The Limerick Lady Podcast

On the 22nd of May 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise Marriage Equality by popular vote. That is exactly ten years ago today, at the time of recording of this short note by Ann, one half of The Limerick Lady. Ann briefly reflects on how conversations and openness were what won the campaign. Let's be sure to keep talking and listening. Ann will be performing her show, The Morning After The Life Before (@morningafterlb on Insta), in Dance Limerick on Saturday the 24th of May at 8pm.  

Welcome to the April edition of the Limerick Lady Podcast. Alternate title: "What gets me goin' about Bóinn". We were joined this month by the brilliant Róisín Ní Ghallóglaigh who recently gave a seminar on the sexist themes within lots of traditional Irish songs that for a long time we've all just kind of... Overlooked, or not known about.  Róisín Ní Ghallóglaigh is an accomplished solo performer, guitarist and composer. She is currently a member of Irish-Estonian trio, Iiri-Eesti Lauluvagi, featuring Anne-Mai Valk and Hanna-Reet Ruul. In 2020, she released her album Red is the Rose, an album of traditional songs, sung unaccompanied. In 2021 she co-produced an animated music video to accompany her song Bóinn - the River Goddess. Róisín has worked with artists Joanna Hyde and Tadhg Ó Meachaire on their album One For The Foxes and has worked on the Songs For Our Children Project and the 1916 Song Project with Aileen Lambert and Michael Fortune. In 2023, Róisín successfully completed her PhD at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. As a solo artist Róisín performs songs from the Irish, English and Scottish tradition alongside her own compositions. She is currently Assistant Professor in Irish Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. If you can access it, Róisín's thesis "Sexual Metaphor and Meaning in the Two Irish Language Songs ‘An Binsín Luachra' and ‘An tSeanbhean Bhocht'" is available to read on the University of Limerick library website.  Go see the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra at the Wickham Way in Limerick City, as part of the Comhluadar festival, on the 25th of April, and in Dolans on the 26th of April opening for Carswell & Hope (Ire/US band).  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

We're back! Did you miss us? Did you even notice we were gone for a month? Did you spot our new glasses? Our haircuts? Honestly, sometimes feels like you're just not paying attention...  Anyway, WE'RE BACK with a March edition of the Limerick Lady Podcast. We're joined by sarcastic and all-knowing (almost) oracle Sharon Slater, to talk about Limerick's link to Saint Patrick (if that even IS his name) (It's not).  Sharon Slater is an award-winning historian and author whose focus is on the history of Limerick. She has appeared on RTE, TG4, and PBS promoting Limerick's past. Her publications include "A Stitch in Time, a History of Limerick Clothing Factory" and "100 Women of Limerick", and she is creator of the Limerick's Life Podcast, co-hosted by her son Peter.   Buy Sharon's book, 100 Women of Limerick: https://www.omahonys.ie/100-women-of-limerick-p-10547171.html Visit Sharon's Website: https://limerickslife.com/  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

For our first episode of 2025, we're joined by pun-lover, recovering graphic designer, style icon and professional soprano Eve Stafford: the brand new president of the Limerick branch of Network Ireland, and possibly the first artist to be president of the branch!  Network Ireland is a non-profit, voluntary organisation, with over 1,000 members and seventeen very dynamic branches. Established in 1983, this is a progressive, dynamic organisation supporting the professional and personal development of women. Eve is a professional singer and classical crossover soprano from Limerick. She's best known as a wedding and events singer all across Munster for the last 14 years. In the past year she has had great success with her solo concert series, “Songbird” & recently released her debut album of the same name which includes Eve's Number 1 debut single. For the past three years, Eve has been a proud member of the National Concert Hall's outreach program ‘Health & Harmony' in association with the Alzheimer's society of Ireland performing at several concerts a month in care home settings. Eve is the 2025 President of Network Ireland Limerick, and won the Creative Professional Branch award in 2022 for the Businesswoman of the Year Awards. Buy Eve's album: https://evestafford.bandcamp.com/album/songbird-contains-one-digital-track  Join the network: https://networkireland.ie/general/register_member_type.asp? Ticket link for Eve's "Lovebird" concert at St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick:  https://www.tickettailor.com/events/evestaffordsoprano/1406402  Support The Haven Hub by texting HAVEN to 50300 –  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie   

Ann and Emma reflect on the year gone by and hopes for a better 2025. In this "angry corner" we have a little cathartic rant about the state of Ireland's housing crisis, the lack of supports in Limerick for victims of sexual assault, the horror of what's happening in Afghanistan, and the appalling lack of non-skinny-jeans for baby girls... And lots more besides. This podcast is a look at the ideological and practical feminist issues of 2024, and what we hope we won't have to keep talking about next year.   The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

What happens when your books, for all the right reasons, are banned? Well sometimes the controversy just drives demand; unfortunately it also often means the author's name is all-but-lost to the mists of time, and relegated to the back of the collective mind. Such was the case for Limerick's own Kate O'Brien whose 50th anniversary we mark in 2024. O'Brien had two books "Mary Lavelle" and "Land of Spices" banned in Ireland, and she herself was banned from Spain, for expressing some very progressive ideas around politics, women's liberation, and sexual identity.  On this month's episode we meet Shirley Keane, director of Limerick's Opera Workshop, and Fiona Linnane, composer, to discuss their work-in-progress "Banned" which explores how Kate O'Brien responded to her censorship – the heartbreak it brought her, her ultimate triumph in spite of it, and the impact it will have had on the breadth of her audience today.  Fiona Linnane is a composer whose compositional practice centres around use of text and includes opera, art song and featuring spoken word.  She is director of Limerick New Music Ensemble and represented by the Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin. Following a Bachelor of Music Degree from University College Cork and a Masters in Music Technology from University of Limerick, Linnane's first explorations into composition were through song writing. Over the last 20 years she has established herself as a composer of "Art Song" and operatic works popular with both audiences and performers alike. The work of Kate O'Brien has been a feature of Linnane's work since 2011 when she began composing her song cycle Songs from Kate O'Brien. The cycle consists of 12 songs – four for soprano, four for contralto and four for baritone – based on poems by Mary Coll depicting characters from O'Brien's novels at pivotal moments in their development. The Limerick City and County Council awarded her with Individual Arts Bursaries in 2018 and 2019 for work in opera and art song, including the addition of the four songs for soprano to the Kate O'Brien cycle. Founder and Artistic Director of Opera Workshop, Shirley has had training in both theatre and opera, at Rose Bruford College, Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London. Shows created and produced for Opera Workshop include The Countess' Salon, Opera What The Fuss!, The Trouble with Virtue, Abandoned and No 2 Pery Square by Fiona Linnane. In October 2022 Shirley produced and directed Twisted Tales, a production of short, edgy contemporary operas by Fiona Linnane and Luke Byrne. She has worked as a performer, director, teacher and mentor with companies as diverse as Opera Theatre Co., Opera Holland Park, Basingstoke Haymarket Theatre, Glyndebourne Opera, Live Music Now, Accademia Solti Te Kanawa, Half Moon Young People's Theatre Co., and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Shirley was also engaged on the Women's Conducting Programme at the National Concert Hall, led by conductor Alice Farnham. Shirley enjoys regular cover presenter time on RTE lyric fm. https://limetreebelltable.ie/events/banned-by-fiona-linnane/ https://operaworkshop.ie/ Instagram:  @fionacomposes @operaworkshoplimerick The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Rest in peace Annette Hannon and condolences to the Blakes and the Hannons 

