Ireland's Edge

On the day of Ireland's general election in December 2024, the longtime leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan sat down with Chris Kissane at Ireland's Edge. Marking the end of his political tenure after 25 years, and with his party's prospects looking bleak, Eamon and Chris discussed why it's not easy being green.Junior partners in two major coalition governments over the last 15 years, the Greens brought issues of climate change and sustainability to the centre of Irish political debate and Eamon's various ministerial portfolios have ranged from transport to energy to communications. But there has been a major political backlash against green politics both home and abroad despite a global environmental crisis that only continues to worsen. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It has been a rough couple of years for Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ, with a series of scandals damaging public trust and support for its funding in future. Revelations about secret payments to top presenters led to many refusing to pay their license fee, while politicians subjected executives to often aggressive grillings on live television. The man tasked with sorting out the mess is Director General Kevin Bakhurst, formerly RTÉ's head of news and previously a senior news editor at the BBC, where his work covered everything from the end of British rule in Hong Kong to the 9 /11 attacks in New York and Washington. Kevin joined Chris at Ireland's Edge in Dingle on election day last December to discuss the challenges he and his colleagues face in securing the future of our national broadcaster. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode, the generational divide over climate action.While most of the world agrees with the scientific fact that humans are dangerously altering the earth's climate, we can't agree what to do about it. Global powers and corporate giants quarrel over who should do what, while generations argue about the need for urgency. In a global crisis where the blame and the damage are unequally distributed, how do we create the consensus needed to act before it's too late?At Ireland's Edge, in front of a live audience, Chris was joined by three fascinating guests who see climate change from different perspectives:Alex White is a Senior Counsel and is Director of the Institute for International & European Affairs. He was previously a TD and Senator, as well as a government minister in multiple departments.Martha Farrell is a founding member of the Maharees Conservation Association here in West Kerry, an award-winning volunteer community organisation set up to protect a vital tombolo on the Dingle peninsula. She is also a lecturer at Munster Technological University.And Caitlin Faye Maniti is a student at Maynooth University who was previously President of the Irish Second-Level Students' Association. She contributes to Ireland's National Youth Assembly, and was a co-author of a recent Unicef Ireland report on the impact of Climate Change on children. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For centuries, Irish universities have been bastions of intellectual life, shaping education, politics, culture, and debate. With over half of young people receiving a third-level education, Ireland boasts one of the world's most university-educated populations. Yet, amidst political, financial, and societal pressures, uncertainty looms - can these institutions maintain their standard of scholarship and retain their value within our rapidly evolving world?In this episode, Professor Orla Feely, President of University College Dublin, and Professor John O'Halloran, President of University College Cork, are interviewed by Professor John Naughten, a senior research fellow at Cambridge University and renowned technology columnist for The Observer, giving their assessment of the challenges and opportunities. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is no exaggeration to say that the history of modern Ireland has been played out on the stage of our national theatre, The Abbey, founded in 1904, and after independence the first publicly-subsidised theatre in the English-speaking world. It was there that Ireland first saw many of the great plays of Gregory, Yeats, Synge, O'Casey and others, often to great public debate and controversy. The Abbey has also brought Irish theatre to stages all around the world through its successful touring productions, alongside promoting new playwrights here at home.Recent decades however have seen financial and management difficulties, alongside a long-delayed building redevelopment plan. Caitríona McLaughlin is co-director and artistic director of the Abbey Theatre, where her recent production of Brian Friel's Translations won a UK Theatre Award after its tour of Ireland, North and South.At Ireland's Edge in Dingle she talked about her work, the Abbey, and theatre more broadly with musician and cultural consultant Dermot McLaughlin. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish were once the biggest newspaper readers in Europe, but in recent years our interest has begun to decline. With news reporting and investigative journalism facing an existential funding crisis, and trust in information itself rapidly declining due to "fake news" and the excesses of social media, what is the future of a world with less news, and what are the consequences? Recorded live at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, Chris speaks to three extraordinary women who edit independent news outlets in Ireland, to discuss the challenges facing their work: Sinéad Carroll, Editor of TheJournal.ie and prominent figure in national media, contributing to news, politics, and sports programs; Siobhán Holliman, deputy editor of the Tuam Herald, member of the Future of Media Commission and the Press Council; and Siobhán Cronin, the first woman editor of The Southern Star in its 135-year history, and a serving member of the Press Council.Recorded live at / A South Wind Blows Production Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artificial Intelligence has already begun to change the world around us, at a speed that few of us anticipated. Will the advancement of AI bring positive progress and societal evolution, or have we created something we cannot control? On this fifth episode of Ireland's Edge - The Podcast, Chris speaks to two fascinating guests about what opportunities and challenges this brave new world may have in store. Featuring️️: Mark Little, Founder of Storyful and now Kinzen, which uses AI to screen dangerous misinformation online, and Mark O'Connell, Writer, Author and Wellcome Prize winner for his book How to be a Machine. Out now, wherever you get your podcasts. A South Wind Blows production. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artists all around the world are trying to make sense of what the advance of artificial intelligence will mean for their creative work. Will the very human traits of passion and creativity survive in a world where we let ever more intelligent machines do the work for us? In Belfast, the innovative people behind production company Dumbworld have been thinking about this question in radical ways, integrating AI into their mission to bring opera to the masses. Ivor Novello winning composer Brian Irvine and librettist John McIlduff brought a number of their street operas to Other Voices in Dingle, and at Ireland's Edge they spoke with musician and cultural consultant Dermot McLaughlin about shaking up opera and why they were moved to do so, harnessing technology to open up the art form to whole new audiences, and the implications and applications of AI for opera, music and the wider creative industries.For more on Dumbworld and their work: https://dumbworld.co.uk/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once again this winter, the Irish healthcare system has been overwhelmed, with thousands of appointments cancelled, hundreds lying on hospital trollies waiting for beds, and staff once more having to complain about unsafe and unfair working conditions.On this episode, Chris speaks to three women who see the healthcare system from very different angles: Professor Sara Burke is Director of the Centre for Health Policy and Management at Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine. Dr Monica Oikeh is a GP based in Cork, who has amassed huge views on TikTok with her helpful and accessible videos on healthcare, busting taboos around mental, sexual and female health. And Phil Ní Sheaghda is the General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. At Ireland's Edge in Dingle in front of a live audience, Chris asks them how we can bring people together to improve our healthcare, as well as about implementing reform, the promise of Universal Healthcare in Sláintecare, equal access for all and more.*Correction and clarification from panellist Dr Sara Burke:When discussing the increase in the number of staff on HSE payroll between 2019 and 2023, Dr Burke cites figures from the Health Sector Employment Report SEP 2023, citing the 'total people/head count figure from 2023' instead of the 'WTE (Whole Time Equivalent)' from 2023, inadvertently overstating the increase. However, the overall point remains that there are much greater staff increases in the hospital system rather than in primary, community care and social care. We thank Dr Burke for this clarification. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I've worked on a lot of conflicts that looked like they were intractable. A solution takes a lot of international effort; you've got to look for multiple honest brokers."From the horrendous destruction of Gaza, to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the return of Donald Trump, geopolitics feels terrifyingly unstable right now. On this week's episode we hear from one of the world's leading foreign policy analysts, Dr Fiona Hill, about the state of global politics, and the murky world of international affairs. Originally from the north of England, and now Chancellor of Durham University, Fiona Hill found herself at the centre of the impeachment trial of then President Trump, after her time as Senior Director of European and Russian Affairs on the US National Security Council. She had previously worked at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, at the Brookings Institution, and as an analyst for Presidents George W Bush, and Barack Obama. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge last December she spoke about a huge range of political and personal issues with seasoned reporter and RTE Europe Editor, Tony Connelly. This is View From the Hill. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series 4 / Episode 1Chris speaks to BBC Ireland correspondent Aoife Moore about the controversial rise of Ireland's largest political party, Sinn Fein. Hardline militants in the republican movement used to regard their political wing as a place for ‘women and cowards', but with Sinn Fein already the largest party in Northern Ireland, and leading the polls for the next Dail election, how do we assess the party's journey from irrelevance to the brink of power?Before moving to the BBC, Aoife was named Irish journalist of the year in 2021 for her reporting with the Irish Examiner. Her new book, The Long Game, traces the history of Sinn Fein from the 1970s to the present day, and was nominated for Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle last December, Chris spoke to Aoife about her book, her life as a journalist, and the future of Irish politics.Presented by Christopher Kissane. A South Wind Blows production. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, The People Have The Power. While debates about social change often focus on Government policy, all across Ireland there are citizens and volunteers taking it upon themselves to create the change they want to see in their communities.At Ireland's Edge, Muireann Kelliher spoke to three such inspiring individuals to hear their stories and ask them how we can better harness the creativity and commitment of citizens in addressing our social problems . Fidaa Marouf came to Ireland from Syria five years ago and is now studying dentistry as a Quercus Active Citizen Scholar,at University College Cork; Kevin Baker was the Chairperson of the Dublin Cycling Campaign and Dinny Galvin who joined us earlier in this series is a local farmer from here in Kerry. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland is enjoying an unprecedented boom in corporate tax receipts, with tens of millions from multinationals and the tech and pharmaceutical sectors helping to create a huge government budget surplus. While the government predicts that its annual surplus will rise to an incredible 20 billion euros in the next few years, some of that boom will certainly be temporary as corporate giants shift their profits around the globe. So, what happens after the gold rush? Leo Clancy is the CEO of Enterprise Ireland, the government agency tasked with helping indigenous Irish businesses grow and export, with the goal of creating a more sustainable domestic economy. He previously worked on the management team at Ireland's Industrial Development authority, which has spent decades attracting foreign direct investment into the country. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge Leo spoke to Muireann Kelliher about his own career and the prospects for Irish business in the economy. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trans people continue to face discrimination and demonisation with their real lives and experiences too often ignored by a public debate fuelled by toxic myths and hatred. The writer and journalist Shon Faye's bestselling book The Transgender Issue argues that we have been having the wrong conversation by making trans people seen but not heard, and that trans justice is justice for all. At Ireland's Edge in Dingle, Shon spoke to Ireland's Edge host Christopher Kissane about her book and her work, telling him about her childhood holidays in Ireland, her dating advice column for Vogue, and her queer history podcast, Call Me Mother. Today's episode features a short excerpt from that discussion where Shon and Chris talk about the need for social solidarity against hate and intolerance. Chris asks Shon to tell us about her work revealing the shocking scale of social problems like unemployment, homelessness and self-harm that far too many trans people still have to deal with. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our rural and coastal communities are facing great environmental and economic challenges. The dominance of industrial agriculture and the threat of climate change have forced many to reflect on how we can both preserve and create sustainable ways of life. On today's episode we meet some of the inspiring people working on fascinating local projects on the Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry asking, "what future is in our fields?' In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, Ella McSweeney, presenter of RTE's Ear To The Ground, was joined by artist and activist Lisa Fingleton and local farmers Tommy Reidy and Dinny Galvin. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brexit, the housing crisis and the covid pandemic have all presented challenges to Ireland's economy and public finances in recent years. Overseeing the Government's financial response has been Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe who served as Minister for Finance from 2017 until late last year, and is now Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Donohoe has also taken a leading role in the European Union's financial response to Brexit and the pandemic as President of the Eurogroup as which he has just begun as second term. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge, the Minister spoke to Other Voices founder Philip King. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this month at least 86 men, women and children drowned off the coast of Calabria trying to seek refuge in Italy. In the last decade tens of thousands of refugees and migrants have died in the Mediterranean, creating what Pope Francis has called Europe's largest graveyard. Attempts by European's governments to turn the continent into ‘fortress Europe' have created a humanitarian catastrophe for those fleeing drought, famine, war and depression. Much of the reporting of this ongoing tragedy has been done by Irish journalist Sally Hayden whose recent book The Fourth Time We Drowned won the Orwell Prize, and was named the An Post Irish Book of the Year. Sally's courageous work has revealed the human stories of those who have faced violence, abuse and even death in Libyan detention camps funded by European governments and the lengths to which international institutions have gone to cover up such crimes. In 2008, Sally received a Facebook message that began, ‘ Hi sister Sally, we need your help'. In the conversations that followed she discovered how people were being detained in Libya in the most horrendous conditions. