to me, maybe a bit of a Romeo. If like, I'm sure you're not on date and websites, but maybe you are. That's up to you. Like, are you looking for love? No, no, no, no, no. Like, if someone, if someone says, Oh, Danny sounds like a bit of all right. He sounds like a bit of a wheeler, dealer, a bit of a geezer. I want some of that. Do you want us to get them in contact with you? I don't, yeah, like, well, you know, love, again, I saw, I saw, rather than saying love, I say romance and rather than love in a relationship, you know, at my age, I like companionship for like, from, you know, sort of both people. Because, because me and you, we spoke over two years ago, Greg, about a different subject, you know, the economy and the thing. But, but I do like to talk to people. I like to, to be with people. I'm sort of, I'm a gregarious in my way. But at the other side of me, I'm also a bit of a loner, like, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I think that's good. But do you know what? No, you know, I hear a lot of people and I do know a lot of married people. And unfortunately, when, when, when they do leave, leave, lose a loved one, that is the companionship that they miss the most, like, you know.  And there's a contentment and a comfort and a happiness in that as well. A lot of, a lot of us, you know, you spend your life trying to find out what you want or who you are or what makes you happy. But you've nailed down and it sounds like Danny, it sounds like you're all right. And I really appreciate you contacting us with some of your anecdotes, loved it and made some really good points along the way as well. Lovely to speak to you. Don't leave it two years, Danny. I know, yeah, yeah.  And then you asked after the dog, like Caesar, unfortunately Caesar died like a year ago, like next week. But, but he was 18 and a half, like, you know, and, and again, I miss that companionship. Exactly. Oh, that's really sad to hear that. Because I know, as soon as you mentioned his.  And we used to have a good life together. Again, Greg, not to compare it like with Valentine's Day, but I used to go after he passed away and the things like that. I'll go out shopping. I'll be up and down the aisle in the dog food section. And I would have to say to myself, no, you haven't got a dog anymore. Like, you know, don't be like, like looking at treats on that. And, but now I'm looking after like a neighbor's dog. And I've, I've, I've, after a year, I forget to go, I went out shopping one day, again, another anecdote, went out shopping, mainly to get stuff for the dog. And I went home with milk and bread, but nothing for the dog.  Right. Okay.  And that, but no, no, it was good. Would you get your, I know you'd never replace Caesar because he couldn't, but would you ever, would you consider getting another dog just for the companionship? You have a ton of love and care to give Danny, would you consider getting your own dog again to sort of continue? Oh yeah, yeah. In time, you know, again, you know, like my family, not all my family, but as part of my family is in England. And when you have a dog, you are tied to the house, you know, you just can't upstix and go. So, so that was my intention. But, but as somebody is, is like poorly and the dogs there, I decided what I feel, you know, like the decent thing just to look after it.   It's nice to be together, but, but they all like to see me because even when we go out for the meal, it's always disastrous. But in a funny sort of way, like, you know, well, Danny, you're a lovely chap. Thanks so much for, for, for your, for your conversation. Really appreciate it. And as I say, don't leave. You're welcome, Greg. Take care, Danny. Yeah. Yeah. And happy Valentine's Day to everybody. Like you, Danny. Take care. God bless you now. Bye. Bye. The 90 noon show is brought to you by letter Kenny credit union, digital loans now available. Apply online or via our app today and get your loan transferred directly to your current account. A public interest message from Dunnegal County Council overgrown hedges, shrubs and trees along public roads can become a danger to people using or working on a public road. Dunnegal County Council is reminding landowners and occupiers of their obligations to trim hedges and trees beside the public road. This should be done before the bird nesting season commences in early March. Dunnegal County Council thanks the many members of the public who have already carried this workout. Dunnegal County Council protecting our communities and environment. Letter Kenny summer sessions presents blind boy podcast live at big top letter Kenny on August 18th 2024 following sell out live shows worldwide. 