Language, literature, music, art, folklore, cuisine, and sport of Ireland
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8 episodes with irishness
8 episodes with irishness
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3 episodes with irishness
2 episodes with irishness
2 episodes with irishness
Slap bang in the middle of their Aus/NZ tour, we caught up with The Murder Capital! Joining Luke Scanlan in conversation is bassist, Gabriel Blake. After waiting years to finally play to fans in the region, Gabriel speaks of what it means to give fans a taste of tunes from across their three albums: When I Have Fears, Gigi's Recovery and Blindness Plus, why he thinks albums – also referred to as ‘records' – can be taken as a true record of your life at the time of release. Find out what it was like to step up a gear and work with Grammy-winning producer, John Congleton. The guy has only worked with global names such as Phoebe Bridgers, Nelly Furtado, The War on Drugs, Bono, Sigur Ros, Bombay Bicycle Club… no big deal, right?! Gabriel opens up on the moment that Irish music is having right now, with The Murder Capital and Fontaines DC both touring the APAC region in 2025. Plus, he gives his thoughts on the pride in Irishness emanating from KNEECAP and what it was like to play alongside them at festivals in their early days. And…. The Murder Capital's early days. What was it like to fly the post-punk flag and burst onto the scene at the same time as Fontaines and shame? A huge episode. One you cannot miss!
ITSF EPISODE 374 Martin v McGregor and Bill Burr Aura, LIVE AND IN PUBLIC, IF YOU WILL on this week's episode of IF THE SHOES FIT, a show where we solve salacious situations by stepping into the shoes of the shaken...the chagrined...the kerfuffed! I'm your host Alexei Auld, author of 7 Secret Sources of Inspiration: A Snappy Guide for Creative Procrastinators, and joining me are guests John Nash from Hey Not The Face Podcast and Eugene S Robinson, author of the memoir, “A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer's Row”. Collectively the Puncholes. Subscribe, if you haven't already. And join our Patreon. patreon.com/iftheshoesfit. Now let's get to stepping! Step into the shoes of the Irish Prime Minister Martin. Conor McGregor spent St. Patrick's Day at the White House with Trump, declaring “Ireland is losing its Irishness.” You clapped back, calling him “wrong,” to which McGregor fired back, “I could throw many jabs at him—handily.” Meanwhile, Dropkick Murphys went viral for calling Elon Musk, calling him a “scumbag” on stage. Should you A) Reaffirm that ‘real Irishness' isn't measured by White House visits, B) Offer Dropkick Murphys honorary Irish citizenship, or C) Let McGregor's next headline do the work for you, live and in public, if you will? Step into the shoes of the Democratic Party. Bill Burr promoted his Hulu special railing against your spinelessness around the same time your members BLASTED your Senate leader Chuck Shumer for not standing up against Trump. How can you harness this spring of discontent to your favor, live and in public, if you will? REGULAR FEATURE: LEGION OF DOOM REGULAR FEATURE: GRIFTER'S DELIGHT REGULAR FEATURE: MISTYAF THANKS FOR JOINING US And join our Patreon. patreon.com/iftheshoesfit.
The legacy of the Great Famine continues to shape not only Ireland, but the Irish diaspora in America, Canada, and the UK. In the mid-1800s, starving families fled the country in search of survival, gathering at the docks to board “coffins ships” sailing to Liverpool and the east coast of the USA. When “the famine Irish” arrived in America they resented the idea of ever doing rural work again, and sought work in the police, in bars, and in the fire brigade. Irish communities centred around Boston, New York, and Philadelphia developed into powerful Irish congresses in politics. How does the legacy of famine emigration continue to shape American politics today? Listen as William and Anita are joined once again by writer and historian Colm Tóibín to discuss the Great Famine and how it shaped post-modern Irishness, from the cheekiness of The Beatles to Donald Trump's cabinet. _____________ Empire UK Live Tour: The podcast is going on a UK tour! William and Anita will be live on stage in Glasgow, Birmingham, York and Bristol, discussing how the British Empire continues to shape our everyday lives. Tickets are on sale NOW, to buy yours head to empirepoduk.com. Empire Club: Become a member of the Empire Club to receive early access to miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to live show tickets, bonus episodes, book discounts, and a weekly newsletter! Head to empirepoduk.com to sign up. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk goalhanger.com Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Anouska Lewis Senior Producer: Callum Hill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Danny Kelly is a former editor of the NME and Q magazine, He's had a long and illustrious career in broadcasting. He was born in Islington in London, to Irish parents. In recent years Danny moved back to Ireland. In a long conversation we chat about all sorts of things: growing up in an Irish community in London; the Irish diaspora and his Irishness; how he got a start in music journalism; his years at the NME; and the intense rivalry between the music weeklies of the late 80s. And of course there's loads of talk about music and records. He's as enthusiastic about new music as he always has been and talks with passion about Lankum, Kneecap and Fontaines DC as well as loads of chat about some of his favourite Irish albums. Episode note are here.
Linda Ervine had a wide ranging conversation with Oliver about her passion for Irishness, language and education.
Talking Strange is on the road in Ireland, with host Aaron Sagers collecting history, spooky stories, and folklore along the way. This episode, he's staying at the Clontarf Castle Hotel and connects with historian, author, and storyteller Dennis McIntyre. The modernised hotel has a castle structure dating back to 1837, and there has been a castle on the site since 1172. Clontarf Castle is also near the site of the epic 11th Century Battle of Clontarf, and near the site of the assassination of the First High King of Ireland Brian Baru. The area is also where Dracula author Bram Stoker lived for the first several years of his life. McIntyre — who runs guided tours with Dublin North Bay Tourism, and is the author of Bram Stoker and the Irishness of Dracula — tells us of the ghosts of the castle, as well as the "Ghost Room" where he grew up, and then shares his thoughts as to why Dracula deserves more attention for its Irish connections. Then, Aaron shares some of the ghost stories her learned from his own stay at the Clontarf Castle Hotel — but nothing too terrifying that it should prevent you from staying in, considering it's quite lovely luxurious and the only castle you can sleep in near Dublin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Uachtarán na hÉireann, President Michael D. Higgins this presented this year's Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for the Irish Abroad at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin. The MC for the event was Doireann Ní Bhriain. This year's ten recipients are: Séamus Coleman, Republic of Ireland international football captain Patrick Leahy, Former United States Senator Aduke Gomez, Irish-Nigerian scholar Rosalind Scanlon, Artistic Director of Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London Professor Enrico Terrinoni, translator of Irish literature into Italian Orla Kiely, fashion designer Sr Teresa McKeon, missionary and educator in Sierra Leone (in absentia) Mary O'Neill, legal advocate in Los Angeles Pam O'Mahony, Irish community supporter in Australia Stella O'Leary, Observer to the International Fund for Ireland The Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for the Irish Abroad recognise the service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad by those who live outside Ireland. The Awards were established by the Government following the 2011 Global Irish Economic Forum as a means to recognise the contribution of members of the Irish diaspora and were first awarded in 2012. To date, 120 people have been conferred with the award. Speaking at the ceremony, President Higgins said: “The Presidential Distinguished Service Awards enable us, as a nation, to recognise those members of our global family who have contributed, in their different ways, so significantly to Ireland's reputation on the international stage as a country that understands the migratory experience, its challenges, responsibilities and the part that transience plays in all of our shared lives. This evening's awardees follow in the footsteps of all those others, heralded or unheralded, feted or forgotten, whose quiet determination to make a contribution beyond the self makes us all proud of them and whom we also remember here today. That spirit of generosity, and those qualities of an inward being and an inclusive outward gaze which so exemplify the best of our Irishness, have been practically and magnificently demonstrated by our honoured guests through their lives, their work, and their contribution of distinguished service to Ireland and to Irish communities abroad. Mar Uachtarán na hÉireann, may I thank you deeply for representing Ireland so well, and for your personal efforts, service, sacrifices, and contribution to the achievement of excellence in your various fields. Mo bhuíochas libh uilig.”
We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to corniness and sappiness with age, needless words like “personally,” Irishness, the dangers possibly coming to the free press and public media, the Green Bay Packers, bird friends … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Under a full moon and with a pint of Guinness in hand, WAKE welcomes our very first Dublin-based reader, as correctly-accented Sarah Kane joins Toby and TJ to kick off Chapter 3.3. Sarah tells us all about participating in Bloomsday as a neophyte Joycean (“a lifeguard that can't swim”), slips into a Joyce fugue state regardless of best laid plans, and reminds us that a cold read is really just what the kids nowadays call Rawdogging. With the glorious Irishness of it all to bring us through, we discuss Joyce reading groups, Sweny's Pharmacy, Anthony Burgess, and, in a bombshell twist none of you saw coming, TJ's authentic Irish heritage. This week's readers: Sarah Kane, Toby Malone, TJ Young Progress: 496 pages complete, 132 pages to go; 78.98% read. For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at patreon.com/wakepod, or check out our Linktree, at https://linktr.ee/wake.pod. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!