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, she spoke to Ireland's Edge host Chris Kissane about Europe's moral responsibilities in a time of refugee crises and mass migration. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With environmental and economic pressures squeezing those who grow, process and cook our food, how can we think creatively about building a fairer and more sustainable future for food and farming in Ireland, and how do the traditional arts and folk customs play a role in this?Cúán Greene is a chef who has worked in some of the world's finest fine dining restaurants and now edits the Omós digest, a newsletter exploring food, culture and community. Ella McSweeney presents RTE's Ear To The Ground, and her reporting for the Guardian and other newspapers has exposed major scandals on meat processing and fishing here in Ireland. Edwina Guckian is an award winning sean-nós dancer and rural activist from co Leitrim where she has been active in reviving and promoting cultural traditions. In conversation with Ireland's Edge host Christopher Kissane in front of a live audience in Dingle they discuss the impact of the covid on the farming community. Featuring a special performance from Edwina and acclaimed concertina player, Cormac Begley. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we make sense of geopolitical upheaval? The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted radical changes in international affairs but the nature of a new global political order is far from clear; with complex crises of energy and food security bubbling under shifts of strategic power alliances.John Kampfner has covered international politics for more than 35 years. He reported on the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the soviet union for the Daily Telegraph before working as chief political correspondent for the Financial Times. At the BBC he covered politics for The Today programme and Newsnight and later edited the New Statesman. His books on Russia, Germany, capitalism and democracy have become bestsellers and he currently serves as Executive Director of the U.K in the World Project at Chatham House, Britain's leading foreign policy Think Tank. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, John spoke to Murieann Kelliehr about a world in flux. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine today is a neo-colonial war, it's an attempt to restore their imperial geopolitical blueprint" - Olesya Zdorovetska On this episode, the Home Font of the Russian invasion of Ukrainians in Ireland. Just over a year ago, Russia launched an imperialist invasion of Ukraine. The brutal effects of Russian aggression have forced millions of Ukrainian refugees to flee their home country and there are now tens of thousands of Ukrainians here in Ireland. Singer and composer Olesya Zdorovetska has lived here for over a decade, while academic Larysa Samosonok arrived in the early weeks of the war. In front of a live audience at Irelands' Edge in Dingle, Olesya and Larysa spoke to Muireann Kelliher about experiencing the invasion of their homeland from Ireland, and what we all need to understand about Ukraines fight for survival. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the price of holding power to account? Carole Cadwalladr won the Orwell prize for her investigation of the shadowy role of data and donors in the 2016 Brexit Referendum. Her reporting on the damaging influence of big tech and big money in our democracies has won her admirers and enemies all around the world. Since her last appearance at Ireland's Edge in 2019 she has fought a landmark libel case against Brexit donor Aaron Banks, and has played a key role in founding a new public service journalism group, The Citizens. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge she joined Muireann Kelliher to discuss the personal and the political. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode, is there hope in the atom?We live in an energy crisis, with environmental catastrophe and war questioning our reliance on fossil fuels. Nuclear power was once the great green hope, but decades of concerns about accidents and radioactive waste have turned much of Europe off. But were those concerns overblown, and have they blinded us to a vital source of clean energy? In their new film, Atomic Hope, filmmakers Frankie Fenton and Kathryn Kennedy have collaborated with Finnish scientist Iida Ruishalme to explore the environmentalist pro-nuclear movement.At Ireland's Edge in Dingle they spoke with Emmy award-winning filmmaker and Ireland's Edge founder, Nuala O'Connor.Atomic Hope is out in select cinemas now. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a year it has been! From pandemic, to war, to political upheaval, the news just never seemed to stop in 2022. On today's special episode we take a step back to reflect on it all with two of Ireland's most engaging journalists, Séamas O'Reilly of the Observer and Irish Examiner, and Aoife Moore, political correspondent with the Sunday Times and Irish journalist of the year 2021. In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, Aoife and Séamas reeled in 2022 to look back on the year that was with a slight satirical glint in their eyes.. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Being Irish now is the thing"One of Ireland's most exciting voices right now is Sello, who has been making waves at home and abroad with his infectious mix of rap and trad samples that he calls ‘Gaelic drill'. Hailing from Clondalkin in southwest Dublin, Sello has been collaborating with traditional musician and producer AyoMax to produce a unique sound that's brand new but also rooted in Ireland's rich musical past. On today's episode Sello and Max speak to music journalist Andrea Cleary about their backgrounds and collaboration. This conversation was recorded with a live audience at Hen's Teeth in Dublin, and begins with Max treating us to a performance on the uileann pipes.  