Our Man In Stockholm

The Nordic GAA season got off to a flying start in Stockholm over the weekend as Gävle won the men's tournament with Copenhagen triumphant among the women, but it was Gävle's new ladies team who brought the sunshine on a rainy day in the capital. We also hear form Seán Collins directly after his brilliant gig at Wirströms City on Sunday May 18 where he wowed the crowd with his own songs and a few well-chosen ballads. Remember - the podcast needs the financial support of businesses and individuals to survive. If you can, please consider purchasing a sponsorship package from our web shop - there's one for every budget: https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

With his debut single having finally seen the light of day, the incredibly talented Seán Collins is coming back to Sweden for a gig in Wirströms City on May 18. Nephew of community powerhouse and long-time Stockholm resident Theresa O'Shea Ogenstad, Seán started playing guitar at age 10 and has recently graduated with a degree in music, but perhaps his best education has come in the school of hard knocks that is the Irish pub music scene. A superb singer and guitar-player, he talked to me about his love of music, his songwriting process and how to survive the stag party inferno of Temple Bar, where he cut his teeth! Follow Seán on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seancollins_music/Hear his new single: https://open.spotify.com/track/5WFAGYWdiwU3Pj1juCdVK7?si=f51dd4f0a1514993Support the podcast: https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

The Easter holidays saw an exodus back to the Green Isle for many in the Swedish-Irish community, and the podcast was no different! I caught up with Zack Elbouzedi and Axel Sjöberg in Dublin where the pair are currently playing on the right wing for St. Patrick's Atheltic. Zack's sojourn at AIK made him a much-loved player with the fans there, but a desire for playing time saw him head home, where he hooked up with Axel from Helsingborg under former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny. There's also news of a new way to support the podcast - by buying a sponsorship package in the new online store! Please spread the word so we can keep the podcast going! https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

This one took a little longer to get out than expected due to a visit to Rory McGrath at Northvolt in Västerås, but no it's finally here! Jen O'Sullivan is back to talk about her adventures in the wonderful world of Italian food, how coming from a big family made her seek the solace of individual sport, and how an active childhood is her recipe for success for her young son!

Spring is here and that means Alannah Robins is back in town taking part in the Supermarket Art Fair, together with a host of hugely talented Irish artists!Former Sweden resident Alannah moved back to Ireland and the west coast, but she's no stranger to these shores, promoting strong links between the Irish and Swedish art scenes and doing her best to encourage others to come and exhibit their works here. The Supermarket Art Fair takes place in Skärholmens Centrum from April 3 to April 6 (NOT April 10 as I said in the episode), so you have from the day of publication of this episode until Sunday to get out there and see the fantastic range of work that is on display from Ireland and all over the world! Remember too that our own Arrivals exhibition has an open call out at the moment, so let inspiration take you away and submit something there too if the mood takes you! More details here: https://supermarketartfair.com/

Saturday March 15 will go down in history for the west-coast Swedish-Irish community as the city of Gothenburg held its first official St. Patrick's Day parade. The "Irish in Sweden" podcast was privileged to be on hand to document a great day for those in the west, and you can hear all the voices from the day in this very special episode!

This week Ian Moloney joins med from Gothenburg to talk about his new pub venture with the Flying Barrel, the first celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the city and how the local community is working hard to re-instate a direct flight to Ireland that is sorely missed. There's also news of the St. Patrick's Day concert on Stockholm on March 11 - you can get tickets for it here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/st-patricks-day-concert-tickets-1254356557229?aff=oddtdtcreator

There is no end of talent in the Swedish-Irish community, and out in front right now is drag queen Dee Bugg, who is likely to get us all deported with her new single "Queen Of Sweden", in which she expresses her undying love for Prince Carl-Philip. Dee joins me to talk about the inspiration of Melodifestivalen, the process of making a smash hit, and why she wants a TV show to poke fun at Sweden - all in the best possible taste (bonus points for anyone who gets that reference!).

