Leitrim Daily

As the Leitrim Club Championships heat up Derek Kelleher joins Breifne Earley to look back over all the action of last weekend and preview the upcoming games in the Connacht Gold Senior and Smith Monumentals Intermediate Football Championships as well as the looking back at the opening weekend of the Gotham Drywall Ladies Senior Football Championships. As well as rounding up the games played across the county we get post match reaction from some of the players and managers involved in games across the weekend. That includes Paul McGuire (6:22) of Gortletteragh who spoke to Deniese O'Flaherty after their victory over Leitrim Gaels. Seamus Gallagher caught up with Seamus Mallon (48:50) of Bornacoola and Richard McTiernan (46:59) of Drumkeeran after their clash as well as JP Kane (38:21), manager of Ballinaglera after their defeat to Dromahair. Peter O'Reilly spoke to St. Mary's manager Dennis Connerton (15:50) after they defeated Melvin Gaels in Kinlough last Saturday evening. After Kiltubrid's victory over neighbours Aughnasheelin, goalkeeper Noel Gill (27:04) spoke to Breifne Earley about his late match winning save. Finally in the Ladies Football Championship, St. Francis manager Paul Martin (55:55) spoke to Seamus Gallagher after their opening day victory over Mohill.

This week Allen Gaels manager Martin McGowan discusses his side's challenging start to the Senior Championship as well as profiling the sides starting the Ladies Football Championships at all levels this Sunday. We also feature reaction from JP Kane (25:44) and Martin McHugh () react to the clash between Ballinaglera and Aughnasheelin in the Intermediate Championship last weekend. Martin McGowan (32:16) enjoyed a welcome relief to the games for Allen Gaels after two heavy defeats for the side in the opening rounds. He was on commentary duty for Ocean FM at the weekend covering the Leitrim Gaels V Melvin Gaels clash and he gives his views on the championship campaigns so far. Aidan Rooney who's co-hosting with show with Breifne this week gives his thoughts on the games played last weekend having been at the Glencar / Manor game and previewing the games ahead for this weekend. Finally we hear from some of the teams preparing for the first round of games in the Gotham Drywall Ladies Football Championships this Sunday morning with County Board Secretary, PJ Ryan (63:27) outlining the slight change to the Senior Football Championship. We hear from Mellissa Hewitt (68:28) of Glencar Manorhamilton, Katie Duignan (71:01) of Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins, Elaine McGovern (74:15) of St. Josephs, Stephanie Reynolds (76:17) of St. Francis, Charleen Tyrrell (79:08) of Mohill, Shaylyn Ward (82:54) of Keeldra Gaels & Roisin Smith (86:09) of Fenagh St. Caillins.

This week we're looking back at the 2020 Intermediate & Junior Finals with the respective managers and the man of the match winners from both games which were played last weekend while we also speak to Leitrim minor manager Adrian Dockery ahead of his side's Connacht Semi Final this evening. Derek Kelleher caught up with Paul Maguire and Jack Heslin after Gortletteragh secured the Intermediate Championship on Sunday and confirmed their promotion to the Senior grade for this years Senior Championship. Derek also spoke to Annaduff manager Joe Cox after the game. Seamus Gallagher is joined by Aughavas player Seamus Sweeney and manager Fintan McBrien as well as Cloone manager Enda McGann after Aughavas lifted the Junior Championship trophy after the neighbours clashed on Saturday evening. Adrian Dockery joins Aidan Rooney and Breifne Earley for a chat ahead of the Leitrim minor's campaign which starts this evening in Sligo with the reward of a Connacht Final ahead for the victors. Aidan, himself a former Sligo minor manager, gets in depth with Adrian about how preparations have been going in the Leitrim camp, with covid issues dominating the headlines. We finish the show with a sneaky look forward to the opening rounds of the Senior Championship with throw-in in just over a week's time.

This week on the Leitrim GAA Podcast we're excited about the return of Championship football with the refixed finals from last year at Intermediate, Junior and Junior 'B' grades taking the focus of attention for the next two weeks as the Leitrim Ladies secure their Quarter Final slot.Derek Kelleher is proudly waving his Gortletteragh colours on the show this week as he previews the 2020 Intermediate and Junior Championship Finals which take place this weekend.Leitrim Ladies manager Hugh Donnelly discusses the season so far for the ladies county senior side with their group top spot confirmed with their comeback victory over Clare last weekend. He discusses the impact of positional changes and the top scoring of former county goalkeeper Michelle Guckian, late sending off incidents against Clare and how the Ladies turned around their Championship form after a hugely disappointing 2020 campaign.Derek chats about the Intermediate final with the rumours and mind games circulating both camps ahead of the Annaduff V Gortletteragh rematch from last years championship as well as taking a sneak peak at the Junior final and the club league finals scheduled for this weekend.

This week on the Leitrim GAA Podcast we're excited about the return of Championship football with the refixed finals from last year at Intermediate, Junior and Junior 'B' grades taking the focus of attention for the next two weeks as the Leitrim Ladies secure their Quarter Final slot. Derek Kelleher is proudly waving his Gortletteragh colours on the show this week as he previews the 2020 Intermediate and Junior Championship Finals which take place this weekend. Leitrim Ladies manager Hugh Donnelly discusses the season so far for the ladies county senior side with their group top spot confirmed with their comeback victory over Clare last weekend. He discusses the impact of positional changes and the top scoring of former county goalkeeper Michelle Guckian, late sending off incidents against Clare and how the Ladies turned around their Championship form after a hugely disappointing 2020 campaign. Derek chats about the Intermediate final with the rumours and mind games circulating both camps ahead of the Annaduff V Gortletteragh rematch from last years championship as well as taking a sneak peak at the Junior final and the club league finals scheduled for this weekend.

We welcome back "Kiss My Arts" to the Leitrim Daily schedule as Mary Blake is joined by the Director of The Dock Arts Centre in Carrick on Shannon, Sarah Searson.They chat about the planning and plotting for new performances in the centre after the cancellations of most of their programme for the last 16 months. Sarah discusses their focus for the last year or so during lockdown with investing in artists, commissioning work and remote collaborations with some local talent.Sarah also discusses the development in the old courthouse building to accommodate the arts long into the future in the town and the new outdoor space which has been added to the facility.Sarah and Mary also chat through the upcoming schedule of events for the next few weeks in the venue.

We welcome back "Kiss My Arts" to the Leitrim Daily schedule as Mary Blake is joined by the Director of The Dock Arts Centre in Carrick on Shannon, Sarah Searson. They chat about the planning and plotting for new performances in the centre after the cancellations of most of their programme for the last 16 months. Sarah discusses their focus for the last year or so during lockdown with investing in artists, commissioning work and remote collaborations with some local talent. Sarah also discusses the development in the old courthouse building to accommodate the arts long into the future in the town and the new outdoor space which has been added to the facility. Sarah and Mary also chat through the upcoming schedule of events for the next few weeks in the venue.

This week's guest is a previous winner of the Leitrim Person of the Year award, hailing from Drumshanbo Noel McPartland has played a large part in the development of the food hub from the premises he spend decades working with Bo Peep Jams and Lairds Foods. They chat about his experience of growing up in rural Ireland, making inroads in the food export in the middle east, far east and North America and dealing with the wonders of the communication technology in the 1970's and 1980's. Noel discusses his experience of being drafted into the US Army and almost getting dragged into the Cuban Missile Crisis a matter of weeks before his scheduled discharge after his two years of service. You can follow the show on www.leitrimdaily.com or by searching for 'Leitrim Daily' on Youtube or Spotify. Join the 'Leitrim Daily' Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer.