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malcolm X once called the media 'the most powerful entity on earth', with 'the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent'. Social media, 'fake news', and political and corporate propaganda have all shaken trust in the news media, while disinformation about vaccinations and climate change have revealed limits to its power to inform. Christopher Kissane speaks with leading figures about the future of the media in an age of 'alternative facts'. John Mulholland, Editor, The Guardian USÁine Kerr, COO and Co-Founder, Kinzen Brian MacCraith, Chair of the Covid-19 Vaccination Task Force and Future of Media Commission Moderated by Christopher Kissane, Ireland's Edge  Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Once regarded as breakthrough drugs in the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric illnesses and addictive conditions, psychedelics were the subject of a major moral panic in the sixties because of their counter cultural associations. Research and treatment centres were shut down and the drugs relegated to Class A illegal substances. The last ten years have seen renewed and growing interest and research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. Dr Roberta Murphy is an Irish psychiatrist working in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London.  In conversation with Nuala O'Connor she talks about her work in Imperial's Centre for Psychedelic Research and ‘PSILODEP 2', the clinical trial set up to test the potential of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in the treatment of depression.Dr Roberta Murphy | Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research In conversation with Nuala O'Connor | Ireland's Edge Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Critically acclaimed auteur Gaika speaks with Síobhra Quinlan about his work with GKZ, Nine Nights Collective, The Spectacular Empire, and his NFT collection in collaboration with Voice, ‘Live From War Island.' In considering technology as a tool to be ethically and creatively harnessed by the artist, how can such a tool be leveraged for liberation, empowerment and expression by both the individual and the collective? This discussion will explore decentralised platforms for underground artists, new forms of artist ownership and audience engagement, and ways in which access to technology can foster community in both our virtual and physical worlds.Gaika | Multidisciplinary Artist. Experimental rapper, producer, visual and performance artist.In conversation with Síobhra Quinlan | Ireland's Edge Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The use of data has become one of this century's most contentious legal and moral issues. But while the GDPR was designed to give citizens control of their own personal data in a world of Big Tech and intrusive states, issues from police surveillance to the "right to be forgotten" have shown how such control can have unintended social consequences. Christopher Kissane speaks with Dr David Kenny, Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, time to COP on: can the world still avoid climate change catastrophe?In the past year both wildfires, floods, and droughts have highlighted the perilous state of the global environment, and the destabilising effects of man-made climate change.The last seven years are the warmest since modern records began, and unprecedented extreme weather has been wreaking havoc across the globe.World leaders agreed to more action at the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, but is it all too little too late?Dr Michael K Dorsey is an expert on global energy, environment, finance and sustainability, who has been prominent in global environmental politics since the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. He has served as a Director of the Sierra Club and is a member of the Club of Rome. Thanks to the support of the US Embassy we were delighted to host him at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, where he spoke to Muireann Kelliher. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Writer Séamas O'Reilly's 'Remembering Ireland' project satirised our national obsession with historical memory, and the layers of distortion behind the question 'Do you remember this?'. As he became a father for the first time, Séamas explored his own memories in his memoir 'Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?', reflecting on how his own father had raised 11 children after losing the love of his life. The memoir also considers place and identity, exploring the troubled Derry of Séamas's childhood, shedding light on a place often shrouded in stereotyped darkness. On this episode Christopher Kissane speaks to Séamas about what happens when memory and reality intersect, the significance of place, culture and identity, and the impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland.  Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Editor of the Guardian U.S John Mulholland reflects on an extraordinary few years in American news and considers the challenging road ahead. In December 2021 he sat down with Ireland's Edge Curator Muireann Kelliher and discussed the dark legacy of the Trump presidency, voter suppression, climate injustice, and one of the most significant events in American public life, the killing of George Floyd. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