Seán is joined in Dublin by Irish songwriter and musician SJ McArdle to have an enjoyable in-depth discussion on how Kate's love of Irish music and deep connection with the country of Ireland has infused so much of her work throughout her career. We discuss Kate's Irish family connections, the famous Irish traditional musicians who Kate has worked with down the years, in particular the great Donal Lunny, and chew over the Irishness inherent in recordings like Army Dreamers, Night of the Swallow, Jig of Life, The Sensual World, Mná na hÉireann and many more! Archive clips featuring Kate, Del, John Carder Bush and Donal Lunny help to illustrate this fascinating and enduring aspect of Kate's work. Listen to the wonderful work of Seán's guest SJ McArdle at his Bandcamp page here: https://sjmcardle.bandcamp.com/ More from SJ McArdle at his official site: https://sjmcardle.com/
Catch up with Oliver on the weekend. Irish man Bernard Phelan shares his extraordinary story of being held as a state hostage in Iran, Jeffrey Archer talks to Oliver about US politics and his latest book and the How to Gael Podcasters Doireann Ní Ghlacain and Síomha Ní Ruairc chat about reclaiming Irishness from the far right.
Doireann Ní Ghlacain and Síomha Ní Ruairc join Oliver to tell him about their bilingual podcast ‘How to Gael'. The pod hopes to encourage us to engage with our living language to recreate a brand new, positive relationship with it.
In today's Ireland, the far right demands a pure “Irishness”, but our island's story has long been interwoven with other ethnicities and diasporas.Dr Maurice Casey, Author and Historian at Queen's University Belfast, recently wrote a piece in the Guardian titled: ‘Who are the Irish?' and joins Seán to discuss.
Episode 14: Leon Diop is a fantastic spokesperson who aims to increase awareness and educate people, celebrating and connecting Black and Mixed Race Irish people. Leon is the founder of the Black and Irish community, a movement which strives to highlight the struggles and successes of the Black and Mixed Race Irish community. The organisation raises the question of defining “Irishness”, which Leon does so beautifully. Leon is also an award-winning author who wrote the stunning Black and Irish: Legends, Trailblazers and Everyday Heroes. Thankfully, there are more books on the way. Leon lives by the motto of “Is fiú agus is féidir” - It is worth it and you can do it. He encapsulates our ability to achieve our goals by choosing our own reality and believing in the power of the mind. Leon is no longer feeling “half and half” of anything, and is in fact 100% of everything! When he is not advocating for a more inclusive, loving world, he is making TikTok content with his two gorgeous pugs or playing chess. Tá cúpla focal aige which he uses with pride and pleasure. He hopes to continue his Irish language journey, too! In this inspiring, moving episode, Leon speaks to us about his heart-driven work, unity in society, and dreams for the future, touching on how to strike a balance between work and rest. Be sure to follow Leon on Instagram @leon_diop_ to stay informed on his valuable work. Also check out his expansive, thriving community @black_andirish. Here is their website: https://blackandirish.com Beir bua, a chara - Grab victory, friend!
Shownotes and Transcript Hermann Kelly, President of the Irish Freedom Party, shares insights on Irish politics and his background. He discusses growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, his journey from theology to journalism to politics, working with Nigel Farage in the European Parliament, and the challenges of the political sphere. Hermann outlines the Irish Freedom Party's principles of national sovereignty, anti-EU influence, pro-life stance, and traditional family values, criticizing mainstream parties on immigration. He emphasizes the importance of controlled borders, work permits, and prioritizing Irish citizens' welfare. Hermann addresses media bias, advocating for social media and grassroots efforts to connect with voters and counter leftist narratives. His vision for the party focuses on restoring national sovereignty, protecting Irish culture, and prioritizing Irish citizens in policy decisions. Originally from the Bogside in Derry, Hermann's family have a small farm in Donegal since he was a young. After attending St Columb's College in Derry, he studied marine biology in Edinburgh before studying theology as a lay student at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. First a secondary school teacher he then became a journalist, writing for various national newspapers including the Irish Mail on Sunday and Irish Examiner. He was formerly director of communications for the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group in the European Parliament, and his since come to work with The European Conservatives and Reformists Group. He is a founding member of The Irish Freedom Party and its current president. Connect with Hermann and The Irish Freedom Party... X/TWITTER x.com/hermannkelly x.com/IrexitFreedom WEBSITE irishfreedom.ie/ Interview recorded 10.7.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... X/TWITTER x.com/HeartsofOakUK WEBSITE heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP heartsofoak.org/shop/ *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on X/Twitter x.com/TheBoschFawstin Transcript (Hearts of Oak) I'm delighted to be joined by someone whose name I have seen a lot back in my time in my UKIP days, and that's Hermann Kelly. Hermann, thank you so much for your time today. (Hermann Kelly) Great. Thank you very much for the invite, Peter. Great to be here. It's good to have you discuss all things Irish politics. You can obviously follow Herman @HermannKelly on Twitter. And Hermann, journalist, former UKIP's European Media Supremo, head of comms at the EFDD group in the European Parliament, Nigel Farage's press secretary, and all the fun that came back in those times, of course, as president of the Irish Freedom Party, launched in 2018 as a common-sense political party in Ireland, because Ireland lacked those, and we'll get into all of that. But, Hermann, you were born in the bog side. Christmas Day, you were born in the bog side in Derry, London Derry, Stroke City, which which is over there in Northern Ireland. It's known as a very rough area, like the Shanklin Falls, maybe in Belfast. What was it like growing up in an area like the Belfast? Well, it was only rough when I was growing up. It was a very friendly place, a very safe place, incredibly low crime rate. It was only rough if you were a British soldier. So there's bullet holes at the side of our house, the front of our house, on the wall opposite our house. There was a high banking behind our house. IRA used it as a shooting spot. And as the British Army jeeps went past the army checkpoint, out the road, they would get shot at. I've seen that many times. But if you were a local, it was incredibly safe, very low crime rate. And it had my followers headmaster of a large primary school in Cregan and Derry just up the hill from ourselves. and that had 75% male unemployment, so it was quite financially poor. But it was very friendly, very safe. And I must say, it was also highest per capita, donations per capita of any city or any town in what was politically the UK. So people were very kind, very generous. I didn't find it rough at all. It's interesting. Me growing up in Carrickfergus, that was absolutely fine because a lot of police lived there. So actually, it was monoculture, completely Protestant. You found it absolutely fine growing up in somewhere completely Catholic with no police or no army. It's interesting. We both grew up actually fairly safe childhoods. Interesting. But at kind of opposite ends of the scale in terms of that sectarian divide. Yeah. I suppose for where we were, it was a kind of high trust, low friction society. That's the whole thing about not being a multicultural society of a kind of melting pot or a kind of constant friction of people bumping off each other, metaphorically rather than physically. I mean. I always remembered very safe and certainly with the neighbours, very good people as neighbours, very, very lucky. And it shows the whole, the importance of common belief, nationality, and how it can lead to a very low-friction, high-trust society, which is easy to live in. What was it you kind of aspired to growing up? Because you went, you studied theology, you've been in media and journalism and politics. Kind of growing up, what were your thoughts of what the future may be? Well, obviously you can see with my, let's say, circuitous route of career that I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I was 18. And I remembered the agony of what I was going to fill in in the UCAS form to go to university right up to the last minute. And I started at optometry and then marine biology and then theology. I had always a great interest, developed a great interest in philosophy and then from that then theology and but I always had an abiding love interest because I grew up in day during the troubles, oh we always we were brought up with great interest in politics, interest in history in culture and also a great respect for language studied Irish studying English and a bit of French as well but the importance of language and all those things melded together my abiding interest in politics and history and culture and faith etc all those things and then also my respect for language and from that I eventually found my way to become a journalist and then a director of communication so in one way it was very circuitous but then it was when you look back it looked like a very straight path but the interest in politics and a respect for language and literature kind of have always remained with me. Well so how did you end up working with UKIP with the EFDD group in the European Parliament, was it an interest just in politics European Parliament and then later on you connected with the chaos and the fun that was UKIP or did that come first how did that happen? Well. I was actually, well, I'd previously been a teacher, I was working in Dublin and I think i became a teacher. I liked this idea of influence, influence on society to make the world a better place. And so it became a teacher then I realized that, well, where's the power to change society? Really? It's concentrated in the press, in the media. So it became a journalist. And then I think by that stage I had maybe four, five children and someone said to me one time if you can say you're a consultant you can charge twice as much, well journalism in Ireland didn't pay very much so I then was working as a press officer for Libertas in the European election 2009 for deacon gamley who were then a Eurosceptic party pat across Europe and I was so I was then recommended on foot of this by Declan Gamley to Nigel Farage. But previous to this, I had written an article for economic recovery in Ireland. Ireland needs to leave the euro. And I think Nigel Farage had seen this. It went up on UKIP website because it's unusual for people to advocate that in Ireland. And so he heard my name. And after I was recommended by Declan Gamley, he gave my call I said here let's meet up and I worked for Nigel Farage in Ireland it was the Lisbon 2 campaign of 2010 was it and 2010 and I sorry summer 2009 I worked for three months and after that just in Ireland he said come over work for me he was happy with the