This week's guest is a previous winner of the Leitrim Person of the Year award, hailing from Drumshanbo Noel McPartland has played a large part in the development of the food hub from the premises he spend decades working with Bo Peep Jams and Lairds Foods.They chat about his experience of growing up in rural Ireland, making inroads in the food export in the middle east, far east and North America and dealing with the wonders of the communication technology in the 1970's and 1980's.Noel discusses his experience of being drafted into the US Army and almost getting dragged into the Cuban Missile Crisis a matter of weeks before his scheduled discharge after his two years of service.You can follow the show on www.leitrimdaily.com or by searching for 'Leitrim Daily' on Youtube or Spotify. Join the 'Leitrim Daily' Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer.

It's been a fairly rough few days for everyone involved in Leitrim GAA, this week County Board secretary Declan Bohan drops into the show to discuss the aftermath of the defeat to Mayo on Sunday and outline the roadmap ahead to a brighter day for the green and gold.Looking back on the events in MacHale Park on Sunday, Aidan Rooney shares with his co-host Breifne Earley his thoughts on the demoralising defeat focusing on the predictability of the outcome ahead of the fixture and the apathy that's growing across the country towards the provincial and All Ireland Championships outside of a small number of competitive counties. Declan outlines the next steps in the recovery as they prepare to analyse the fallout of their semi final loss and establish the next steps ahead for the county and the personnel, both on and off the pitch, involved in the county teams.Aidan and Breifne take a look back at the club fixtures played over the weekend and take one eye forwards towards the club championships which start this week with the draw for the group stages of the Senior & Intermediate competition taking place on Thursday evening.

This week's guest is former county librarian Seán Ó Súilleabháin drops in for a chat with Tommy about his life in the town having moved from this native Longford decades ago. They chat about his love of the Irish language and his work promoting the language in Ballinamore. They touch on his involvement with the promotion of gaelic games and specifically hurling as well as other cultural activities through scór. Tommy and Sean reminisce about their shared experiences threading the boards as part of the All Ireland winning Novelty Act with Sean O'Heslins. You can follow the show on www.leitrimdaily.com or by searching for 'Leitrim Daily' on Youtube or Spotify. Join the 'Leitrim Daily' Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer.

This week's guest is former county librarian Seán Ó Súilleabháin drops in for a chat with Tommy about his life in the town having moved from this native Longford decades ago.They chat about his love of the Irish language and his work promoting the language in Ballinamore. They touch on his involvement with the promotion of gaelic games and specifically hurling as well as other cultural activities through scór.Tommy and Sean reminisce about their shared experiences threading the boards as part of the All Ireland winning Novelty Act with Sean O'Heslins.You can follow the show on www.leitrimdaily.com or by searching for 'Leitrim Daily' on Youtube or Spotify. Join the 'Leitrim Daily' Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer.

This week's show focuses on the start of Leitrim's four intercounty adult sides with the Senior Footballers, Ladies and U20's starting their campaign after the Hurler's started their season with defeat in Mayo last weekend. We're joined by Leitrim manager Terry Hyland and former captain Gary Reynolds on this week's podcast episode. Co Hosts Derek Kelleher and Breifne Earley discuss the footballers chances in what is deemed to be a mismatch by most pundits on Castlebar on Sunday and what's required of this bunch of players to have the game judged a success from the Leitrim point of view. Terry Hyland drops in to chat about the preparations for the side, he discusses injuries and the absences from the panel. Hyland talks about the impact of rule changes, covid and lack of time on his side's planning for this Connacht Semi Final. He details his thoughts on where Leitrim need to focus in the medium to long term to be competitive on a consistent basis but wasn't to be drawn on his own medium to long term plans in the role. Within the county We take a look at the Masonite Football Leagues and former Leitrim captain Gary Reynolds joins us to discuss his Carrigallen sides draw in Gortletteragh on Saturday evening as they prepare for the start of the Smyth Monumentals Intermediate Football Championship in just a few weeks time.

He's one of Leitrim's most recognisable characters and here at Leitrim Daily we felt it was about time Tommy Moran had his own chat show as he approaches his 80th birthday. A former school teacher, chairman of Connacht GAA, long serving secretary of Leitrim GAA, formerly editor and current chairman of The Leitrim Guardian and veteran of countless drama productions amongst many other interests we felt he was the perfect person to share stories of interesting people around the county.We asked and he answered and starting today he's going to be inviting some of the people around the county to join him on this weekly show. You can follow the show on Youtube, Spotify or join our Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer.Tommy's first guests are current Leitrim Person of the Year award winners Peter McHugh and Andy McGovern. The pair were nominated for the prestigious honour as part of their work for the Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities (LAPWD) over the years.Andy McGovern is a novelist who is the old living person with Motor Neurone Disease having been diagnosed with the disease in the 1970's. Peter McHugh suffered a stroke while working at his tractor on his farm and lost his left arm after falling and getting entangled with the tractor shaft. Both men have been hugely influential in the development of LAPWD.

He's one of Leitrim's most recognisable characters and here at Leitrim Daily we felt it was about time Tommy Moran had his own chat show as he approaches his 80th birthday. A former school teacher, chairman of Connacht GAA, long serving secretary of Leitrim GAA, formerly editor and current chairman of The Leitrim Guardian and veteran of countless drama productions amongst many other interests we felt he was the perfect person to share stories of interesting people around the county. We asked and he answered and starting today he's going to be inviting some of the people around the county to join him on this weekly show. You can follow the show on Youtube, Spotify or join our Facebook group to get the latest episodes direct to your phone, ipad or computer. Tommy's first guests are current Leitrim Person of the Year award winners Peter McHugh and Andy McGovern. The pair were nominated for the prestigious honour as part of their work for the Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities (LAPWD) over the years. Andy McGovern is a novelist who is the old living person with Motor Neurone Disease having been diagnosed with the disease in the 1970's. Peter McHugh suffered a stroke while working at his tractor on his farm and lost his left arm after falling and getting entangled with the tractor shaft. Both men have been hugely influential in the development of LAPWD.

With the huge number of games on the calendar at the moment we've an equally busy show this weekend as the Ladies deal with their League Final disappointment, our hurlers get their season up and running and the club season progresses steady with the Masonite Leagues. Former Connacht Champion Aidan Rooney (1:22) joins Breifne Earley to work through the last week including Sligo's defeat to Mayo, Leitrim's opponents in the upcoming Connacht Championship semi final before previewing Leitrim's chances in that game. Maeve Quinn (13:43) joins the conversation to look back at the LIDL Ladies Football League Division 4 Final defeat to Louth and where Leitrim go from here with the Championship starting with a home clash with Fermanagh in the coming weeks. We also hear after match reaction from Leitrim Ladies captain Clare Owens (20:36) and manager Hugh Donnelly (23:50). Leitrim Hurling manager Olcan Conway (32:36) speaks to Breifne ahead of his side's opening Nickey Rackard Cup clash with Mayo this Saturday in MacHale Park, Castlebar. He discusses the injury situation at the moment in the squad and the competition format and what's required for Leitrim to reach a Semi Final spot and ensure survival at this grade. Within the county the Masonite Football Leagues continue and we catch up with Conor Sheridan (41:46) of Melvin Gaels and Niall Woods (52:19) of Gortletteragh after their wins last weekend over Leitrim Gaels and Allen Gaels in the top two divisions of the competition. Aidan and Breifne finish the show with a look at the fixtures (63:29) for next weekend across the sports within the county's leagues and the hurlers and U20 footballers.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for June 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the multiple award winning debut novel from Douglas Stuart, ’Shuggie Bain’. The club’s host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and Michael Geoghegan to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. This will be the last episode of the Book Club for this season as the panel take a summer break. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ‘Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stuart It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother’s sense of snobbish propriety. The miners’ children pick on him and adults condemn him as no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Édouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for June 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the multiple award winning debut novel from Douglas Stuart, 'Shuggie Bain'. The club's host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and Michael Geoghegan to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. This will be the last episode of the Book Club for this season as the panel take a summer break. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You'll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ‘Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stuart. It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother's sense of snobbish propriety. The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no' right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Édouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.

