Weekend Breakfast with Alison Curtis

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!

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

Fresh off the back of the success of his gorgeous surrogacy documentray, DWTS judge Arthur Gourounlian joined Alison Curtis for the first time! (They are now best friends). They chatted about the series finale, being multilingual and family life with hubby Brain Dowling and their adorable daughter Blake.

You might know Baz Ashmawy from his numerous attempts at killing his mammy or his amazing sense of humour. He is back on our screen tonight with a new series of DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland. He joined Alison to talk about the show, life as a granddad and hosting the Late Late. The two even cooked up a plan to double-head it when Ryan Tubrity finishes... where do we sign up?

After 15 years hosting the Sunday Game and over three decades in the broadcasting game, Des Cahill is one of the most familiar faces and voices in the country. But what you might not know about him is he is a fantastic Irish speaker, as he got to show off in a new RTÉ. He joined Alison to talk about the importance of using your cúpla focail, life after the Sunday Game and our very own Ian Dempsey....

The adorable Milly McCarthy might be a catastrophe, but her author Leona Forde is anything but! As the first installment in the Milly series continues continues to fly of the shelves, Alison caught up with Leona to chat about her new found literary success and the inspiration behing the book.

Barry Enderwick loves a sandwich with a story - so much so he's built a social media platfrom celebrating just that. He joined Weeekend Breakfast to chat about the best and worst sandwiches of all time (some of them are truly gross!).

Here at Today FM we have Big Busk on the brain. With less than a week to go, Weekend Breakfast spoke to Catherine Keenan. Catherine spent seven years living in homelessness – but thanks to our charity partner Focus Ireland, she found a home and a second chance to live with her family.

Alison caught up with drag sensation turned ballroom star Panti Bliss, AKA Rory O'Neill, who has been painting the Dancing With the Stars floor red each week. They chatted all things ballroom, the bond between contestants this year and breaking down stigma.

Ahead of this weekend's clash against Italy, Kathleen McNamee of Off The Ball joined Alison to discuss how the Irish rugby team are faring in the Six Nations.

With over one billion monthly users, Tiktok has fast become one of the most popular social media platforms out there. For parents with young teenagers, trying to navigate this new cyber space and keep their kids safe can be daunting. But CEO of Parentline Aileen Hickie is here to help! She joined Weekend Breakfast with tips to help parents tackle TikTok.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, Weekend Breakfast has love on the brain. And what type of love is more important than self-love? Alison caught up with Irish Times journalist Conor Capplis – who’s recently grown a mullet and is championing his hair and his decision.

You might remember 10-year-old Saoibh Lonergan from her appearance on the Late Late Toy Show with a song she wrote, Raining Rainbows. She had to have major surgery over the summer to remove a tumour on her back - but now she is absolutely smashing her recovery. This week Alison caught up with Saoibh and her dad Kenny. They told Weekend Breakfast her story in honour of the return of Little Baker an...

Sophie Hinchliffe, aka Mrs Hinch, is an internet sensation renowned for her cleaning tips and tricks. She posts content of her cleaning - AKA Hinching – to her 4.6 million Instagram followers. She joined Weekend Breakfast to chat about life as a cleanfluencer, alpachas and her new kids book - Welcome to Hinch Farm.

This week Weekend Breakfast caught up with the hilarious mind behind Ross O’Carroll-Kely, Paul Howard, to discuss his second brain child, Aldrin Adams – a cheese-loving, kind-hearted kid superhero. Following the release of he second book in the Aldin series this week, Paul filled Alison in on Aldrin’s latest antics and his own cheese-induced nightmares…

Dublin Senator Lynn Ruane embarked on a roadtrip across Ireland this summer with Bafta-winning actress Miriam Margoyles to explore the life of Lady Gregory. She joined Alison to chat about her mate Mimzo, travelling cross country, and even managed to squeeze in a quick lesson in Dublinese....

It's been a busy few weeks in the Mescal household! Singer-songwriter Nell caught up with Weekend Breakfast to chat about her new track Homesick, her reaction to Paul's Oscar Nomination and the Irish on the centre stage.

Husband and wife Gina and Karol Daly - more commonly known as the Daly Dish - are all about good food and big flavours. Their most recent book was crowned Cookbook at the Year of the An Post Irish Book Awards 2022. This week they spoke to Weekend Breakfast about fakeaways, the perfect Sunday dinner and eating well without sacrificing the wow factor.

To fight the January Blues, many are dreaming of sunnier summer days. With holidays on the brain, Alison caught up with travel expert Pól Ó Conghaile. They chatted about the best holiday deals for families and couples and the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards 2023.