Come one, come all! This month we celebrate 69 episodes of the Limerick Lady with a chat about sex, sex myths, the sex toy industry and lots more with Seattle-born, Galway-based Shawna Scott the founder and owner of "Sex Siopa".  Shawna talks to us about seeing a gap and choosing to fill it, about the holes in medical professionals' knowledge around sexual health and pleasure, and about how she opened up for business during the pandemic. We will not be apologising for euphemistic language, no we will not.  Shawna Scott is the owner and founder of the multi-award winning SexSiopa.ie and BodyGra.ie. Since 2012 she has been utilizing Sex Siopa as a platform to get Ireland comfortable with talking about sex and pleasure with a focus on health and inclusion. Over the years this has caught the attention of health care workers in Ireland, which has provided Shawna the opportunity to work with doctors and professionals in the areas of cancer, endometriosis, physical therapy, and gynaecology to create holistic, individualised care solutions for people with complex health needs. She has featured in countless publications, radio & tv programmes, and has spoken at events both within Ireland and internationally. When she's not flogging dildos, Shawna loves crocheting, watching horror movies, and spending time in the back garden with her rescue greyhound.  www.sexsiopa.ie Instagram: An_Siopa_Gneas  Twitter: SexSiopa  Facebook: Sex Siopa  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie   

Limerick's Georgina Miller Georgina is an actress, writer and voice-over artist. She's also a graduate of the full-time actor training course at the Gaiety School of Acting. Georgina won the award for Best Actress from the Guinness ISDA Festival for her performance in "At the Black Pig's Dyke" (MIDAS). In this month's episode she talks to us about her debut play, a hybrid aerial show called "Freefalling". Freefalling is an autobiographic play about a backpacking trip in her 30s during which she developed the incredibly rare Guillain-Barre syndrome which left her paralysed, alone and fearing for her life on a hospital bed in Samoa. Spoiler: she lives to tell the tale. Hear and see it for yourself at the Limetree Theatre in Limerick City in September and at this year's Dublin Theatre Festival in Draíocht in Dublin in October.  Freefalling is a co-production between Rough Magic Theatre Company and Limetree Theatre in association with Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company.  In this episode we discuss the absolute dud that was the Grey's Anatomy musical episode; the creative process of turning your trauma into art and learning to distance yourself from the story; finding a team of collaborators you can trust to guide your work; the divide between the self as writer and the self as performer; and quieting the voice inside that says you can't do something.  https://x.com/RoughMagicIRL https://dublintheatrefestival.ie/event/freefalling/  https://limetreebelltable.ie/events/freefalling-2/  https://www.instagram.com/rough.magic  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

In July we're joined by Niamh Dunne to chat about the highs and lows of a career in music, the value of vulnerability in art, and her latest project which involved traveling the length of the country with two pipers, her dad Mickey Dunne and Paddy Keenan of the Bothy Band, exploring and celebrating Traveler heritage through their documentary project The Long Grazing Acre. Niamh is an accomplished fiddle player and singer. ‘Tides', her first album of self-penned songs was released in 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. She is a member of the group, Beoga whose album ‘How to Tune a Fish' was shortlisted for a Grammy nomination in the ‘Best Contemporary World Music Album' category. In 2017 Beoga collaborated with Ed Sheeran on his ‘÷' album and later that year, the band performed with Sheeran during his headline Glastonbury performance.  Niamh is a long-standing member of The Karan Casey Band and she has accumulated vast experience as a composer, performing her own compositions and songs at The Proms in the Park with The Ulster Orchestra, and with the RTÉ concert Orchestra in the National Concert Hall.   Niamh Dunne is currently the 2024 Arts Council / UCC Traditional Artist in Residence. As part of the role, Niamh delivers a series of concerts, workshops, and events throughout the UCC campus community during the course of her one-year residency.  https://www.niamhdunne.com/ https://twitter.com/niamhdunnemusic https://www.facebook.com/NiamhDunnefiddle/  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! For our June episode, Emma and Ann got a twofer! We're joined this month by Anna Murphy AND Tara Nix of Limerick musical duo T.A. Narrative. We were also joined quietly (mostly) by Maeve the dog.  The conversation danced with abandon through and around the topics of activism, Eurovision, the representation of women and queer people on stages and on radio, the impact of big mad costumes and facepaint on stage, and how creative people need to "crawl out of their holes" and people generally need to "not be gowls".  T.A. Narrative is a duo from Limerick, Ireland, composed of Tara Nix and Anna Murphy. The pair, who are childhood friends, have worked together under various guises, sharing the stage in Irish punk bands and touring and recording in the U.S. Starting a collaboration as T.A. Narrative during lockdown, their unique and exciting visual live show and the release of their debut E.P. 'Retro Futurism' in 2023 have firmly placed them as a must-see act. Drawing influences from post-punk, electronic, and sparkly pop music (from Fugazi to Kim Petras), they have been described as having a charming abandon and a palpable sense of freedom and joy in the music that they create (Notbad.ie). Fresh off the back of a tour with Irish electronic giants, King Kong Company, a much talked about performance at last year's Electric Picnic Festival, and having opened for the likes of Les Savy Fav, Bush Tetras, O., Le Boom & KYNSY, T.A. Narrative have just released thumping new single 'Caught Out' which will be followed by a new E.P. in the Autumn. They are booked for this year's All Together Now festival. Expect to dance your tits off. Twitter.com/TANarrative1 Instagram.com/t.a_narrative  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

