Podcasts about The Irish Times

Ellen Coyne and Jack Power join Pat Leahy to look back on the week in politics:· All 27 EU foreign ministers will gather in Druids Glen in Wicklow next week for a “Gymnich” meeting. What is that you ask, it is characterised as a more informal chat with no expectation of any hard decisions being made. The lull of August will now give way to a hectic calendar culminating in difficult choices around the next seven-year EU budget.· Andy Burnham made his first visit to Northern Ireland this week as UK prime minister. He raised eyebrows with his assertion that a Border poll is “off the table”. This won't please Sinn Féin given the money and energy they are putting into making a vote on a united Ireland a reality. · The Dáil sat briefly on Friday, where, among other topics of debate, it decided to vote against fuel price increases. The Government now further defers clawing back the cuts in excise taxes it announced earlier in the summer for two more months. Can it continue to shield the public from increasing fuel costs beyond November?Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:· The unifying power of the late Dolly Parton, Scouting Ireland's future, and CIA chief visits Moscow to urge a Ukraine war deal.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in March 2026. Stephen McCullagh (36) thought he had created a cast iron alibi for himself when he planned the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Natalie McNally (32) in December 2022.An avid gamer he was, he claimed, at home playing a video game live at the time she was killed. But as the PSNI was able to prove, he had in fact pre-recorded hours of himself playing the game. Police found that when he hit “play”, he set off to his girlfriend's house in Armagh where he savagely murdered her.The case against McCullagh was built on circumstantial evidence, so for Natalie's devastated family, conviction was not certain.Seanín Graham is Northern Correspondent of The Irish Times and she was in court in Belfast for the trial.She tells In the News she has never before witnessed such emotional scenes in court as when the guilty verdict was handed down on Monday.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside Politics Live is coming to Cork on September 30th. Get your tickets here. Harry McGee and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:Today the Government announced that it will stall the planned increase to fuel excise duty that was due to come into effect at the start of September. The increases for September and October 1st will no longer go ahead. A recall of the Dáil next Friday to pass this measure is looking likely. The decision comes after the Government faced pressure from Coalition backbenchers as well as members of the Opposition. On Thursday night Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin demanding the Dáil be recalled for a vote to delay the planned reversal of excise duty cuts.Sunday's tragic collision on the M9 motorway left five teenagers dead and three sisters and a 7-year-old child in serious condition. The tragedy raises questions about Garda pursuit capabilities and training and the responsibility of social media platforms like TikTok to respond to footage of dangerous driving and joyriding shared on the platform.An aide for Tánaiste Simon Harris has come into the spotlight after The Irish Times reported on social media posts where he mocked teachers for being work-shy and deemed the public “racist”. John Kelly is Harris' constituency director who deleted his X account after he was questioned about numerous posts. Comments that are now deleted refer to Britain's Prince Harry as a “snowflake” and call US president Donald Trump a “moron”.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week, including the decline in number of Catholic baptisms in Ireland, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate leading the polls in Saxony-Anhalt election and the ridiculousness of “Woke 1.0”.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus are set to strike again on Tuesday the 25th of August.It will be their fourth work stoppage this summer over plans to expand the capacity of the north Dublin facility for young offenders.Members of the Fórsa trade union have already taken to the picket line this week in a protest relating to staffing levels, saying they're “running on fumes.”While acknowledging that management have made progress in hiring 11 new staff, they believe recent high profile events, such as wrong-way motorway driving, will further heap pressure to find beds for teenagers in trouble with the law.Workers are concerned that inadequate staff ratios will undermine their safety, particularly in light of a spate of serious assaults on the campus last summer.One social care worker told Irish Times work correspondent Emmet Malone these “young people often present with challenging and difficult behaviour; they're only in Oberstown as a last resort and we regularly find ourselves in difficult, sometimes dangerous situations ... If we don't have enough staff to operate the unit safely, properly and adequately, the young people we work with on a daily basis are suffering too.”But if management are engaging with the union, why are staff still planning to strike on Tuesday? What are the sticking points and what might draw this dispute to a close? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Anywhere but Here' is the new novel from Irish author and former journalist Vicki Notaro. The book follows three friends in their 40s who take a trip to Donegal for some much-needed soul searching. In this episode Notaro tells Róisin Ingle how female friendship and the pressure to live the perfect life, served as the inspiration for the book. In this wide-ranging conversation the pair also talk about Notaro's struggles with anxiety and PMDD, as well as the joy of being childfree.But first, Irish Times podcast producer Suzanne Brennan is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including last weekend's fatal crash on the M9, the worrying rise in spiking incidents and the final of this year's Rose of Tralee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday evening, thousands of people took to the streets of central London to attend a vigil in memory of Jason Arday. The former Cambridge professor was found dead in his home just days earlier - at the age of 41. In his final days Arday - who was Black and autistic - was at the centre of a global media storm. Initially over allegations of plagiarism in his previous academic work and claims relating to his personal life, it morphed into a controversy relating to racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employment practices, and press harassment. As a result, he resigned from his role as professor of sociology at the prestigious university. In his resignation letter, he told colleagues he no longer wished to feel like he was living “under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of his life was subject to public examination and judgement”. But the media frenzy didn't end there. Coverage about Cambridge's youngest ever Black professor continued.Now public figures and friends of Arday are demanding a public inquiry into the press attention he received before his death. A petition has already secured more than 90,000 signatures. In today's episode, Aideen Finnegan is joined by Irish Times writer and columnist Hugh Linehan to talk about the media storm surrounding Arday and the public outcry following his death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poet Leeanne Quinn joins Words That Burn to discuss her third collection, Landscape with Question, published by Carcanet Press.Written between Drogheda and Vienna, the collection holds two conversations at once: one with the Irish modernist painter Nano Reid, whose family bar on James' Street was later run by Quinn's parents, and one with Ingeborg Bachmann's novel Malina. Quinn explains why the "landscape with" poems move away from the representational towards questions of time and place, and why she took the three birth years Reid gave over her lifetime as the spine for the book's three sections.We talk about writing without a plan and finding the loops and repetitions only after the book is finished, about reading Reid's matter-of-fact titles against her abstraction, and about the eighteenth and nineteenth century visitor reports on Drogheda that Quinn cuts into her lines as springboards. We also discuss the speaker's resistance to being located, the surveillance running under the collection, and the elegy that surfaces in "Landscape with Crows", which adapts a line from H.D.'s Tribute to Freud.Leeanne reads two poems: "First Part of the Night" and the title poem, "Landscape with Question".Leeanne Quinn is from Drogheda, County Louth, and holds a doctorate in American literature from Trinity College Dublin. Her first collection, Before You, was highly commended in the Forward Prize. Her second, Some Lives, was a book of the year for both The Irish Times and The Irish Independent. She has edited two anthologies for Dedalus Press.Landscape with Question is out now from Carcanet Press. Links to Leeanne's work are below.If you enjoy the episode, please leave a review wherever you listen.Follow Leeanne QuinnBuy Landscape With QuestionPhoto credit for the thumbnail Bríd O'DonovanFollow the Podcast:Read the Script on SubstackFollow the Podcast On InstagramFollow the Podcast on X/TwitterFollow the Podcast on TiktokFollow the podcast on Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Compared to other countries, are Irish people lagging behind when it comes to showing affection? Do we tend to keep each other at arm's length?Ceire Sadlier, Contributor with the Irish Times, has been writing about this and joins Seán to discuss.

