4 | THE IRISH WORLD | 4 April 2015 NEWS & COMMENT F Irish World House, 934 North Circular Road, London NW2 7JR. Telephone: 020 8453 7800 RTE’s DAB plans for UK are squelched or some time now RTE has struggled to hide its incomprehension and incredulity at some UK Irish people’s reluctance to relinquish listening to Long Wave. The tone of its radio executives has ranged from patronising to condescension to one of genuine bafflement. Why can’t people just listen to the Radio One service they so like on their smartphones or tablets when they’re on the go or on their satellite receiver or Sky TV box, they ask – without listening to the answers. One is therefore tempted to think that those same executives had hoped to be able to pull, as if a rabbit from a magician’s hat, the news that they had secured a DAB slot for RTE Radio One from next year – the centenary of 1916, as we well know by now. One doesn’t know how hard it tried to persuade Ofcom, if it even did, of the desir- ability of a DAB station for a million or more Irish living in the UK. But if it did it didn’t succeed as the broadcast regulator – which says the bids are assessed on the proposed service’s appeal to new tastes and interests – was swayed by a business plan to bring back Virgin Radio, last heard in 2008. RTE Radio’s output is varied, talk sits alongside music, factual and documentary as well as drama, hence its appeal to so many Irish, and nonIrish, in this country when they can receive it. So one has to ask how strongly its case was made and, if it was, to sympathise that it failed. The broadcaster now says it is now committed to look at all its options in the UK. Might it be too much to ask that, if DAB is now a non-starter, the station mightv look at the recently vacated Bulgarian channel on Long Wave? I Landmark Cricklewood Irish shop closing for good on Easter Sunday “I’ve been around for 45 years and I’d love to thank all the customers,” he told the Irish World. An online review of the shop by ‘Katie B’ in 2011 reads: “Oh Eddie how I love you and your selection of Barry's Irish tea! “Eddie is a lovely man and treats you like an old friend every time you go in. “So if you're in the area go on, pop in and say hello to Eddie and give Barry's tea a whirl.” rish newsagent Eddie Brown will serve his last customer this Easter Sunday as he retires after 29 years. His shop on Cricklewood Lane has become a hub of the community, where he stocks Irish newspapers and food stuffs, and was as much of a place to catch up with locals then it was to do your shopping. Eddie, 72, is well known for having the chat as well, moving to Cricklewood Lane after two separate stints on the Broadway too. Barrister all set for London Marathon A BARRISTER, IN his fifties, is preparing to run in the London Marathon later this month to raise money for Dulwich Helpline and Southwark Churches Care. Patrick McMorrow (right) has selected the charity for the work that they do in supporting and providing companionship to elderly people who live Golden wedding anniversary for Kilburn Couple alone. The 58-year-old started running four years ago when he was offered a charity place in the 2012 London Marathon on behalf of Hospice UK. “It was an unforgettable experience and I have run several half-marathons since then and the Brighton Marathon last year,” he said. “I've been training througout the winter months and I'm really looking forward to this year's race which will probably be my last if my physiotherapist has anything to do with it!” If you'd like to make a donation visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/patric kmcmorrow1 Duo raise £10k for Marie Curie hospice If you need help administering somebody`s Estate after a death or loss of a loved one, whether there Is a Will or not, contact: REDFERN’S David Tracey at S O L I C I TO R S 9 Churchill Court, 58 Station Road North Harrow, Middlesex HA2 7SA Telephone: 020 8424 7070 Fax: 020 8424 7050 DX: 83903 North Harrow dtracey@redfernssolicitors.co.uk www.redfernssolicitors.co.uk CONGRATULATIONS TO Mary-Ellen and Vincent O’Donnell who reach their 50th wedding anniversary this Friday. Mary-Ellen O’Malley, from Tonragee in Achill, wed her Charlestown husband in 1965 in St Agnes Church in Cricklewood. They moved to Kilburn soon afterwards where MaryEllen worked at St Mary’s School, and Vincent worked as a telephone engineer until their retirements. The couple have three children; Michelle, John and Steven, seven grandchildren and six-month-old great-great granddaughter Celina Jayne. “They are a wonderful couple and dearly loved by all their family and friends. We wish them a very happy anniversary and many more,” said Michelle. Their children would especially like to thank them for being the best parents ever. Sarah Connolly and Patricia Donnelly (second and third from left) A PAIR OF Irish women have raised £10,000 for the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead through a string of charity events. Sarah Connolly and Patricia Donnelly organised a benefit night at St Joseph’s Social Club in Highgate, with Billy and The North Winds providing music on the night. Connolly and Donnelly are also set to partake in an upscaled fundraising event; as they travel to Asia to make a sponsored walk to the Great Wall of China from May 9 – 17; with all proceeds going to the charity.
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