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radio dot com it is 11 o'clock let's get a news update and it's open to donna marie daherty thanks gregg good morning crowds are gathering in the village of water grass hill in county cork for the funeral service of six-year-old matthew heady the senior infants people died on friday after he was found unresponsive in a car close to dunmore east in county waterford the funeral will not be streamed online and people are warned of scams purporting to be a link to the mass his mother was charged with his murder in court last night members of letter kenny milford municipal district are to seek a meeting with community guard d to discuss anti social behavior the issue was raised this week by mayor councillor kevin bradley who asked that the council provide more security in parks and walkways and in and around letter kenny as underage drinking is becoming a problem officials say any incidents are reported to gaurdy and pointed out that in parks cctv cameras are in place adonigal deputy says the expectation for those who are living paycheck to paycheck to pay the tv license fee is scandalous deputy tomas pringle yesterday called for the scrapping of the tv license fee in lieu of an x checker funding in the doll in support of a motion brought forward by shin fane he said given the money wasting seen by rte it's a slap in the face for those who are struggling financially to pay the annual 160 euro fee letter kenny milford municipal district has been told there could have been a tragedy on the end 13 close to the school at lurgie brack it's after a car aqua plant on surface water councillor donald coil told a meeting this week that on heavy rain water flows down the hill from the vicinity towards the junction at drumney and he wants transport infrastructure island to install a pipe in the area and finally councillor mary teres gala her has announced she will not seek reelection the glantis councillor said in a statement that it has been an honour to serve the people of the county since 2007 she says it's the right time for someone else to come forward and represent the interest of workers and families in dunny gall that's all for now back again at 12 o'clock thank you very much dana marie and we'll be back after this really short break jack everyone asks me if you're teething when you cry but can you be teething all the time maybe you're hungry or you're sad and need a little cuddle or maybe it's something else at the hse is mychild.ie and in the free mychild books you'll find the answers you need from doctors midwives public health nurses dietitians and lots of other experts mychild.ie expert advice for every step of pregnancy baby and toddler health from the hse now before we welcome our next guest institute into studio here's the details of the fantastic course we've got running all of this week this week we have a fantastic end of week prize courtesy of the holly root hotel for one lucky winner which includes one night bed and breakfast for two people at the holly root hotel bondoren with champagne and chocolates on arrival followed by a spa treatment each in the holly root's luxurious spa at orchids finish off your evening with a four course dinner and a bottle of wine in their watermelon restaurant plus full use of the blue river leisure center swimming pool and canadian hot tub your spa experience includes a private session in the outdoor hot tub and sauna and a 60 minute spa treatment each inspired to give you a captivating night's sleep beginning with a serene back massage followed by a beautifully soothing scalp and and arm massage to begin with a chance of winning this fantastic prize on friday simply answer this question what city is often called the city of love and is home to iconic sites such as the eiffel tower and notrodame cathedral text or what's up your answer name and address to 086 60 25000 okay we're joined in studio now by sarah timony founder and owner of adaptive fashion thank you so much for calling in hi guys thanks very much for having me it's good to have you with us all right adaptive fashion firstly great name thank you uh cracker uh talk to us a little bit about it it's about adaptive clothing range for people with additional needs so talk us through yeah what those you know how you meet those needs with with your fashion brand yeah so basically adaptive fashion is an adaptive and inclusive brand so basically we provide clothing with adaptations that would cater for elderly care or people with disabilities and the whole aim is that everybody can have the choice to dress how they want and promote independence as much as possible because with the choices that is currently available there's a massive gap in the market for adaptive clothing it's very hard to find and when you do find it it doesn't really look very fashionable so that was a big part of it to keep it fashionable and functional yeah and that's right to a lot of clothing that would be beneficial to someone in terms of convenience or what have you dependent on their individual circumstances there's probably not a lot of attention going into making that seem nice yeah so i think the a lot of bigger companies um especially in America and like a lot you know bigger brands would have started adaptive clothing but the problem is and like a lot of brands would just you know put a bit of alcohol on or stick his up here and there and it doesn't really work so with all of our designs we would have had a lot of focus groups and they would have been designed by people with disabilities to make sure that we are actually meeting the needs and that you know it is serving the purpose that they need you've been in healthcare for over 10 years so you've seen this firsthand yourself so talk us through you know some of the experiences that sort of led you to say right i can i can do something here so i've seen it year on year to be honest Greg and i think the demand is actually getting um higher because you know as we know the population is living longer and there's more people living independently and i've just seen a bigger need for it and it's ranging from kids right up to people in their late 80s and 90s and i just think it's it's such a simple concept of you know that they can still get dressed independently it's