Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis

Our resident pastry professional Chef Shane Smith joins Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast to share three simple spooky recipes for an extra easy tasty Halloween. All treats and no tricks! Go to chefshanesmith.ie for more

Activist, Speaker, Journalist, Superhero, Dog Enthusiast and most importantly an A-List Cork celeb legend Joanne O'Riordan joined Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast. She is also a proud Ambassador for women's sport in Ireland and although we are in a golden era...how are women in Irish sport being supported? This week she has a documentary called 'A Sporting Chance' that looks at women's sport in Ireland, examining if there a level playing field for females and what more can be done in terms of progress. She explores the potential financial upsides for sponsors and players. It features recent European Championships medal winning boxer Amy Broadhurst and GAA footballer and former Ireland rugby star Hannah Tyrrell. A Sporting Chance airs this coming Thursday the 27th October at 10.15pm on RTE 1

Adam King truly is a national treasure at this stage. Alongside his dad David they have captured the hearts of the world with the 'A Hug For You' campaign that Adam launched back on The Late Late Toy Show. They joined Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast to chat about their brand new book – ‘Sir Adam the Brave and the Moody Monsters'- a fun filled tale all about kindness, inclusion...and monsters! AND it has already been shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards - Junior Children's Book of the Year!

There is a brand-new inclusive Irish TV series for children and families called Dizzie Deliveries, a show told through spoken word and the Lámh sign system for people with intellectual disabilities. Launching on RTÉjr this week Dizzy Deliveries is making history as the first television series in Ireland to use Lámh Signs. To tell Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis all about it and the star of one of the episodes - television’s best-loved chef and one of our favourite people – Donal Skehan The series itself kicks off on RTEjr on 19 Oct which is also National Lámh Day. The Dizzy Deliveries Bakery episode that features Donal will now air on 27 Oct. Visit lamh.org to learn more about the sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs in Ireland

Journalist Jen Hogan wrote a piece this week in 'The Irish Times' about how some behaviours in underage team sports have left families and their children distraught. What happens when winning is more important to coaches than making sure every child has fun? The article shone a light on how some coaches believe winning matches is far more important than including children of all abilities and, importantly, also showed how damaging that attitude can be to those left on the sidelines. The piece got a massive reaction and Jen joined Weekend Breakfast to tell Alison Curtis why it resonated so much and the solutions that can be found. You can follow Jen here on Insta: @jenhoganjourno After broadcast on Weekend Breakfast the show got a huge response from listeners. Here is a selection: Alison, as a coach it is difficult to play someone who is not interested or has the aptitude for the game ahead of someone who does. Leaving can often allow the player the time and focus on an activity that suits them better. Chris (Ennis) Hey Alison. This is what I’ve been doing while listening to your piece. I coach U13 soccer and use an app to make sure I don’t forget who has played and for how long. The app times all my players. I also try to make sure starting subs are different each week. If they don’t get full allocation one game they get it next. Its a really hard balancing act but its about how you approach it and being prepared as much as possible before a match. If parents are onboard with you as a coach then that’s the definition of a team. Child development...The policies are already there, it's some coaches & parents ( not to make light of it) go all D'unbelievables on it!! I agree with everything about equal game time and participation before winning total agree ... but as a coach all I hear is coach bashing… I would ask parents have you offered to volunteer?! Alison my husband left coaching because of the hassle he got from parents. He believed that every child who trained should get a turn playing a match but some of the parents thought it was just about winning and not the players. The best day he had as a coach was when an autistic child who had played for several other teams but never played a match until he moved to our club, scored his first goal. His reaction and that of his family were what team sports should be about. This has been an issue at our club end of season with finals and under 12s been brought up to under 14s. Under 14s not played. Anyway, because parents are speaking up coaches are threatening to leave using the no one is grateful even though the other parents are involved in coaching too I am a coach of 4 underage GAA teams on Dublin & completely agree that inclusion & keeping the kids engaged & happy on training & games is the key to success. One issue not helping is that referees, who are also at the centre of discussion at the moment, are calling fouls that aren't fouls. The kids are asking what they've done wrong more & more & the kids are saying they're fed up with this. Obviously abuse of referees is totally unacceptable, but being able to question them would help all parties....John, dublin

Robin Stevens has been described as Agatha Christie meets Enid Blyton. She is credited with igniting the mystery book for young readers – Her hugely entertaining series 'Murder Most Unladylike' has sold over 100,000 copies in Ireland ALONE and millions globally. And now she has a brand new series. Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis was delighted to welcome Robin Stevens in to studio for a lovely chat about her brand new series.

Brandon Flowers finally gets an answer! Ireland's favourite Professor Luke O'Neill has a fascinating new book for young curious minds: ‘What Makes Us Human: A Scientist’s Guide to our Amazing Existence’ What do you have in common with the 7.75 billion other people on the planet? Will we ever create superhumans? Why is music so important to human existence? Humans like to peel their clothes off but we have MUCH more in common with bananas than you think! Why are we half banana? Plus, The most important question posed in music - Are we human or are we dancer? Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis spoke to Luke O’Neill and he attempted to answer some big questions in his latest book for curious young adults.

During lockdown Rebs Lightbody turned to baking to destress from the chaos of the world. She got the news she made it into GBBO in the same week she graduated! Rebs told Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast all about her time in the tent, do they get to eat their creations? Has anyone told her she looks like Daphne from Bridgerton?! And how piercing are Paul Hollywood's eyes in the flesh!!? “Paul Hollywood has eyes like a White Walker! They look straight into your soul!” 🤣

David Walliams is one the world's most prolific children's authors. Published in 53 languages and selling over 50 million copies he has inspired imaginations worldwide. From Gangsta Granny, Slime, Code Name Bananas, Billionaire Boy, the World’s Worst series and many more he has published some of the most entertaining children's books ever. In a wide ranging entertaining chat David sat down with Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis to chat about his influences, how to get kids reading, tips for budding writers, his newest book 'Spaceboy' and then answers very cute questions from some of his Irish superfans! (Incluing an interesting writing proposal!)

Clinton Liberty has a fabulous name made for the big screen. He currently plays Linus Dunne in the TV adaptation of Graham Norton's book ‘Holding’ and the Meath Actor has raised much praise for his assured performance alongside a star-studded cast including Oscar-winning Brenda Fricker, Charlene McKenna, Siobhán McSweeney and Conleth Hill. Alison Curtis on Weekend Breakfast spoke to this fast rising star about his big break and also starring in Disney + blockbuster show Red Election. Plus, can he nail the Canadian accent!!? "ay!" Holding airs on Monday nights at 9pm on Virgin Media One. Catch up is available on the Virgin Media Player.