This week's guest is the incredibly talented Lorcan O'Neill, whose remarkable career in dance, particularly contemporary and ballet, eventually brought him to Stockholm, where he now resides among us. We talk at great length about going against the grain in his native Cork and how dancing took him around the world before landing him here in Sweden. An unmissable conversation with one of the most interesting characters in our community.

At long last we get to the interview with the brilliant Simon Chretién, our Irish-Belgian-Kiwi footballer smashing into tackles int he far north of Sweden!Simon's cosmopolitan background and adventurous nature have taken him around the world several times, and now he's up just shy of the Arctic Circle playing for IFK Luleå to see how far he can climb. There's also news about an intriguing development in the pub scene in Gothenburg, Peter Miller's ceramics and how drag queen Dee Bugg is going to get us all deported with her brilliant new single!

Swedish-Irish music fan Alva Dunne from Malmö is one of three hosts for a new podcast about Melodifestivalen - the annual competition where Sweden's Eurovision entry is chosen - that is flying up the charts!The 11-year-old is a life-long lover of all things Eurovision and Mello, and she talked to the Irish In Sweden podcast about what she likes about the competition, this year's entries and who at home is the better singer - mamma Linn, or dad Kevin!

Plans to talk to Kevin Walker in his home town of Örebro took a turn this week with the news that a school shooting had occurred there on Tuesday. I've been working in the town ever since, and decided to drop out to Kevin's house to talk to him about what happened, as well as his career in professional football and his new path as a full-time songwriter and musician.

This week I'm joined by the wonderfully talented Lydia Lafferty to talk about the upcoming production of Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance Of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. The holder of a degree in drama, Lydia talks about how she fell in love with the footlights at a local drama group for kids in Tyrone, and how that led to a life-long love of the stage that will no doubt be in evidence when the play hits the boards in late March in Stockholm. We also talk about access to culture in rural Ireland, moving to Sweden and the importance of friendships in these dark winter months.

Irish film-maker Dennis Harvey won the award for best short film at the Swedish Guldbaggen awards, which are the Nordic nation's equivalent of the Oscars, and he popped by the studio to talk about what this means for his work making movies about the politics of migration. There's also some good news around sponsorship - we're very close to having the podcast funded for the remainder of 2025 but we're still looking for sponsors to ensure that the podcast will be financially viable, so if you can contribute, do let us know!

The build-up to Christmas continues, so we have another shout-out for our small businesses, plus a great gift idea - tickets to the "Trad On the Prom" show featuring Irish music and dancing, which is to Växsjö, Norrköping and Gothenburg on Jan 4/5/6. I am joined by show creator Chris Kelly and promoter Sten Cranner to find out about the show itself, the musicians and dancers performing, and how the two decided to bring it to Sweden for the first time. You can get your tickets for the three shows here: https://stjarnkvallar.se/forestallningar/trad-on-the-prom/#Biljetter

There was a strong Swedish-Irish connection when Ireland went to the polls around ten days ago as former Gothenburg resident and current South Dublin council member Eoin O'Broin stood in the Dublin Midwest constituency for the Social Democrats. Standing in the same race as Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson of the same name, Eoin got involved in party politics after coming to Sweden in 2004, and despite not being successful this time, our own Swedish-Irish "sosse" has his heart very much set on a Dáil seat in the future - in this episode, he takes us behind the scenes of his election campaign, his political history, and why posters still matter in Irish politics.

Saturday Nov 23 saw the biggest attendance yet for the ICCS annual gala and Beacon Award ceremony, which was held at the Elite Marina Hotel in Stockholm, and needless to say the Irish In Sweden podcast was there to record what went on behind the scenes! Hear from board members, guests, keynote speaker Brian O'Toole and award-winner Jim Dowling among others as we re-live what was an incredible night for the Swedish-Irish business community. This podcast was made with the kind financial support of the ICCS.