‘What we saw happening around us was essentially death by a thousand cuts to Dublin'The results of Irish housing policy have created a crisis that reaches into every community and region in the country. It increasingly blights the lives of multiple generations. It undermines and conflicts with many other national priorities and strategies. How has it got to this point and what will it take to ameliorate?In this week's episode, Living Room, we ask how our housing system became so broken, and what we can do to fix it?In front of a live audience at Ireland's Edge in Dingle, we were joined by: Orla Hegarty, Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin; Rory Hearne, Assistant Professor of Social Policy at Maynooth University; and the architect Rob Curley. They spoke with Ireland's Edge curator, Muireann Kelliher during Ireland's Edge in Dingle, in November 2021. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We live in an age of fake news and social media, propaganda and conspiracy theories. From politics to pandemic, science to history, our public debates are increasingly divided between alternative versions of the world around us. In such febrile times, how can we go about distinguishing true from false, fact from fiction?Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, and a regular columnist with The Irish Times. His work on 20th century Ireland has revised many myths about our recent past, in books about Eamon de Valera, the revolutionary decade, sex and religion, and most recently a history of our offshore islands.At the National Gallery of Ireland, Diarmaid spoke with Dr David Kenny, Assistant Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, where they discussed history, law, and different ways of discovering the truth. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, Traversing the Uncanny Valley: how do we navigate the wild and wonderful world of the internet?Roisin Kiberd is the author of The Disconnect: A Personal Journey through the Internet, which asks how we live now in a world that we increasingly experience online. The last year of remote working, learning and socialising have only further emphasised how the boundaries between the internet and our ‘real' lives have become so porous as to be meaningless. From diet influencers to cheese brands, dating to data, Roisin explores the cultures and habits of this strange space.At the National Gallery of Ireland, Roisin spoke with Ireland's Edge curator Síobhra Quinlan about what we have learned in our creation of a more connected – and disconnected – new world. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, What We Know Now: why did different truths dominate at different times of the Covid-19 pandemic? From hand washing and sanitising to ventilation and vaccination, medical knowledge and public health advice have changed considerably over the course of the last 18 months. Yet even as we have learned more, outdated advice and habits have persisted. So did the science fail us, or did we fail the science? Orla Hegarty is Assistant Professor of Architecture at University College Dublin, and Aoife McLysaght is Professor of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin. Both have been prominent voices in Ireland's public scientific debates over responses to the pandemic. At the National Gallery of Ireland, Orla and Aoife spoke with Ireland's Edge curator Muireann Kelleher about what we know now. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Morgan McIntyre from Belfast and Gemma Doherty from Derry met as students at Trinity College, Dublin, and formed the duo ‘Saint Sister'. Their debut album, The Shape of Silence, was nominated for both the Choice Music Prize and the Northern Irish Music Prize in 2018. That year, in the run-up to the referendum to repeal Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion, they wrote a song called ‘Manchester Air', which explores a young couple's journey across the Irish Sea after an unexpected pregnancy. For decades, tens of thousands of women had been forced to make such costly and traumatic journeys to access reproductive healthcare. While 2018's momentous vote has finally seen the introduction of safe and legal abortion services in the Republic, women seeking such services in the North of Ireland are still being forced to travel abroad.‘Manchester Air' which was written on the island Inisheer off the west coast of Ireland was released on May 25th this year, the third anniversary of the referendum, and is featured on Saint Sister's new album, ‘Where I Should End', which comes out this month.Molly King, Head of Development at Other Voices, spoke to Saint Sister about music, memories, and the story behind ‘Manchester Air'. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“It's the society first, and the economy comes afterwards”On this episode, View From A Rock: what does the world's turbulent political economy look like from our little island on the edge of the Atlantic?Stephen Kinsella is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Limerick. He is Chief Economics Writer for The Currency, and as a columnist with the Sunday Business Post was twice named Economic Commentator of the Year.  His research focuses on how we can better understand Ireland's small open economy, a task of particular importance in the age of pandemics, climate change, global tax reform, and Brexit. On this episode he speaks with Ireland's Edge founder Muireann Kelliher, where Stephen began by offering his reaction to the performance by Dyrt that we featured on our previous episode. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Ireland's Edge host Chris Kissane explores the past, present and future of spoken word poetry in Ireland with two of its most exciting and original practitioners, FeliSpeaks and Dyrt. Felicia Olusanya, known as FeliSpeaks, is changing the face of poetry in Ireland. A Nigerian-Irish poet from Longford, she began performing at poetry slams and spoken word events while a student in Maynooth, where she now lives. Her work poignantly confronts issues of identity, race, gender and more in a strikingly individual style.Spoken word poetry is one of the most ancient art forms, and it was particularly important in ancient Irish oral culture. The Limerick spoken word artist and rapper Shane Davis, who performs as Dyrt, has explored how spoken word can offer a new way of exploring ancient Irish myths and legends. Note: This episode contains some bad language. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

