The latest ‘How To Be Sound’ podcast.

Host Rosemary McCabe meets fashion designer Helen Steele (top).

Rosemary writes:

From €650 silk dresses to €15 leggings, designer Helen sat down to talk about her new high-street collaboration with Dunnes Stores, the ethics of impulse buys, how she loves Bono and why she encouraged her daughter Halle to pursue plus-sized modelling….

How To be Sound

Early this morning, just after midnight.

At a homeless hostel in Dublin.

Lee, who is currently homeless, tweetz:

“I got a ‘bed’ in the end tonight and as I have been given a warning for posting on Twitter already I wont be mentioning names of hostels as I suspect I’m barred for posting about another one. A few pillow donations wouldnt go a miss. Bad enough like 20 in one room on the floors.”

And, Lee adds:

Meanwhile…

On RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live last night.

Conor Skehan, the former chairman of the Housing Agency, was asked if he has an “issue” with the characterisation of the present homeless situation in Ireland as a “crisis”.

[The most recent figures from the Department of Housing show there were a record 9,968 people using emergency accommodation in Ireland in the final week of November]

Mr Skehan said:

“Housing is always going to be one of society’s pinch points and we can continue to allow ourselves, and the media, to be goaded into a situation of recognising any human need that’s unmet as a crisis.

“I’ve been trying for years to try to get them [the Government] to recognise and normalise the situation and getting dogs’ abuse for doing so.

“….we continuously allow ourselves to be goaded by people involved in advocacy which many others feel to be called ‘lobbying’ into trying to ignore the fact that we have equivalent levels of homelessness which is an incredible human tragedy to every other major country in Europe.”

Asked if that makes it right and if it’s normal to not have a place to live, Mr Skehan said:

“It’s normal. It’s normal. It’s normal in the sense that human beings go through many different issues and emotional upheavals in their lives but there are particular ones that are equivalent of, we just talked about social media a minute ago – click bait – the ultimate emotional click bait that can be stimulated in another human being to say that somebody is without shelter.

“And it makes us vulnerable to emotional manipulation by that click bait, repeatedly pressing that point.”

“And you can open up a career for yourself in politics, you can open up a career for yourself in advocacy by pressing this button over and over again.”

Mr Skehan went on to claim the Government gives €152million a year to charities involved in homelessness. He said:

“The measure of a society is not that homelessness does not happen, the measure of the quality of the society we live in, is the speed with which we recognise, identify and rectify that situation. That’s the measure.

“But by trying to distort ourselves that we are, some how or other, as a Government, not doing anything about this or not doing enough about it, or not doing as much as can be done – that’s what’s causing resources to go to the wrong place.

“That’s what’s causing us to have a country that spends €152million of your money, every year, on charities that deal with homelessness. €152million  that could be spent on those people themselves. €152million of your money that’s being spent on their pension schemes,  and their premises.

“Have you seen the size of the main charity dealing with, Focus’s office building, up the top of Christchurch, have you seen the size? Their four-storey building?

“…Go and have a look, all of you. Go and have a look and then be outraged. Don’t be outraged with me.”

Anyone?

Watch back in full here

UPDATE:

Neil Murray (left) and Graham McLaren pictured at the opening of The Abbey Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith’s production of The Plough and the Stars at the Gaiety Theatre last May

‘It is with regret that we, the undersigned theatre practitioners, write to apprise you of our deep concern and dissatisfaction with the direction that the Abbey Theatre has taken since the appointment of its directors, Neil Murray and Graham McLaren.

The grace period since their arrival is well and truly over and the situation in which the Irish theatre community finds itself is now critical. While the institution may be financially buoyant – and due congratulations for this – the freelance theatre community, in particular, has been cast adrift.‘

Part of a letter signed by 300 actors, directors, designers, agents and playwrights to Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan yesterday

Meanwhile…

“The Abbey Theatre is artist-led and audience-focused: we aim to ensure our programmes are driven by ambitious, big ideas by theatre-makers of all disciplines, relevant to our times and reflective of our role as a national theatre. In this approach to theatre making, we are following patterns found in many countries with strong traditions in the theatre and we are seeking to address with urgency some of the key social, cultural and political issues of our time.”

The Abbey Theatre in response

Abbey Theatre uproar: 300 actors and directors complain to Minister (Irish Times)

300 theatre members express ‘deep concern’ over Abbey (RTÉ)

Rollingnews





Last night.

National Concert Hall, Dublin 2

Pics by Harry Warren, who writes:

A superb gig in the National Concert Hall, the first event in the Dublin Bowie Festival, “Space Oddity & Other Songs from the Bowie Universe”. The “I Heart Bowie Band”, the Trinity Orchestra and special guests David Geraghty from Bell X1, Jack L, Christy Dignam and the redoubtable Gerry Leonard (top), Bowies’ Dublin guitarist and musical director, played the complete Space Oddity album followed by an excellent selections of Bowie’s hit songs. A very enjoyable night indeed….

The Dublin Bowie Festival continues at selected venues (at link below) all week.

Dublin Bowie Festival

Yesterday: And I Think My Spaceship Knows Which Way To Go

A frenetic stop motion short by Fabio Friedl of Swiss animation studio YK. To wit:

From a seed to war, from meat to love, from indifference to apocalypse. An attempt to capture the world in a nutshell.

awesomer

Larry Gogan (top) in ‘New Spotlight’ magazine (1969) and in 2006 (above)

“I have loved all my time on 2FM and would like to thank all the amazing support from all my listeners, great colleagues and all the fantastic Irish and International artists I have been privileged to support and be a part of their success .I am thrilled to be moving over to RTÉ Gold full time and being part of that exciting new digital world.”

Larry Gogan is stepping down from 2FM (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

Sligo farmer Andy ‘The Bull’ McSharry said he will kill any dogs found with or without a lead on his land.

A farmer is taking a stand
Against any dog found on his land
And though you may plead
That your pet’s on a lead
He’ll still open fire out of hand.

John Moynes

Pic: Niall Delaney/OceanFM

Broadsheet.ie