For more than a year, Fergie Chambers, an American multi-millionaire and self-described communist, has called Ireland home. The 41-year-old who is heir to one of the richest families in America had been living in South Dublin, until a trip to Ibiza with his family last month ended in his arrest. While on the Spanish Island, police arrested Chambers on foot of an extradition request by US authorities. He's been in prison in Madrid ever since. If the extradition goes ahead, he faces charges of money laundering with the intent of supporting terror organisations; riot; and conspiracy to riot. Friends of Chambers say he's being targeted because of his support for Palestinian activism. They point to donations to humanitarian organisations working in Gaza and his funding of legal fees for protesters associated with Palestine Action in the UK. But who is Fergie Chambers, what does he stand for and why has he become a target of the MAGA movement? And could his case further strain relations between the US, Spain and Ireland over Palestine? Aideen Finnegan is joined by Irish Times journalists Rachel Lavin and Naomi O'Leary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Phoenix Park has an identity problem. The best city parks come in two modes: they either amplify the city that is there, or they turn it off completely… It is a curious third type that I label a ‘pass-through' park, so-called given its main customer: the commuting car." So says Sinéad O'Sullivan in The Irish Times today.The Business Economist joins Ciara to discuss…

Jack Horgan-Jones and Ellen Coyne join Hugh to look back on the week in politics:Simon Harris has lobbied the European Commission over the prospect of Ireland's Central Bank once again being responsible for approving Israeli state bonds. Opposition parties have said the bonds are used to raise money for Israel's military campaigns. Ultimately, aside from some political messaging, it's an issue the Government can do little about.Excise cuts implemented in response to last spring's fuel protests are due to start tapering next month, just as fuel prices are beginning to rise again. With the disruptive protests still a painful memory and the Budget coming into view, Jack Chambers and Simon Harris are in an unenviable position. How will they play it?News that the Department of Children and Equality will spend money on a campaign to warn about the misogyny of the “manosphere” and “tradwife” influencers who “promote restrictive, stereotypical roles for women and girls” has enraged culture warriors and prompted a debate on the socioeconomic pressures that make working and caring in the home an impossibility for many families. Should the Government stay out of such debates and focus instead on structural issues that hold people back from living their lifestyle of choice?The Government's recent lack of transparency around two reports, one on Aughinish Alumina and another on data centres, left a lot to be desired.Entertaining documents released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act have cast light how two prominent pols - Mayor of Limerick John Moran and Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan - go about their business.And finally the panel pick their favourite IT stories of the week.Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scéalta polaitíochta an lae.

A piece today in the Irish Times by Killian Woods on Dublin's empty office spaces pointed to multinationals subletting vast amounts of unwanted space, while property firms forecast a shortage going forward, but why is this?Joining Shane to discuss is Killian Woods, Business Correspondent in the Irish Times and Robin Mandal, Architect, former President of the Royal Institute of Ireland and Chair of the Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance.

Later this month, The Women's Podcast will be recording a live episode at Electric Picnic in Co Laois, with Róisín Ingle in conversation with special guest Dearbhla Mescal. You can catch us in the Mindfield area on Saturday August 29th. Also returning to the festival this year is spoken word poet Anna D, who will be treating festival-goers to her unique blend of poetry and storytelling, knitting together themes of motherhood, female empowerment, relationships and the patriarchal forces that shape society. In today's episode, the poet joins Róisín Ingle to talk about her upcoming show at Ireland's largest festival and to discuss her new show Matrescense, which is currently in development. Matrescense - the term used to describe the emotional, physical and social transition that women go through when becoming a mother - is something that the Dublin poet says needs more open and honest discussion. In today's episode she tells Ingle about the “avalanche” that followed her transition into motherhood, how she battled feelings of maternal regret and why she believes society is not set up to support new mothers. We also hear about her life lessons on turning 40 and she performs the title piece from her new show.But first Irish Times opinion editor Jennifer O'Connell is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the reaction to Amanda Knox's Edinburgh Fringe show and the worrying rise in popularity of technology which allows users to covertly record. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fourteen calves died of dehaydration at a farm owned by Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary after the animals drinking water was temporarily disconnected. Mark Tighe, senior investigative Reporter at the Irish Times, joined to tell us more.