We're looking back at the end of our county sides disappointing campaigns in the National Football League and Hurling Leagues in recent weeks while we catch up with the Ladies Football team preparing for their Semi Final showdown with Limerick on Sunday. Aidan Rooney (2:30) takes a look back at some of the lessons learned from the winless route through Division 4 of the National Football League last month and where our senior side are currently ahead of a crunch Connacht Senior Championship Semi Final clash in just four weeks time. We catch up with Leitrim Ladies (16:59) footballers Carla LeGuen (21:25), Charlene Tyrell (21:52) & Ailbhe Clancy (23:01) as they take on Limerick in the Semi Final of Division 4 of the Lidl National Ladies Football League on Sunday afternoon. County Board secretary Declan Bohan (36:24) joins us to outline the format for the Masonite Football Leagues which kick off in a week's time for ten clubs with the remainder joining the action the following weekend. Finally Daniel Beck (46:20), the captain of the reigning Championship holders Mohill, joins Aidan and Breifne to discuss the format of the league and the general excitement of players to just be back in action with a recharged battery after the longest off season break most will have had in their careers. This podcast is produced by FinalWhistle / Leitrim Daily in association with Leitrim GAA. Please support www.leitrimsupportersclub.ie & www.winawedding.ie which are two current fundraisers to help with the costs of running county teams at all levels.

It's been a rough weekend for most of Leitrim Gaelic Games with national league defeats for the county senior footballers and hurlers although the Ladies footballers did manage to put some sunshine with an eight point victory on Sunday afternoon. This week's co-host Colin Regan (1:01) takes a look back at the National Football League defeat with Breifne Earley. Leitrim manager Terry Hyland (3:02) joins the show to reflect on his side's reversal at the hands of Mickey Harte's Louth side in Carrick on Sunday afternoon. He talks about his experience of the game, what went wrong and the route from here for a side who saw their interest in the promotion hunt ended with that defeat. One of the few bright spots was the return to action of Ryan O'Rourke (15:42) and we hear his thoughts after his return to the playing pitch after a long injury layoff. Maeve Quinn (17:42) drops in to chat about the Ladies fine performance and big win over Louth in Ballinamore in their first League game of the season as they reversed a defeat to the same opposition last season as they pick up last season's efforts to get promotion from Division 4 which was cut short by the pandemic restrictions. We also hear from Leitrim Captain Clare Owens (23:12) & Manager Hugh Donnelly (25:36) after the game. Finally Colin and Breifne chat to Games Development Administrator Stephen McGurrin (41:25) about the roll out of the Turas programme across 16 of the counties clubs with over 400 youth coaches taking the first steps on their coach education journey. Colin finished with a look forward (56:22) to the weekend's National Football League clash with Antrim and taking the positives from the current situation.

It's been a rough weekend for most of Leitrim Gaelic Games with national league defeats for the county senior footballers and hurlers although the Ladies footballers did manage to put some sunshine with an eight point victory on Sunday afternoon. This week's co-host Colin Regan (1:01) takes a look back at the National Football League defeat with Breifne Earley. Leitrim manager Terry Hyland (3:02) joins the show to reflect on his side's reversal at the hands of Mickey Harte's Louth side in Carrick on Sunday afternoon. He talks about his experience of the game, what went wrong and the route from here for a side who saw their interest in the promotion hunt ended with that defeat. One of the few bright spots was the return to action of Ryan O'Rourke (15:42) and we hear his thoughts after his return to the playing pitch after a long injury layoff. Maeve Quinn (17:42) drops in to chat about the Ladies fine performance and big win over Louth in Ballinamore in their first League game of the season as they reversed a defeat to the same opposition last season as they pick up last season's efforts to get promotion from Division 4 which was cut short by the pandemic restrictions. We also hear from Leitrim Captain Clare Owens (23:12) & Manager Hugh Donnelly (25:36) after the game. Finally Colin and Breifne chat to Games Development Administrator Stephen McGurrin (41:25) about the roll out of the Turas programme across 16 of the counties clubs with over 400 youth coaches taking the first steps on their coach education journey. Colin finished with a look forward (56:22) to the weekend's National Football League clash with Antrim and taking the positives from the current situation.

This week Melvin Gaels & Leitrim footballer Darragh Rooney, County Hurling captain David McGovern and Ladies Football manager Hugh Donnelly join hosts Aidan Rooney and Breifne Earley to discuss the opening weekends in their respective national league campaigns. In the second episode of the new look Leitrim GAA Podcast, a partnership of Leitrim GAA and Leitrim Daily. It's a weekly hour or so look into the world of Leitrim County Club Gaelic Games, available in both video and audio versions. Former Leitrim player Aidan Rooney (6:15) gives his view on the defeat to Sligo in the opening round of the National Football League on Sunday, the split loyalties of watching his Son Nathan feature for Sligo and the disappointment of the second half collapse. Melvin Gaels sharp shooter Darragh Rooney (13:42) joins Aidan and Breifne to carry out a post mortem on Sunday's defeat to Sligo, how the tide turned in the second half and where next for Leitrim's plans for what remains of the National Football League season. Darragh discusses the challenge ahead with the visit of Louth and Antrim to Carrick, the mood generally in the camp and the work that's been put in behind the scenes by players and staff to continue to build the squad. The full back and captain of Leitrim hurlers David McGovern (26:16) drops in to look back at the soul crushing injury time defeat at the hands of Louth in Avant Money Pairc Sean MacDiarmada. McGovern discusses his 'very, very South Leitrim' accent, growing up as a Leitrim supporter in Blanchardstown and the progress made in Leitrim Hurling in recent seasons. With the Ladies team starting their season on Sunday against Louth in Ballinamore, their manager Hugh Donnelly (42:58) talks about their work in recent weeks to prepare, the impact of lockdown on the squad and competing with other sporting opportunities for his players.