just having things tweaked and added to make sure that's a bit easier so for the likes of shirts we would replace buttons with either velcro or snappers um we also have a magnetic range so all the items look i suppose exactly the same as everyone else's but they do have that function that they can do you know it's just an easier way of getting dressed and is this the type of area that you can sort of have off the peg stuff or is it uh tailored to the individual or what's the balance there yeah so we do both so all the stock that i currently have on the website that is you know anyone can buy that stock most of our adaptions would be zips magnets and snappers and the velcro so we would have a collection that will be geared at a number of different disabilities we also do um custom orders so they've got very popular um customers would get in touch and if they have a certain need or requirement we would cater towards that need that includes sort of saying you know if i bought say for instance i wanted a rugby jersey um could i say right we've got the rugby jersey is the way that you can adapt it to make it easier for greg to put on so that i can feel part of it right yeah we actually did that last year for um a very special little boy and like that um now i sourced the jersey and adapted towards his needs but what we can do is if you have stuff at home and i would encourage you you know customers to use what they have um you know and try to get use of the clothes they have and we can adapt them to their needs and it's not just sort of shirts or whatever you it's all types of different stuff trackies yeah you you you have a solution for all of it yeah so there there was a collection launch last year and it was um a forest green loungewear collection so you had your white t-shirt you had your um crew neck jumper and your joggers and that was you know it's that's probably the most fashionable collection but we do have for male and female shirts trousers we have skirts coming now next and hopefully there's a few jackets coming this year and a few more designs and you know i mean obviously when as you're speaking and i'm thinking of of examples it could be people maybe you know with you know with quite severe needs or if that's a correct way of grading it i don't know i don't want to sound cruel but i know people know that's not my intention but then there are people that just sort of even put the skirt on do you know what i mean that you want to do it yourself obviously but maybe you can't bend down as you did or reach around as as you did before you know the likes of of the solutions that you're talking of would make a lot of people's life easier because they want to look smart they want to get dressed but they don't necessarily want to go through the the make roll it can be more difficult for some well i do i have noticed that greg now the business is open this two years now this march and i have noticed that excuse me there is more needs that are that need to be catered for um like arthritis is the biggest need and it's generally male between 55 and 65 um you know it's just something i suppose we take for granted but somebody with arthritis could really struggle with the buttons on their shirts um but that's it's just so simple it's just changing just that little area on the shirt could just make things so much easier so the adaptations don't always necessarily have to be you know very difficult it could just be tweaking a few things on each item but that makes so much sense yeah it really is fiddly to get just that one example there you know uh whereas you can just clip it or whatever it might be and away you go um all there's an i mean there's a lot of important issues here in terms of independence right but also to how i mean we're all at it it does it doesn't matter what your situation is if you look in a mirror or have a look at yourself and you feel good you feel confident yeah you know uh you'll see hairdressers will tell you that people going through very difficult times in their lives getting their hair done can give them a lift or what have you this is in that same space as well too isn't it you know it's about making people feel included uh catered for and good about themselves yeah well i just can't understand Greg and i suppose it's really bothered me you know year on year working with people with you know disabilities or in the elderly care sector you know we have so many other ranges you know we have petite we have tall we have plus we have maternity but there is no adaptive range you see the thing is is you're coming at this with a heart right the reason it's not really generally catered for is because people look at scale and production absolutely and how much profit is there can we and they go nah and that's where you can step in then i think that might well now i'm not a business person but i'll that generally often is the is the barrier they say there's not enough money in this for do the right thing and i absolutely agree with that but it's then when you have you know there was a girl um who was designing the first collection with me when this you know we were still very much in the um i suppose the trial phase of the business and she had a great point Greg she said you know just because i have disabilities i also work i earn a wage like my money is just as good as anyone else's and this is the thing i think business that's starting to realize it is you know it's a huge business and you know people have money to