It's been a busy week for tech giant Meta. Its new glasses have sparked controversy over privacy concerns, while founder Mark Zuckerberg published his AI manifesto, and the company indicated that it might be willing to pay local communities to host data centres in their areas. Irish Times tech expert Ciara O'Brien explains why the glasses have caused such a stir and how Zuckerberg's approach to AI differs.In part two: Ireland's corporation tax receipts are bulging, helped by the increase in the rate of tax paid by large companies as a result of recent changes agreed under the auspices of the OECD. The government recently published exchequer returns for the first seven months of the year, giving an insight into the extra corporation tax that is likely to flow our way. It's a helpful backdrop for the government in the run-up to October's budget. Eoin Burke-Kennedy looks at the numbers and what they mean. He also looks at what might happen to Ireland's public finances if an Apple, Microsoft, or Eli Lilly were to pull out.Brought to you in association with EY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, Fifa's President Gianni Infantino shocked football fans around the world when he announced plans to sell a slice of the World Cup's business to private investors. Unsurprisingly, the proposal went down like a lead balloon, with critics pointing out how Infantino had orchestrated the deal in secret. But one man - who not only knew about the plan but spent months working on it behind the scenes - was FIFA's chief of staff, an Irish Man called Daniel O'Toole. The Dublin man was handpicked by the Fifa president to work alongside him on the potential sale before it was eventually shelved - but who is he? And how did he ascend to the inner sanctum of power at the organisation? Irish Times sports correspondent Gavin Cooney has the details on today's episode. Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A dazzling novel about a community where an upcoming film production brings their past into sharp focus--and nobody's version is the same. In Derry, the locals are already in a twist about the arrival of Hollywood actress Monica Logue to research her role for a show about the Troubles--and then she goes missing. Everyone has a story to tell--about Monica's possible whereabouts, and about the historic events that brought her here in the first place: the show's screenwriter, desperate for this last shot at success; the grieving mother whose story he's adapting; the ex-IRA member who knows the price of survival; the local psychic who's seen too much ... Prestige Drama (Cardinal, 2026) brings to life a chorus of characters as they locate themselves in Monica's disappearance, and in the truth about their own history. From the author of the acclaimed memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, Prestige Drama is heartbreaking, hilarious, and profound, an indelible portrait of a community both obsessed with its past, and desperate to forget it. SÉAMAS O'REILLY is a writer and author who has worked as a columnist for the Observer, the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. He is Features Editor of London satirical magazine, The Fence and his writing has appeared in The Guardian, the New Statesman and the New York Times. His memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died topped the Irish Times Bestseller List for seven weeks, and won Best Biography at the 2021 Irish Book Awards. Séamas currently lives in Walthamstow, London with his family. Recommended Books: Patrick Radden Keefe, London Falling Susannah Dickey, Into the Wreck Jonathan Wilson, The Power and The Glory: A History of the World Cup Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A dazzling novel about a community where an upcoming film production brings their past into sharp focus--and nobody's version is the same. In Derry, the locals are already in a twist about the arrival of Hollywood actress Monica Logue to research her role for a show about the Troubles--and then she goes missing. Everyone has a story to tell--about Monica's possible whereabouts, and about the historic events that brought her here in the first place: the show's screenwriter, desperate for this last shot at success; the grieving mother whose story he's adapting; the ex-IRA member who knows the price of survival; the local psychic who's seen too much ... Prestige Drama (Cardinal, 2026) brings to life a chorus of characters as they locate themselves in Monica's disappearance, and in the truth about their own history. From the author of the acclaimed memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, Prestige Drama is heartbreaking, hilarious, and profound, an indelible portrait of a community both obsessed with its past, and desperate to forget it. SÉAMAS O'REILLY is a writer and author who has worked as a columnist for the Observer, the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. He is Features Editor of London satirical magazine, The Fence and his writing has appeared in The Guardian, the New Statesman and the New York Times. His memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died topped the Irish Times Bestseller List for seven weeks, and won Best Biography at the 2021 Irish Book Awards. Séamas currently lives in Walthamstow, London with his family. Recommended Books: Patrick Radden Keefe, London Falling Susannah Dickey, Into the Wreck Jonathan Wilson, The Power and The Glory: A History of the World Cup Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A dazzling novel about a community where an upcoming film production brings their past into sharp focus--and nobody's version is the same. In Derry, the locals are already in a twist about the arrival of Hollywood actress Monica Logue to research her role for a show about the Troubles--and then she goes missing. Everyone has a story to tell--about Monica's possible whereabouts, and about the historic events that brought her here in the first place: the show's screenwriter, desperate for this last shot at success; the grieving mother whose story he's adapting; the ex-IRA member who knows the price of survival; the local psychic who's seen too much ... Prestige Drama (Cardinal, 2026) brings to life a chorus of characters as they locate themselves in Monica's disappearance, and in the truth about their own history. From the author of the acclaimed memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, Prestige Drama is heartbreaking, hilarious, and profound, an indelible portrait of a community both obsessed with its past, and desperate to forget it. SÉAMAS O'REILLY is a writer and author who has worked as a columnist for the Observer, the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. He is Features Editor of London satirical magazine, The Fence and his writing has appeared in The Guardian, the New Statesman and the New York Times. His memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died topped the Irish Times Bestseller List for seven weeks, and won Best Biography at the 2021 Irish Book Awards. Séamas currently lives in Walthamstow, London with his family. Recommended Books: Patrick Radden Keefe, London Falling Susannah Dickey, Into the Wreck Jonathan Wilson, The Power and The Glory: A History of the World Cup Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