Welcome to the new look Leitrim GAA Podcast, brought to you by a partnership of Leitrim Daily and Leitrim GAA. It's going to be a weekly hour or so look into the world of Leitrim Club and County Gaelic Games. In today's first episode of the new look show, available as in both a video & audio version, county board chairman Enda Stenson (0:21) kicks off proceedings with an introduction to the show and a brief catch up for the activities over the close season including some innovative fundraising initiatives to keep the activities of the inter county sides at all levels running. We'll meet the panel of hosts for the year ahead with Derek Kelleher (9:49), Aidan Rooney (11:01) and Colin Regan (13:26) joining Leitrim Daily host Breifne Earley on a weekly basis for the year ahead. They review their last six months unique pandemic experience and the upcoming National Football League & Connacht Championship campaigns. They talk about their respective Connacht final appearances and non appearances, Leitrim's decent record in Markievicz Park and discuss split loyalties in the Rooney household as Aidan's son Nathan will be in the Sligo squad for the National Football League opener on Sunday. Former Chairman of Connacht Council and Secretary of Leitrim GAA Tommy Moran (30:02) joins Derek and Breifne to recall memories of Packie McGarty, the Leitrim legend who passed away recently. Tommy recounts his memories of the Mohill man's performances in four consecutive Connacht Finals throught the late 1950's and his automatic inclusion on Connacht teams in the Railway Cup and Ireland teams through four decades in the green and gold jersey. Olcan Conway (42:53), Leitrim Senior Hurling Manager, drops in to talk about the new arrivals into his squad, how preparations have been going and how much he's enjoying being back on a sideline in recent weeks. Senior Football Manager Terry Hyland (59:49) joins Derek and Breifne to discuss his side's preparation for the 2021 season in uncertain times. He discusses the challenges posed by Covid restrictions and the real world impact of committing to inter county gaelic games for players in 2021. Terry chats about expectations within the squad going into Division 4 as one of the favourites to emerge from the division this year and his hopes going into a potential Championship semi final against Mayo or Sligo, in two months time.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for May 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the best selling memoir from Hadley Freeman ’House of Glass’. The club’s host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and Michael Geoghegan to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in June. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About 'House of Glass' by Hadley Freeman After her grandmother died, Hadley Freeman travelled to her apartment to try and make sense of a woman she’d never really known. Sala Glass was a European expat in America – defiantly clinging to her French influences, famously reserved, fashionable to the end – yet to Hadley much of her life remained a mystery. Sala’s experience of surviving one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history was never spoken about. When Hadley found a shoebox filled with her grandmother’s treasured belongings, it started a decade-long quest to find out their haunting significance and to dig deep into the extraordinary lives of Sala and her three brothers. The search takes Hadley from Picasso’s archives in Paris to a secret room in a farmhouse in Auvergne to Long Island and to Auschwitz. By piecing together letters, photos and an unpublished memoir, Hadley brings to life the full story of the Glass siblings for the first time: Alex’s past as a fashion couturier and friend of Dior and Chagall; trusting and brave Jacques, a fierce patriot for his adopted country; and the brilliant Henri who hid in occupied France – each of them made extraordinary bids for survival during the Second World War. And alongside her great-uncles’ extraordinary acts of courage in Vichy France, Hadley discovers her grandmother’s equally heroic but more private form of female self-sacrifice. A moving memoir following the Glass siblings throughout the course of the twentieth-century as they each make their own bid for survival, House of Glass explores assimilation, identity and home – issues that are deeply relevant today. Book Club Selection for June 2021: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother’s sense of snobbish propriety. The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no’ right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Édouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for April 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the debut novel from Cork auther Danielle McLaughlin ’The Art of Falling’. The club’s host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and this month’s guest Michael Geoghegan from Aughacashel to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in April. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ‘The Art of Falling’ by Danielle McLaughlin Nessa McCormack’s marriage is coming back together again after her husband’s affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibition for a beloved artist, the renowned late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two enigmatic outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: A chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her; and at work, an odd woman comes forward with a mysterious connection to Robert Locke’s life and his most famous work, the Chalk Sculpture. As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she realizes she must decide what is the truth, whether she can continue to live with a lie, and what the consequences might be were she to fully unravel the mysteries in both the life of Robert Locke and her own. In this gripping and wonderfully written debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that define us. Book Club Selection for May 2021: House of Glass by Hadley Brennan After her grandmother died, Hadley Freeman travelled to her apartment to try and make sense of a woman she’d never really known. Sala Glass was a European expat in America – defiantly clinging to her French influences, famously reserved, fashionable to the end – yet to Hadley much of her life remained a mystery. Sala’s experience of surviving one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history was never spoken about. When Hadley found a shoebox filled with her grandmother’s treasured belongings, it started a decade-long quest to find out their haunting significance and to dig deep into the extraordinary lives of Sala and her three brothers. The search takes Hadley from Picasso’s archives in Paris to a secret room in a farmhouse in Auvergne to Long Island and to Auschwitz. By piecing together letters, photos and an unpublished memoir, Hadley brings to life the full story of the Glass siblings for the first time: Alex’s past as a fashion couturier and friend of Dior and Chagall; trusting and brave Jacques, a fierce patriot for his adopted country; and the brilliant Henri who hid in occupied France – each of them made extraordinary bids for survival during the Second World War. And alongside her great-uncles’ extraordinary acts of courage in Vichy France, Hadley discovers her grandmother’s equally heroic but more private form of female self-sacrifice. A moving memoir following the Glass siblings throughout the course of the twentieth-century as they each make their own bid for survival, House of Glass explores assimilation, identity and home – issues that are deeply relevant today.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for May 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the best selling memoir from Hadley Freeman 'House of Glass'. The club's host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and Michael Geoghegan to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in June. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You'll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About 'House of Glass' by Hadley Freeman After her grandmother died, Hadley Freeman travelled to her apartment to try and make sense of a woman she'd never really known. Sala Glass was a European expat in America – defiantly clinging to her French influences, famously reserved, fashionable to the end – yet to Hadley much of her life remained a mystery. Sala's experience of surviving one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history was never spoken about. When Hadley found a shoebox filled with her grandmother's treasured belongings, it started a decade-long quest to find out their haunting significance and to dig deep into the extraordinary lives of Sala and her three brothers. The search takes Hadley from Picasso's archives in Paris to a secret room in a farmhouse in Auvergne to Long Island and to Auschwitz. By piecing together letters, photos and an unpublished memoir, Hadley brings to life the full story of the Glass siblings for the first time: Alex's past as a fashion couturier and friend of Dior and Chagall; trusting and brave Jacques, a fierce patriot for his adopted country; and the brilliant Henri who hid in occupied France – each of them made extraordinary bids for survival during the Second World War. And alongside her great-uncles' extraordinary acts of courage in Vichy France, Hadley discovers her grandmother's equally heroic but more private form of female self-sacrifice. A moving memoir following the Glass siblings throughout the course of the twentieth-century as they each make their own bid for survival, House of Glass explores assimilation, identity and home – issues that are deeply relevant today. Book Club Selection for June 2021: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart It is 1981. Glasgow is dying and good families must grift to survive. Agnes Bain has always expected more from life. She dreams of greater things: a house with its own front door and a life bought and paid for outright (like her perfect, but false, teeth). But Agnes is abandoned by her philandering husband, and soon she and her three children find themselves trapped in a decimated mining town. As she descends deeper into drink, the children try their best to save her, yet one by one they must abandon her to save themselves. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. Shuggie is different. Fastidious and fussy, he shares his mother's sense of snobbish propriety. The miners' children pick on him and adults condemn him as no' right. But Shuggie believes that if he tries his hardest, he can be normal like the other boys and help his mother escape this hopeless place. Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain lays bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride. A counterpart to the privileged Thatcher-era London of Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, it also recalls the work of Édouard Louis, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, a blistering debut by a brilliant writer with a powerful and important story to tell.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for April 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on their latest selection, the debut novel from Cork auther Danielle McLaughlin 'The Art of Falling'. The club's host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and this month's guest Michael Geoghegan from Aughacashel to work their way through this first full length novel from the winner of The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in April. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You'll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About 'The Art of Falling' by Danielle McLaughlin Nessa McCormack's marriage is coming back together again after her husband's affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibition for a beloved artist, the renowned late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two enigmatic outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: A chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her; and at work, an odd woman comes forward with a mysterious connection to Robert Locke's life and his most famous work, the Chalk Sculpture. As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she realizes she must decide what is the truth, whether she can continue to live with a lie, and what the consequences might be were she to fully unravel the mysteries in both the life of Robert Locke and her own. In this gripping and wonderfully written debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that define us. Book Club Selection for May 2021: House of Glass by Hadley Brennan After her grandmother died, Hadley Freeman travelled to her apartment to try and make sense of a woman she'd never really known. Sala Glass was a European expat in America – defiantly clinging to her French influences, famously reserved, fashionable to the end – yet to Hadley much of her life remained a mystery. Sala's experience of surviving one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history was never spoken about. When Hadley found a shoebox filled with her grandmother's treasured belongings, it started a decade-long quest to find out their haunting significance and to dig deep into the extraordinary lives of Sala and her three brothers. The search takes Hadley from Picasso's archives in Paris to a secret room in a farmhouse in Auvergne to Long Island and to Auschwitz. By piecing together letters, photos and an unpublished memoir, Hadley brings to life the full story of the Glass siblings for the first time: Alex's past as a fashion couturier and friend of Dior and Chagall; trusting and brave Jacques, a fierce patriot for his adopted country; and the brilliant Henri who hid in occupied France – each of them made extraordinary bids for survival during the Second World War. And alongside her great-uncles' extraordinary acts of courage in Vichy France, Hadley discovers her grandmother's equally heroic but more private form of female self-sacrifice. A moving memoir following the Glass siblings throughout the course of the twentieth-century as they each make their own bid for survival, House of Glass explores assimilation, identity and home – issues that are deeply relevant today.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for February 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on the latest selection, number one best seller and Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year ’Strange Flowers’, from Booker nominated Irish writer Donal Ryan. The club’s host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and special guest Rosemarie Donnelly of Blaney Bookworms in Castleblaney, Monaghan to work their way through this poetic and lyrical bitter sweet multi-generational family drama set in Tipperary in the 1970's. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in April. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ’Strange Flowers’ by Donal Ryan In 1973 Moll Gladney goes missing from the Tipperary hillside where she was born. Slowly her parents, Paddy and Kit, begin to accept that she’s gone forever. But she returns, changed, and with a few surprises for her family and neighbours. Nothing is ever the same again for the Gladneys, who learn that fate cares little for duty, that life rarely conforms to expectation, that God can’t be relied upon to heed any prayer. A story of exile and return, of loss and discovery, of retreat from grief and the saving power of love. Book Club Selection for April 2021: 'The Art of Falling' by Danielle McLaughlin Nessa McCormack's marriage is coming back together again after her husband's affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibition for a beloved artist, the renowned late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two enigmatic outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: A chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her; and at work, an odd woman comes forward with a mysterious connection to Robert Locke's life and his most famous work, the Chalk Sculpture. As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she realizes she must decide what is the truth, whether she can continue to live with a lie, and what the consequences might be were she to fully unravel the mysteries in both the life of Robert Locke and her own. In this gripping and wonderfully written debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that define us.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for February 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on the latest selection, number one best seller and Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year 'Strange Flowers', from Booker nominated Irish writer Donal Ryan. The club's host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and special guest Rosemarie Donnelly of Blaney Bookworms in Castleblaney, Monaghan to work their way through this poetic and lyrical bitter sweet multi-generational family drama set in Tipperary in the 1970's. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in April. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You'll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About 'Strange Flowers' by Donal Ryan In 1973 Moll Gladney goes missing from the Tipperary hillside where she was born. Slowly her parents, Paddy and Kit, begin to accept that she's gone forever. But she returns, changed, and with a few surprises for her family and neighbours. Nothing is ever the same again for the Gladneys, who learn that fate cares little for duty, that life rarely conforms to expectation, that God can't be relied upon to heed any prayer. A story of exile and return, of loss and discovery, of retreat from grief and the saving power of love.  Book Club Selection for April 2021: 'The Art of Falling' by Danielle McLaughlin Nessa McCormack's marriage is coming back together again after her husband's affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibition for a beloved artist, the renowned late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two enigmatic outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: A chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her; and at work, an odd woman comes forward with a mysterious connection to Robert Locke's life and his most famous work, the Chalk Sculpture. As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she realizes she must decide what is the truth, whether she can continue to live with a lie, and what the consequences might be were she to fully unravel the mysteries in both the life of Robert Locke and her own. In this gripping and wonderfully written debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that define us.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session for February 2021. Our Book Club panel met once again to share their thoughts on the latest selection, international bestseller ’Such A Fun Age’ by Kiley Reid. The club’s host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon to work their way through this story about race & privilege. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily in March. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ’Such A Fun Age’ When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is back. Despite the coronavirus restrictions our Book Club panel were eager to share their thoughts on the latest episode of our series with ’Travelling in a Strange Land’ by award winning Irish author David Park. The club's host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and the thoughts of author Kevin McManus are also included in the show. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily on the second weekend of February. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About ’Travelling in a Strange Land’ WINNER OF THE KERRY GROUP IRISH BOOK AWARDS Set in a frozen winter landscape, the new novel from the prize-winning, acclaimed author David Park is a psychologically astute, expertly crafted portrait of a father's inner life and a family in crisis I am entering the frozen land, although to which country it belongs I cannot say. The world is shrouded in snow. Transport has ground to a halt. Tom must venture out into a transformed and treacherous landscape to collect his son, sick and stranded in student lodgings. But on this solitary drive from Belfast to Sunderland, Tom will be drawn into another journey, one without map or guide, and is forced to chart pathways of family history haunted by memory and clouded in regret. Written in spare, crystalline prose by one of the most important voices in contemporary Irish writing, Travelling in a Strange Land is a work of exquisite loss and transformative grace. It is a novel about fathers and sons, grief, memory, family and love; about the gulfs that lie between us and those we love, and the wrong turns that we take on our way to find them.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is back. Despite the coronavirus restrictions our Book Club panel were eager to share their thoughts on the second episode of our series with '10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ by Turkish writer Elif Shafak. The club host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and the thoughts of author Kevin McManus are also included in the show. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily on the second weekend of January and it’s very different to this choice. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. About '10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World' 'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore...' For Leila, each minute after her death recalls a sensuous memory: spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the birth of a yearned-for son; bubbling vats of lemon and sugar to wax women's legs while men are at prayer; the cardamom coffee she shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each fading memory brings back the friends she made in her bittersweet life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her . . .