On a great day for Swedish-Irish relations, Sweden has opened a brand-new embassy on Pembroke Row in Dublin, ending a 14-year spell without one in the Irish capital. Ahead of the very first event held at the embassy featuring author and journalist Alexandra Pascalidou, I sat down with new ambassador Lina van der Weyden to talk about what this means for the future of the relationship between the two countries.

This week I'm joined by the legend that is Alan Mahon, a mechanic and engine-whisperer of unmatched skill and one of the most sought-after men in the business. Al has been head-hunted by basically every major car brand in the Nordic region and is now working with technical support for the new breed of electric cars on the market - we spoke about them, the older petrol and diesel models still on the roads, and how one goes about buying a new four-wheeled friend in Scandinavia that won't let you down. Thanks as always to Martin & Co. at Wirströms Pub - make sure to check out their new venue at Kungsgatan 7 in the heart of the city!

As winter approaches and the evenings get shorter, stand-up comic and Sweden's number 13-ranked snooker player Brian O'Grady dropped by the studio for a chat about his life on stage and at the table. We talk about how he came to live in Sweden, what happened when he first saw live stand-up comedy in the Liffey, and how a lot of what he has done since has been to impress the ten-year-old lad growing up in Thurles in a very different Ireland to the one we know today.

It's been a minute, as the cool kids say, but we are back with a podcast to tell the community about the latest Arrivals exhibition featuring 18 Swedish-Irish artists at Galleri Assessor, Assessorsgatan 14 in Stockholm on Oct 24-27. Created and curated by Sarah Galligan and Sophie Lundkvist McCormack with support from Tara O'Neill, the artists, the Irish Embassy and the Irish Chamber Of Commerce In Sweden and a host of others, the exhibition's theme is "Beyond The Threshold". I sat down with Sarah and Sophie to talk about art, creativity, and why this exhibition is perfect for people like me who don't feel that they know or understand much about art to dip our toes in the water.

With Ireland's Girls In Green set to face Sweden in two crucial Euro qualifiers in the space of a week, I sat down with Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson to talk about football, the Fontaines DC, Drogheda hospitality and a whole lot more!

This week's guest is Patrick Hamilton Walsh, who as a teenager in Tyrone realised he wasn't actually much good at anything - but he had some dreams, and a plan, and nothing was going to get in his way. Since then he has visited more than 150 countries and is now based in Sweden with his family in the midst of a life that touches on sport, business and experiencing all that the world has to offer. There's also news of Claire O'Halloran's new restaurant and FREE TICKETS for Sweden v Ireland, and a live podcast in the works! Support the show: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

The Irish In Sweden podcast is calling it - winter is OVER and the Gaelic football season is underway, so this week's episode comes to you from the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where Stockholm Gaels, Malmö GAA and Sandviken Gaels were all flying the flag for Swedish Gaelic football! There's a range of voices old and new from all over Ireland, brought together by the big ball game that has done so much to bring our community together. Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

On this week's episode, Stephen Smith joins me to talk about how his time with Leinster Rugby led to the foundation of his company Kitman Labs, which brings together vast amounts of data about athletes and teams to provide greater insight and improve performance, a fascinating tale of a journey from the rugby boot-room to Silicon Valley and beyond. Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

Last Thursday saw an incredible array of Irish talent in Sweden exhibiting their art at the Ambassador's residence as part of the "Arrivals" exhibition organised by Carrie Cooke and Sarah Galligan. Though I didn't get to speak to all the artists, I got to talk to many of them, as well as the organisers themselves about what was a hugely successful event!