“Maybe it's better if we never know the full cost of hosting the Ryder Cup in Ireland”.So wrote Economist Sinead O'Sullivan in today's Irish Times. Is she right?Joining Shane for more on this is Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil TD for County Limerick and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

This episode was originally published in June 2026. For the past 18 months, Dublin City Council has been keeping track of a worrying trend: an increase in the number of vacant council houses being targeted in racist attacks.The criminal damage, which happens just before the council moves a new tenant in, ranges from racist graffiti to making the house uninhabitable.So where is this happening? And what can be done to stop it?Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains what's behind the recent surge in these attacks, and the reaction from local communities.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the Regency Hotel attack, and four years after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the leaders of the Kinahan cartel, Daniel Kinahan is back on Irish soil following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.A major security operation was put in place to transport the 49-year-old from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, County Dublin, to the Special Criminal Court, where he was charged with one count of directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 18, 2015, and April 6, 2017.Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally was in court as Kinahan was charged.Presented by Aideen Finnegan, produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Kinahan woke up on Monday morning in Portlaoise Prison after his high security extradition from Dubai.The alleged crime boss landed in Dublin on Sunday evening on the Government jet.Conor Lally, crime and security editor with the Irish Times, joins The Last Word to outline what happened upon Kinahan's return to Ireland.Later, criminologist Trina O'Connor, Dr Pat Leahy, former assistant garda commissioner, and Greg Gatjanis, former associate director of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, discuss the significance of Kinahan's arrest both at home and abroad.Catch the full chat by pressing the ‘Play' button on this page!

New findings from an Irish Times investigation have raised fresh questions about environmental monitoring and regulation at the Aughinish Alumina plant on the Shannon Estuary.     The investigation reports that more than half of the site's monitored groundwater sources exceed EU threshold values, with some wells recording aluminium, arsenic and zinc levels many times above those limits.     While Aughinish says its monitoring shows there is no impact beyond the plant boundary and the EPA says the risk to surrounding areas is considered low, environmental groups are calling for an independent investigation and tougher regulatory action.     To discuss the implications of these findings, Alan Morrissey was joined by Dr Sineád Sheehan, spokesperson for Futureproof Clare. Photo (c) Aughinish Alumina

“There has been very little attention paid to the needs of women in the planning and construction of housing and neighbourhoods. The reality is that the built environment is designed by men, for men”.That's the view of Lorcan's Sirr in an opinion piece today in the Irish Times about housing and how we plan and design our houses. Is that a fair assessment?Joining Ciara to discuss is Gavin Lawlor.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza, and he says they will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms.For more on this, Shane is joined by Israel Correspondent with The Irish Times, Mark Weiss.

