Latest news with #AlisonCurtis
Irish Examiner
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
More people listening to the radio on weekends, but fewer tune in to RTÉ's weekday shows
Weekend radio shows have received a boost in listener figures, but weekday shows at RTÉ have taken a hit, according to the latest figures. The quarterly Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) figures showed Brendan O'Connor leading the charge with his weekend slot on Radio 1 with similar boosts for Miriam O'Callaghan and This Week on RTÉ, along with Anton Savage on Newstalk and Alison Curtis on Today FM. On the other hand, Liveline was among the RTÉ shows to lose figures as Joe Duffy's long tenure as presenter came to an end in June. When compared with the last quarter, RTÉ's Morning Ireland has shed 2,000 listeners but is still Ireland's most listened to radio programme at 469,000 listeners. The next highest is the Brendan O'Connor Show at weekends which has increased its audience numbers significantly, from 363,000 on Saturdays in the last survey to 412,000 listeners. Similarly, on Sundays, it has boosted numbers from 369,000 to 409,000. While Oliver Callan and the Louise Duffy Show on Radio 1 are down on the previous survey, Today with Claire Byrne has added listeners at 354,000 (up 6,000). News at One is up slightly to 298,000 while Drivetime is down to 217,000. Ray D'Arcy, meanwhile, has shed listeners from 192,000 to 182,000. Liveline, for which a permanent successor to Joe Duffy has yet to be announced, fell from 307,000 to 299,000 listeners. Continuing the positive weekend theme, RTÉ's Sunday with Miriam [O'Callaghan] now enjoys 317,000 listeners, up from 304,000. This Week, on Sundays, has risen from 184,000 listeners to 200,000 in the latest figures. 'RTÉ Radio 1 has consolidated its position as the biggest radio station in the country and continues to be the number one destination for listeners in the competitive age 35 to 54 demographic,' head of RTÉ Radio 1 Tara Campbell said. Commercial radio For Today FM, Alison Curtis has an audience of 186,000 for her Saturday show, which is a rise of 8,000. The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show added 10,000 listeners to reach 213,000. Dave Moore added 5,000 listeners to reach 198,000 for his 9am-midday show. The Last Word with Matt Cooper had a significant jump of 18,000 listeners to 181,000 since the last JNLR survey. On Newstalk, the Pat Kenny Show dropped from 224,000 since April-May to 216,000 but remains the most popular programme on commercial radio. Kieran Cuddihy on the Hard Shoulder , however, added 12,000 new listeners to reach 165,000. Anton Savage, meanwhile, has increased his listenership by 6,000 since the spring to enjoy an audience of 139,000 for his Saturday show on Newstalk. There was also good news for Off The Ball, up 8,000 to 59,000 listeners. Both Newstalk and Today FM are owned by Bauer Media Audio Ireland, whose CEO Chris Doyle said: 'These results are a reflection of the appeal, diversity and engagement of our programming across our national and regional network. 'While today is an important benchmark, it's one that we're going to build on, entertaining and informing current audiences while also attracting new listeners looking for the type of radio and audio that they can't find elsewhere.' More generally, the JNLR/Ipsos report showed 3.49 million listeners tuning into radio every day, covering some 79.3% of adults. Among 15-34s, two thirds (67.5%) listen every day.
Irish Examiner
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
My Wedding Day with Alison Curtis: 'My uncle walked me down the aisle and my aunt made a speech'
We got married on September 9, 2007, in Canada, in a place called The Old Mill, which is just outside of Toronto. We decided to do it in Canada because my family is really big and Anton's family is really small, so it made sense to do it that way. We had the ceremony in a chapel in the Old Mill, but it wasn't religious ceremony. The celebrant was a minister, but it was a civil wedding. My family scenario was that my parents had passed when I was a teenager, so I have a lot of aunts and uncles that had significant roles in my life, so I was trying to get them involved — my uncle walked me down the aisle and my aunt made a speech. There were around 50 at the actual wedding, and that was cousins, aunts, and uncles. My husband had a friend who flew over for his best man role, and my twin sister was my best woman. I also had two friends stand up with me at the main table but they just wore whatever they wanted to wear. I did wear a wedding dress, which I had made. I saw a dress that was very 1950s in Rathfarnham and this woman had the material for the dress in the shop and said, I'll make it for you, and it was perfect, and cost maybe €100. My sister had a light blue bridesmaid dress. Alison Curtis on her wedding day. I had flown into Toronto earlier that week, and then my husband and his family flew in two days beforehand. My sister organised a really nice event the night before we got married. It was in a lovely place in downtown Toronto called the Bedford Inn. Afterwards myself, my sister, and my two friends went back to The Old Mill, and we stayed there overnight. I remember getting up the next morning and having breakfast, and then the makeup artist arrived, and it was just really quite relaxed. But I'd been so relaxed about the whole wedding anyway. You see our engagement was really short — I asked Anton to marry me in February of 2007 and then I said let's set the date for September. We'd been together for almost five years and had a house together so I just wanted to get married. So, as you can imagine the lead up was short, and there wasn't enough time really to get stressed. Alison Curtis getting ready to walk down the aisle with her uncle. So the ceremony flew by, I don't really remember much of it. For the reception myself and my husband had put together a playlist. We spent a long time on the playlist — it was about four hours long — and we had all our favourite songs on there but also some dance songs for the older generation, a bit of Elvis thrown in. That's maybe my one regret though, is not getting a DJ for the reception. Like people were up dancing for sure, and the music was great but I think a DJ would have added to it. Our first dance was Tougher Than The Rest by Bruce Springsteen. My husband is in a band, and he was in bands when I met him, and I was a DJ as well at the time so music was a big connection; we met at a gig in Whelan's. Whenever I was talking to friends, I talked about my love of Bruce. I fell in love with him in my teenage years. At the time, I was probably 20 years younger than the average Bruce fan, and a woman. I'm obsessed with him. But that was one of the things with my husband — he loved Bruce as much as me. We had music throughout the day — I walked down the aisle to a Ben Folds Five song and then we both walked back down