briefing he got and says here come over work for me full-time over in Brussels so as Ireland was absolutely going down the tubes and all these journalists were losing their jobs and losing their houses I thought well it's a good opportunity to take a well-paid and steady job, you know for the family. Definitely. I remember applying to work over there and after 10 months, they finally approved it and it was far too late and I had to produce documentation that didn't exist in the UK. It was just chaos. But I always heard your name, Hermann Kelly, always mentioned, just as I kept hearing Gawain Tyler's name mentioned over in the UK. And it seemed to me these two were the ones that understood, had their finger on the pulse, certainly in terms of medium press. I must say, I had great fun with UKIP MEPs. Like, I was working for the group, so it would have been probably 47 MEPs, seven different nationalities, I think. EFD group initially was about 42 MEPs, seven different nationalities. But the whole thing is you're meeting new people and people from different countries, different cultures, different experiences of life, pretty well-educated, pretty intelligent people, the whole lot. So it was very stimulating. It was good fun. It was important. I was committed to the work I was doing. I was philosophically committed to it. So I wanted to do a good job. and you know what you develop good relations with the people I was working with, so a number of the MEPs Nigel Farage, Paul Nuttall later guys like Ray Finch that I was very good friends with these people and also a number of staff Jamie Linsworth, Orly Leloup was chief of staff, you know we also became good friends not just colleagues working together in a political party. I remember going going for an interview with orally uh back in the days but it was all I guess the thing I found whenever I'd met a lot of the MEPs was they were real people and you kind of come across politicians that are too polished and that's all they've wanted to do the UKIP MEPs that actually lived their lives and then were doing this because they wanted to do something for their country, that's kind of rare these days in politics and that's what I love, that real but also sometimes a little bit of chaos, I mean you must have had some sleepless nights. Well one previous, Mark Kreutzer, a previous press officer said getting all the UKIP MEPs together. Was like, what was it, like herding cats, like, Yeah, see, to go against the stream, to go against the crowd or the mob, you have to have a quite individualistic contrarian streak to swim against that tide. So you must have that already to be happy to say to the establishment and the vast majority of the easy, instead of taking the easy path, you're taking the harder path and you're going against the tide. So you must have that contrarian and also quite self-confident streak to be able to do that so yeah it's a strength and a weakness, it's a strength in that people actually believe what they say and say what they believe, but it's difficult get them all in one room and get them all going singing off the same hymn sheet as you might say like you know but some great characters. I remember being here out in the front of the European Parliament here in the beer factory and was with a lot of MEPs and staff and turning around to Jamie Leansworth who was Nigel Farage's secretary at the time or advisor and saying, God, we have some characters here, huh? That's an understatement. You've got guys like Godfrey Bloom, and Mike Hookham and all these different guys and Stuart Agnew and they're all very strong characters strong personalities but it was great fun as well and like you you get to like these people as well it was never a dull, never a dull moment no never a dull moment and some of the carry on in among the foreign MEPs as well I remember, you you had MEPs from like Greece and Latvia sorry Lithuania etc et cetera, and you meet them and hear, but their histories are very different. Their experiences of life were very different. So to hear them talking about the importance of national sovereignty against a kind of federalist EU state, etc. They all have it for their own reasons and find it in their own experience. But I certainly was very committed to the job. I did my very best. And certainly reaching for the referendum in 2015, we strove very, very hard. We worked very hard to get a referendum and we worked hard then to get a result. So it was very pleasing for me personally and not just professionally but also personally to get to achieve a referendum 2015 and get a result in the Brexit referendum of 2016, so I was my wife always used to give off to me you love your job as an accusation, I said yeah what's wrong with that I do Yeah it's true it's good to love it, I want to get on the Irish politics but just last thing is is what was it like to be up, you're in the belly of the beast, you're up against the system, you're saying that, actually where we are standing here representing the UK, we are against everything that this institution, this parliament really wants, which is ever closer union, ever closer ties, control. And we want to be free from that. What was that like? Because no other countries have had a breakaway, exit groups, but actually none of them have achieved anywhere near what UKIP achieved, so what was that like as the major grouping there who actually wanted to get out of there, you would have had a lot of commonality I guess with individual MEPs but maybe not with parties, so there must be tension as well Oh yeah certainly in the second term with the EFDD group we there was a marriage of convenience we had with the five-star party and that wasn't a marriage made in heaven believe me uh so we were very Eurosceptic believed in national sovereign they wanted to leave the European union and we were sold a bit of a pup that they were kind of anti-establishment kind of Eurosceptic well the leaders were pepe grillo a guy david casaleggio certainly were quite rebellious and Eurosceptic But the MEPs who they voted in, where a lot of them had done Rasmus schemes and stuff like that, they're all very university-educated. They weren't Euro-sceptic at all. And that was a very difficult time, yes. There was quite a few arguments there. But, you know what? Personally, I would always have different relations with various people, across the political spectrum here in Brussels. I would regard it as bad form to be, disliking people because of their political views. But certainly, politically, Yeah, we were treated pretty abysmally by the institutions of the European Parliament here, who certainly after Brexit were incredibly vindictive and actually went on a witch hunt of MEPs. And I know, for example, that Paul Nuttall, his life was made a nightmare with constant meetings by this finance department with false accusations. And basically the refusal, how they treated some people was just unbelievable. Like one guy broke his arm. I know, for example, that they refused to pay the medical bills of a number of MEPs, which were 100% genuine, just out of malice. And they said, but you have to pay? That's the rules. Take us to court if you want. It's our court. This is the kind of stuff that would happen. and they refused to pay the staff of some MEPs. Asked why, we're not going to do it. If you want to, take it to court if you want. Remember, we control the court as well. So this was the attitude. So it really showed that centralisation of power in the hands of a small number of unaccountable elite is a very dangerous and stupid idea. No completely. Right, I want to get on to Irish politics. And everything that you've taught about, I guess, has given you a wide grasp of what is happening across, your wide grasp of that political side and added to your journalism skills and background. So you've got the Irish Freedom Party and Ireland is, as I mentioned earlier, I grew up with Gareth Fitzgerald and Charlie Hockey in the 80s in Ireland. Ireland was a very different place, although it still was Irish. So that was the benefit of it. Well, that bit's changed. But, and we'll get into Immigrate, but the Irish Freedom Party, tell us kind of where that came from, the idea and what it stands for. Because there was no party in Ireland looking for a sovereign, independent Ireland. You had Sinn Féin, who were basically, they were... They're implementing British rule in Ireland, but also they were happy to advocate Brussels' rule. So they're opposed to UK influence in Ireland, but they were completely happy that the majority of the laws which run in Ireland actually come originally from Brussels by people who we didn't elect and who we can't get rid of. So I believe in nation and nation-state and democratic self-determination. I believe that Irish people are good enough to make their own laws, to decide their own destiny in this world. I'm opposed to subservience to the European Union. The big problem over here in Brussels with the EU itself is what you call qualified majority voting, where Ireland, we're 1% of the EU population. So that means that the votes are voted on, 99% of the votes are done by people who are not Irish, and these laws can be approved and imposed upon us, and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it because we have disqualified majority voting in most of the areas. Many people do not realise that in areas of EU competence, EU law is superior to the Irishlaw, Irish Supreme Court, and the Irish Constitution. And that, for me, certainly is not a constitutional or democratic. Like a constitutional republic. That is a province of Brussels. It's a subservient province of Brussels, and that's not what the people were promised 100 years ago. So how did the party launch? It's been there since 2018, and I've looked at the Irish political scene from afar, and there wasn't anything which was common sense and seen. One Taoiseach after another just destroying Ireland. Yeah, there's this cultural like, it's funny because I was, we're talking about where we're both from, like, so growing up in the Brandywale, in the Lomar Road in Derry during the Troubles, I was brought up for all intents and purposes was a cultural superiority complex, that we were brought up that Irish poetry, Irish dance, Irish games and language and literature was fantastic. It was the best in the world and the world needed plenty of us. Go forth and procreate. We're wonderful, right? It then come down south and the experience is cultural self-loathing, which is very strong among the media class and the political class. And it's, well, where does this come from? And it wasn't just but this cultural self-loathing is very deep in south of Ireland at the minute at something to which I'm very implacably opposed and now we're trying to change the ship of state around, you know what, Irish culture is good Irish nation it's important what's the only one one we have, that Irish democracy, we must, seek that we are in democratic control of our destiny in this world, not to have laws dictated to us by someone else who we didn't vote for and we can't get rid of. But it's to do with a lot of things as well. Our catch cry is that we want free people in a free country. So it's not just like we want democratic control in Ireland to leave the European Union. And that the government in Dublin is going to dictate our lives, is that personal freedom, personal responsibility are very important. They're vital. We're standing up for