After more than 800 episodes, I've observed that many of my remarkable guests are connected by one or more common threads. Each episode of Special Collections focuses on a particular thread that ties together some of my guests. In this episode, that common thread is poetry. This episode features five remarkable, world-class poets who have expanded the range of artistic expression featured on this podcast. When I started this podcast just over five years ago, as a musician myself, I focused primarily on great musicians as my guests. But as those guests began introducing me to other artists, a wonderful development occurred: my focus expanded to include other creative disciplines, including poetry. And my first poet guest led me to the second, and so on. I've now built a roster of extraordinary poets — and I look forward to continuing to add to it. What makes poetry especially interesting to me is that I've adapted the SongFest portion of each interview — which I do with my musician guests — into a PoetryFest segment for my poet guests, where they read one of their works live on the air. I love it. So with that in mind, let me reintroduce these five remarkable poets and share a portion of the poem each performed live on the podcast. ⸻ Robert Pinsky is a three-time United States Poet Laureate. He has received numerous awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He created the Favorite Poem Project, has performed with Bruce Springsteen, and was featured on The Simpsons.   Paul Muldoon is a Pulitzer Prize–winning Irish poet. He is the editor of Paul McCartney's book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. He is also the author of 15 collections of poetry and has been a professor at Princeton for more than 35 years.   Rowan Ricardo Phillips is an award-winning poet and writer, with works including Silver, The Ground, and Heaven. He is also a sportswriter and serves as the poetry editor of The New Republic.   Tom Sleigh is an award-winning poet, dramatist, and essayist. He has written 11 books of poetry, including The King's Touch, Army Cats, and Space Walk.   Declan Ryan is an Irish poet now based in London. His first collection is titled Crisis Actor. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Guardian, The Observer, and The Irish Times.   So there it is — five extraordinary poets who have been guests on this podcast. As I mentioned during their interviews, poetry is not always emphasized in American education. My own exposure was limited to classics like “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. But the art of poetry stands alongside all the other arts, and I'm proud to feature these great poets on the podcast — and I look forward to presenting more. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for another Special Collections episode soon. This is Robert Miller with Follow Your Dream.      

Sadbh O'Neill, Irish Times contributor and Liz Sheehan, Business Development Manager for An Oige

We take a closer look at some of the stories you may have missed in the news this morning. Joining Anton this morning was Ronan McGreevy, News Reporter, The Irish Times.

'Why unionists went to the Belfast Fleadh and liked it, some on social media ask why the July 12th celebrations cannot generate atmosphere more like the Fleadh', writes Newton Emerson in The Irish Times.Joining Shane to discuss this is Jamie Bryson, Editor of The Unionist Voice.

Shane is joined by Freya von Noorden Pierce, who is from Dublin and is working in Amsterdam at the moment.Freya had a piece in the Irish Times about the power of the Irish supermarket. She joins to discuss why we do them so well compared to elsewhere…

Ciara O'Brien of The Irish Times joins Jess to talk about the backlash against Meta's smartglasses.

ADHD coach Ailín Kennedy was 32 years old when she was diagnosed with the condition. Having struggled for years with her mental health Kennedy went to therapy, attended her GP and was referred to psychiatrists, but ADHD was never mentioned to her as a possibility. She recently co-wrote the book Have I Got your Attention? with fellow ADHDer Mike McGrath-Bryan. It features testimony from nine Irish voices with the condition and serves as a reliable resource and a guide for those suffering from ADHD. Kennedy joins The Women's Podcast to discuss her own experience with the condition. She also challenges the misconceptions around the disorder, in particular stereotypes that negatively impact women with ADHD. In this episode she tells Rósín Ingle how women with the condition are often dismissed as “lazy”, “hormonal”, “ditzy” or “hysterical”. But first, Ingle is joined by Irish Times opinion editor Jennifer O'Connell to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week including the surprisingly entertaining jail journal of Andrew Tate and a new national strategy that aims to warn women and girls about the dangers of “tradwife” influencers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Government is to fund an awareness campaign to warn women and girls about the misogyny of the manosphere and tradwife influencers. Speaking to Anton with reaction to this was Ellen Coyne, Political Correspondent with The Irish Times.

