Phoenix FM 92.5 Dublin Radiothon 2026 / Blessing Kure

Hello and welcome to BK Says on Phoenix 92.5 Radio Town. My name is Blessing Kure and for the next 30 minutes I will keep you entertained and sort of educated. So let's just say I will keep you edutained for the next 30 minutes. I'm sure you've had a blast so far listening to a plethora of shows since the Radio Town started yesterday and I'm here to add to that experience by telling you my top five side quests in Ireland so far. I am a multimedia storyteller and a producer and also a voice artist based in Ireland and I make videos around Irish culture, the history, the lifestyle and thanks to the super kind people in my comment section I have learned loads from them and just the Irish experience. If you haven't figured it out yet I am Nigerian and everything is just kind of new and educational for me so I have this top five list for you. So I've spent the last few years on this spontaneous exploration of the country from the Bosun Museum to the streets of Dublin to the mucky fields of the Plourian Championship and also the Quiet Galleries. I accidentally started an online community a few months back because I made a video saying I watched Father Ted and everyone came at me with lists of more movies I should see and just explaining all the bits. I'm kind of getting a hang of the comedy and the humor and like the Irish humor. It's taken a... I have made progress a lot better than a few years ago okay and I took myself to this personally voluntary test to go to the comedy clubs and see if I would be able to make out what they were saying in the jokes and I would give myself a solid six over ten because I understood the jokes including notions and a couple of things honestly. You can check out my video it's on the Hey Penny Comedy Club and it's on my profile so without further ado I'm gonna just get like right straight into it and trust me I have videos to back up this lore but since this is an audio only show what are we going to do about it? Okay you could see the videos on my YouTube channel I have detailed documentary style production videos at Blessing Kure that's b-l-e-s-s-y-n-k-u-r-e but if you're not into social media or watching videos or things like that I will try to paint you a picture with my words and hopefully you'll be able to envisage this in your mind's eye. This is me doing you a solid so you're welcome so grab number five on my list of side quests is the Dublin boss. I painted my nails to match the colors of the Dublin boss for five months plus and I crescendoed with the drawing of the full Dublin boss shout out to my nail artist she was like I could see the judgment in her eyes when I stepped in to say hey I want to paint draw you have you draw the full Dublin boss on my nails but she is a girl's girl she didn't judge she didn't ask questions she was like cool sit and she did a fantastic fantastic job at that and you know the Dublin was like a world of its own it's a moving theater and we're just all extras in it and to be honest we're all just trying to find our frequency but that made boss rides so much more fun for me because I'm always thinking like what's the next possible nail I had the wi-fi white I had a stop sign red I had the blue royal blue from the seeds I had the orange I really liked the orange and all this started because I mistakenly painted my nails to match the handrail so I had this acrylics on and it was like mustard yellow like the handrail and I took a picture and I just noticed that my hand disappeared into the handrail and I thought was really funny and I just continued making my nails to match the colors of the Dublin boss for months onward a little personal entertainment for myself honestly you have to do I highly recommend side questing on number four we have my seaside experiences I saw a sea lion oh my god I was walking the cliffs in Hoth and the sea lion came out and just stayed because people kept feeding me fish I didn't know what the rules around those were so I didn't but it was really nice because I haven't seen a sea lion before in my life and it was gorgeous and I then embarked on the boat ride I think something that I'm still getting a hang of will definitely be the Irish weather because you would see the sun but you won't feel the sun it will be bright and gorgeous and beautiful and still very cold and if you take the sun sun being out at face value you will freeze I didn't layer properly on the day I went to Hoth and I have learned my lesson so I'm not going to do that again I also really enjoy the Dunlury markets but seagulls what is with that I cannot be the only person who finds seagulls mildly scary okay not mildly very scary to be honest it's just a bit gangster too gangster for my liking on number three and I have a short story to read at the end of this if I have time I'll check in with a producer if I have time I will read you the short story but if not I'm just gonna skedaddle over I'll work my way around trying to make sure I have time don't worry I want to tell you this story because it involves a bat in a public space and it was so much drama on number three we have museums I enjoy history as I said at the start of it so I really enjoyed my time at the epic museum that's