Spring is in the air and with it a hot of events and happenings in Sweden! This week I paid a visit to our good friend Aaron Kennedy at his new FSA gym at Odenplan, and I caught up with Carrie Cooke and Sarah Galligan to talk about the upcoming Arrivals art exhibition at the Ambassador's residence in Stockholm this week. Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm Aaron's new gym: https://fsaworkoutsstudio.se/en/ The Arrivals Insta page: https://www.instagram.com/arrivals.2024/

When Irishman Tomás Mac an tSaoir goes out for a spin on his bike, he's often away a little longer than the average lycra warrior - the Kerryman is currently in the middle of a marathon journey form New Zealand to Ireland by bike, across some of the most beautiful and rugged terrain in the world - and this is after traversing America and Africa on similar journeys. Currently back home recharging his batteries for a final push from Dubai, Tomás joined me to tell his fascinating story of lions, tents, street food, the hospitality of strangers and a whole lot more besides on his journey halfway around the world. Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

Shrugging off another bout of man flu to bring you Ireland's hottest TV star in Sweden right now. Fireman Mark Bannon from Cork is blazing a trail on "Robinson", Sweden's answer to "Survivor", and he joins me to talk about moving here and finding home in a small town of 1500 people near Örebro - and, of course, life on the Robinson island!

Last week I was in Gothenburg on the west coast for a soccer game so I took the opportunity to sit down with Ian "Mocha" Moloney, musician, photographer, occasional curmudgeon and nowadays one of the driving forces in bringing the Irish community there together. He told me all about the St. Patrick's Day celebrations there, the plans for the future and how singer/guitarists (known as "trubadurs" in Swedish) are getting all the gigs around the country at the moment.

Even though she got her first camera at the age of six, Holly McGlynn wasn't sure that she wanted to be a photographer, but having studied fine art and PR, she felt the pull of making pictures and threw herself in at the deep end in Berlin.From there she has gone on to be one of Ireland's foremost fashion photographers, working with huge global brands and taking pictures of supermodels for household-name designers - but there's a lot more to her than just the glamour game.Holly joined the podcast to talk about photography, networking, how to take a portrait and the challenge of photographing someone you struggle to connect with, and why sustainability has become a core value in what she does.Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

The long tradition of a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Swedish capital continued on Saturday March 16, with community organisations and companies represented at Kungsträdgården. We took the chance to talk to some of those in attendance about what they were up to! Support the podcast - patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

Northern Ireland's Gray Hawthorne is well-known in music circles, as much for his ten-gallon hat and his love of country music as for his skill as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. Last week I met up with him as he visited Stockholm to talk about his love of country and how a change in his family situation has led to him writing new songs, and we close out with an acoustic rendition of a brilliant new tune of his called "Into The Night", exclusively on the Irish In Sweden podcast! Support the show: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

We're celebrating International Women's Day on the Global Gael by handing over the reins to Molly Breen, our wonderful business development manager in the Stockholm office and one of the many talented young women that we have the privilege of working with! Among many great suggestions for female guests for March 8, Molly has chosen to interview fellow Malahide girl and musical genius Lauryn Gaffney about how her work in songwriting and musical theatre has brought her to London, San Diego and Mexico, with even more great things on the horizon! Lauryn has some great advice for young women on how to make their mark in the musical world, and Molly handles the presenting duties like the pro she is - support the podcast if you can at patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm, and support the talented women around you every day, not just on March 8!

On a visit to Dublin last week, I met up with Motala's own Madeleine Johansson, who moved to Dublin 19 years ago and got involved in local politics, leading to a seat on South Dublin County Council for left-wing party People Before Profit. Motala's loss has very much been Ireland's gain, and we talked about what it's like to be at the coalface of local Irish politics in the teeth of a chronic housing crisis, among other challenges. Please share and support the podcast financially if you can: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm Swish: 1232424166 

Tipped as a possible leader of the next Irish government, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald jumped at the chance to join the Global Gael to talk about what our diaspora means to her and her party - and what them being in government might mean for us. In a wide-ranging - and very different - conversation we talked about emigration, housing, voting rights for those of us abroad and why, despite the dreadful situation in Palestine, her party still wants to meet American representatives in Washington during the St. Patrick's Day festivities. 

