Comhrá

Sahar Rahmani is Irish. She was born and raised in Galway, speaks fluent Irish and her daughter attends a Gael Scoil. For Sahar, Ireland is home and there’s no place else she’d rather be or rather raise her children. In this episode of Sparks of Hope, Sahar chats with her friend, Ciamh Alexander, about what exactly constitutes Irish identity. They explore issues around heritage, ethnicity, nationality and culture and how we define Irishness. The friends discuss the idea of home. What...

Friends and neighbours Rosie McAdam and Claire Dawson chat about life, education and the need to decide where you want to be - and then, work out what you need to do in order to get there. Rosie is passionate about her belief that no matter who we are we can all contribute to the well-being of our societies. Born with the condition commonly known as brittle-bone disease, Rosie recounts some of her very rich and varied life experiences. Intertwined with these stories she and Claire also...

This episode of Sparks of Hope features friends, Paul Hanrahan and Pat Murphy, chatting about how a diverse group of Tralee locals, with little or no development experience, decided to set up an NGO when they learned about the suffering of the Basotho people who lived halfway around the world. Action Lesotho, founded in Kerry in 2003 by this group of ordinary people, nowadays provides food, education and training in the tiny, land-locked country of Lesotho, in Southern Africa. Paul and...

This episode of Sparks of Hope features Waterford sisters-in-law Sami and Ciamh Alexander in conversation about difference, similarity, racism, love, community and the need for all of us to relearn the value of ‘minding each other.’ Sami’s background features a mix of ethnicities and cultures that range from Australian and American to Egyptian and African. In contrast, Ciamh was born and raised in Ireland by white, Irish parents. Ciamh explores with Sami some of her experiences as a woman...

In Episode 3 of Sparks of Hope, Frank Kennedy chats to Brian O’Flanagan about his involvement in the setting up of the New Community Men’s Shed in Waterford. A slightly different take on the concept of men’s sheds, the Waterford New Community Men’s Shed is a cooperative collective of migrant men, many living in direct provision. In this wide-ranging chat, Frank describes the challenges they faced and how they had to work hard to find common ground in order to go forward. Many of the members...

On International Human Rights Day, Dr. Iarfhlaith Watson, Head of UCD School of Sociology, chats with Brendan McNamara about human rights, identity and growing up ‘different’ in Ireland in the 1970s and 80s. In this wide ranging discussion, Iarfhlaith shares his thoughts about how both his personal experiences and his research have contributed to his belief in the importance of identity in developing healthy and sustainable diversity in our societies. As he was growing up Irish was...

This episode of Sparks of Hope introduces us to Marie and Kevin Keogh, who share their thoughts on how, and why, connecting with each other, and with our spiritual natures, is vital for our wellbeing. In sharing some of their own experiences, Kevin and Marie explain why they believe that these connections offer energy, insight, solace and, most of all, hope. Having had personal experience of the tangible benefits of prayer, Kevin and Marie have always tried to create spaces to bring people...