Today the lovely Eleanor Shanley was in the Leitrim Daily studio with Mary Blake for a conversation about her career in music and her new album. The two ladies had a chat about her childhood origins in music, being her own first concert promoter and her brand new album 'Cancion de Amor' recorded with classical guitarist John Feeley. She talks about her varied career and memories with working with some of Ireland's great's including De Danann, Ronnie Drew & Charlie McGettigan amongst many, many others. On this episode of the show Eleanor also shared two gorgeous songs for us from the new album 'Cancion de Amor' that is just out and available from her website at: https://www.eleanorshanley.ie/

Today in Kiss My Arts, Mary Blake talks to Traditional singer Fionnuala Maxwell about some of the creative and collaborative projects she has been busily working on. They discuss her recent, award winning zoom film made with some of our older Leitrim residents about traditions and songs. Fionnuala has just been awarded a bursary from the Arts Council to do a research project into Leitrim singing and she chats to Mary about her plans for that.

The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily is in session. Despite the coronavirus restrictions our Book Club panel were eager to share their thoughts on the first full episode of our series with Richard Osman's bestselling 'Thursday Murder Club'. The club host Mary Blake is joined by retired librarian Hilda King, Orlagh Kelly of The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon and the thoughts of author Kevin McManus are also included in the show. Each of our panel members share their opinions on the show, it's four septuagenarian main characters, the picturesque setting and the plot lines where new murders crisscross with cold cases and all the intrigue and suspense that brings. We also find our which book has been selected for this month to be discussed in the next episode of The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily on the first weekend of December and it's very different to this choice. You can get all books covered in the series from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon. Although closed due to covid restrictions they are facilitating an order and collect / postal service on all purchases. Contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You’ll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily. Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman): In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?