As we said back in April, we knew it was coming, it was inevitable, we said: it's gonna be May. And here it is! Hello!  This month we spoke to Dr Emma Fisher-Owen; writer, theatre designer, puppeteer and stop-motion animator. We spoke to Emma about her love of "promenade" theatre; about using 860 storage boxes to create the set for the recent production of "Handle With Care"; about "coming out" as disabled through her PhD show "Pupa"; and about the amazing meet-cute that brought her and her husband and partner in creative crime together, and led them to creating their company Beyond The Bark.  Emma got her PhD from Mary Immaculate College in 2018 in puppetry and disability. She has recently been nominated for best set design at the Dublin Fringe 2023 for What is Not Ours to Carry (Ali Clarke). She set up Beyond the Bark, an inclusive animation and puppet theatre in 2006 that creates work for old and young audiences, and has co-created and designed a number of Ceol Connected shows for young audiences including The Land of a Hundred Little Hills which just finished touring Ireland. Her film Marcach Dearg funded by the Arts Council Covid Award won best animated short at the Richard Harris International Film Festival 2021 and was a finalist for the Montreal Independent Film Festival in 2021. Emma was nominated Irish Times Set Designer in 2010 for Revengers Tragedy (Bottom Dog) and Don Juan in Hell (Limerick Hub).  She can be found at https://beyondthebark.squarespace.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beyondthebarkireland Twitter: Emcfisher  Instagram: beyondthebarkpuppets The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Happy April to all our lovely fools- I mean listeners. LISTENERS. You're lovely. Thank you! This month Emma spoke to Ciara Kenny aka Ciaraíoch, cartoonist and illustrator, about her first forays into illustration through the college paper, her inspirations and influences, her upcoming exhibition in Limerick City, and her cheeky little crow friend.  Ciaraíoch (Ciara Kenny) is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator from rural Kerry, which she refuses to leave due to a vague distrust of both motorised transport and townies. She has a keen interest in social justice, feminism, nature, and Irish history and mythology, and creates drawings, paintings and linocut prints inspired by those subjects. She also draws regular topical and humour cartoons, has provided illustrations for several books, painted public murals and street art, and contributed work to television, magazines, websites, podcasts, and an academic journal, as well as having her work displayed at cartoon festivals and art exhibitions. Ciara can be found far too often on most social media platforms as @Ciaraioch, with more work available to view at www.ciaraioch.com Ciara's exhibition at the People's Museum of Limerick in Pery Square, Limerick City, on the 27th of April at 5pm – all are welcome!  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Emma Langford and Ann Blake shoot the breeze with a chat around arts and activism; how they're inextricably intwined for any artist with a social conscience; and about the ever-conflicting expectations the public have of artists to either "do more" or to "just shut up and do your job". We touch on topics like the Síle-Na-Gig, Eurovision, the Irish artists' SXSW boycott, RTÉ's handling of censorship around activism, and the vulnerability of artists taking any kind of socio-political stance; And there's a belated little International Women's Day message! Oh and we talk a bit about sports too. Which, yknow, is a new thing. We're a sports podcast now I guess.  Here's the PJ Harvey song Ann references, "Sheela-Na-Gig": https://youtu.be/Sjxr_No-yuY?si=H01FwZUNgEax1m8w  More about Limerick's arts and climate festival, Future Limerick, here: https://futurelimerick.ie/  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find Emma Langford on Twitter at ELangfordMusic – on Instagram at EmmaLangfordMusic - and at her website www.emmalangfordmusic.com    Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month. The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!    Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

On 8 March 2024, Irish citizens will be asked to vote in two referendums to change our Constitution. The first Referendum concerns the concept of Family in the Constitution. The second Referendum proposes to delete an existing part of the Constitution and insert new text providing recognition for care provided by family members to each other. You have two separate votes on whether you wish to make the proposed changes to the current text of Article 41 of the Constitution. Ailbhe Smyth, an activist in women's rights and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, is actively campaigning for a yes vote on both amendments, and we chat with her about why that is. She was the founding head of Women's Studies at UCD (University College Dublin) where she began lecturing at the age of 21. She has been campaigning on feminist, LGBTQI+ and socialist issues for decades. She played a key role in the victorious Marriage Equality referendum in 2015. A pro-choice activist since the late 1970s, Ailbhe co-founded the Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment and went on to become Co-Director of the Together for Yes 2015 referendum campaign which won the right to abortion for women in Ireland in 2018. A Dublin resident, Ailbhe is currently Chair of Women's Aid Ireland, and Honorary Patron of the Women's Collective Ireland (previously National Collective of Community-based Women's Network). She is a founder member of Climate Justice Coalition, and also of Le Chéile: Diversity not Division which campaigns against the growth of far right extremism. In 2019, Ailbhe was listed as one of Time Magazine's ‘Most Influential People'. She was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Laws by NUIG in 2021, and was conferred with the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Follow Ailbhe Smyth on Twitter at AilbheS Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find Emma Langford on Twitter at ELangfordMusic – on Instagram at EmmaLangfordMusic - and at her website www.emmalangfordmusic.com    Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month. The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!    Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

Unfortunately there is no episode this month as Emma is on tour in the USA and Ann is in the middle of a big (good) life episode that she will be letting people know about soon. Find out more and get ticets for Emma's USA shows at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! This month we spoke to Molly Cantwell about her charity cover of ‘River' which was released on Wednesday the 20th of December in aid of GCN (Gay Community News), in memory of her late friend Joe Drennan who was killed this year in a hit-and-run incident in Limerick. We also chatted about her time dressing as a medieval lady to sing at banquets in Knappogue and Bunratty, her work in journalism, and some hidden talents that she has not adequately exploited recently. Molly Cantwell is a 25-year-old Irish/Valenciano/Madeiran queer multimedia journalist and student at the University of Limerick - as well as an award-winning shower singer to-be. Currently sitting as managing editor of Limerick Voice and editor-in-chief of An Focal, Molly is passionate about platforming human rights and equality stories as well as writing about music, arts and culture, news, politics, and much more. She freelances for Hot Press and Overblown, with previous work in The Clare Echo, GCN, The Irish Examiner, The Limerick Leader, and more.  During her time as a student in Limerick College of Further Education (2018 - 2020), Molly solo-produced and created her National Student Media Award nominated radio documentary “Cyber Killer - Qu'est - Ce Que C'est?”. In 2022, Molly also sat as editor-in-chief of CURIOUS - a UL magazine created by second year students. She has been nominated for the Smedias eight times - winning two of these categories. Molly has already lived another lifetime as a professional entertainer with Shannon Heritage, which she thoroughly enjoyed, but she is excited to finish college in 2024 and get her journalism career properly started. She is inspired by the dedicated work of her colleagues at Hot Press and female journalists like Zara King, Sarah McInerney, Claire Byrne, Louise McSharry, Aoife Moore, and more.  Follow Molly Cantwell on Instagram at @WhatMollyDoesNext and on Twitter/X at @whatmolsaysnext  Buy "River" on Bandcamp NOW here: https://mollycantwell.bandcamp.com/track/river  GCN is a free, vital resource by the LGBTQ+ community for the LGBTQ+ community since 1988. You can find them and support their work here: https://gcn.ie/  Tickets for The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on the 23rd of December in Dolans, Limerick are available here: https://www.dolans.ie/gigs-events-live-music-listings/2023/12/23/the-brad-pitt-light-orchestra  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

