Armagh I Podcast

Sometimes when a new concept or innovation is brought to life, you wonder why it hasn't always existed. Football For All is one of those things that really should be far more widespread than it is. The concept that 'every child wants to be part of a team' has become the motto for Warrenpoint GAA's newest Football For All team, which celebrates children with special needs and allows them to participate in games and training with their very own team. Decky and Helen Carville's 12-year-old son Michael has special needs. The family are all members of St Peter's GAA Club in Warrenpoint, but over the years it became increasingly difficult for Michael to participate, on an equal footing, with his teammates. That was when Decky and Helen put their heads together and came across Football For All, which a scattering of clubs nationwide had introduced. There was, and still is, nothing like this for children with special needs in Armagh or Down, but since the couple brought the idea to their chairman and the club welcomed it warmly, Football For All has taken off in Warrenpoint. The children train and even play matches, alongside their peers, every Sunday morning and the joy it brings to them, their families and the volunteers who help out is palpable when Decky and Helen talk about their experiences since they started the programme last July. Helen and Decky spoke to Armagh I for this week's podcast about how Football For All came about in Warrenpoint and their hopes to expand across Northern Ireland and with that maybe set up a small league. MLA Justin McNulty is a big fan and Ulster GAA have taken an interest too. Everyone from anywhere is welcome to join in. The more the merrier.  

So the last shiny wrapper from the countless tins of Quality Street is in the bin and you’ve sworn off chocolate … till the end of the week at least. However, this week’s podcast might change your mind. Nestled near the foot of the Mournes, not far outside Newry, sits a small unassuming factory with a sign at the entrance welcoming you to NearyNógs Stoneground Chocolate Makers. If you look around you the scenery is a feast for the eyes, but once you enter building your other senses will awaken as the rich aroma of chocolate fills the air. Here, the fruit of the Neary family’s labour of love is brought to life, where their small artisan business produces the most delicious and purest chocolate products you’ll find on this island, with their ethically sourced sustainable cacao beans imported from cacao farms around the world NearyNógs is Northern Ireland's first bean to bar craft chocolate makers and also one of the oldest in Ireland. Shane tells us all about how the chocolate is made and the origins of the business which began as a fundraiser in 2011, for one of his and his wife Dorothy's 12 children. Back then Dorothy's fudge was a big hit with their friends and family, and so the dream began... 

While life as we know it has changed drastically in the last few years, some things will always stay the same. For the past 30 years religiously, John Dalzell has spent the weeks preceding Christmas camped out on Hill Street collecting funds for the Souther Area Hospice. There was no exception this year on his eightieth birthday as John stood in his trailer and chatted to the passers by who threw money into his bucket, or those who came down specifically to show their support and wish him a happy birthday.  Over £1.85 million has been raised through the sit-out over the years and John, who has weathered every storm to become a local Christmas legend in the town, tells his story to Armagh I.  Meanwhile, in Rostrevor on Christmas Day the crowds were out as usual for the annual Christmas Swim that has been on the go for 50 years. One of the founders Gerry Sloan tells how it all began in 1972 during a 24-hour anti-internment hunger strike, when Down GAA legend, the late Leo Murphy, popped his head into the protestors' tent and asked if anyone fancied a swim. The organisers raised £100 when they made it an official event a couple of years later and since then the swim has raised over £100,000 for local charities.  Kevin Cole who runs local Rostrevor watering hole Henry's ran into the tide for his thirtieth consecutive Christmas dip this year and he, along with some others, chatted with Armagh I for this week's podcast.  

With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly and vaccine passports becoming mandatory since December 13, restaurants are being hit hard in the run-up to Christmas. Proof of vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test result or proof of natural immunity are now needed for access to restaurants and other indoor venues. Armagh I spoke to a number of local restaurant owners in recent days and all are experiencing increasing cancellations for various Covid-related reasons. Caorlan McAllister and Gavin Bates took over the Halfway House restaurant in Banbridge in August 2020 after it was forced to shut its doors due to the pressures of the pandemic. It’s been a difficult year for the hospitality industry since then, with further lockdowns taking their toll. The Halfway House followed strict protocol when Armagh I met Caorlan on Friday for this week’s podcast.