This week due to the impact of the Covid19 restrictions we're operating off a scaled back version of our sporting calendar with just three games scheduled to proceed this weekend affecting Leitrim teams and athletes. We start the show though with a look back at last weekend's action and Liam Moreton (3:06) discusses the lost National League hurling final for his side against Sligo. We talk to Ryan O'Rourke (9:42) ahead of the county footballer's crunch league clash with Tipperary on Sunday afternoon while Karl McDermott (23:27) will tell us about the mood in the Leitrim Hurling camp ahead of his side's meeting with Armagh in the Nicky Rackard Cup on Saturday evening. Niall Morahan will also be in action for Sligo Rovers in their final home league game of the season at they face relegation threatened Cork City also on Saturday evening. All three elite fixtures are available on either GAAGO or WatchLOI.ie for a once off charge of €5.

We're welcoming back inter county gaelic games this weekend as our footballers and hurlers are in National League action, we're chatting to managers of both teams as well as an in-depth discussion with Niall Morahan of Sligo Rovers ahead of their trip to Shelbourne on Sunday. We take a look at the truncated sports fixture list with a look at Gaelic Games (0:15) and our county footballers and hurlers as well as SSE Airtricity League (2:01), Women's National League (2:44) and Community Series Rugby (3:24) Amid growing fears of restrictions and the second wave of the coronavirus our county footballers face a trip to Newry to take on Down in their penultimate league fixture. We had a chat with Terry Hyland (4:40) ahead of the important league clash between the sides on Saturday, throw in at 4pm. Olcan Conway (16:56), manager of the Leitrim Hurlers joins us to discuss his side's preparation for the Division 3B Hurling Final in the National Hurling League on Sunday from the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence at 1:30pm. Both games are live on the GAAGO streaming service with a €5 charge per game. Finally we sit down with Niall Morahan (28:23) of Sligo Rovers to discuss his side's status as the surprise package of the league restart, rising up the table from bottom spot to a peak of third and the struggles in recent weeks to recapture that restart form. We chat about his career journey through schoolboy ranks at Carrick Town and Strand Celtic to The Showgrounds and really establishing himself in the Bit O'Red squad this season.

Today for Kiss My Arts, Mary Blake is in the Glens Arts Centre in Manorhamilton with Treasa Nealon, a theatre maker and writer from the town of Manorhamilton. Treasa started off as a young actor in Leitrim Youth Theatre and where she is now a facilitator. She studied Performing Arts in Sligo IT where she met co-founder of the Rabbit's Riot Theatre Company, Sonia Norris. Last September they started the Coinini Women's Group who meet at the Women's Centre in The Bee Park Resource Centre. Treasa has recently started a new podcast called Art It Like Rabbits, which is a platform to showcase artists in the north west of Ireland.

It's been a strange situation in Leitrim Sport with the new lockdown coming into affect last week but there are some athlete's at a regional and national level who have continued to compete through these troubling times. We speak to Matthew Earley of Sligo Rugby who extended their lead at the top of the Connacht Conference of the Energia Community Series this weekend. With no competitive gaelic games this weekend ahead of the resumption of planned national competitions next weekend we focused on the results from the new Irish Rugby competition for All Ireland League clubs, the Energia Community Series (1:17), both divisions of the SSE Airtricity League (3:59) and Women's National League (6:28) at Senior and U17 level. We'll also hear from the two Leitrim girls who played their part in a brave display from the U15 Sligo Leitrim League side who lost 2-1 to the Dublin based side from the Metropolitan League North in the last 4 of the U15 Gaynor Cup competition this term. Sorcha Feehily (10:16) and Aine McLaughlin (12:17) share their disappointment after the defeat. We end with an indepth conversation with Matthew Earley (14:40) about Sligo Rugby's winning start to the Community Series and his journey through Carrick on Shannon Rugby Club, Sligo Grammar School and Connacht Youth Development sides to his place in the starting side for Connacht's current top ranked club.

Rather than previewing county junior and provincial ladies finals this week we're looking to the national scene after the entire country entered entered Level 3 restrictions earlier this week resulting in all local sports shut down with immediate affect. Instead we're looking at Rugby which is the only competitive sport this weekend with Leitrim interest in the shape of Jack Gilheany (Old Belvedere) & Matthew Earley (Sligo) in the new look Energia Community Series. We have a full interview with Jack Gilheany who's also a key member of Terry Hyland's Leitrim Senior Football squad for what remains of this year's league and championship campaign. We start the show with a news update on coverage of Leitrim footballers and hurlers who are in league action next weekend and will see both of their games featured on the GAAGO app. Irish residents will be able to catch Gaelic Games action live streamed to their phones, computers or televisions for just €5 per game. We take a look at the upcoming gaelic games fixtures (2:21) as well as what opposition lies in store for Leitrim Ladies footballers (3:05) in the coming weeks. In Rugby (3:50) we look at a busy weekend for Sligo Rugby and Old Belvedere as they continue their mixed fortunes in the Energia Community Series with away games against Ballina and Old Wesley respectively. It's a quiet week on the Soccer (5:26) front as Sligo Rovers and Peamount Utd both have no fixture at senior level this week. Muireann Devaney will be in action with Sligo's U17 Women's side, they travel to Peamount tomorrow evening for a 6:30 kick off. Finally we sit down with Jack Gilheany (9:41) to discuss his season so far with Fenagh, Leitrim and in particular with Old Belvedere in the All Ireland Rugby League structures and the new look Community Series competition.

This week we welcome back an old staple of the Leitrim Daily schedule with our "In Focus" show. For the first show back we are featuring Bryan Fennell, the newest Rural Recreation Officer in Ireland working with the Leitrim Development Company to administer the National Walks Scheme. The Walks Scheme is a national scheme involving landholders on National Waymarked Ways, Looped Walking Routes and Heritage Routes, and other trails approved by the National Trails Office. Rural Recreation Officers, like Bryan, are responsible for the rollout of the National Walks Scheme. The Walks Scheme has resulted in the development and enhancement of 44 national trails including The Leitrim Way and The Miners Way locally. The rural recreation officers have also negotiated and managed maintenance contracts with over 1,890 landowners. As a result, significant social and economic benefits for local communities have been achieved including: * additional jobs in the accommodation sector * new business ventures such as bike hire and coffee shops, including more jobs in the supply of outdoor recreational equipment and services * a noticeable growth in registered walking clubs * a significant increase in the number and duration of walking festivals which generate additional bed nights in small villages and the wider rural area * maintenance payments to landholders for trail development, generating an income stream for rural communities of €5.4 million over a 4-year period Bryan discusses the details of all of this along with how Leitrim farmers and landowners along these routes can get in touch and ensure that they can avail of the supports for maintaining these trails.

Carrigallen's Seamus O'Rourke came in to the Leitrim Daily studio to talk to Kiss My Arts host Mary Blake about his new gorgeous memoir 'Standing in Gaps' and his life and career as an actor & writer. Standing in Gaps is a book that any of us who grew up in rural Ireland will relate to. Of standing in gaps, of playing GAA and of being raised by a village. You can hear his voice in every word, his sincerity, warmth and humour. That being said, he is an absolute rogue, with a sense of devilment and a wit that transcends genres. Standing in Gaps, is dedicated to his Seamus' Mother Pauline, a warm and hard working woman. You may well read this book in one sitting, as I did, but it is presented in delicious stand alone chapters that you can dip into it like a series of short stories, each one a gem. The book will make a great gift for friends and family and although it is set so proudly in Leitrim, everyone will remember similar characters, stubborn, awkward and fumbling, but always full of heart. Available now from his website www.SeamusORourke.com, Masterson's and the post office in Carrigallen, The Reading Room and Mulvey's in Carrick-on-Shannon. Seamus has also recorded an audio version of this book, available on CD & Awesound.com for those of you who would like to hear the book read in his dulcet tones.