For our November episode, we're joined by Eilís Walsh, a graduate of MSc in Marketing, Consumption and Society. Eilís is a blogger, photographer, and burgeoning social media marketer from Co Kilkenny, now living in Limerick. She is one of three project leaders of The Night Doesn't Belong To Us, alongside Maria McSweeney and Julie McLoughlin.  In the wake of tragic events of the last few years, "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" emerges as a timely and vital project, addressing the concerns and experiences of women navigating the streets of Limerick after dark. Born from a pre-pandemic idea, the project took root during lockdowns, with its full realization delayed due to necessary restrictions. Initiated by Eilís Walsh who has an interest in photo-journalism, and sparked by a prior project delving into men's mental health, "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" pivots to shed light on the unease felt by women during nighttime activities in Limerick. The project gained momentum following the tragic murders of Ashling Murphy and Urantsetseg Tserendorj, reinforcing the need to confront and discuss women's safety in public spaces. Collaborating with artist Maria McSweeney, the project aims to amplify the voices of women from diverse backgrounds and age groups living in Limerick. Through a comprehensive survey distributed on social media, the team, with invaluable assistance from William O'Neill of The People's Museum of Limerick, received over 150 responses detailing locations and activities that evoke feelings of vulnerability and danger. Navigating logistical challenges and fueled by a grant from the Arts Council of Ireland's Agility Award, the team, including photographer Julie McLoughlin, is now set to capture the stories of nearly 50 women. Their aim is to authentically represent the experiences of women of all ages and backgrounds, ensuring inclusivity across communities. As "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" continues to unfold, the project seeks further engagement from members of Trans Limerick and the 65+ age group, aiming to enrich the narrative and reflect the diversity of experiences within the community. An exhibition is scheduled for the summer of 2024.  Follow The Night Doesn't Belong To Us on Instagram at thenightdoesntbelongtous or reach Eilís by email at eilismwalsh@gmail.com  Tickets for a Night For Palestine in Dolans, Limerick are available here: https://dolans.yapsody.com/event/index/791489/a-night-for-palestine  Read more about Limerick's "Particles Or Waves" project in 2014: http://www.connolly-cleary.com/Home/particles.html  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Happy Halloween! This month we're joined by thanatologist and Death Café host Jennifer Moran-Stritch. Jennifer is a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Limerick. The focus of her teaching is in personal development, therapeutic group work skills, and loss and grief for the caring professional. In addition to lecturing, Jennifer is the primary principal investigator of the Loss and Grief Research Group which is part of Social Sciences ConneXions Research Institute at TUS.  She also teaches on the RCSI/Irish Hospice MSc in Loss and Bereavement and is a certified thanatologist and the current Irish representative to the Association for the Study of Death and Society. In 2015, Jennifer co-hosted the first Death Café event in the Limerick area, where people gather to eat cake, drink coffee and tea and celebrate our mortality. She is a steering group member of the Global Dying Well Initiative and one of the founders of the Limerick Bereavement Network. In this podcast we look at global funeral rituals and traditions; Irish attitudes toward death; how long is too long to try and hold on to the memory of somebody; and whether modern technology is helping or hindering the natural healing process of grief.  Follow Jennifer on Facebook at Death Cafe Limerick, reach her by email at deathcafelimerick@gmail.com and she's also findable on the TUS website at www.TUS.ie  Find tickets to Ann's/The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra's gig as part of Comhluadar's Féile Na Samhna at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/comhluadarluimnigh/1034259?fbclid=IwAR2JHetdnFK2k3W-4CMA65o8gqGoldG_8Eck2K6XzFbclLqifl3HG63V5OE  Check out all of Lumen Street Theatre's Samhain Festival events at https://samhain.lumenstreettheatre.ie/  The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Emma and Ann chat to theatre maker Róisín Stack whose show No Woman Is An Island is premiering at Dublin Theatre Festival 2023. The discussion covers the ins and outs, ups and downs of the creative process, which she humorously describes as 'stumbling blindly through the dark'.  Given that Ann happens to be directing the play, the episode also explores the dynamic between performer and director in the rehearsal room.  One conclusion that is decidedly drawn from this chat is the importance of 'the craic' when it comes to making artistic work. No Woman Is An Island is previewing in Galway Oct 4th-7th in Bank of Ireland Theatre Book: https://tht.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173646948 And premiering in Dublin Theatre Festival Oct 11th - 14th in The Project Arts Centre(Cube)  Book: https://dublintheatrefestival.ie/event/no-woman-is-an-island/#0  Follow Róisín on Insta @rostack_  www.roisinstack.com/ #NoWoShow The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

This month we talk to beloved Limerick-based collage artist, writer, and coffee slinger Tiffany Glenn aka Instagram's "Fannyland". Tiffany runs a monthly collage night at the Wickham Way market in Limerick City, and can be found in her blue/teal/robin-egg coloured shed in the same marketplace every Saturday and Sunday serving some of the best coffee in town.  Originally from Colorado, Tiffany has run the gamut of career-paths in her time, from sex-shop sales-assistant to the military, and from phlebotomist to flight attendant – not necessarily in that order.  This episode is something of a frenzied collage of conversation, bouncing from cancel culture and the "bonnet cop", to all-consuming obsessions with certain Disney characters, to Ann and Tiffany's Christian rock-star crush, Keith Green. We also of course chat about the loss of the great Sinéad O'Connor, and the cultural touchstone she was.  Find Tiffany at www.Instagram.com/FannyLander or support her on her webshop fannyland.sumupstore.com   Check out the Women's Collective Open Day on the 7th of September at this link: https://womenscollective.ie/latest-news/wci-limerick-open-day/   And listen to the dreamy Keith Green for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em5gL0Rw4Aw&ab_channel=monum    The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

This month we talk to Galway artist Tracy Bruen. Tracy was on the lineup of the first ever Limerick Lady event at the Limerick Milk Market in the summer of 2016. She joins us 7 years on to catch us up on her life and career. Over the last ten years, Tracy has toured extensively throughout Ireland and Europe. Her debut album "Mirror" was released in 2017. Singles from her sophomore album, "Waiting", released in January 2023, have received extensive national and regional radio play, with "Dream Away" and "Silence Crawls" both reaching the top ten in the RTÉ Radio charts.   Over the years, Tracy has shared stages with some of Ireland's best loved acts such as Mick Flannery and Mary Coughlan, as well as playing many of Ireland's major festivals including Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Sunflower Fest and the Galway Arts Festival. She is continually and consistently developing her audience both at home and abroad, and was dubbed Original Solo Artist of the Year in 2015 by the Galway Advertiser.  On this episode, Tracy talks about the cost – personal, emotional, and financial – of being an independent artist, and the investment of energy that every show and new release takes. She talks about hitting her limits; about coming through breast cancer, and the age-old issue among the self-employed of not listening to her body when it told her it needed rest.  We explore how hard it is to survive in the music industry; how an artist chooses the order of songs on a record; the current landscape of the industry in terms of gender balance; and why Tracy no longer plays old songs that she doesn't connect with.  Find Tracy at www.facebook.com/TracyBruenMusic or on Instagram at @tracybruen “..a gentle beauty, Bruen's folk and classical stylings crystallising in the pure notes of her voice” — Evoke.ie You can download her music at www.tracybruen.bandcamp.com    