Another jam-packed episode this week as Carrie Cook and Sarah Galligan join me to talk about their new "Arrivals" exhibition which will take place in the spring and feature YOUR art, and Amy Falck in Malmö tells me about her plan to swap homes with someone in Ireland early next year so that her, her husband and her soon-to-be-firstborn can steep themselves in some Irish culture for a couple of months while on parental leave! You can out how to submit to the "Arrivals" exhibition on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/arrivals.2024/ There's also a shout-out for sponsorship for Jack O'Kane, who is doing Vasaloppet for Ajabaja Cancer - you can donate here: https://www.targetaid.com/fundraiser/jack-okane/jack-okane/jack-okane-vasaloppet-oppetspaar-90km/ Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

When Israel attacked Gaza in the wake of the violent and bloody incursion by Hamas on October 7 that saw more than 1300 people killed and around 250 hostages taken, one Palestinian-Irish family was caught in the eye of the storm.Zak Hania, who had moved to Ireland where his four sons were born and had returned to the Strip to take care of his ageing parents, found himself doing everything he could just to keep his family alive while they sought to escape.A plea was made to the Irish consular office in Ramallah, and almost miraculously, Zak's wife and his four sons were allowed to leave via the border crossing at Rafah.But Zak's name was not on the list of those allowed to exzit, and he remains in Gaza, where food and water are ever more scarce and the indescribable violence continues.On this week's Global Gael, his son Mazen joins me to talk about his family, his upbringing in Blanchardstown, moving back to Gaza and the horror of what has happened since early October.

Irish filmmaker Dennis Harvey explores themes of migration and identity in his work, and many of his films feature people that he has gotten to know during his seven years spent on and off here in Sweden. His film "The Building And Burning Of A Refugee Camp" documents how a group of far-right protestors set fire to a migrant camp in Dublin last year, and that led to a fascinating chat about racism, refugees and housing and much, much more. . His next film "Celtic Utopia" will examine how young Irish people relate to their culture through music, and it was a pleasure to have him come on and talk about his fascinating work. You can get tickets for showings of "The Building And Burning Of A Refugee Camp" on March 8 and 10 here: https://tempofestival.se/film/the-building-and-burning-of-a-refugee-camp/

Irish comic Stevo Timothy's character of Farmer Michael has become a global internet phenomenon, reaching audiences around the world with his clumsy (and often offensive) takes on everything from feminism to football, and he's brining his live show to America for St. Patrick's Day. But comedy and tragedy are never too far apart, and Stevo's backstory is one of the most intriguing you will ever come across - he crashed his motorbike while drunk, killing a friend and sustaining injuries that left him in a wheelchair, and despite his bombastic characterisation of Michael, anxiety is never too far away. On this week's Global Gael he talks about the practicalities of touring in a wheelchair, what the audiences can expect, and how he deals with a life that can be tremendous and terrifying in equal measure. https://twitter.com/SirStevoTimothy/status/1741501719102574819 Support this show on patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

On this week's episode, Doreen Burke form the Irish embassy in Stockholm talks to me about how to go about getting an Irish passport abroad, whether you're renewing your own, getting one for a child born outside of Ireland, or you find yourself in an emergency situation. You can apply for your Irish passport here: https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/passport-online/ Please support this podcast by going to patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm and pledging €5 to help me to produce these podcasts every week.

Irish comedian Cormac Moore is coming to visit Stockholm in mid-February, and he joined me this week to talk about life as the man behind the mic, what it takes to get up there and make people laugh, and how being convenient is almost as important for your stand-up career as being funny ...Get your tickets for Cormac's show here: www.thelaughhouse.se/event/feb-17th…tting%20comedy.