things like the importance of free speech, for the right to not have the state dictate to you what you most put inside your body as a basic human right. The right to private property, that the state does not control your life, Even an Irish state doesn't control your life. So standing up for, I would describe these the basic building blocks of a liberal society. Of, as I said, free people in a free country, free speech, right to bodily autonomy, private property, lower government, less government waste, less government spending, lower taxation, the people be able themselves to make the decisions which control their own lives. So we started the party five years ago. We just now have had our first councillor elected in those last local elections. Glenn Moore and Clon Bakken will be running a large slate of candidates in the general election, which is likely to come about in October or November of this year. And I'm myself I ran as a candidate in the Midlands Northwest for the European election there just passed I ended up I got there was a huge huge number of candidates, 27 candidates in total, there were 13 nationalist candidates after Peter Casey the former presidential candidate I got the the highest is the highest vote of any nationalist I ended up with 21,000 votes and 3% of the vote. Considering there were 13 nationalist candidates in the field, I did very well. And actually, the person who was presented themselves as kind of a little bit conservative, socially conservative, nationalist. Eurosceptic, what do you call him, Keir Malooly from the Independent Ireland Party. What did they do? They got elected. And the first thing he did was come over to Brussels and join Renew, which is the Federalist fanatic group, with a complete and utter betrayal by the party of all those voters who voted for him. So I only wish he had told the voters before the election that he was going to join the Federalist group in the European Parliament rather than after, because I think my vote would have increased dramatically. Well, Ireland are getting some of the policies, but Ireland seems to have been slow to move away from that. You had Fianna Gael, Fianna Fáil, you've always had them with a dose of Labour in there. Then obviously you've had the rise of Sinn Féin. But Ireland seems to have been slow to move away from that group of parties. And Sinn Féin have been around a long time as well. They're not a new party. Tell me what that's like in moving to new parties and getting the message out. It's a tough sell, actually, putting something new out in the Irish political sphere and getting the message out in the media. Absolutely, because historically, I was very slow to support new parties. Most of the successful political parties are split off from actually Sinn Féin from 1905 and onwards. We have Sinn Féin then split into Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and then Plan the Public. I believe all the parties are a break off of Sinn Féin bar the Green Party, if that is correct. And Sinn Féin well for example but even Fianna Fáil used to be Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party, they believed in National Democratic since they pushed to join the Common Market in 1973 and then it was still Sinn Féin policy to leave the Common Market or the European Community, whatever you called it, certainly up until the late 80s so we're basically.... Look, the Proclamation of Independence in 1916 talked about the Irish people having the right, and even says, also in the Irish Constitution of 1937, about the sovereignty and independence of Ireland should be protected for the good of the Irish nation. And that's what we're seeking for. All we're looking to do is to be a normal, self-governing country where we make our own laws for the benefit of the Irish people. That's all. We're not looking for anything new, crazy, or fandangled thing. But Sinn Féin have changed dramatically. They're now a European Unionist party. I call them a Euro-Loyalist party. I'm sure they hate it, but I love it. You know the reasons why. Oh yeah, I call Sinn Féin immigration party. It does make me laugh that they hate it as well. The Sinn Féin immigration party is Brits out everybody else in. Drives them mad. I saw in your Wikipedia entry you'd used the term abort and import, which I also loved as well. I say the Sinn Féin immigration policy is Brits out to everybody else, and the Fine Gael immigration policy is abort and import. And it actually works perfectly in all the romance languages, French and Spanish Spanish, et cetera. It all works perfectly in those, because I was telling someone over here at dinner one evening, I said, oh, that's really good in French too. That's fantastic. I always use as few words as possible to pack as much power into as little space as possible. That's my job as a press officer, was always to take complex ideas and crunch them down or boil them down into some in as few words as possible with as much power and impact, both political and emotional impact on people as it can. So that's a typical few examples of Hermanism, so to speak, like to boil down complex ideas. The simple language, because my job as press officer was always to get words or formula words that people understand, they can easily understand, easily remember. I always scratch my head looking at Ireland originally used to be one of the strongest Catholic countries, most staunchly Christian Catholic countries in Europe. And yet you've had their political representatives have not gone along with any Catholic belief. You look at Sinn Féin, you look at the North SDLP, everything about them has been more the self-hatred woke agenda and nothing about what actually the church would teach. And I often wonder if I was going to mass each Sunday, actually politically, who would I vote for? Where Northern Ireland, the DUP, who generally were socially conservative. And for the Catholic side, there was no one socially conservative ever to vote for. Absolutely. Well, certainly, yeah, in the last 20 years, you had to, I think a large part of it was self-inflicted by Vatican II about the self-loathing that anything came before 1965 was bad, was supposed to be forgotten, to be rejected. And that the new year zero, so to speak, the second Vatican Council ended, I think, 1968 or 69, that everything after that was okay. And it's all Libby-friendly. That was great. great, but no, in the Irish context, even up in the North, which was normally more conservative, people were more, let's say, conscious and proud of being Christian and being Catholic, part of their identity, national identity, religious identity. Down south, completely the opposite, where people that, because the power of the media, that you had Sinn Féin, the Workers' Party in the 70s and 80s, a very... They started off as nationalists that became internationalists and then became very a Marxist party, basically very anti-Christian and I believe that had a very, the leader's effect on the culture of Ireland because there were so many of them got into the media and had a big big impact, but ourselves, we are happy and proud to, when we are not a kind of confessional party, you don't have to be a Catholic to join the Irish Freedom Party. But we've made it very clear from day one that we are a pro-life party and we are pro-family, that we believe we want to protect and augment the foundations of civilisation. So where cultural Marxism wants to destroy the nation state. National sovereignty, the nation state wants to destroy the family, even down to the distinctions of male and female. We want to counteract that. So we were against this trans ideology. We'll stand up for the distinction and common complementarity of man and a woman. We approve family. We want to encourage people to have children, to educate their children in their culture. It is then with education develops culture and a civilization. And we believe that we also believe in the nation state and in national democracy. So like, but all this stuff about. It's very hard to have a functioning successful civilization where the family is not at the centre of it and faith is a very important, Christian faith you acknowledge not only acknowledge Christian faith as a historical origin but also as a living thing in Ireland. And I must say that compared to the Libby Dibbies in Ireland, you'll find that a large swathe of nationalists, they're not practicing Catholics and Christians, they're certainly culturally so. And they're very proud of that. Because when they look around and they see that here we have, They have 10,000 abortions, 10,000 Irish children being killed in the womb last year in Ireland. Our birth rate is now 1.5, just over 1.5 children per woman. A few generations of that, the population of Ireland shrinks to filial. So we are in favour of liberty and of life. So we would like to encourage people to get married, to have children, to start a family. So we advocate as a pro-natalist, pro-family party, but also advocate policies like we have already. And they've successfully implemented in Hungary to adjust the tax system to help young couples to have kids. And that, for example, if a couple have three or four children, that they don't pay tax and that they don't encourage young couples to have children because no country has a future without children. And that's a basic fact because demographics is destiny. That is a universal truth all across the world and every time in every culture. So we want to encourage the people to have children and also then provide the basics all of them. So I was talking last night on a space and I was talking about the importance of, we are not looking for we're just looking for the ability for people to grow up in a safe environment, and then when they leave school that they have the ability to get a job. Find someone who's only got married to be able to buy a house because at the minute, because of mass immigration, high house prices, young people cannot buy a house and they're all emigrating. A massive problem in Ireland isn't just immigration into Ireland, it's also emigration. We are importing a huge number of people into Ireland. We don't know who, in many cases, we don't know who they are, where they're from, do they have a criminal record. That is detrimental to the security of our country because it leads to an increased crime rate, et cetera. At the same time, because our young people cannot, in many cases, find an apartment to rent, certainly not a house to buy, which they cannot afford anyway. So what are they doing? They're emigrating to Australia and Canada. And that's. Well that's the definition of a failed state isn't it, where you can even provide a job in a house for young people and they're emigrating so that is a failed state, so we as people actually are pretty upset how the country that they love being destroyed before their eyes and, but we will instead of personal darkness we would like to put out a light and do something about it, soI said, we're putting out candidates in the general election. We will keep on standing. Nigel Farage, he just got elected there during the week. It was his eighth time of standing for the Houses of Parliament. And I've only stood twice in the European election. That'd be my first time standing as a TD seat. So we're in the infancy of the Irish Freedom Party. But I am certain that in the years ahead, we will have a large impact. And we're already having an impact. because you saw there in that