‘What is creativity, what is the process of creativity?'Sinéad O'Sullivan is an aerospace engineer from Armagh who worked on the planning for human missions to Mars at NASA. She's also worked at Harvard Business School and MIT's Sloan School of Management where she has applied chaos and complexity theories to everything from tech startups to music, a focus that reflects her interest in creativity. Last year she collaborated on a mini-opera about climate change disinformation entitled ‘Unexpected Changes'. On Ireland's Edge - The Podcast Sinéad, a self proclaimed Taylor Swift stan, spoke with music journalist Jim Carroll about AI, creativity and what makes the perfect pop hit. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2017, the writer Mark O'Connell published a book about the transhumanist movement, To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death. Encountering an extraordinary set of people keen to use technology to push the human body past its physical and mortal limits, Mark explored the scientific and ethical questions behind a quest to free human beings from our corporeal cages.At last year's Dublin Theatre Festival, Mark, along with directors Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd, premiered a theatrical adaptation of his book. At Ireland's Edge, Mark and Bush spoke to Síobhra Quinlan about turning this unusual book into an even more unusual play. Their discussion begins with an excerpt from To Be a Machine (Version 1.0) starring Jack Gleeson. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can we make of a language that has 32 words for field?Writer and broadcaster Manchán Magan encountered the remarkable richness of the Irish language as a young child, and his grandmother Sighle was determined that he would learn to speak it in the place where it was the common language of daily life. This was Muiríoch in the west Kerry Gaeltacht, where Manchán spent his childhood holidays in his grandmother's house. The Irish he learned there dates back to a time when the multiplicity of words for objects, actions, ideas and feelings reflected a way of life with a profound appreciation for the natural world. In Dingle Manchán spoke with Ireland's Edge founder Nuala O'Connor about his new book, 32 Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to months of school and university closures that forced young people, and their parents and teachers, to adapt to different ways of learning. Despite enormous effort, patience, and creativity, cracks have shown.More than a century on from Pádraig Pearse's famous call for a more progressive and holistic approach to education, rigid exams and entrenched inequalities still too often persist.To discuss radical change at Ireland's Edge we were joined by Acting President of University College Cork John O'Halloran, Dublin University Senator Lynne Ruane, and folklore lecturer Billy Mag Fhloinn. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Once referred to as a ‘performing historian' Rhiannon Giddens is a musician from Greensboro, North Carolina whose career has ranged from folk to country, blues to gospel, opera to R&B. Her old-time string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops have received 6 Grammy nominations, winning in 2010 for their album Genuine Negro Jig. In 2017 Rhiannon received a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant for ‘reclaiming African American contributions to folk and country music and bringing to light new connections between music from the past and the present'.At Ireland's Edge, she speaks to music journalist Jim Carroll about race, influence and appropriation of African-American music, and cross-cultural collaboration all through the story of the banjo in the United States. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Supreme court justices can often seem remote and mysterious, cloaked by their position and their commitments to impartiality. But recent controversies over judicial behaviour, appointments and independence have reminded us that judges are never removed from the societies they serve. In Poland, Britain, and the United States, supreme courts have found themselves at the centre of bitter political conflicts, while the enforcement of lockdowns and quarantines have made us all think more about the importance of the courts in upholding the rule of law and protecting our liberties. After a year in which our supreme court came under perhaps unprecedented public scrutiny, it seems more important than ever for us to learn more about its judges.At Ireland's Edge, Dr David Kenny, Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, speaks to the Chief Justice of Ireland Mr Frank Clarke. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us at the edge for stories, ideas, discussion, debate, poetry and more to set your brain alight... Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.