A busy one this week packed with drama and music! I paid a visit to the initial readings for English-language theatre group Spuds & Sill's upcoming production of "Canaries" which will take place in the spring, and later in the week I caught up with Ged Graham, the writer and performer behind the "Seven Drunken Nights" stage show which tells the story of the Dubliners and is set for four dates in Sweden in early February. The end of the week was spent with the wonderfully talented Brian O'Connor, who has a new album in the works - we met in the cellar of the Liffey in Gamla Stan to talk timing, life on the road, and how the compulsion to create is what keeps us all going! Get your tickets for Seven Drunken Nights here: https://sevendrunkennights.com/tickets/

Corkman Dr. Mark O'Sullivan is causing serious ripples in the sporting world from his position as associate professor of football at Norway's School Of Sports Science in Oslo, ripping up the coaching manuals as he tries to answer the question - how do we coach the next generation of athletes so they can get the most out of sport? Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm You can follow Mark on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/markstkhlm

Dubliner Alan Dalton has been a guest on the show before to talk all things birding and nature, and he joins us again to talk about his new podcast "Wild Bird Acoustics". An accomplished artist, photographer and bird-watcher, Alan puts an incredible amount of time into recording birds as they migrate around Sweden, and his new podcast uses those sounds as a backdrop to some fascinating wildlife conversations.

A love of rugby has brought Dubliner Gar Moss from Raheny to coaching Albania in their first official international against Kosovo last weekend - via Beijing and Dubai and a few more places in between! The nation's first head coach for their international team joined me to talk about the growth of the game and how, despite his boys being on the wrong end of a 34-12 defeat, the future is bright for growing the game internationally.

We've all heard about the great things happening outside of the big cities, but what's it actually like to live in the colder, more northerly parts of Sweden? Journalist Paul Connolly and his partner abandoned the high-flying media life in London and moved to Skellefteå, and they haven't looked back since - hear their story on this week's podcast!

Tadhg HIckey's searing memoir "A Portrait Of The Piss-Artist As A Young Man" won the Global Gael Bok Of The Year award for 2023 and if you've read it, you'll know why - it's a warts-and-all account of how he tried to balance tremendous success as a writer and actor with family struggles and the bottomless despair of alcohol addiction. In a scenario that many in the Irish diaspora will recognise, Tadhg's abuse of alcohol really spiralled out of control when he was performing at the Edinburgh Festival and some of his darkest days as a drinker were spent in London, but luckily he entered recovery and has survived to tell the tale. He came on the show to talk about the mechanics of writing a book, balancing low self-esteem with an enormous ego, and how telling the truth is the only way to real recovery. Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

For the first podcast of 2024 I'm joined by Kalle Ryan to talk about celebrating a Swedish-Irish Christmas in Dublin, creativity and how he came to quit the booze a few years back, instantly making Dry January a walk in the park every year! You can find Kalle at www.kalleryan.com, where he says: All my services are on there, and I have several blog posts about creativity for anyone interested, here's a handful: https://kalleryan.com/batman-creativity/ https://kalleryan.com/what-creativity-is/ https://kalleryan.com/space-matters-surround-yourself-with-creativity/ https://kalleryan.com/text-to-image-artificially-intelligent-art-or-synthesized-collages/

This year the podcast and the team behind it grew considerably, and we got the chance to talk to some truly amazing people about their lives as Irish people abroad. Those factors led us to the decision to create a set of awards to recognise the achievements of some of the most talented and generous people among us - some are still living outside the country, some are still based in Ireland but regularly bring joy to Irish people around the globe, and on this episode of the podcast we go behind the scenes to tell you about the five winners of the inaugural Global Gael awards. Who knows - next year, it might be you ...

In what MIGHT be the final podcast of the year, we talk to Rory English at Lotts & Co. in Dublin where the Swedes in Ireland go to get their Christmas goodies, and there is the very welcome return of Billy "The Kid" Chaney to Stockholm from Barcelona after a turbulent six months in which our favourite artist and barber showcased his legendary creativity and resilience.