the Irish emigration museum like enjoyed not because of the experience it's because it was pretty heavy tour but mainly just seeing the documentation of the history to see how it was curated over the years and visualized and brought into life beyond stereotypes of what Ireland or the Irish would be by Hollywood I'm African so I can kind of relate to a Hollywood version of what your continent or country would be portrayed as so I really just like that epic museum has that going for them and when we're about leaving one of the like guards is like oh we have an exhibition downstairs so it's like the Irish Indian heritage um tracing it back and just the unity between the whole thing I just didn't I never knew that it was that kind of relationship because it's between those two communities and dating back hundreds of years like I still my favorite picture would be this non full non regalia with a large gun like it was just contrast like boat world I maybe will post a picture of my insta or put a picture up if I'm posting this segment of the video on my socials but it was a really really nice experience to see the history and I was at the reopening of the National Museum of Ireland's the Collins Barracks that's the changing Ireland galleries the part that represents Ireland in its what I say in its newness like the more integrated part of Ireland and the thing I found particularly nice about that experience was the fact that the people who were who had contributions in that museum were people who are still alive they're like youngings and people who weren't dead and gone it wasn't it wasn't like it didn't feel like a relic it it was more like part of everyday living and I particularly liked that one and my all-time favorite museum has to be Hulane gallery which unfortunately is closed for the next possibly three years or more hopefully less but I really liked Hulane gallery because I think it was the first gallery I walked into when I came in when I arrived years ago and it just it was so quiet and so empty that day and I just sat in I just centered myself so it just became a very it became like home base for me like center of gravity and every now and then go there and just sit in the silence so I really liked that one good work Hulane gallery if you're listening um I have done some other side quests to be honest that I'm not gonna make it to this top two top two ones I don't know I don't know uh winter wonder lights I like the sound I like the artwork I like the display of light and sound and just working it and as an audio visual producer I'm always thinking of how visuals and audio and things just work together in unison to create a holistic experience I also saw the circus and I want to see the mastery and superhuman strength I don't know if that I don't know if it's superhuman strength that comes naturally or it just comes from hours of practice because they did put a lot of effort into the whole thing and it is surprisingly one of my very well performing videos on my youtube channel I guess I'm not the only one who is interested in seeing how circuses happen and things that go on around there anyways this next song will give you a clue into my second favorite side quest of all time which honestly I still talk about it's Marty Moan's the plowing song welcome back if you're just joining my name is Bessie Nkure and this is the radio town on phoenix 92.5 I was listing my top five side quest slash experiences memorable experiences in Ireland so far I'm just giving you a little bit of the tea and the backstory if you're just listening that is what we've been up to you haven't missed too much all the two the last two are kind of almost unhinged I would say not unhinged but just people always seem a bit shocked at those two so that's why they made it to the top two and if you've been listening thank you so much for staying with us and for coming back okay so I went to the plowing championship in Tullamore I know I know when I my lecturer said this in passing during the lecture and he was like oh there's tractor racing now maybe he marketed this to me a little differently than what it was supposed to be but he said there's like oh you would see tractors racing and it's just a holistic experience of the countryside so I'm like I'm gonna go there I didn't go for the first two three years and then last year I said I must go to Tullamore and see the plowing and the tractors for myself because I love sheep and I love tractors now I wouldn't know much or anything about farming well apart from the fundamentals I have not successfully had indoor plants but I then went to Tullamore and now I went there it was a bit of a ride from Dublin to be fair it was quite a journey and it is the if you don't know what the plowing championship is I'll just give you a bit of the educational part of it it's the biggest farming event in Europe it is a celebration of Irish culture and community and last year it held from the 16th to the 18th of September the first day which was the day I went the only day I went to be honest it was about 75 000 people it was packed and it took place over on like a line that was about 700 acres and news said subsequently there were over 240 000 people in the duration of the three days which is