Special guest on the podcast this month is El Reid Buckley. El Reid-Buckley (they/them) is a sociologist, writer, and collage artist based in Limerick, Ireland. They are currently completing a PhD in Sociology on bisexualities in post-marriage equality Ireland – they're currently waiting on their viva voce! "Free 'Til Viva" in their own words. Their research, writing and artistic practice is broadly focused on issues of genders and sexualities; with research interests in a wide number of areas such as trans theory, pop culture, media studies, archival and memorial practices, and the politics of space. Overall, their work aims to connect art, academia, and activism, to celebrate the beauty, joy, and diversity of queerness and trans identity. You can find El on Twitter at @ereidbuckley.  El says that you can't live in a room if you don't clean it or at least re-organise it a bit. This episode explores the impulse many LGBTQIA+ people feel to mold themselves to cis-het expectations of them, rather than being and embracing their authentic selves. We look at queer identity, self-reflection within the community, the perception of events like Stonewall as "amorphous" in discussions around queer visibility and activism, and the importance of rage in making things happen. We also learn why sober events during Pride are so vital.  Referenced in the conversation:  "queerness in a heteronormative world is like sitting in an uncomfortable chair" – Sara Ahmed  "My Words To Victor Frankenstein Above The Village Of Chamounix" by Susan Stryker  RTÉ's coverage of the LGBTQIA+ community: https://gcn.ie/reeling-in-the-queers-rte-archives-70s-80s/  "The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it." – James Baldwin "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself." – George Bernard Shaw  "There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." – Audre Lorde  "Screaming Queens" documentary by Susan Stryker: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464189/  TLC (Trans Limerick Community): https://twitter.com/translimerick?lang=en  Event being run by El: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-ireland-we-dreamed-of-tickets-647128307187     The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Emma and Ann chat with Limerick woman, newly published author and children's book buyer for O'Mahony's Books, Gráinne O'Brien.  Gráinne O'Brien has been the Children's Book Buyer at O'Mahony's, one of the largest independent booksellers open since 1902, for the last ten years.  She's taught creative writing workshops at 3rd level, and is the Head of Publishing at Walls of Limerick. She co-founded Silver Apples Magazine in 2014 and has gone on to publish many talented emerging writers within it. In 2018, she completed the MA in Creative Writing in UL and received an Irish Arts Council Agility Awards in both 2021 and 2022. She is represented by Sallyanne Sweeney from MMB Creative. Her first book, "A Limerick Fairytale" was published by The O'Brien Press in Spring 2023 and debuted as a bestseller. Gráinne has spent the last decade of her life sharing her love of books and reading with children. This book is inspired by them. Founder of Rontu Literary Services, her philosophy for feedback on writing is that it shouldn't be coarsely critical, but rather respectful of the work that's been presented with constructive critiques. She's been published, and rejected, many times. Rontu grew from the ashes of her own negative experiences in the publishing world Gráinne says that Limerick is like a "scrappy little sister" and powerful women are "her brand." In this month's episode she tells us about her favourite childhood books, moving from California to Bunratty in her formative years, drawing on her teens at Villiers School to write her forthcoming "verse novel", and gives some vital guidance to other writers looking to get published. She also gives shout-outs to fellow writers, Alex Dunne, Sarah Gilmartin and Dan Mooney, and a big thanks to her O'Mahony's colleague, Jack, for teaching her to TikTok.  Find out more about Gráinne at https://www.rontuliteraryservice.com/about  Link to buy A Limerick Fairytale children's picture book: https://www.omahonys.ie/a-limerick-fairytale-p-10545101.html  Photo of Gráinne by Nicole Roche The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

This month, Emma Langford and Ann Blake have a return guest in the form of IFTA nominated and award winning director, writer and actor Laura O'Shea. Having spent a number of years working in call centre and then a shoe shop, Laura's professional trajectory in film has been steadily rising. Taking the power into her own hands and making short films to get her face and her work out there she talks about the importance of making work despite limited resources. "You don't really need money to make people feel things." Her latest short film 'Wednesday's Child', which she wrote and directed, is nominated for an IFTA. Laura talks about wearing a number of creative hats at once and how it's  actually a good time to be a woman in the film industry. Find out more about Laura at https://www.lauraoshea.com/ Link to 'Free To Fall' music video: https://youtu.be/wSJXQuVh2pE The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

Emma Langford and Ann Blake talk to Dr. Susan Liddy, founder of Catalyst International Film Festival, about the festival which is set to take place from the 30th of March to the 1st of April at various venues around Limerick City. The three consider the challenges faced by new and emerging festivals in gaining an audience, and they discuss the key elements needed to allow such a thing to grow and survive.  Established in 2019 on the cusp of the impending pandemic, the festival was forced to go virtual in its first year but has grown ever since and has extended its tendrils into live venues around the city in 2023 as well as attracting A-list ambassador Ruth Negga. The mission of Catalyist IFF is to present a film programme that prioritises stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera; to create a more inclusive industry; and to ensure that films screened throughout promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion whether in content, key creative roles, or crew.  Find out more at https://catalystinternationalfilmfestival.com/ The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie 

This month our episode, once again, is going out a week later than usual.

Just a short one this month, but a good one all the same!  Singer/Songwriters Emma Langford and Wallis Bird talk about their forthcoming show, "Daughters Of The Pirate Queen: Spirit of Grace O'Malley" which will take place on the 8th of March (International Women's Day) at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.  The show was dreamed up by composer & conductor Eímear Noone in 2021, and at long last is coming to life with the help of the National Symphony Orchestra and a diverse cast of voices including Nina Hynes, Celine Byrne, Aisling McGlynn, Dawn Kenny, trumpeter Helen Doyle, costume designer Claire Garvey and lighting designer Philip Geist.  Credit for the photo of Wallis in the episode artwork: Tobias Ortmann  Find Wallis on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook by searching Wallis Bird, and buy aaaall her music! Her latest album "Hands" is available here: https://lnk.to/HandsAlbum    The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie  Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

This month our episode is going out a week later than usual.

Join podcasting duo The Limerick Lady at The Record Room in Limerick City on the 24th of November for an uplifting and illuminating celebration of the decade of centenaries.  The Limerick Lady LIVE (part 1), hosted by Emma Langford and Ann Blake features expert guest, historian Sharon Slater, who guides us through the experiences and stories of a selection of historic LGBTQ+ women in Ireland between 1912 and 1923. This event took place in front of a live audience at The Record Room in Limerick City.  Part 2 featuring Sharon, the Wild Geeze and Abe Soare will be available in February! Stay tuned. The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. The Limerick Lady was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. This event was kindly supported by Limerick Council.  Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie  This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!    Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

On the podcast this month, Ann and Emma reflect on the year that's been and gone, looking back on their personal peaks and troughs as well as highlights of 2022 for The Limerick Lady. This episode is about looking back, as well as looking forward to a new year. There are also some wild claims made about Munster's French-speaking history.  2022 was a busy year for both of your hosts, but it was marked by the final reemergence of the world from covid fear, so yes, sorry – just when you thought we could all move on from talking about one C word to another C word, we bring it up again.  Speaking of Christmas, Ann and Emma both have releases they would love to share with you! Check out Emma's “The Wexford Carol” here: https://emmalangfordmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-wexford-carol  And buy Brendan Davis' and friends AKA Brendan And The Snowflakes' “Santa's On His Way” which features Ann and was released in aid of Minding Creative Minds for €2 here: https://brendanandthesnowflakes.bandcamp.com/track/santas-on-his-way  Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things. Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find out all about Emma Langford's adventures at emmalangfordmusic.com  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House   Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.comSupport the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie  This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!    Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma LangfordOutro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