Tommy has spent all of his adult life in the fitness industry in one way or another. As an instructor in various Armagh gyms, he now teaches in the South Lake Leisure Centre where his two daughters are regular visitors - as is his wife who runs marathons for fun. He played football for St Paul's and has been part of the management team in Down club Ballyholland for a number of years, but Tommy still finds the time to compete in ironman triathlons and is constantly looking for new challenges. So much so that he signed up for RTE’s Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week in 2019. Tommy was on the reserve list and was called up as competitor number 24 – his name throughout the gruelling physical and mental endurance test. As well as all of that, Tommy found the time to take up part-time ambulance driving at the start of the pandemic and volunteer in the community, organising and delivering food parcels. Tommy learned from the school of hard knocks and today he speaks to Armagh I about his upbringing by his late father who inspired him to be the best at what he does, his love of football, Hell Week, as one of the hardest yet rewarding challenges he has ever taken on, and why fitness is for everyone at every age.

Michael Loftus was just 16-years-old when he began his refereeing career. That was over 25 years ago when he played football and hurling in his native Dublin and stepped in to referee sometimes underage games but often standing up to men, a lot older than him. When he married a Bessbrook woman, Michael settled in Mullaghbawn and by then he was an established referee, featuring in games at every level. He may have shared his name with another famous Mayo man, but it was this Mick Loftus whose name even became known in the US, where, after a chance meeting he ended up as the man with the whistle in the biggest GAA tournament in the States. Many of you will know his face, either viewed from a stand in some Armagh club, Ulster or Inter-county game in either code, or from the pitch itself as a player or manager. These days though it’s the referees, not the players who Michael is keeping is eye on.

‘The Missing Children’ is a documentary about one of the darkest and most shameful episodes in Ireland’s history. It’s the story of the Tuam mother-and-baby home and much of the tragedy is that the horrific discovery of a hidden burial site in a septic tank on the grounds of the home over seven years ago has still not been properly investigated. The bodies are yet to be exhumed. Sean Donegan’s work features heavily in the documentary. The Newry man's photographs and videos often depict derelict buildings dotted around the Irish landscape and some of his most powerful images are of mother-and-baby homes in Castlepollard, Tuam and Marianvale on the Armagh Road (main image).

*This podcast was recorded prior to last weekend's Ulster Rally stage.  As a teenager, I remember thumbing my way across the country with my friends, hoping to catch some stages of the Circuit of Ireland and maybe get a glimpse of our hero Austin McHale. That was some time ago, but Richard Swanston Director of the 2021 Modern Tyres Ulster International Rally, took me right back there. It wasn’t that we were die-hard rally fanatics, but anyone who’s ever been to any one of the rallies around Ireland or beyond, knows just what a thrill it is to be knee-deep in a watery ditch, near the best bend, with the smell of burning petrol in the air, listening for the roar of the approaching cars and then watching them skid and thunder past in their mud-splattered glory. It was with great pleasure then that I got to speak to Richard ahead of this year’s Ulster Rally at HQ in Newry. This year the event was delayed due to government restrictions but Richard says the Northern Ireland Motor Club plan to move the rally back to its late summer slot in 2022. And despite November expected to bring up difficulties in terms of conditions, the weather has been kind, and Richard says there are even some advantages. Since the Ulster Rally is now a one-day event, the traditional Friday night stages couldn’t happen in the summer, but with the nights closing in early, the thrill of rallying in the dark happened on Saturday evening. Both the British Rally Championship and the Junior British Rally Championship will be decided at this year’s Ulster Rally so that adds some extra spice, with Irish contenders to watch out for out of the 100 plus drivers. And in case you couldn't make the event, for the first time ever the Ulster Rally was streamed live, so it can be viewed globally and at your leisure. Richard tells us all about the lengthy preparations it took to pull off the popular event; the intricacies of rally driving and navigating the stages; the importance of tactics and co-drivers; his winning predictions, favourite courses and his own future as event organiser.