very impressive honestly I was just there for the fun of it the main thing I went there my main objective in my heart in my soul was to get on a tractor I had asked on TikTok does anyone have a tractor and is anyone going to be there and someone just said oh you could just ask any of the lads there and they'll be grand I was like are you sure and they're like yeah so I said okay and yeah in case you're trying to figure out how to google or find some of this that's b-l-e-s-s-y-n-k-u-r-e which is my name and my username coincidentally so while I was walking around to try and find the plowing station the tractor stations the somewhere I heard on radio that like on the speakers that oh we're about to start sharing sheep so my friend says let's go in and see what that's about and because we didn't particularly go there with a full lifeline we skedaddled into the shed and the organizer George said do you want to share sheep and you know me okay if you don't know me now you do okay I am up for a challenge I am up to try new experiences as long as it's safe I okay sometimes they're not safe but you get the point I'm up for new experiences sometimes and then so we went in and he says oh you're gonna start sharing so I set my gopro I set my camera recording and I get on stage and he teaches us how to share sheep and then he hands me the clipper which is so heavy tell me why I thought it was going to be the same size as like the regular barber's clippers it wasn't and it's like it's the blades vibrate so much you would feel it in your arm when it's moving so I then shared a little bit of sheep and the crowd was very nice they clapped graciously and I walked off stage but that was very very very random experience for me and after I left the sheep sharing point we then stumbled in various sheep related fashion we then still stumbled on a skincare like stand that sells sheep milk products and I really particularly like the scent of their lotion and the hand cream their name is Bonor and it's sheep milk skincare so they had like hair and body oils soap and the lotion very very soft and lush and I took it back and it was just a very interesting experience because why am I sharing sheep and in case you're wondering yes I did find my tractor I got to the plowing section and when the plowing ended I just asked one of the lads there I was like oh hi can I get on the tractor for a picture and he says yeah you're grand and he left me his old tractor and went away so that was funny and I got on the tractor took my pictures and I dipped it really made me happy I was still staring at those pictures every now and then I would still watch the video because I edited the whole experience into like a documentary-esque video but I would still watch it I laughed because I really had a good time and I'm happy now I have come up close and personal with sharing sheep I did not keep any of the sheep wool though I didn't keep it because I'm happy living with not particularly trying to go about with sheep in my pocket and on number one on number one my top side quest which is a bit more recent than the rest it would be going speed dating in Dublin now my friend she called me and she says girl I think I want to try this experience I think it's fun and I saw tickets on Eventbrite so I I said to her no problem let's go because I am the friend you call when you have that kind of random idea and it was just really well organized some of the men didn't make it so there were gaps so in between we would skip tables and just chat between ourselves like the ladies would talk and after the event we're like we went to the restroom kind of before dipping like leaving the event and everyone was giving their feedback about how the speed dating thing went I didn't particularly enjoy the conversations with the dates but I'm not going to get into that everyone is trying their best it wouldn't particularly be my scene but it was a very good experience to see just what exists in the markets if I do say so so after the girls are talking about me like oh yeah do you want to hang out because like this was not as fabulous as we thought it was going to be and we all said yes so all 10 of us took ourselves into the found a restaurant just booked out a table for 10 and then sat and chatted for the whole evening created a group chat took pictures did photo shoots it was really such a light-hearted experience definitely not something I expected to encounter on that day when I went out but I'm happy it turned out that way and because I am so generous I have been told I have limited time left I will quickly read to you the short story I promised you at the start of it so I'm going to go into my audio narrator voice now so in case that sounds slightly different I spend an ungodly amount of time commuting daily so I am more qualified I'm more than qualified I'm going to start again I spend an ungodly amount of time commuting daily so I am more than qualified to say I have seen it all on the Dublin bus from banter to laughter to crying extra angry babies drunken people to joyful friendships old love new love scary teenagers regular teenagers accidents and today bats that's right I said bats the flying nighttime creature with the famous DC comics Batman is named