European election, Sinn Féin did very poorly. Their vote fell, now last October, their vote in the polls was 35%. It's now 18%. And in the European election, their vote fell by 12.5%. A general nationalist sway was 12.5%. So that vote, I would suspect, or I would argue, went from Sinn Féin to a smog spore of nationalist candidates. It was like a plunder boss into a mattress and that vote went everywhere to so many different national candidates, 3,000 here, 3,500 there, maybe 21,000 people like me, but that the. That Sinn Féin vote did not go to Fine Gael. It went to generalist nationalist candidates. So we're having an impact on the narrative, on the discussion of the EU migration pact, on the anti-free speech laws that they're trying to introduce in Ireland, about the whole thing about housing availability, etc. We're having an impact on the political discussion in Ireland already. Ready and I would hope and expect that that increases in the years going forward. I want to pick an immigration but let me just touch on the family, because when you look at Hungary and their pro-family and pro-life policies and there are parties you look at Italy and Greece and there are it's a pro-family nation still pro-family culture and a pro-life generally. But many parties, I know Reform will maybe talk a bit about pro-family, but pro-life, you know, that's up to the individual. But I can't imagine kids growing up thinking, you know, when I get older, someday I'd love to have an abortion. It shouldn't be the main option. There has to be a range of options of adoption, of other ideas. And it seems as though especially young girls are pushed down this avenue and this is the only option and I mean I got a lot of respect for you as a party, not only being pro-family but actually pro-life because that's a completely common sense response to what we are facing. Yeah well I was actually attended the rally for life, on in Dublin there on Saturday there's a very big crowd at it and there was a number of members and candidates for the Irish freedom party were there the Irish freedom party banner and the a number of national flags as well to show that we're proud to stand up for life and so well sure, how can you talk about human rights when you don't If you do not defend the right to life, if you don't defend the right to exist. How can you talk about the right to free speech, the right to private property, the right to this and that? It's a nonsense. And on the counter to that, if you accept that you can wipe out and destroy and butcher innocent human life, if you accept that principle, well, the next thing you're then on to logical consequence of accepting that principle. Is you're then you extended over time and you're then in favor of euthanasia of old people and then your euthanasia of people who are physically handicapped in some way or then people who are depressed and then you're straight on the 100% healthy people who there's nothing wrong with them and then you're straight on to murder, murder of innocent people who have I've never done anything wrong, and there's nothing wrong with them. So it's philosophically to accept the principle that it's okay to destroy human life. I will never accept it. Because you're on the slippery slope of a culture which advocates killing. Killing of its young, it's innocent. Then it's then killing old people, then sick people, and then healthy people. And that is that this two cities as Saint Augustine might say and the culture of life and the cultural death are extremely different and the consequences of a slight change in principle, like it's like coming up to a roundabout in a car and you're going around and you take one direction and as you follow out along that road that you've taken you can go in a very you end up in a very different destination if you take another turn off and you follow that path, for a number of miles. So be very careful. So that's why we've been very clear from day one that this is a pro-life party and we're also pro-family and we support a cultural life, not a culture of death. I want to finish on immigration because it's very strange for Ireland because Ireland have so much influence worldwide and the Irish culture is known throughout, probably because of the potato famine, because of that mass migration that's meant there is Irishness everywhere, certainly in the US and you travel all over Europe and wider and you'll certainly find Irish pubs, people flock to that. That desire and likability and connection and respect for Irish culture and intrigue, all of that, that kind of seemed to be disappearing. I'm surprised the mass immigration, but the change that's brought to Ireland, considering Irishness is known, despite Ireland being a tiny country, its impact culturally is very wide all over the world. But yet successive governments have allowed absolute mass immigration on a scale I don't think anyone else has seen in Europe for such a country that size. How has that affected voters and the public? Because if you keep voting the same way, you're just going to get the same change in Ireland and decimation of Irishness. All the main parties in Ireland, Fianna Fáil, Fianna Gael, Sinn Féin, Labour Party, all the left are all in favour of what pretty much amounts to open borders, mass immigration. Now the consequences of that at the moment is that the Irish population since 1995 has gone up by over 1.5 million people, gone from 3.5 to 5.3 million people. That's a 42% percent increase in a very short period of time. And Ireland actually is the fastest increasing we see in Europe. In the Western world, actually, Ireland has the fastest increase of population through immigration of any country in the world, bar none. So what is happening, I would describe it as the new colonization of Ireland, because the numbers coming in here is so large. Like when we started off the party five years ago, I believe 12% of the population were non-national. It's now 22%. So there's been a 10% increase in the non-national part of our population within five years. That's immense. And actually, Grip Media did an analysis of the rate of influx of immigration into Ireland. And they worked out that if the current rate continues, what has happened over the last five years, As that continues, Irish people will be a minority in their own country by the year 2050. And I don't know about you, but I certainly wasn't asked about that. I didn't give my consent. So we describe what's happened now as the colonization without consent. And all we're looking for is to be a normal country, which has borders, which controls for the good of its people, the numbers of people and the qualifications of the people who are coming in, that they make sure that one, do we need to and two, if you want to come in you have got to contribute to our society and so for example you've got skills that you can that you can contribute and you're not a kind of tax, like don't be coming in here looking for free housing, free welfare, free medical care, like you come in, you work you support yourself and when [I very much believe in the work permit system. You come in, you work, you pay tax. And after that, after picking up, working, being paid, getting experience, having a good time, you then go back to your country of origin or go on to the next country, wherever you like. But I believe that because taking in large numbers of unvetted males into the country makes Ireland a less secure place. And like, for example, in 2022, there were 12 women were murdered in Ireland. Five of those were murdered by non-nationals. So there's been a swathe of increase in rapes and sexual assault in Ireland, as has happened all across Europe, be it in Germany, be it in Italy, be it in Sweden and France. So we should stop being naive and thinking that, oh, but it will never happen in Ireland because everybody loves us. They may do, but the consequences of mass unvetted immigration into Ireland are not very positive for Ireland at the minute. So all we're looking for is to be a normal country which controls its borders for the good of its own people. Because we want our young people, as I said earlier, to be able to get a job, be able to find a house and live in a secure area without any fear. And that's what people see, the destruction of their country, the mass immigration, and of course the destruction of the family. How do you, I mean, someone who understands the media so well, how do you get your message out? You've got a block on the mainstream media. Is it looking for alternative media, going directly to individuals, to the voters? How do you kind of get around that block which exists in Ireland to stop your message of common sense getting out? Well, you're completely true. The mainstream media, and when I say mainstream, it's funny because in regards, for example, that issue of are people in favour of mass immigration, 75% of people in Ireland are completely opposed to more migration. They believe Ireland has more than had enough. So that is the mainstream position. It's the extreme leftist position of open borders. They are the extremists. They are the minority. But the thing is, these leftists do control the media. And so we find it very difficult if not impossible to get anything positive out in the Irish media, so we're using social media at the minute and during the European elections was a good boost because the local papers had to talk about us, talk to our candidates, the write-ups of the candidates was almost universally positive on local radio, there were debates, so we got the name and the candidates of the party out there in open debate. We were discussing our policies in a fair environment for the first time, but the national media blocked us completely. So basically, we're pretty much using social media and also boots on the ground to get out meeting people, canvassing is very, very important. Well, Hermann, I really do appreciate your time. Hermann Kelly, President of the Irish Freedom Party, bringing common sense and an option to the voters that traditionally up to now really have not had any. So Hermann, thank you so much for joining us and giving us an overview, not only of Irish Freedom Party, but the difficulty and issues you're facing there in Ireland. Thank you very much, Peter.
In this episode, Niall is asking: Are we losing our Irishness or identity, or is that just old-fashioned people like me who won't accept the world is now a global village? The topic is based on a tweet from David Quinn: "The State is about to ditch the aim of 'fostering a sense of Irish identity' from the primary school curriculum, which prompts the question; if Ireland won't foster a sense of Irishness, then who will?"Some callers believe that Irish identity is evolving, not disappearing. They argue that Ireland has always embraced change and diversity, and that our culture, music, and traditions are still very much alive. They see the incorporation of new influences as enriching, rather than diminishing, our unique heritage.Other callers feel that we are losing our sense of Irishness. They express concern that globalization and changes in the education system are moving us away from our unique identity. They worry that without actively teaching our children about their heritage, our culture and traditions will fade away.Niall wraps up the discussion by summarizing the diverse viewpoints, reflecting on the balance between embracing global influences and preserving Irish heritage.