This week on the Sports Roundup Show we're reacting to the reality that local sport isn't going to be with us for the next few weeks at a minimum as the GAA led the announcements this week that local and amateur sports would be closed down until further notice. We're joined by Leitrim GAA Chairman Enda Stenson to discuss the impact in Leitrim as well as a look at the sport which did take place over the weekend. In our roundup we'll focus on Glencar/Manor's assault on the Connacht Ladies Football Intermediate Club Championship (0:41) with a victory over Mayo club Kilmovee Shamrocks on Sunday in a brave display by the Leitrim champs. Carrick Hurling left it late to force extra time and repeated the trick to win the game at the death in the Senior Hurling final (1:57) against Cluainin Iomaint on Saturday evening. In National League Soccer (3:14) it was a mixed bag for Leitrim players with Niall Morahan and his Sligo Rovers team mates falling to a 4-0 defeat to champions elect Shamrock Rovers while Dearbhaile Beirne and her Peamount United doubled down on their recent league victory over rivals Shelbourne to ease into the FAI Cup Semi Final on a scoreline of 1-0. In Rugby the new look Energia Community Shield (5:08) continued with it's second round with Matthew Earley at hooker for Sligo and helping them continue their 100% winning start to the season with a 25-15 win over Galwegians in the Connacht conference, Fenagh's Jack Gilheaney made his first start at inside centre for Old Belvedere in their 22-15 defeat to UCD in the Leinster conference. Both players would also feature on gaelic football pitches over the weekend too. Earley winning a Junior 'C' title with Leitrim Gaels two hours after the final whistle and Gilheaney playing for Leitrim in a challenge game on Sunday morning. We also take a run through the local results in Leitrim GAA (5:57), the Sligo Leitrim & District Soccer League (7:13), Junior Connacht Rugby (9:43). We start out with a very special guest with Leitrim GAA Chairman Enda Stenson (10:23) joining Breifne to discuss the impact locally of the national blanket ban on all GAA Club games across the entire country. He speaks specifically about the impact on the five adult teams who have championship games, Intermediate finalists Annaduff & Gortletteragh, Junior pair Aughavas & Cloone and Glencar/Manor in the Connacht Ladies Club Final and the total devastation caused in underage competitions in the county. He also shares his personal concerns and fears with the National Football League tie in Park Esler in Newry, Co. Down in a couple of weeks and his own attendance at the game and what impact might arise from Leitrim's participation in that game considering the current situation with the virus figures coming from the North of Ireland. Our remaining guests this week come from the main sporting events of the weekend including that fantastic result from Glencar/Manor in the Connacht Ladies Club Championship Semi Final where Breifne spoke to John Sheridan (24:06), Mellissa Hewitt (26:52) & Amanda Sweeney (30:23). After the snatch and grab from Carrick Hurling we spoke to their late goalscorer James Glancy (32:50) & manager Hilary Phelan (35:19) as well as the player of the match Gavin O'Hagan (38:49). In the Junior C Final, Leitrim Gaels edged out the challenge of Dromahair and we spoke to the winning manager Peter Goldrick (40:23) & defeated captain Martin Clancy (41:39) after the game. We also featured participants in both Junior A Semi Finals after Aughavas and Cloone progressed to the final at the expense of Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher and Glencar/Manorhamilton respectively. We spoke to Aidy McCallion of Glenfarne/Kilty after his side's defeat (43:56) and Fintan McBrien (47:09) & Fintan Gallogly (51:36) of Aughavas. After the second semi final we spoke to winning manager Philip Charles (53:38) and his players Gavin Reynolds (57:47) & Seamus Maguire (61:05) from the winning side, Cloone, and penalty saving keeper and captain of the beaten semi finalists Manor, Luke Sheridan (63:12).

Social Distancing has meant the end of social book clubs and members have been missing their monthly fix, so we at Leitrim Daily have decided to start one that you can all join. The Book Club @ Leitrim Daily panel includes published author Kevin McManus (0:19), retired librarian Hilda King (6:38), Orlagh Kelly (15:32) from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon with our very own Mary Blake as the host of the monthly show. In today's introduction episode, we meet the panel and learn what has been selected as the book of the month. We would love if you would read along with us and give us your feedback on the show to bookclub@leitrimdaily.com or @leitrimdaily on all social media. You can order a copy of the book now from The Reading Room Bookshop in Carrick on Shannon, you can pop in or contact Orlagh at 071 9671580. You'll even get 10% off the book when you mention the Book Club @ Leitrim Daily.

It's all about the small ball this weekend as Cluainin Iomaint and Carrick Hurling do battle for the Senior Hurling Championship title tomorrow afternoon in Avantcard Pairc Sean MacDiarmada. We're also looking at Ladies Football, National League Soccer & Rugby. We run through the fixtures of the weekend on the show including the Hurling Final (0:15), Glencar / Manor's semi final in the Ladies Football Connacht Championship (0:38), National League soccer for Sligo Rovers (0:56), Peamount United (1:37) and Longford Town (2:00). The Energia Community Rugby Series (2:27) continues with Fenagh's Jack Gilheaney (Old Belvedere) and Leitrim Village's Matthew Earley (Sligo Rugby) both named to start for their sides in the Leinster and Connacht conferences. Both games are being streamed live for free at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon (Links on club's facebook pages) There are Junior 'C' & U15 finals as well as Semi Finals at Junior 'A' & 'B' in Leitrim GAA (3:31) competitions, a full weekend of junior soccer fixtures for the Sligo Leitrim League (5:17) and both Carrick and Sligo are out in Connacht Rugby (6:27) action. We also hear from Glencar/Manor's Hurling Officer Micheal Dolan (7:19) ahead of the County Hurling Final about the state of the sport in the county and his side's hopes of regaining the title from the holders Carrick Hurling. Finally, Leitrim Gaels captain Brian Tracey (18:06) joins Breifne to discuss his side's preparations for their Junior 'C' final against Dromahair tomorrow afternoon. We finish the show with some news about the new Book Club @ Leitrim Daily (24:07) which kicks off tomorrow morning with an introductory episode introducing the panel for the show.

Today’s guests for Kiss My Arts are a local young trad band from South Leitrim and North Roscommon who join Mary Blake to have a chat about how they got into music, the last two years together and even play a few tunes. Gan Ainm are Katie Moreau (flute & tinwhistle), Louise Gaffney (concertina & tinwhistle), Tara Noone (concertina & vocals) and Fiachra Guihen (guitar & harp). All of these young musicians started playing as children with the Pádraig Sweeney School of Traditional Irish Music and are well established on the local trad music scene having played at numerous venues around the county over the last two years. Earlier this year, the band entered and won the North West Talent Contest and they are now promoting their debut album 'Across Lands' recorded with the help of Paul Gurney in Real World Studios in Longford.