after let me set the scene for you it's 7 a.m I am out before the sun I'm part of a half asleep half frozen group of regulars clustered under the shelter at the bus stop all eyes glued to the flickering screen displaying bus times anxiously hoping that the bus would show up when it says it would this time now unless you're new to Dublin you're aware of the state of the boss's punctuality and if you're not I'll tell you in one sentence a russian roulette before time a game of chance will it show will it not show if cliffhangers existed in real life it would be the Dublin bus because you never know I'd advise you to always add extra time for your planning for last minute cancellation ah the bus finally shows up but we're too grumpy to rejoice outwardly so we mechanically shuffle into a straight line and get on the bus look letting the school kids on first did you think we were carlos sleepyheads in no particular order of preference there's children the elderly disabled people pregnant women parents with buggies should always come first I make it to my beloved seat third word to the left just beside the stairs for swift disembarkment and avoiding the long shaky walk if you know you know thankfully the ride is uneventful also I thought before I felt a light tap of my shoulder why is someone tapping me on the butt I thought to ignore it but curiosity got the better part of me so I took off my headphones and turned to see the man behind me pointing under my seat I was puzzled and I'm sure my face did a horrible job at hiding this confusion so he quickly added and there's a bat beside your feet I froze what do you mean a whole bat is amongst us in this packed bus I thanked him in a whisper because god forbid I scream and end up on some random tiktok as the the memes flashed before my eyes so I gently raised my feet and got into a crunch like position after all today is as good a day as any to work on my abs a few minutes passed and I summoned the courage to check its whereabouts but all I could see was a bat's bum have you seen a bat's bum before it's one of those things you see and can never forget or unsee I only know what it looks like because it randomly popped on my feed on instagram two days ago without warning my panic fades and empathy kicks in poor scared batty couldn't see the flooding bus lights was too bright for it must have been scared taking a nap and boom humans interrupted it must be thinking humans ruin everything and judging by the state of the world batty will be right the bat starts to move forward away from me relief at last because my abs were beginning to burn it proceeded to the front row and the lady was wearing an all-black outfit with a matching cute wool black coat the darkness must have looked familiar to it because it started to climb on her boots and then her pants everyone was invested at this point and we're all peering I'm the closest to her so I start to call out to her but she's wearing a headphone very focused standing on business as she should but whatever happened to spatial awareness after numerous failed attempts I gave up and had done my good deed for the day and if this were a horror zombie apocalyptic movie we all know who's going down first don't we the next lady takes over waving her hands frantically beside her at a safe distance from the bat and she finally noticed and calmly shook the bats of her leg like it was a bug I couldn't believe my eyes the composure was immaculate if it were me I would have started shouting yay immediately activating my full Nigerian panic mode shout out to the sister for remaining calm and maintaining steeze and class in this times the commotion worsened and as the bats flew in circles the squeamish were screaming the feeble-minded packed their belongings and scrambled downstairs while the brave stayed and weathered the elements of nature curious about where I belonged on the spectrum thankfully I didn't have to make a choice since the bat wasn't in my region so in theory I was among the brave but in reality I would have squeezed myself through the window to escape and avoid coming up close and personal with this creature as soon as the kind sounding automated boss announced Dame Street Strajan Dharma I let out a sigh of relief freedom at last I hastily picked up my backpack and set out on my long walk down the bus oh the bus tears my arch nemesis but this is a story for another day thank you so much I'm glad I could read you that story because I promise you it's non-fiction and it's based on a true story so this is my abridged version of my side quest a lot of things didn't make the cut and thank you so much for listening I hope you enjoy the rest of your day while the is out and you can still make the most of the sunny day to see more of my adventures or learn about the things I do you can check my socials at Blessing Query that's B-L-E-S-S-Y-N-K-U-R-E across all platforms or you can visit my website for my more formal work around advocacy content creation hosting public speaking audio and video production and voiceovers it's www.blessingquery.com I'll leave you with Cabin Crew's The Spark and hopefully it inspires you to find your spark and side quest a little bit more and be unstoppable because the world is your oyster bye