Cork theatre that rose from ashes of blaze

The bustling Cork market town of Macroom has struggled for the last eight years to find suitable venues to showcase its rich heritage of drama and musical theatre.

A blaze in 2016 closed the town’s much-loved theatre, the Briery Gap.

However, a new, state-of-the-art building has now sprung up in its place on Main Street, and reporter Marian Malone visits Macroom to discover its impact in Nationwide on Friday on RTÉ1 at 7pm.

She finds out about its flourishing musical groups and attends the opening of the new facility, as well as taking in a performance by locals of a musical production first performed on the Gay Byrne Radio show 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday’s episode of Nationwide, reporter John Kilraine visits a training facility in Dublin which was opened by Vision Ireland to address the challenges faced by those with sight and mobility issues in using public transport.

The percentage of visually impaired people using public transport is relatively low and the aim of the Wayfinding Centre is to make public transport more accessible to people with disabilities.

In Waterford, Nationwide hears about a friendship and a love for the stage which has led to a production called Up Down Boy, where the star is a young man with Down Syndrome.

The play is a funny and uplifting story of a young man growing up with Down Syndrome and the programme hears the story behind this special production.

Finally, Nationwide on Monday at 7pm focuses on the organisation, Ordnance Survey Ireland, whose job is to update our maps, ensuring changes on the ground are included in the latest maps for publication.

The programme explores how Ireland was one of the first countries in the world to be mapped, beginning 200 years ago in Donegal. Additionally, the Nationwide team delve into the remarkable advancements in technology that have transformed mapping techniques over the centuries.

Today, mapping techniques have developed beyond anything that could have been imagined 200 years ago. Now the mapping service is being combined with the Property Valuation Office and Irish Property Registry Authority to create Tailte Éireann.

Millions of historical property records are being integrated under one roof in Dublin and reporter John Kilraine has been visiting the old and new offices to hear all about this groundbreaking initiative.