Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis

You might have heard of Las Tapas de Lola – one of the top tapas spots in the country. Its owners - Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy – have had a busy few months, opening another restaurant to rave reviews and writing a new book teaching you to master tapas. They caught up with Alison to tell her all about it.

Following the release of her 19th book in 20 years, author Cecelia Ahern joined Alison Curtis. They chatted about aura migranes, Alice in Wonderland, empathy and how being bored shaped Cecelia's creativity.

Gráinne Mullins was already an award-winning pastry chef when she launched Grá Chocolates from her parents' shed in 2020. Since then she and her business have gone strength to strength, and she appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list last month. She caught up with Alison to chat abouther amazing career and the all the best summer food festivals.

Weekend Breakfast caught up with first time author Gráinne O'Brien to chat about her kids book - A Limerick Fairytale - which retells the story of Cinerella, with an Irish twist!

Did you see Joe Biden was in a deli in Dundalk? (we cannot believe we're asking that question either) Alison Curtis spoke to the owner of McAteers Food House in the wee county Jerome McAteer, who welcomed the US President - and the secret service into his café this week. They chatted about sniffer dogs, rescue dogs and ironing flags.

Have you heard about Ireland's answer to Love Island? Centred around the quintesential Gaeltacht experience, Grá ar an Trá is all about helping Gaelgóirs and Béarla speakers find love while using their Irish - and the couple with the most focail win! Man an Tí James Kavanagh dropped by Weekend Breakfast to tell Alison all about it. They chatted about Irish reality TV, Canadian Gaeltachts and James's latest food ventures.

Getting diagnosed with autism at the age of 27 changed author and illutrator Aoife Dooley’s life forever. But five years on, she has grown to love and accept herself – and wants to help children do the same. She joined Alison to chat about the second book in the Frankie's World series: Finding My Voice.

Mel McDermott set up her company Galz Gone Wild in 2017 when she found herself looking for a community for women who love making connections and enjoying the outdoors. After becoming a mother in September, she once again went searching for a group of ladies with similar passions and needs – and came up with a sister community – Mamz Gone Wild. She told Alison all about it.

Spring has officially sprung and many of us are looking at our not-so-green thumbs wondering what to do with our gardens. This week Alison caught up with the Bon Jovi of the gardening scene, Diarmuid Gavin, and asked his advice on a selection of your plant problems. They also chatted about rewilding, Ed Sheeran and Diarmuid's dodgy tattoo...

In 2021, after 7 years as a rugby international, Hannah Tyrell traded her Irish jersey for a Dublin one and was back on the GAA pitch just one month after her retirement. She spoke to Weekend Breakfast about her incredible career, achieving sports-work-life balance and what the sporting community means to her.