Cartel boss Daniel Kinahan is due to be extradited from the United Arab Emirates in the coming days as details of a major security operation are being finalised for his return.Conor Lally, Security & Crime Editor with The Irish Times, has the details, and joins Shane to discuss.

Gavin Cooney, Sports Correspondent with the Irish Times, discusses the FAI decision not to allocate tickets for Ireland's game against Israel in Hungary this Autumn.

Gianni Infantino called an emergency meeting of senior FIFA staff on Wednesday as he fights for survival in the wake of his now abandoned plan to seek private investment in a company to run the World Cup.Gavin Cooney, sports correspondent with the Irish Times, joins The Last Word to discuss whether this is the end of the road for the FIFA President.Catch the full chat by pressing the ‘Play' button on this page!

Do you pay your kids to do household chores, or are you of the opinion that if you live under my roof you live by my rules?An idea that you then find yourself throwing out the window as you bribe your child with a fiver in exchange for picking up the hoover...Joining Shane to discuss this is Jen Hogan, Journalist with the Irish times and host of the 'Conversations with Parents' podcast and Aideen Finnegan, presenter of the 'Better with Money' podcast from The Irish Times.

Colm Keena, Reporter with the Irish Times, discusses the publication of the names of 341 former members of the Christian Brothers being served with summons as part of a claim for damages for child sexual assault and rape.

This episode was originally published in June 2026. Naomi James (38) was pregnant with her fourth child when, disillusioned with Ireland's maternity services, she chose to give birth at home without medical assistance.Shortly after her baby was born at home in Drogheda in June 2024, she became ill and was taken to hospital, where she died.Naomi was just one of an unknown but growing number of women in Ireland who opt for a free birth, – to have their babies without a midwife or doctor present.Such is the concern over free births that the State's directors of midwifery have warned the HSE that such births are linked with “perinatal and maternal mortality and severe morbidity”.So what is driving this choice? How are home births different from free births? What role do online free birth influencers play in this dangerous movement? And how has Naomi's family coped since her tragic death?Irish Times reporter Ellen Coyne investigated free births in Ireland, and the people advocating them.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amid the ongoing debate over whether social media should be banned for under 16s, parents have been criticised both for not monitoring their child's social media but also for giving their young kids smartphones Frank Greaney was joined by Irish Times features journalist and host of the Conversations with Parents podcast Jen Hogan and CEO of the Irish Internet Hotline Mick Moran to discuss Hit Play on this page to listen now

Plans to build the State's largest town of 18,500 homes at Dunsink in north Dublin is facing almost 400 objections from locals Olivia Kelly, journalist with the Irish Times brought us the details.

A plan by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, to sell stakes in the World Cup appears to be in jeopardy after a third confederation expressed its opposition. For the latest Sports Correspondent with the Irish Times, Gavin Cooney.

This episode was originally published in February 2026. In today's episode, we're covering a topic that isn't often spoken about, but is estimated to affect around one in four families: family estrangement. It's a subject that writer and Irish Times contributor Laura Kennedy wrote about recently in her Substack, detailing the complicated grief she experienced following the death of her father late last year - a man she hadn't seen in over a decade. In today's episode, Kennedy joins Róisín Ingle to reflect on the strange, unsettling reality of losing a parent whose death changes almost nothing in her daily life. You can find her piece on family estrangement on Substack here https://lkennedy.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gavin Cooney, Sports Correspondent, The Irish Times, discusses UEFA's decision to hold an emergency meeting following FIFA's proposal to sell a stake in upcoming World Cups to private equity.