NEWS FIRST! We're doing a live show on the 24th of November at the Record Room (downstairs in The Commercial on Catherine Street, Limerick City) at 8pm. Special guests are historian Sharon Slater, musical comedy duo The Wild Geeze, and singer-songwriter Abe Soare. Doors at 8, kicking off at 8.30 sharp – this is a pre-recorded live podcast episode so get in early and take your seats on time. Tickets are €5 – pay on the door. This month we meet Dr Tracy Fahey, an Irish author who has been twice shortlisted for Best Collection at the British Fantasy Awards in 2017 for The Unheimlich Manoeuvre and 2022 for I Spit Myself Out. Fahey's short fiction is published in over thirty American, British, Australian and Irish anthologies. She has been Guest of Honour at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2022 and will appear in Copenhagen in 2023 as Guest of Honour at Fantasticon 2023.  Fahey holds a PhD on the Gothic in visual arts, and her non-fiction writing on the Gothic and folklore has appeared in Irish, English, Italian, Dutch and Australian edited collections. She has been awarded residencies in Ireland and Greece. In 2022 she was awarded Saari Fellow status for 2023 by the Kone Foundation, Finland. Tracy is a self-proclaimed "Samhain nerd" and enthusiast for all things spooky, and in this episode we delve in to that and then some. We chat about the presence of strong feminine energies in Irish folklore, the inherent darkness in Irish people, and we reminisce on halloweens of yore, i.e. our childhoods in the 80s and 90s.  Want to follow Tracy online and find more of her work? She's TracyFaheyAuthor on Instagram, just TracyFahey on Twitter, or you can visit her website and sample her work at https://www.tracyfahey.com/ Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things.  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find out all about Emma Langford's adventures at emmalangfordmusic.com  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford  

This month we meet Helena Close and Marie Boylan, the writing team behind brand new play "Red Army". Red Army is the flagship production for the Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick City, and is set to run from the 22nd to the 29th. The play centres on four women and their intersecting lives as they're drawn together by a shared love of Munster rugby, and the shared tragedy of the sudden death of Munster coach Axel Foley in 2016.  This episode we look at the on-stage visibility and representation of women over the age of 50, especially in the world of sports. We also explore how tragedy touches and effects us all differently. We discuss the collaborative process and how it makes us each better at what we do, through what we learn from each other. Above all, we discuss the highs and lows, the craic and the buzz that draws Munster rugby fans together.  Playwrights Helena Close and Marie Boylan said: “As die-hard Munster Rugby fans, Red Army is a play we felt compelled to write. It's a tribute to the club, the fans, the city of Limerick, and the late Anthony Foley. Bringing this story to life has been a team effort. From the crew at the Lime Tree Theatre; our director Pat Kiernan who understood our vision for the play implicitly; the stellar cast; and an incredible creative team. We began writing in 2017 and like a dogged Munster team we persevered and are thrilled to finally share Red Army with audiences as the first in-house production at the Lime Tree Theatre” Want to follow Helena and Marie online and find more of their work? As Helena says, "just google it".  Tickets for Red Army at the Lime Tree Theatre: https://limetreetheatre.ie/events/red-army/  Safe To Create: https://www.safetocreate.ie/ Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things.  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper Follow Emma on Facebook and Instagram at emmalangfordmusic and on Twitter at ELangfordmusic, and get tickets for her upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

In this episode Ann and Emma chat with honourary Limerick Lady and tour de force Justyna Cwojdzińska, the artistic director of The Polish Arts Festival. Our hosts and guest explore everything from common mythologies between Ireland and Poland, to Slavic Gymnastics, to how the never-ending discussion around "women's rights" can ironically often deflect from the fact that those rights are, quite simply, human rights. Justyna Cwojdzińska studied Theatre at Cultural College in Wrocław and holds an M.A in English Language and Literature from the University of Wrocław. She has been involved since 2000 in theatrical productions in Poland, and is a founder and artistic director of Polish Arts Festival. For her work on the festival, Justyna received an Outstanding Pole Award in the Culture Category from the Polish Government (Polish Promotional Emblem Foundation TERAZ POLSKA) under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland.  Follow Justyna on Instagram: @justynacwojdzinska and Polish Arts Festival Twitter/Instagram: @PolishArtFest FB: www.facebook.com/PolishArtsFestival  www.polishartsfestival.ie   Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things.  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper Follow Emma on Facebook and Instagram at emmalangfordmusic and on Twitter at ELangfordmusic, and get tickets for her upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

Ann and Emma chat to Lauren Guilfoyle, a Chartered Physiotherapist, about women in sport. The discussion covers a wide variety of her experience and whether her life would be different if she had more visible female role models in sport in childhood. Emma reminisces that, as a child, she felt sport just wasn't for her and Ann grapples with the fact she finds herself supporting the women's English soccer team. Lauren works with a variety of sports teams including Ireland Basketball & Cork Constitution RFC.  She recently completed a Masters in Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology at the University of Limerick. Doctoral researcher with the Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance and has a passion for exploring new ways in social media to bring health and well-being educational content to the general public.  Follow Lauren on Twitter @LaurenGuilfoyle Instagram @lauren_guilfoyle https://www.laurenguilfoyle.com/about   Brief history lesson in women's football - link to the source in episode info: https://www.history.co.uk/articles/when-womens-football-was-bigger-than-mens  Dr Sheree Barker's thread on women's sports: ​​https://twitter.com/shereebekker/status/1504899940497170442   Lionesses Appeal to next Prime Minister of Britain https://www.itv.com/news/2022-08-03/lionesses-write-open-letter-to-allow-all-girls-to-play-football-at-school Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things.  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper Follow Emma on Facebook and Instagram at emmalangfordmusic and on Twitter at ELangfordmusic, and get tickets for her upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

  It's just the two of us building castles in the sky... This month Ann and Emma are without a guest, so sit back and enjoy what can simply be described as a meandering conversation about everything and anything.  This episode is given over to reflecting on the month that's been; whiskey-tasting and talking to spirits; Limerick Pride; burnout and the importance of taking holidays; ego and how it can make us nervous workaholics; trans rights and nosy neighbours; beard rash; and how life simply isn't a binary or linear experience in any sense.  Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things.  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported bt the Limerick Post Newspaper Follow Emma on Facebook and Instagram at emmalangfordmusic and on Twitter at ELangfordmusic, and get tickets for her upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

In this episode Emma and Ann ambush poor Ailbhe and wrangle every conceivable bit of info out of her about her life, her activism, and where the feck she gets all the energy! In this episode Ailbhe Smyth – activist extraordinaire – gives us a first-hand perspective, whistle-stop tour of the recent socio-political history of Ireland, from the removal of the Legitimacy Act in 1987 which removed all remaining legal distinctions between children born to married and unmarried parents, to the divorce referendum of 1995 - both of which impacted Ailbhe directly.  Ailbhe Smyth was the founding head of Women's Studies at UCD (University College Dublin) where she began lecturing at the age of 21. She has been campaigning on feminist, LGBTQI+ and socialist issues for decades. She played a key role in the victorious Marriage Equality referendum in 2015. A pro-choice activist since the late 1970s, Ailbhe co-founded the Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment and went on to become Co-Director of the Together for Yes 2015 referendum campaign which won the right to abortion for women in Ireland in 2018. A Dublin resident, Ailbhe is currently Chair of Women's Aid Ireland, Chair of Ballyfermot Addiction Services, on the board of Age Action, and Honorary Patron of the Women's Collective Ireland (previously National Collective of Community-based Women's Network). She is a founder member of Climate Justice Coalition, and also of Le Chéile: Diversity not Division which campaigns against the growth of far right extremism. In 2019, Ailbhe was listed as one of Time Magazine's ‘Most Influential People'. She was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Laws by NUIG in 2021, and was recently conferred with the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Follow Ailbhe Smyth on Twitter at AilbheS Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported bt the Limerick Post Newspaper Get tickets for Emma's upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

