Talkabout

The third annual Kerry Wild Bee Festival begins today at the stunning Tralee Bay Wetlands Eco & Activity Park and runs all weekend, until Sunday, 6th July. The family-friendly festival is packed with walks, talks, and creative workshops, all focused on Ireland’s wild bees and the simple ways we can help them thrive. The festival is organised by Transition Kerry, with the support of local biodiversity champions, and the full programme is available at kerrywildbeefestival.ie. We sent reporter, Breda Forrest, down to the Wetlands, where Ger Scollard of the Kerry Branch of the Irish Wildlife Trust gave us a flavour of what’s in store this weekend:

Claire Scannell, award-winning skincare specialist and founder of The Skin Lab in Killarney, joined Deirdre Walsh on Radio Kerry’s Talkabout this week to share expert advice on how to care for your skin during the summer months.

Rosalyn O’Connor of Dingle Sea Safari on the unusual discovery and rescue of a puffin in West Kerry. Elizabeth Nash who lives in The Glens, Dingle, opened her back door to find a puffin on her doorstep - some 7 kilometres from the coast. Rosalyn spoke to Radio Kerry’s Treasa Murphy

In October 2022, Castleisland native Beatrice Pembroke Walsh lost her life at just 53 years of age to Leiomyosarcoma (LMS), now her family are making her dying wish come true The Beatrice Pembroke Walsh Foundation is a new charity established to fund research into LMS and to create awareness of this rare cancer - which affects just 6 in 1 Million people, mainly women. Beatrice’s husband, Kerry native, David spoke to David on the show about Beatrice and the foundation. More information on the Beatrice Pembroke Walsh Foundation can be found here - https://www.idonate.ie/cause/20206678

Dr Eamonn Shanahan joins David for the weekly medical slot

A college student from Kerry says the government's decision to reverse the reduction of college fees by €1,000, shows that Ireland is no country for young people. Ardfert native and Chair of Sinn Féin Kerry, Daithí Fitzgerald talked to David and described the u-turn as an attack on young people.

Anam: Arts & Music Festival, returns to Tralee from July 11th to 13th, 2025. David is joined by event co-ordinator Rebekkah Wall and headliner and Irish folk legend, Mary Coughlan.

Interiors expert Linda Goodman from Corcoran’s Furniture joins David to discuss Mediterranean-inspired design for Irish homes and answer listeners queries.

The average person throws out 10 per cent of the food they buy every year. Research by BWG Foods shows that's about 660 euro worth of food per person. 81 per cent of shoppers say they try to limit their food waste, while 72 per cent say they're doing it because of rising food costs in recent years. Killarney native, Machaela O’Leary, is sales manager with Too Good To Go, she speaks to David.

Dr Colm O’Loghlen of Bridge Place Dental joins David for the Ask the dentist slot

Ballyheigue residents, Chloe Mooney and Geraldine Hanlon, have set up a GoFundMe called “Kindness for Kathleen”. It’s after a fire tore through the home of Kathleen Sheehy in Ballyheigue last Wednesday afternoon. The GoFundMe says “a local tragedy has left a beloved member of our community in Ballyheigue in a horrible situation. In a matter of moments,a lifetime of memories, comfort, and security was destroyed” Chloe spoke to David on Talkabout

A recent report from drug and alcohol treatment centre Coolmine Therapeutic Community found that cocaine and drug presentations have risen in Kerry. Declan O Riordan is a Coolmine team leader in Cork and Kerry and he spoke to David.

A Cahersiveen Youth Group Win Radharc Trust Award at the Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards for their powerful documentary – Home from Home. The film by Cahersiveen Youth Film Group was supported by Kerry Local Creative Youth Partnership (LCYP) at Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB), and created in collaboration with filmmaker Clint Fitzgerald. It was announced as a winner at the red-carpet ceremony hosted by the Fresh Film Festival in Dublin’s Rathmines Omniplex. David was joined in studio by Deirdre Enright, Creative Youth Co-ordinator at Kerry LCYP; filmmaker Clint Fitzgerald, Iryna Puzdria & Tetyana Olkhovska of the South Kerry Development Partnership, and Soffia, Margarita and Dimo who starred in and created the documentary.

West Kerry man John McKenna, who’s from Castlegregory, chats to David about his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Ports Authority and life in Australia