the aisle to some Arcade Fire. We had a pianist in the chapel and they played those songs for us on the piano. Alison Curtis and her husband Anton on their wedding day. When I look back on the day, nearly 18 years ago, I have a really strong memory of my uncle, who walked me down the aisle. He was 93 when he passed away last year. He had two sons, so he was very, very touched when I asked him to walk me down the aisle. I have a lovely memory of myself, my sister and him in the room — just the quiet, calm before the storm. She went down the aisle first, and then we followed. It's just a lovely moment that I'll always remember. I can't remember what time we vacated the reception hall that we were in, but we brought the party back to one of my aunt's rooms (she was staying at the venue as well). So that went on for a while. But then I do remember, maybe around one or 1.30 saying to Anton, 'let's go back to our room'. We had a really nice suite, and it was nice just to have time for the two of us. And then the next night, we were at my aunt's place. I loved that day because it was so relaxed, and we still had nice outfits on. And my cousins, I have the two cousins that are like my brothers, Curtis and Trevor, and they organised it with her, and it was like a really lovely wedding gift from them. Alison Curtis presents the Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Saturday and Sundays between 9am and 12pm.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Labour council scraps £3m green road scheme that increases traffic
A Labour council has scrapped a £3 million green road scheme after it increased traffic on nearby roads. Southampton city council installed a gate in January that stopped traffic other than buses, bicycles and taxis from using Portswood Road at peak times. The bus gate, which was called the 'Portswood project', led to 1,882 fines issued between Feb 10 and April 10. But following a backlash from residents and a 'comprehensive' review, the council announced that the scheme would be suspended from Thursday. The local authority said the decision was made after a 'significant rise' in traffic along residential streets which 'raises concerns around road safety and congestion'. It also confirmed that, as of March this year, it had already spent more than £1 million of the £3 million allocated for the project. Residents had accused planners of being in 'cloud cuckoo land' when they introduced the expensive scheme, which they said was both 'ridiculous' and a 'waste of money'. Alison Curtis, a business consultant, 60, described the scheme as an 'awful' idea which was going to affect the businesses that lined the road. 'There [are] going to be a lot of unhappy people,' she said, adding: 'I am sure there is a different and better way to encourage people out of their cars, we need an alternative not just to be stopped.' Another pedestrian described it as a 'lose-lose situation' for businesses and that the £3 million should be spent on 'road improvements'. The 79-year-old retired NHS manager said: 'It is ridiculous, a waste of money which could be spent on road improvements.' She added: 'I can't see how it is going to benefit the shop owners, it is a lose-lose situation, they are going to lose money.' The council launched a survey in late 2020 on the scheme to gather residents' opinions on the area, and the results found that of the 195 respondents, only three were in favour of the bus priority option. But plans continued to progress, prompting a petition against the proposals that garnered 2,868 signatures and made it to council in 2022-2023. Speaking of the decision to suspend the bus gate, Cllr Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: 'Our approach has always been rooted in evidence and safety. We've used this trial to test the real-world impact of changes designed to make Portswood Broadway a safer, more attractive place to travel and spend time. 'The data shows that while the intended benefits are emerging, we must address unintended effects on surrounding roads. 'We are grateful to all residents and businesses who have taken the time to contact us to share their experiences with their thoughts about the trial.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour council scraps £3m green road scheme that increases traffic
A Labour council has scrapped a £3 million green road scheme after it increased traffic on nearby roads. Southampton city council installed a gate in January that stopped traffic other than buses, bicycles and taxis from using Portswood Road at peak times. The bus gate, which was called the 'Portswood project', led to 1,882 fines issued between Feb 10 and April 10. But following a backlash from residents and a 'comprehensive' review, the council announced that the scheme would be suspended from Thursday. The local authority said the decision was made after a 'significant rise' in traffic along residential streets which 'raises concerns around road safety and congestion'. It also confirmed that, as of March this year, it had already spent more than £1 million of the £3 million allocated for the project. Residents had accused planners of being in 'cloud cuckoo land' when they introduced the expensive scheme, which they said was both 'ridiculous' and a 'waste of money'. Alison Curtis, a business consultant, 60, described the scheme as an 'awful' idea which was going to affect the businesses that lined the road. 'There [are] going to be a lot of unhappy people,' she said, adding: 'I am sure there is a different and better way to encourage people out of their cars, we need an alternative not just to be stopped.' Another pedestrian described it as a 'lose-lose situation' for businesses and that the £3 million should be spent on 'road improvements'. 'Waste of money' The 79-year-old retired NHS manager said: 'It is ridiculous, a waste of money which could be spent on road improvements.' She added: 'I can't see how it is going to benefit the shop owners, it is a lose-lose situation, they are going to lose money.' The council launched a survey in late 2020 on the scheme to gather residents' opinions on the area, and the results found that of the 195 respondents, only three were in favour of the bus priority option. But plans continued to progress, prompting a petition against the proposals that garnered 2,868 signatures and made it to council in 2022-2023. Speaking of the decision to suspend the bus gate, Cllr Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: 'Our approach has always been rooted in evidence and safety. We've used this trial to test the real-world impact of changes designed to make Portswood Broadway a safer, more attractive place to travel and spend time. 'The data shows that while the intended benefits are emerging, we must address unintended effects on surrounding roads. 'We are grateful to all residents and businesses who have taken the time to contact us to share their experiences with their thoughts about the trial.'