This month Eva O'Connor joins Ann Blake to talk about changing the focus and conversation around climate. Theatre maker, Eva, is the co-producer of the inaugural Future Limerick: Climate Arts Festival with Hildegarde Ryan and their company Sunday's Child Theatre. Eva, a prolific playwright and performer, has had huge success with shows such as My Name Is Saoirse and Overshadowed, the latter which  was turned into an 8 episode series for BBC3 in 2017. Her play Mustard premiered in 2020 and is due to tour to Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022. During the chat, Eva and Ann talk about shifting the conversation, around the climate, away from guilt and shame and framing the climate crisis in a way that doesn't strike fear into an audience. A way that allows people to engage with the conversation and making theatre more accessible for all. Follow Eva on instagram @evaclaireoconnor and @sundayschildtheatre and @EvaO_Connor on Twitter Follow Future Limerick on instagram @futurelimerick and www.futurelimerick.ie Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported bt the Limerick Post Newspaper Get tickets for Emma's upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

On this month's episode your hosts Emma Langford and Ann Blake are joined from Barcelona by special guest Tina Nsubuga.  Tina is a 29-year-old Ugandan-Irish Fashion-Tech entrepreneur. Ever evolving and exploring, she currently finds herself developing a company that influences not just our thoughts on fashion but also our behaviours towards a much more sustainable fashion lifestyle.  On top of that, she's also focusing on separating her work and career from her self worth by actively slowing down and reconsidering what success looks like. During the chat, Tina talks about her childhood experience of foster care, about how everything she's done up to now has felt like "preparation for opportunity", and about how passion and curiosity have driven her on in life. She also explains that her interest in sustainability came from a feeling that she wasn't putting into the world what she was taking out of it when working in the fashion industry.  Oh, and as an aside she tells us her favourite pastime is petting random dogs on the streets. We approve.  Find Tina on Twitter at @NsubugaTina  On LinkedIn: Christine Nsubuga  Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported bt the Limerick Post Newspaper Get tickets for Emma's upcoming shows and workshops at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

Connecting to a "joy state"; writing as part of the healing process; self esteem and "sexual self-esteem"; teaching your kids kindness and respect; running a zero-drama household; establishing and practicing our boundaries... A mere handful of the subjects explored in this month's podcast episode with host Emma Langford and special guest Taryn De Vere.  Joy-bringer, writer, podcaster, mother of 5, colourful fashionista... Taryn De Vere moved from Australia to Ireland in 1998 and is now a firm fixture in Ramelton, County Donegal.  Earlier this year Taryn started to share her ObjectDressChallenge on her social media channels, launching her into the stratosphere of viral fame - each day in January she chose a random object around her house and fashioned a beautiful outfit to look just like it, using whatever she could find in her undoubtedly massive wardrobe of pre-owned and thrifted gems. Check out the photo series by searching #objectdresschallenge    Find Taryn at Taryndevere.com or by searching Taryn De Vere on Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out  her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM both of which are also supported bt the Limerick Post Newspaper Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com  Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say!  Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford  

“I do genuinely adore my job, and I'm dancing in the crowd while I'm taking my photographs”  To drastically paraphrase Jona Lewie, you will always find Ruth Medjber with a camera in her hand at parties. This month's guest talks to us about the things that elevated her to being selected to tour with the likes of Hozier and Arcade Fire. She breaks down the “weird engineering side of things” involved in great music photography - not just knowing your tool, but also having an awareness of the band, the crew, the crowd, so you're ready for whatever's coming next; so you're moving the dials on your camera, as the lights are changing on stage.  She also lets us in on how she keeps herself creatively, mentally fresh so she never loses the love for her work.  “My best ideas, and my source of creativity is idleness… I'm looking for boredom” That being said, she also talks about the downside of boredom and solitude - we touch on the very real impact the pandemic had on folks like Ruth who were living alone - especially folks who'd have previously spend almost every night surrounded by noise and colour and likeminded people. Getting out to photograph friends, family, colleagues and industry workers at a safe distance, through their windows, was Ruth's release, a way to see people, and a way to stop herself from “drowning” in depression. It also resulted in her hugely popular book "Twilight Together".  Also Ann and Ruth found out that they're BASICALLY family.  You can find Ruth at RuthlessImagery on every platform - and you should!  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com  Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford

Ann and Emma record together, in person, for the first time since March of 2020. This month's episode is a reflection on gender-based violence, men's violence, and violence against women.   According to Women's Aid, 244 women have died violently in Ireland since 1996.  Of resolved cases, 87% were perpetrated by a man. 13% of perpetrators were strangers.  We dedicate this episode to the memories of all these women.  You can report flashing and assault under section 45 of the sexual offences act  For help, contact Women's Aid 24hrs at 1800 341 900 or visit Safe Ireland at https://www.safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/ to find local supports  Connect Counselling is an anonymous professional telephone counselling service for survivors of physical, emotional and sexual abuse including former residents of Mother and Baby Homes. Freephone 1800 477 477 Monday to Sunday from 6pm to 10pm. Visit www.connectcounselling.ie Text 50808 - A free 24/7 text service, providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support for people going through mental health or emotional crisis. Text HELLO to 50808, anytime day or night. Visit www.text50808.ie for more information.   Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com  Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford

Incredible, and incredibly busy woman Mamobo Ogoro joined Emma and Ann for this end-of-year episode! This conversation, recorded on the day of the Winter Solstice, takes in Christmas and Solstice traditions and rituals around turning over a new leaf. Christmas can be a tricky time for many - going back to the family home, seeing old friends and family members we may not always see eye-to-eye with. The trio discuss the value of empathetic conversation in place of arguments, and Mamobo delivered some vital, helpful tips on how we can benefit more from these conversations - and how to keep our cool when it's all going arseways.  In her own words, she is "on a personal mission to unify the world!"  Mamobo is a Nigerian-Irish social psychologist and social entrepreneur. Fueled by both her personal experience and her academic background in prejudice, racism and dual cultural identity, Mamobo is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Limerick. She is the first Sanctuary PhD Fellow at the University of Limerick. In 2021 Mamobo was named Activist of the Year at the inaugural Black & Irish Awards. She is a board member at the Limetree Theatre & Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick City where she gets to channel some of her passion for the arts.  Ogoro is the also the founder of social enterprise Gorm Media, whose mission it is to curate common ground through innovative digital media that captures the stories, nuances, and experiences of those in our community. Find Gorm Media online at https://www.gormmedia.com/  Follow Mamobo on Twitter at @Mamobo96 Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com  Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod Intro music: Santa's Tricks by Myuu | https://soundcloud.com/myuu Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