Fintan Drury joins This Is Hell! to talk about his new book “Genocide: Sponsoring the Destruction of Palestine”, published by the Irish Academic Press. Fintan will be speaking with us live from Dublin. m(https://www.irishacademicpress.ie/product/genocide-sponsoring-the-destruction-of-palestine/) Fintan was a journalist with RTÉ in the 1980s. Before co-anchoring Morning Ireland for its first three years, he was a correspondent in Northern Ireland and reported from Britain, Europe, Africa, and the United States. In 1985, he volunteered in the then largest refugee camp in the world, in Darfur, with GOAL, an international humanitarian organization that delivers emergency life-saving aid. A longtime activist on migration, he's written extensively on the subject. In 2016 he volunteered in a refugee camp in Athens, which led to a fifteen-part series in The Irish Times on the diary of a Syrian refugee. His 2025 book, “Catastrophe: Nakba II," was released to critical acclaim and was shortlisted for Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. Fintan is also chair SARI (Sport Against Racism in Ireland), which "harnesses the power of sport to embrace difference, celebrate diversity and promote social inclusion across Ireland."

Find Fintan on X at @DruryFintan and on Instagram @fintan.drury We will have a new installment of Jeff Dorchen's Moment Of Truth. We will also be sharing your answers to this week's Question from Hell! from Facebook, Welcome To The Hellhole, and Discord. Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thisishell

Glen Hansard died in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin. He was 56. He was one of Ireland's most well-known musicians who leaves behind an incredible musical legacy from a career that took him from being a teenage busker on Grafton Street to winning an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly. A lifelong activist, he was also a husband to Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa and a father to three-year-old Christy.Irish Times writer Patrick Freyne once played in a band and they supported Hansard's first band The Frames in the early 1990s.Freyne traces Hansard's career; talks about his ability to bring musicians together, his deep well of charisma and why he thinks the Dublin man had become the unofficial national bard.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new statue was unveiled last week honouring Mick ‘Iron Man' Murphy.Ian O'Riordan, Sports Reporter with the Irish Times, joins Seán to discuss more about him!

Day 1,609.Today, after Mykhailo Drapatyi is appointed Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, we examine the reaction from Russian soldiers and military commentators as Kyiv reshapes its wartime leadership. We also report on Ukraine's continuing campaign of long-range strikes, with fresh attacks on a key Russian logistics hub and another strategically important oil refinery as Kyiv seeks to weaken Moscow's war machine far behind the front lines. Then we assess how Russia's war against Ukraine is reshaping global grain exports and food prices, before unpacking the European Union's latest sanctions against Vladimir Putin's regime, finally agreed after weeks of difficult negotiations.Contributors:Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.Alex Nichol (Telegraph Journalist).Producer: Phil AtkinsSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:Yesterday's Ukraine: The Latest, offering a deep dive into Kyiv's new commander-in-chief:YouTube – https://youtu.be/xqBiyMPM4jo?si=p1rlhUOodgg781ck Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ukraines-legendary-new-commander-takes-charge-after/id1612424182?i=1000777916224Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CktsLADyTxmHVesqf6RxW?si=abe2835da3fc4782 Kremlin propagandist Xenia Fedorova escapes EU sanctions targeting Russian figures (Le Monde):https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/07/22/kremlin-propagandist-xenia-fedorova-escapes-eu-sanctions-targeting-russian-figures_6755722_4.html?srsltid=AfmBOopfQv9I8HMURwgR6Hkc7GNY7nqJuYDoS-YXXq1t3JMx29P71kMxFrom the Shannon to Siberia: How alumina from a Limerick refinery enters Russia's weapons supply chain (The Irish Times)https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2026/03/24/from-the-shannon-to-siberia-how-alumina-from-a-limerick-refinery-enters-russias-weapons-supply-chain/For more on Caolan Robertson's investigation into the Auginish aluminium plant, Ukraine: The Latest June 16th episode: YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mimSeae4Nw&t=1492sApple podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/trump-tells-putin-to-make-a-deal-at-g7-revenge/id1612424182?i=1000772992491Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/episode/2XXCl4A8oZ871GwjvdXowYEMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS: The European Union's 21st sanction packageInterview with Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.