Latest news with #Donelon
Irish Examiner
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Podcast Corner: Family tales of the Irish contribution to Manchester through the years
Hannah Donelon explains early on in the opening episode how the idea for her eight-part series, There's a Lot I Haven't Asked, came about: 'The impetus for this series came from a summer holiday to Ireland with my mum and dad in August 2024 as we took to the road visiting family in Galway and Kerry. Mum and Dad began telling me stories from their youth; some hilarious, some weird, some unbelievable, and some sad. And I thought to myself, wow, there's a lot I haven't asked.' The podcast series revolves around stories, scenes, and memories from the Irish diaspora in Manchester and the impact of its legacy on the present day. With original music composed and arranged by Michael McGoldrick, Donelon talked to 35 people over the course of just a month about their varied lives. Why Manchester in particular? Donelon explains: 'For two centuries and more, Manchester's story has been tied to Ireland. Since the city began its transformation into an industrial metropolis, the Irish have come, the large majority, to find work and have been enriching Mancunian cultural and social life in the process. The period of emigration we're looking at in this series is from around 1945 to 1975.' She says the Oral History Project in the UK promotes the idea that historical documents and books can't tell us everything about our past as often, they concentrate on famous people and big events and tend to miss out ordinary people talking about everyday life. Donelon gives us a whole cast of 'ordinary' voices in this story, including turf cutters hailing from Tyrone ('we could cut turf practically in the front garden') and men who studied engineering at UCC. The series is told in chronological order, beginning with what rural life in Ireland was like pre-emigration, following them to noisy Manchester, stepping into their social customs with them at dancehalls and céilí. Traditional Irish music (the ballad Skibbereen is sung on the second episode), dancing, and indeed storytelling are all recurring themes across the eight episodes, the last of which was released on Sunday. We could pick out any number of snippets from Donelon's characters to highlight, but Tommy on the second episode is a highlight, talking about how he made the journey to the UK from the west of Ireland in July 1952 at age 21: 'And believe it or not, which I can hardly believe myself, I came to Manchester by plane. I'd never even seen a plane in the sky. I don't think there was ever a plane flew over Mayo in those years. I remember hares running round. When I got on the plane, there was hares running round outside. And I used to hunt hares in Ireland with a greyhound and I thought, oh if that was in Mayo your life'd be in danger!' Read More The story of Barry Lyndon: 50 years since Stanley Kubrick made his epic in Ireland
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local nonprofit still waiting for answers on federal grant money
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The metro organization countering sexual assault, also known as MOCSA, is still waiting for an answer about the potential for federal grant money. 'We just submitted the renewal for that grant application in January and we have heard nothing in terms of whether or not those are going to be reviewed and whether or not awards will be made,' said MOCSA President and CEO Julie Donelon. KC Pet Project responds to recent lawsuit over deadly dog mauling incident If no money is awarded, Donelon says one of the resources that could be in jeopardy is MOCSA's legal advocacy department which provides free legal services to survivors. 'It costs about $300,000 a year to provide that program with paralegal and attorney fees so we will have to fundraise for all of that or close the program,' Donelon said. That's because, at this time, the Office on Violence Against Women has removed information about funding opportunities with no updates posted since February. Just last year, OVW awarded $11.6 million to different state and local programs in Missouri. It also awarded $5.6 million to programs in Kansas. 'Kansas City would be losing five million dollars and that is just as you can imagine hundreds of thousands of survivors that won't have access to services,' Donelon explained. She also says that last year, their attorney worked with 174 people, helping them with needs like filing an order of protection, divorce and custody cases that involve abuse. 'To have someone they can go to who can represent them in all these matters is critical to them feeling safe secure and whole again,' Donelon said about the service. New Kansas bill introduced after sex offender attends school dance The need for support isn't slowing down either; in the past six years, Donelon says they've seen a 30% increase in the number of victims reaching out for help. MOCSA is also dealing with the impacts of a 40% cut to the Victims of Crime Act from last year. However, Donelon hopes an answer on the status of the application comes soon so they can plan for what's next. If you or someone you know needs help, call MOCSA's 24-hour crisis line at 816-531-0233 in Missouri, or 913-642-0233 in Kansas. You can also learn more about their resources here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
