Beirut's Holiday Inn

A report from a recent trip to Lebanon

2016 US election reporting for RTE Radio

Towards the end of 2016 I took a month to travel across the US to speak to Americans about the presidential election. I spent time in California, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and New York, and reported for Drivetime, 2fm and Morning Ireland on RTE Radio. Here's a map of my trip! It explains it all.

Otherwise, here are my reports, in no particular order:

The Irish and New York's Carriage Horses

The De Blasio administration's move to shrink the horse-carriage trade in Midtown, and relocate the animals to Central Park, is a big compromise on his initial promise to ban carriage horses completely on his first day in office.

In a city like New York, where overarching issues like inequality and poverty inhabit almost every corner of the city, putting priority on such an issue seemed like a curious move. That was, until you considered the amount of money the animal rights movement put into getting De Blasio elected, and their dubious ties to property developers.

When I visited the stables in Midtown last year, the small two-storey building was dwarfed by the high-rise building that were shooting up around it. The plans to extend the 7 train service to the area had created a flurry of interest from developers. Neil Byrne, the owner of the stables, pointed to the dilapidated building next door, which had just sold for $88 million.

Byrne had no interest in selling the stables or allowing the developers to buy him out of his valuable land. He worried that city might take the horses from Midtown, or ban the service altogether, and force him out of the business he loved. With the announcement this week, his fear may soon be realised.

Of course, many would argue that the slow decline of the carriage horse industry is a small price to pay for the safety and welfare of the horses. But animal rights activists have also opposed the new legislation, saying it does not go far enough.

The industry was once made up of 80% Irish or Irish American drivers, so either way, the decline is the end of an era. This is a report I produced for Drivetime last year, where I spoke with those involved in the industry, and those opposed to it.

The Great Trail and the Impenetrable Border - Drivetime Radio 1

The Great Southern Trail Group officially handed over the maintenance of the Limerick cycle and walkway to Limerick County Council last Sunday. It marks the end of an enormous success story for the voluntary group, who’ve worked for over 25 years to convert the old railway line into a tourist attraction. But the success story, along with the trail itself, stops short at the county border with Kerry, blighted by land disputes with residents, funding shortages and lack of cooperation from the county council.

Undocumented Abuse - Drivetime, RTÉ Radio 1

Lack of information, fear of deportation and separation from family can lead many undocumented Irish men and women in the US to stay in abusive relationships. Here is Clare's story.

Depression and the Diapora

A piece I produced for Drivetime, RTE Radio 1, to coincide with Pieta House setting up services in New York.
 

The Mean Streets Project, New York Public Radio (WNYC)

I spent much of last year working on an investigative series into road traffic deaths in New York City. We used data to track and analyse the deaths, while also telling the personal narratives around the tragedies. I was personally responsible for seeking out the families and profiling the deaths. Here's the sum of the work:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/mean-streets-2014-who-we-lost-how-they-lived/