Shahmima Akhtar is a historian of race, migration and empire and an assistant professor of Black and Asian British History at the University of Birmingham. She previously worked at the Royal Historical Society to improve BME representation in UK History, whether working with schools and the curriculum, cultural institutions, community groups or other learned societies. Dr. Akhtar has also worked closely with museums and heritage sites as a researcher and consultant on shaping histories of the British Empire for today's populace. In this interview, she discusses her new book, Exhibiting Irishness: Empire, Race and Nation, c. 1850-1970 (Manchester UP, 2024), which studies differing visions of Irish racial identities as displayed at various international fairs and expos. Exhibiting Irishness analyses how exhibitions enabled Irish individuals and groups to work out (privately and publicly) their politicised existences across two centuries. As a cultural history of Irish identity, the book considers exhibitions as a formative platform for imagining a host of Irish pasts, presents and futures. Fair organisers responded to the contexts of famine and poverty, migration and diasporic settlement, independence movements and partition, as well as post-colonial nation building. Exhibiting Irishness demonstrates how Irish businesses and labourers, the elite organisers of the fairs and successive Irish governments curated Irishness. The central malleability of Irish identity on display emerged in tandem with the unfolding of Ireland's political transformation from a colony of the British Empire, a migrant community in the United States, to a divided Ireland in the form of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University 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
Shahmima Akhtar is a historian of race, migration and empire and an assistant professor of Black and Asian British History at the University of Birmingham. She previously worked at the Royal Historical Society to improve BME representation in UK History, whether working with schools and the curriculum, cultural institutions, community groups or other learned societies. Dr. Akhtar has also worked closely with museums and heritage sites as a researcher and consultant on shaping histories of the British Empire for today's populace. In this interview, she discusses her new book, Exhibiting Irishness: Empire, Race and Nation, c. 1850-1970 (Manchester UP, 2024), which studies differing visions of Irish racial identities as displayed at various international fairs and expos. Exhibiting Irishness analyses how exhibitions enabled Irish individuals and groups to work out (privately and publicly) their politicised existences across two centuries. As a cultural history of Irish identity, the book considers exhibitions as a formative platform for imagining a host of Irish pasts, presents and futures. Fair organisers responded to the contexts of famine and poverty, migration and diasporic settlement, independence movements and partition, as well as post-colonial nation building. Exhibiting Irishness demonstrates how Irish businesses and labourers, the elite organisers of the fairs and successive Irish governments curated Irishness. The central malleability of Irish identity on display emerged in tandem with the unfolding of Ireland's political transformation from a colony of the British Empire, a migrant community in the United States, to a divided Ireland in the form of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Shahmima Akhtar is a historian of race, migration and empire and an assistant professor of Black and Asian British History at the University of Birmingham. She previously worked at the Royal Historical Society to improve BME representation in UK History, whether working with schools and the curriculum, cultural institutions, community groups or other learned societies. Dr. Akhtar has also worked closely with museums and heritage sites as a researcher and consultant on shaping histories of the British Empire for today's populace. In this interview, she discusses her new book, Exhibiting Irishness: Empire, Race and Nation, c. 1850-1970 (Manchester UP, 2024), which studies differing visions of Irish racial identities as displayed at various international fairs and expos. Exhibiting Irishness analyses how exhibitions enabled Irish individuals and groups to work out (privately and publicly) their politicised existences across two centuries. As a cultural history of Irish identity, the book considers exhibitions as a formative platform for imagining a host of Irish pasts, presents and futures. Fair organisers responded to the contexts of famine and poverty, migration and diasporic settlement, independence movements and partition, as well as post-colonial nation building. Exhibiting Irishness demonstrates how Irish businesses and labourers, the elite organisers of the fairs and successive Irish governments curated Irishness. The central malleability of Irish identity on display emerged in tandem with the unfolding of Ireland's political transformation from a colony of the British Empire, a migrant community in the United States, to a divided Ireland in the form of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shahmima Akhtar is a historian of race, migration and empire and an assistant professor of Black and Asian British History at the University of Birmingham. She previously worked at the Royal Historical Society to improve BME representation in UK History, whether working with schools and the curriculum, cultural institutions, community groups or other learned societies. Dr. Akhtar has also worked closely with museums and heritage sites as a researcher and consultant on shaping histories of the British Empire for today's populace. In this interview, she discusses her new book, Exhibiting Irishness: Empire, Race and Nation, c. 1850-1970 (Manchester UP, 2024), which studies differing visions of Irish racial identities as displayed at various international fairs and expos. Exhibiting Irishness analyses how exhibitions enabled Irish individuals and groups to work out (privately and publicly) their politicised existences across two centuries. As a cultural history of Irish identity, the book considers exhibitions as a formative platform for imagining a host of Irish pasts, presents and futures. Fair organisers responded to the contexts of famine and poverty, migration and diasporic settlement, independence movements and partition, as well as post-colonial nation building. Exhibiting Irishness demonstrates how Irish businesses and labourers, the elite organisers of the fairs and successive Irish governments curated Irishness. The central malleability of Irish identity on display emerged in tandem with the unfolding of Ireland's political transformation from a colony of the British Empire, a migrant community in the United States, to a divided Ireland in the form of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies
Shahmima Akhtar is a historian of race, migration and empire and an assistant professor of Black and Asian British History at the University of Birmingham. She previously worked at the Royal Historical Society to improve BME representation in UK History, whether working with schools and the curriculum, cultural institutions, community groups or other learned societies. Dr. Akhtar has also worked closely with museums and heritage sites as a researcher and consultant on shaping histories of the British Empire for today's populace. In this interview, she discusses her new book, Exhibiting Irishness: Empire, Race and Nation, c. 1850-1970 (Manchester UP, 2024), which studies differing visions of Irish racial identities as displayed at various international fairs and expos. Exhibiting Irishness analyses how exhibitions enabled Irish individuals and groups to work out (privately and publicly) their politicised existences across two centuries. As a cultural history of Irish identity, the book considers exhibitions as a formative platform for imagining a host of Irish pasts, presents and futures. Fair organisers responded to the contexts of famine and poverty, migration and diasporic settlement, independence movements and partition, as well as post-colonial nation building. Exhibiting Irishness demonstrates how Irish businesses and labourers, the elite organisers of the fairs and successive Irish governments curated Irishness. The central malleability of Irish identity on display emerged in tandem with the unfolding of Ireland's political transformation from a colony of the British Empire, a migrant community in the United States, to a divided Ireland in the form of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies
This week on The Literary Life we return to the podcast vault for a re-airing of Episode 11, in which Cindy Rollins and Angelina Stanford enjoy a discussion of the short story “Araby” by James Joyce. Delving into “Araby,” Angelina talks about the history and development of the short story form. Cindy gives a little of her own background with reading James Joyce and why she loves his short stories. Angelina and Cindy also discuss the essential “Irishness” of this story and all the tales in The Dubliners. Angelina walks us through the story, highlighting the kinds of questions and things we should look for when reading closely. Themes discussed in this story include: blindness and sight, light and darkness, romanticism, religious devotion, the search for truth, money, courtly love, and the knight's quest. If you want to find replays of the 2019 Back to School online conference referenced in this episode, you can purchase them in Cindy's shop at MorningTimeforMoms.com. Check out the schedule for the podcast's summer episodes on our Upcoming Events page. Commonplace Quotes: Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet. St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia A ritual for letting a son or daughter go free, handing them over under the protection of God, is not something that we naturally include as part of growing up today in the West. Yet we are here reminded of one of the most important steps of all of the transitions in life, moving from the confines of the family into freedom and maturity. Esther de Waal Huxley Hall by John Betjemen In the Garden City Cafe‚ with its murals on the wall Before a talk on “Sex and Civics” I meditated on the Fall. Deep depression settled on me under that electric glare While outside the lightsome poplars flanked the rose-beds in the square. While outside the carefree children sported in the summer haze And released their inhibitions in a hundred different ways. She who eats her greasy crumpets snugly in the inglenook Of some birch-enshrouded homestead, dropping butter on her book Can she know the deep depression of this bright, hygienic hell? And her husband, stout free-thinker, can he share in it as well? Not the folk-museum's charting of man's Progress out of slime Can release me from the painful seeming accident of Time. Barry smashes Shirley's dolly, Shirley's eyes are crossed with hate, Comrades plot a Comrade's downfall “in the interests of the State”. Not my vegetarian dinner, not my lime-juice minus gin, Quite can drown a faint conviction that we may be born in Sin. Book List: To Pause on the Threshold by Esther de Waal The Dubliners by James Joyce Ulysses by James Joyce A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt The Abbot by Sir Walter Scott The Memoirs of Vidocq by Eugene Françios Vidocq Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CindyRollinsWriter. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
We all deeply love Ireland... but we need to talk about it. In this episode we talk about the salvation of art, connection with the land, grá for mná (love for women), finding meaning and direction, loving the eejit out of yourself, cringe, naff, and the inexhaustible desire to live. Dee is an everyday Goddess. Her voice will transport you. Her relationship with and understanding of Ireland and Irishness will challenge, resonate, and inspire. Growler is Dee Mulrooney's alter-ego, performance piece. She is an 82-year-old drum banging, shamanic alchemist, who transmutes women's pain through storytelling, song and spoken word. She has a tongue like a lash and a heart of gold. You can check out her daily shenanigens @growlerspeaks on Instagram. Go raibh míle míle maith agat, a chara! Is bean iontach thú - You are a wonderful woman. Táim fíorshásta go bhfuil aithne agam ort - I am truly happy to know you :) @deemulrooney deirdre-mulrooney.com
Episode 11: Ruairi Glasheen is an award-winning percussionist, composer, filmmaker and educator based in London. Drawn by the limitless creativity and possibilities of being a percussionist, and indeed a love of drums and percussion from all around the world, Ruairi spreads his passion through diverse global projects including workshops, orchestras, filmmaking and collaborations, for which he has won many prestigious awards and accolades. Ruairi has led a truly illustrious career in music, released documentaries such as Hidden Drummers of Iran, and has developed courses online. We talk about students' confidence shifting, the positive power of music, the story of the Bodhrán, enjoying the process, preserving our culture, and reifying Irishness. Enjoy! Thank you for listening :) Agus go raibh míle maith agat, a Ruairi! It was such a pleasure and a privilege to be in conversation with you! Find Ruairi on instagram @ruairi_glasheen and www.ruairiglasheen.net
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University 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
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture
Marion Casey is a professor at Glucksman Ireland House at New York University where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has published widely on various aspects of Irish-American history and in 2006 she co-edited Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States with Joe Lee. In this interview, she discusses Her most recent book The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image (NYU Press, 2024), which surveys the changing images of Ireland and Irishness in American popular culture. The Green Space examines the variety of factors that contributed to remaking the Irish image from downtrodden and despised to universally acclaimed. To understand the forces that molded how people understand “Irish” is to see the matrix—the green space—that facilitated their interaction between the 1890s and 1960s. Marion R. Casey argues that, as “Irish” evolved between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, a visual and rhetorical expanse for representing ethnicity was opened up in the process. The evolution was also transnational; both Ireland and the United States were inextricably linked to how various iterations of “Irish” were deployed over time—whether as a straightforward noun about a specific people with a national identity or a loose, endlessly malleable adjective only tangentially connected to actual ethnic identity. Featuring a rich assortment of sources and images, The Green Space takes the history of the Irish image in America as a prime example of the ways in which culture and identity can be manufactured, repackaged, and ultimately revolutionized. Understanding the multifaceted influences that shaped perceptions of “Irishness” holds profound relevance for examining similar dynamics within studies of various immigrant and ethnic communities in the US. The Green Space: The Transformation of the Irish Image is published with NYU Press, as part of their Irish Diaspora series Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
Professor Mary Burke destroys the myths and caricatures of Irish Americans as a monolithic cultural, racial, and political group. Figures from the Scots-Irish Andrew Jackson to the Caribbean-Irish Rihanna, as well as literature, film, caricature, and beauty discourse, convey how the Irish racially transformed multiple times: in the slave-holding Caribbean, on America's frontiers and antebellum plantations, and along its eastern seaboard. Her cultural history of race and centuries of Irishness in the Americas examines the forcibly transported Irish, the eighteenth-century Presbyterian Ulster-Scots, and post-1845 Famine immigrants. Episode 547.