spend but there's no word to spend it and they have every right to have the choice do you have some examples of yeah i do stuff with you just something that's easy for me to not uh demonstrate as such but so that's a t-shirt yeah this is a white t-shirt it's it's a plain basic t-shirt it goes with everything goes with everything you have the logo here which i don't want too much in your face so with very simple branding but that's actually your own logo there so and you'll see here i'll just open it up so i'll try and describe this well so the around the neck is velcro simple as two small tabs yeah around velcro but what we've done with the labels here so we've put the labels on the inside anybody that has any sensory needs the labels not annoying them so they're all printed at the back fantastic another thing if people find that thing on the back of the neck annoying that's it's it's so simple but it's actually a beautifully cut t-shirt as well this was i was wearing this for about six months before it went into production and the whole point was i didn't want anyone to know and yeah so that was achieved you know because i didn't want it to look any different so that was your market test sort of a thing right kind of like i didn't want to adapt to it is this Sarah like anyone who's tried to get a um a vest or a t-shirt over a kid's head yeah you know what i mean like ripping their ears off them yeah something like that there would be fantastic um if it was more widely widely yeah and i think unless you're in the situation that you've either worked with people who have difficulty dressing or you know family members i suppose you're you're not really exposed to so you wouldn't really know um but then when you do see the need and how much of an impact it can have in people's lives yeah you can see the need so in terms of t-shirt too there's there's a whole plethora of people it might be physically it's easier to get on it could be a sensory issue everyone's needs are different aren't they um and that's you know so that could be of a benefit to people with a whole range of needs but even for instance you know if you have you know short term restriction you know you break your collarbone you break your shoulder there's very little out there you know to to bridge that until you can start wearing your other clothing again well i mean listen it's clearly a fantastic idea and it's clearly going well for you um are you happy with how this is scaling for you if you know what i mean or um you want this to you want as many people as possible to hear about this and to benefit from this because that's clearly what your one of your key motives was was going into this all right so how is that part of it going for you so it is going very well at the minute my biggest problem greg is i suppose advertisement around it because to get good advertisements you need to put so much money into it and because it is such an niche area it's like the manufacturing side of it is colossal you know and you're coming really you're coming to the point to whereby why the big boys aren't doing it yeah yeah if to some extent i think the like i know tommy hill figure launched their first kids range in 2016 and the demand was so amazing that they then went to launch an adults range but the problem is because it is a niche area it is going to be more expensive with the adoption costs and i think that puts a lot of people off it's very different for me because this is just an adaptive business so it's not alongside yeah any other i could work as an advantage i think so i think it's its simple sell you know it's adaptive clothing um and in terms of like i mean obviously ideally you'd you'd want someone to back this as well maybe invest somebody into the business yeah i'm not something like it feels like a bit like dragon's den but funny to mention dragon's den or something like that there um this you could see this being actually a really successful pitch i hope so i just i hope that you know i can get it to a stage that everyone has that choice you know we'll just say for example you're you know there's you have a grand at home and the mobility is not great and it's you know like one of our best sellers would be the drop-front trousers and they were designed with falling in mind so basically you wouldn't have to stand up and sit down too many times that the adaptations will be incorporated to ease that do you know what it means that you would have let you would have less mobility i suppose um but it would be easier to get the trousers on i think if people had the choice of getting adaptive clothing it would just make life so much easier for families as well um like america would be the biggest i suppose supplier of adaptive clothing to date but a lot of people will say they can't access the products for america why shouldn't there be an irish person to everyone should be able to walk into a shop and have the choice to buy it um and again i just go back to the individual that actually could feel they have you know independence returned to them they've style returned to them they have you know feeling included returned to them because i would imagine too again you know parents of young children say for instance or teens or whatever right that it's quite difficult to get them into traditional clothing um that they would be able to you know they know what they would get from seeing their young person happy wearing more stylish clothing clothing but it's more it's easy to get in