This weekend’s action revolved around the Leitrim GAA Senior Football Championship Final as Mohill saw off the challenge of St. Mary’s to win their first Senior crown since 2017 in Avantcard Pairc Sean MacDiarmada on Sunday afternoon. In a somewhat muted environment in the county grounds 200 supporters made themselves heard as they cheered on their teams in an entertaining game which Mohill proved to be just a touch more experienced and cute for a very young Carrick side. We’re also chatting about Connacht Club Ladies Football, National League and local Soccer and the return of Senior Rugby to the province with the first round of games in the Energia Community Series which kicked off this weekend. We hear from Mohill Captain Danny Beck, Man of the Match Keith Beirne, Shane Quinn and their manager Liam Keenan while Paul Keaney and Denis Connerton give us the view from the St. Mary’s camp after the final. Mohill also feature in the Ladies Football action this weekend as the Leitrim LGFA Intermediate Champions fielded a weakened team in the Connacht Championship on Saturday. Injuries combined with work, family and other sporting commitments saw the home team fail to reach the heights of the previous week’s final exploits. We hear from Emma Quinn and Barry Lupton after the game. In Rugby, Sligo celebrated the return of Senior competitive club action with a first ever victory against Buccaneers in Dubarry Park. Their hooker Matthew Earley got himself on the try scorers list with a well worked set piece score. We get his thoughts after the game. In a weekend where Leitrim was represented by Dearbhaile Beirne in a game which will have a massive impact on the destination of the Women’s National League title this season. Peamount beat their title rivals Shelbourne 6-1 on Saturday but the next generation Muireann Devaney featured in Sligo Rover’s 2-1 defeat to Athlone in the Under 17 grade. We hear from Muireann and her coach Danny O’Leary after the game. Locally there were wins for Manor Rangers in the Super League, 3-2 at home to Ballisadare Utd, while Dromahair took all three points from their Premier Division clash with a 2-1 win over Chaffpool Utd. Meanwhile Carrick Town fell to a 3-1 defeat despite a first half screamer from Liam McTiernan opening the scoring against St. John’s. We hear from Dromahair’s match winner Martin Feeney & David Downes and Carrick Town’s David Regan & Liam McTiernan.

All roads lead to Avantcard Pairc Sean MacDiarmada this weekend, for 400 lucky supporters and 4 clubs who will be contesting the Leitrim GAA Senior & Intermediate Football Championship Finals over the next two days. We're going to dive deep into the background of all four teams, Mohill (8:57) & St. Mary's (30:20) in the senior decider with Annaduff & Gortletteragh featuring in the Intermediate Final (52:13), with some very special invited guests on today's show. We'll be chatting to Matt Gaffey, an esteemed coach who won Senior Championships as manager of both Mohill (1971) and St. Mary's (2007). Gene Bohan, Kevin Glancy & Kevin McKenna won all won medals with St. Mary's in 1995 will be talking about living the experience through their sons as Oisin, James and Paddy prepare for the final on Sunday. At Intermediate Level, Donal Fox of Annaduff joins Derek Kelleher of Gortletteragh to discuss rivalries between the two sides. There's talk of long term grief counselling, memory loss and getting refused from The Power House and no desire for penalties to split the teams. First we'll be looking at all the sporting fixtures of the entire weekend with action in those Gaelic Football Finals (0:45), Ladies Football Connacht Club action for Mohill Ladies (5:12) and two playoffs at Junior 'B' (5:37) level, one for relegation, one for the final semi final spot. In National League soccer it's away days for all local interest. Mohill's Dearbhaile Beirne will also feature for Peamount Utd against Shelbourne in the Women's National League (6:05), Niall Morahan returns for Sligo Rovers in a must win game in Waterford to keep their European dream alive in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division (6:48) while Longford Town face "The Midland's El Classico" with the short trip to Athlone Town this evening in the First Division (7:20). Locally in the Sligo Leitrim League (7:49) it's home ties all around on week 3 as Dromohair host Chaffpool Utd on Saturday evening in the Premier League as an unbeaten Manor Rangers entertain Ballisodare in the top flight on Sunday morning. Carrick Town will also be looking to extend their unbeaten record with a victory at home to St. Johns. In Junior Rugby (8:27) Carrick on Shannon RFC continue their Curley Cup campaign with a home game against Creggs while Sligo RFC travel to Connemara in the Cawley Cup.

This week on Kiss My Arts, Mohill farmer Gerry Bohan joins Mary Blake to discuss playing with words as well as the cows and hens at home on the farm. Gerry has his own style, which is quirky and authentic. He is the real deal (or as he'd say himself, the Rale Dale). He gets joy from simple things like being with nature and expressing his thoughts and observations through his writing. Enjoy this heartwarming interview with Gerry Bohan, where he reads from his collection.

Something was written in the stars this weekend for last year's beaten finalists in the Leitrim Ladies Football Championships finals as Glencar/Manor, Mohill and Drumkeerin finally got their hands on silverware just twelve months after each side experienced heartbreak on county final day. It was third time lucky for Glencar Manorhamilton as they overcame the challenge of final debutants Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins in the decider while Mohill's firepower was too much for a young Dromahair side in the Intermediate decider. Drumkeerin edged out Fenagh St. Caillins in the Junior showpiece in a tight game that took an injury time goal in extra time to decide the winners. We run through the Ladies Football (0:40) results, the scores from Junior A, B & C Men's Football (2:09) and the second round of games in the Sligo Leitrim 7 District Soccer League (3:51). Over the weekend we spoke to some of the winners and runners up in the Ladies Football (7:22) finals including one of the winning co-captains of Glencar Manorhamilton Eimear Feely (8:34), their free scoring forward Muireann Devaney (11:17) and their manager Padhraic Corrigan (13:47) while Ballinamore captain Laura O'Dowd (17:30) shares her disappointment at her side's defeat in the game. At Intermediate level Mohill had too much strength up front for a Dromahair side who struggled to match the eventual winners for the entire 60 minutes of the encounter. After the game we heard the thoughts of Mohill midfielder Denise Stenson (21:06), player of the match Dearbhaile Beirne (25:29) and their manager Barry Lupton (27:00). In the final ladies game at the weekend last year's beaten finalists Drumkeerin faced the challenge of Fenagh and the underdogs flew into an early lead but couldn't hold the lead into the final stages and ended up losing the game to a last minute goal in extra time, after the game we spoke to their captain Charleen Maguire (32:01), player of the match Ann-Marie Gallagher (34:52). We also hear from both managers Fenagh's Paidh Rowley (36:48) & Drumkeerin's Tom McGinty (40:00). Finally we take a look at the action for Carrick Town (43:23) in the Sligo Pallets Premier League on Sunday morning with their centre half Cormac Smith (43:45) and manager Alessio Mignone (45:27).

This week is all about Ladies Football with deciders at Senior, Intermediate and Junior level in the county. We're also looking at cycling and golf with features covering National Bike Week with Patricia Forde of Leitrim Local Sports Partnership and Michelle Hackett of Ballinamore Golf Club. We're detailing the complete fixtures of Ladies Football (2:28), Junior Football Quarter and Semi Finals (4:27), Sligo / Leitrim (7:29) & National League Soccer (9:03) and Connacht Branch Rugby fixtures (9:59). Bornacoola native Michelle Hackett joins us to discuss her recent successes on the golf course. The Ballinamore club member won the Ballyconnell leg of the Irish Golfer Magazine Tour which sees her progress to the national final in the K Club in late October. She's also got the small matter of the Intermediate Ladies Football final to worry about as a member of the Mohill squad for tomorrow's game. Finally, we are joined by Patricia Forde of Leitrim Local Sports Partnership to discuss the range of activities which will be on offer across the county for National Bike Week which runs from tomorrow to Sunday week with events to suit all ages from toddlers to teenagers and the young at heart. Check www.leitrimsports.ie for more information.