Our last episode of Season 4 brings us to the Gold Rush. We couldn't end so close to St. Patrick's Day without giving you a cocktail to celebrate your Irishness. Uncle B gives us the recipe for the classic(?) Gold Rush cocktail and goes into the history behind the drink, as well as a random jazz session of thoughts. Jules gives us the Golden Chocolate Rush and tips on how to make your beverages green without using dye. Gold Rush: In your shaker, add 2 oz of Bourbon (no stronger than 100 proof but a little beefier than 80 proof) 1 oz of Fresh Lemon Juice ¾ oz of Honey Syrup (3:1 - Acacia honey works great) Shake for 20 seconds Double strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice Garnish with a lemon twist Golden Chocolate Rush In your shaker, add 2 oz Irish Whiskey ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice ½ oz Honey Syrup (2:1) ½ oz Creme de Cacao Optional: Gold edible glitter Shake for 20 seconds Double strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice Garnish with a lemon twist TIP: How to make dried citrus wheels for garnish Shout out to: @DadsElixer The Art of DrinkingIG:@theartofdrinkingpodcast JulesIG:@join_jules TikTok:@join_jules Website:joinjules.com BradIG:@favorite_uncle_brad This is a Redd Rock Music Podcast IG: @reddrockmusic www.reddrockmusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Stacey Grant-Canham, is the founder of Black & Beech, a small business putting feminism at the heart of fashion. Stacey talks a lot about her upbringing, her journey of starting Black & Beech and how it has evolved into the brilliant brand that it is today. She talked about motherhood and how it has radicalised her. She talked about her Irishness and how she often feels misunderstood as an Irish immigrant in Britain. Stacey tells us the story of designing her very first t-shirt and how it has gone from that to a brand that has now donated over £13,000 to charities supporting women's rights. She talks about her journey as an accidental entrepreneur and someone who grew up believing you needed to have a safe, steady job with a pension.Stacey's story is inspiring and one we can all learn so much from.Links:Follow Stacey on Instagram - @blackandbeechCheck out Black & Beech - https://blackandbeech.comRead Disobedient Bodies by Emma Dabiri - https://thefeministbookshop.com/products/disobedient-bodiesGet your own A Mothers Place Is In The Resistance Tee - https://blackandbeech.com/products/a-mothers-place-is-in-the-resistance-black-scoop-tee?pr_prod_strat=use_description&pr_rec_id=183bc073c&pr_rec_pid=4590376353910&pr_ref_pid=8091089502451&pr_seq=uniformSupport the Abortion Support Network - https://www.asn.org.uk/support-us/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're taking a metaphorical journey to Ireland to dip our toes into the debut album by The Cranberries 'Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We'. A band that both Dave and Krister admit to not liking the majority of what they've heard but then again the majority of what they've heard is the single 'Zombie' so perhaps there's more to The Cranberries "dan dis". As well as pointed digs at Krister's Irishness we also chat about acts like Fun-Da-Mental, Rancid and The Sp!n Doctors. Apologies for that last one. As always please do give us a follow on our social media platforms and why not go and give us a nice rating over on Spotify now that you're able to while you're checking out this episode's companion playlist and our ongoing and sprawling playlist of songs from each album that we do an episode on. Cheers!
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University 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
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Patrick R. O'Malley's book The Irish and the Imagination of Race: White Supremacy Across the Atlantic in the Nineteenth Century (U Virginia Press, 2023) analyzes the role of Irishness in nineteenth-century constructions of race and racialization, both in the British Isles and in the United States. Focusing on the years immediately preceding the American Civil War, Patrick O'Malley interrogates the bardic verse epic, the gothic tale, the realist novel, the stage melodrama, and the political polemic to ask how many mid-nineteenth-century Irish nationalist writers with liberationist politics declined to oppose race-based chattel enslavement in the United States and the structures of white supremacy that underpinned and ultimately outlived it. Many of the writers whose work O'Malley examines drew specifically upon the image of Black suffering to generate support for their arguments for Irish political enfranchisement; yet in doing so, they frequently misrepresented the fundamental differences between Irish and Black experience under the regimes of white supremacy, which has had profound consequences. Patrick R. O'Malley is Professor of English at Georgetown University, where he teaches Irish and British literature of the long nineteenth century and critical theory. He is the author of two previous books: Catholicism, Sexual Deviance, and Victorian Gothic Culture, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, and Liffey and Lethe: Paramnesiac History in Nineteenth-Century Anglo-Ireland, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 and won the Robert Rhodes Prize for books on literature from the American Conference for Irish Studies. Aidan Beatty is a lecturer in the history department at Carnegie Mellon University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
We begin this episode of DXP discussing the Hulu drama, Normal People (which we have both come to love, despite the Irishness of it all). We talk about Indiana's new drug law, and then we hear from a caller about Young-Earth Creationism. “Pastor Jack's Off” returns as we learn life-changing lessons about Damascus and cowardice. Biebers involve racist stereotypes and chatty phone agents.
The Duke of Norfolk suffered a ‘Marie Antoinette Moment' on 8th November, 1845, when, amidst the Irish Potato Famine, the Whig MP proposed a questionable solution to feed Ireland's starving workers: curry powder soup. The Duke was met with derision, but the moment highlighted how woefully out-of-touch the English aristocracy were regarding what was about to befall the Irish people. Far worse was the attitude of Charles Trevelyan, whom Prime Minister Robert Peel had tasked with addressing the crisis, who callously attributed the calamity to a divine lesson from God. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the British government's underwhelming response to the famine, from ‘Soyer's Soup' to ‘Peel's Brimstone'; consider the structural anti-Irishness in the ruling class; and revisit the UK government's eventual apology… from 1997… Further Reading: • ‘British History in depth: The Irish Famine' (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml • ‘Why was the potato so important?' (RTÉ, 2020): https://www.rte.ie/history/the-great-irish-famine/2020/0715/1153525-why-was-the-potato-so-important/ • ‘The Great Famine' (BBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfFdlGcl6o4 We'll be back on Monday - unless you join
The greatest living crime writer, Max Thrax, and the funniest man alive, Howling Mutant, join me for a vast exploration of the great novel by James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and its two Hollywood adaptations from 1946 & 1981. We also get into a conversation about the 1935 John Ford classic The Informer, Irishness, Thomas777, and more! You won't wanna miss! XOXO, Brendan Max Thrax on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThraxMaximilian Pre-order Max's book, God Is A Killer Alpha Edition: https://bit.ly/47ynOB5 Howling Mutant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Howlingmutant0
We aren't able to record a new episode this week, so here is a great interview we did with Michael H. of the Atheopagan Society Council. See you next week! S3E41 TRANSCRIPT: Mark: Welcome back to the Wonder Science-based Paganism. I'm Mark, one of your hosts. Yucca: and I'm Yucca. Mark: and today we have a really exciting episode. We have an interview with a member of the Atheopagan Society Council, Michael, who is joining us today, and is gonna tell us about his journey and what this community means to him and his vision for the future and all kinds of cool stuff. So welcome. Michael: Well, thank you very much for having me. Mark: I'm delighted to have you here, Yucca: Thanks for coming on. Michael: Yeah, no, I'm excited. Yucca: Yeah. So why don't we start with so who are you? Right? What's, what's your journey been to get here? Michael: Gosh. Well, I kind of have to start at the very beginning. So my name's Michael and you know, I've, I start, sometimes I go by Mícheál, which is my Irish, the Irish version of my name. And that's something I've been using more as I've been involved in the Pagan community. My parents are both Irish and. They moved to the United States in their early eighties cuz my dad got a green card working over there Mark: Hmm. Michael: and I was born in America. And then they decided they want to move back to Ireland then in 1991. So already I had this kind of dissected identity. Was I American or was I Irish? I never really lost my American accent. When I, when I moved to Ireland my sister who was born in Ireland, she actually has a slight American accent just from living with me. So she never people always ask her, are you, are you American? And she's like, I've never lived there. So it's funny that it's kind of stuck with her, but I moved to Ireland and I suddenly was kind of got this culture shock at the age of five and moving to this new country. And my mother has a very large family, so she has like, two, two brothers and seven sisters, and then I've got like 30 cousins. So , it was a big, a big change from AmeriCorps. It was just the three of us. Moving back to Ireland and. It was a very, you know, Ireland, you know, is, would've been considered a very Catholic country, and it's been kind of secularizing since the nineties up until now. But back then it was still quite Catholic. Like homosexuality was only decriminalized in 1992 and divorce was only made legal in 1995. So, I guess the first kind of sense of, of what I meant to be Irish back then was, You know, you learned Irish in school, you learned to speak Irish in school, and this was very it wasn't taught very well, I would say, and I think most Irish people would agree with that. It's kind of taught like almost like Latin or something as a dead language rather than as a living language. So you're spending time learning all this grammar. And you don't kind of develop that love of it that I think you should. I did go to like Irish summer camp in the Gaeltacht . The Gaeltacht is the Irish speaking area of Ireland, and I kind of became aware of my Irishness, you know, just through being part of all this and also. I would've introduced myself as American when I was little but people didn't really like that. It was kind of a, like a weird thing to do. So my mom eventually told me, maybe you should just stop paying that. And so throughout my I, you know, as I mentioned, it was a very Catholic country. And when I was in the Gaeltacht in Irish summer camp one of the kids said they were atheist. And I was like, what does that mean? I'm like, I don't believe in God. And I was, and in my head I was like, I didn't know you could do that, I