"Story Kid?" is a new series of mini-podcasts from the Limerick Lady where Emma Langford and Ann Blake are joined by various guests with interesting insights & stories for a brief but enriching chat about life.  The Winter Solstice falls on the 21st of December, it is historically the shortest day, and the longest, darkest night of the year. This day marks the turn of the season toward longer brighter days - the "grand stretch" starts now! Emma is joined by Roisin Little (she/her), a Film maker from Ballydehob West Cork. She loves jigsaws, the winter solstice and Tipperary.  You can find her at @roisinlittle on instagram The Limerick Lady is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket  Follow us on Twitter @LKLadyHQ, on Instagram @thelimericklady, and on facebook.com/thelimericklady  Follow Emma on Twitter @ELangfordMusic or Instagram @emmalangfordmusic  Follow Ann on Twitter @AnnBlake78 or Instagram @annblakeplay 

This month Cassie Delaney joins Ann Blake to talk about the freedom and political power of podcasts, creepiness, queerness and being on the other side of an intense religious upbringing. A lot of fun was had in the making of this episode - just to be clear - even though Emma wasn't there. (She's very busy touring at the moment but sends her love!) Cassie runs Tall Tales Podcasts which produces, among many others, Mother of Pod, Juvenalia and the charmingly gruesome true crime comedy podcast, The Creep Dive. Having started off in journalism and moving onto digital design, Cassie saw an opportunity in podcasting to truly empower independent media. Cassie is also founder and CEO of Outcaster, a platform that enables media creators to build bespoke streaming apps with no upfront investment. Find Tall Tales online at www.talltales.ie and Outcaster at www.outcaster.io Follow Cassie on all the things @CassieLorraine Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

Sandrine Uwase Ndahiro is this month's Limerick Lady podcast guest. She joins Ann Blake and Emma Langford to talk about her project, Unapologetic Magazine. She also speaks about the burden that falls to people to advocate for themselves, and the burden of representing all minority voices as an outspoken member of a minority group.  Sandrine Uwase Ndahiro is an English Ph.D. student in the University of Limerick. Sandrine's research centres on third generation African writers, such as Afrofuturists, who have emerged during the era of late liberalism and who have introduced multiple and nuanced perspectives for reflecting on African lives and aspirations. Unapologetic is about creating a medium that showcases the cultural richness of the multiple heritages defining contemporary Ireland and unrepresented in modern discussion. Seeing that these voices are absent, Unapologetic seeks to cherish them through celebratory and critical engagement, putting them in conversation with one another.   Find Unapologetic online at https://www.unapologeticmag.net/ On Instagram at unapologetic_mag On Twitter at @Unapologetic111 Rogue Collective mentioned in this episode: https://roguecollective.ie/ Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

Ann and Emma chat with Dr. Belinda Vigors - she's a social scientist, and the host and curator of the Women of Ireland Project.  An Irish woman living in the UK, Belinda became acutely aware of her 'Irishness' once she moved away. She has set out through the Women of Ireland Project to connect Ireland's past to the lived experiences of modern Irish women. The project explores Ireland's culture, history and heritage, and also involves interviewing women of Ireland about how our culture has shaped them. Belinda describes that what she does is look to history to understand today and find answers for tomorrow.   Find Belinda at @womenofirelandproject on Instagram, or at her website https://womenofirelandproject.blog/ where you can also get involved in the project    Herstory Project that is mentioned in episode: https://www.herstory.ie/herstory-on-rt   Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month   The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket   Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcasts, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk and 'Three Things That Matter' #ThreethingsTM   Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford   Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

Caroline O'Donoghue is the author of two novels, Scenes of a Graphic Nature and Promising Young Women - not to be mistaken with Promising Young Woman (singular) starring Carey Mulligan, unless you want to give Caroline an Oscar that is.  Ann Blake and Emma Langford chat with the Cork-born novelist about the music that defined their youth, the regression to their teens due to the pandemic, the fear of being a bad role model and drawing on real life (or not) in making art.  Caroline is also a columnist, the co-host of the Sentimental Garbage podcast, and author of "All Our Hidden Gifts", the first in a series of young adult novels.  Find Sentimental Garbage wherever you get your podcasts, buy Caroline's books in all good bookshops, and follow her online at @czaroline and at @SentimentalPod Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcast, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

Emma and Ann speak to Jenny McDonald, theatremaker and facilitator originally from Toronto, Canada now based in Dublin. Pandemics and performances haven't really gone together and the industry has been left adrift, so Jenny explains how she and a group of women chose to build their own boat - as such. She is the creator and director of SoloSIRENs, a Tallaght based collective of emerging and established theatre artists amplifying women's voices onstage and beyond.  SoloSIRENs recently produced Cessair, a performance and installation at the Civic, that used the Irish myth of Cessair as a container for stories of 100 women collected around Ireland and the world.  Find SoloSIRENS at www.solosirens.info and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @solosirens Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcast, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

Emma and Ann try all year round to keep the guests diverse, interesting and brilliant, but Pride Month is always an extra special occasion - this June, we hear from vocalist, guitarist, bassist, songwriter and merch-packager Pamela Connolly of Choice Prize nominated Dublin band Pillow Queens. The trio cover in one jam-packed hour the importance of queer representation in mainstream music, the difficulties faced by musicians in balancing a public persona with the tough reality of trying to earn a living from music alone, and how listening to Jack Johnson can cause massive sexual awakenings if you're not careful.  Pillow Queens are a four piece based in Dublin, Ireland. Formed in 2016, their State of the State EP caught the ear of Steve Lamacq who called the band's songs “deceptively infectious, with sharp hooks and sharp nails”. That EP's lead single, Favourite, with its accompanying dog-filled video, received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Radio X, and Amazing Radio as well as across Irish national radio stations. Two UK tours followed, along with a brace of sellout hometown shows in Dublin. January 2021 saw the four piece take on their US television debut, performing and interviewing on the CBS late night talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden. The band's debut album In Waiting has been praised by critics both home and abroad and was nominated for an RTE Choice Prize for Album of the Year. Buy Pillow Queens' album here: https://pillowqueens.bandcamp.com/ Find Pillow Queens on Twitter @pillowqueens Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcast, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod

We may not hold on forever to past feelings of joy, grief or loss but every chapter, every song is a performance of that memory - be it personal or collective.  In this month's podcast Emma Langford and Ann Blake talk to writer and academic Emilie Pine about her no.1 bestseller "Notes To Self" (2018), a collection of personal essays about alcoholism, family, relationships, sexual abuse and miscarriage - how it felt to share those life experiences with the world in the form of a book, and how she found the transition from academic writing to non-fiction.  Emilie Pine is a professor of modern drama at the School of English, Drama and Film in University College Dublin. She teaches and supervises student work in the fields of theatre and memory cultures. Emilie is also director of the Irish Memory Studies Research Network (www.irishmemorystudies.com) and editor of the Irish University Review and recently edited the Special Issue on Moving Memory: The Dynamics of the Past in Irish Culture.  You can find out more about Professor Emilie Pine at https://people.ucd.ie/emilie.pine  Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcast, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by the Ormston House Feminist Supermarket Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at @annblake78 and Instagram @annblakeplay and her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter @BPLO. Catch her other podcast, 'Ann and Steve Talk Stuff' on Twitter @annstevetalk Follow all things Emma Langford at www.emmalangfordmusic.com and support her on patreon at www.patreon.com/emmalangford Follow all things Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast goes out the third Thursday of every month or 'Thirdsday' - if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at @LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at @thelimericklady Tweet using #LKLadyPod