didn't know that was an option. . So I kind of thought about it for a while. I became, we started studying the Reformation in school when I was about 14. And then I learned that Catholics believed in transubstantiation and nobody had really mentioned that before. They didn't really teach the catechism very well, I guess. I'd done my communion and my confirmation, but nobody ever mentioned that. We literally believed that the, the body and blood, you know, was that the bread and water? Oh, sorry. The bread and wine actually became literally, And the body. And I thought that was a very strange thing, that that was a literal thing. It wasn't just symbolic. And then we also studied Calvinism and all that stuff. And I was like, then I started to read the Bible and I was like, then it fun, it finally just dawned on me that I didn't believe any of this, and it was kind of liberating. But it was kind of a way of being d. In a very homogenous society too. You could be a bit of a rebel. So I think I was one of those annoying teenagers who was always questioning everybody and having, trying to have debates with everybody about religion and they didn't enjoy that . And so I went through school and I just remember hating studying the Irish language until eventually when I left school. On the last day, I actually took all my. My Irish textbooks and burnt them and I feel I . Yeah. I mean I feel so much guilt and regret about that and I think about that how important it's to me now and that, that was a real shame that, but I didn't, partially I didn't put the work in, but also I just think the structure. Was not there. I mean so many Irish people come out of outta school not really know, knowing how to speak the language, you know, and I think it is an effective col colonization as well, where, you know, you consider English is a useful language and learning French or Spanish, that's a useful thing, but there's no use for Irish in people's minds, which is a, and I find that a real shame and I. could go back and change that. In university I studied anthropology and history because I was very interested in religion. All throughout my teenage years, I was obsessed with learning about world religions, you know, there was a world religion class in, in secondary school. I didn't get into it, but I begged the teacher to allow me to. Into it because I was so interested in the topic. And he was like, fine, fine. And he kind of thought he'd humor me in one class one day and he was like, well, Michael, maybe you could talk about satanism. That's the topic for today. And I was like, well, let's start with Al Crowley. And he was like, okay, maybe he actually knows what he is talking about So, I went, I. I went to the university sorry, national University of Ireland, Minuth Campus. And it's funny because that used to be known as so it's actually, it's two campuses. They're St. Patrick's college, which is like a, a seminary for priests. And there's the I, which is like the secular version, and they're both, but they both share the same compass. So it's funny, it used to be the, the biggest seminary in Europe. They call it the priest factory cuz they pumped out so many priests that sent, sent them all over the world. And it's when you go out and you walk down the corridors, you see all the graduating classes. So you go back to 1950 and you see a graduating class of like a hundred priests. And every year as you're going down the corridor, it gets smaller and smaller and smaller. Until I think the year I graduated, there was like two people graduating as priests. Yeah. So that was, that was a, I decided to study history and anthropology at n Y Minuth and one of the books that I read. Was kind of a gateway into thinking about land and language, which are two things that are really important to me in my, when I think about Paganism. It's a book called wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Bato, bass by Keith Bassell, and. I'm just gonna read a little bit here from the book because he was an anthropologist working with the Apache, the Western Apache, to try and remap the land using the Native Apache words rather than the, the English words. So trying to make a native map and working with Apache people to find all the true, the true names of all these. so this is the quote, but already on only our second day in the country together a problem had problem had come up for the third time in as many tries. I have mispronounced the Apache name of the boggy swale before us. And Charles, who is weary of repeating it, has a guarded look in his eyes after watching the name for a fourth. I acknowledged defeat and attempted to apologize for my flawed linguistic performance. I'm sorry, Charles. I can't get it. I'll work on it later. It's in the machine. It doesn't matter. It matters. Charles says softly to me in English, and then turning to speak to Morley. He addresses him in Western Apache, is what he said. What he's doing isn't right. It's not good. He seems to be in a. Why is he in a hurry? It's disrespectful. Our ancestors made this name. They made it just as it is. They made it for a reason. They spoke it first a long time ago. He's repeating the speech of our ancestors. He doesn't know that. Tell him he's repeating the speech of our ancestors. And I'm gonna just there's another section here, a little, a few pages. But then unexpectedly in one of those courteous turnabouts that Apache people employ to assuage embarrassment in salvage damaged feelings, Charles himself comes to the rescue with a quick corroborative grin. He announces he is missing several teeth and that my problem with the place name may be attributable to his lack of dental equipment. Sometimes he says he is hard to underst. His nephew, Jason, recently told him that, and he knows he tends to speak softly. Maybe the combination of too few teeth and two little volume accounts for my failing. Short morally, on the other hand, is not so encumbered though shy. Two, a tooth or two. He retains the good ones for talking and because he's not afraid to speak up, except as everyone knows in the presence of gar women no one has trouble hearing what he. Maybe if Morley repeated the place name again slowly and with ample force, I would get it right. It's worth a try, cousin. And then he, I'm just gonna skip forward a bit and he successfully pronounces the name, which translates as water Lies with mud in an open container. Relieved and pleased. I pronounce the name slowly. Then I, then a bit more rapidly and again, as it might be spoken. In normal conversation, Charles listens and nods his head in. . Yes. He says in Apache, that is how our ancestors made it a long time ago, just as it is to name this place. Mm-hmm. So this became important to me when thinking about the Irish language because something similar happened in Ireland in the you know, we have all our native Irish place. But in the 1820s the British Army's Ordinance survey came and decided they were gonna make these names pro pronounceable to English ears. And so they kind of tore up the native pronunciation and kind of push an English pronunciation on top. So you have these very strange English Anglo size versions of Irish Place names Yucca: Mm-hmm. Michael: Soin in is is probably better known in English as dingle, but doesn't really have anything to do with the Irish. And there are plenty of, there are so many examples of this and I think when you're trying to learn about a landscape in your relation to a ship, to a landscape, it is important to know the native place. It's something that I think about a lot and I try to learn. One of my favorite writers is named Tim Robinson, and he's well he died in 2020. But I had the opportunity to meet him in 2009 and he was an English cartographer. But he moved to the west of Ireland, to the Iron Islands and also to Kamara. So he kind of moved between those two places. He lived there for more than 30 years, and what he actually did was he went out and mapped the landscape and talked to local people, and he was able to find some of the place names that had been lost over the years that weren't on the official maps, and he was able to help recreate a Gaelic map of those areas. I think that's a really kind of religious or spiritual activity to go out onto the land and walk it. And to name it and to name it correctly. And I think that's what I think my pagan path is in a way. It's to go and walk the land and learn it, what to call it. Cause I think language is the most important tool we have as pagans. Mark: Hmm. Michael: So those are, that's kind of when I started to think about this stuff. I've always been interested in folk. It was actually funny. There was, it started with a video game one of the legend of Zelda video games called Major's Mask Mark: Hmm. Yucca: Yep. Michael: in, in the game, they actually have like a mask festival and they dis they discuss the the history of the festival. Anna was just like, wow, I didn't, I ended up making masks with my sister and we kind of pretended to. A little mask festival of our own Yucca: Mm-hmm. Michael: that you're, you're familiar with that? Yucca? Yucca: Yes. Yeah, I played a lot of it. Michael: Yeah. So, but I guess I really started to think about folklore when when I watched the Wickerman as um, as a teenager. I was probably at 16 when I watched it, and it kind of opened my eyes completely. And we've talked a lot about this in the group. And I. It's watched as a horror movie in a way, but I think I really got into the, the paganism idea of, of paganism as a teenager because of watching the Wickman and just the symbolism and the pageantry. And I also just like the idea. These island people turning on the state in the form of, of the policeman. So that's kind of been something I've that I've really enjoyed over the years, watching that every every May as part of my, my, my annual ritual so, you know, after university, I, I moved to South Korea to teach English, and, but at the same time I was quite into Buddhism. I had been practicing some Zen Buddhism from about the age of 18, and, but not like, more as just a practice rather than believing in any of it. Not believing in reincarnation or anything like that. I just found the ritual of it very beautiful. And I ended up going and doing a temple stay in a, in a place at, at a temple. Up in the mountains and it was very beautiful and really amazing. You know, something you'd see in a movie because the monk, the head monk actually brought us out into a bamboo grove and we sat there meditating just with all surrounded by bamboo. And it was waving in the wind and it felt like a correction, tiger Hidden dragon or something like that. And one of the powerful events that happened on that trip. Doing the Buddhist meal ceremony where we ate in in the style of a Buddhist monk. And the idea is that you do not leave any food behind. After you're, after you're finished eating, you've, you eat all the food, and then when you wash the bowls and they kind of put the communal water back into the, the, the waste bowl, there should be no no bit of food, nothing. It should just be clean water. That comes out of, after everybody finishes washing all their bowls. So we followed all the steps to do that and, you know, some people really, really weren't into it. They didn't wanna do the work of, of being extremely thorough. And there were a few rice pieces of rice in the water at the end and the head monk said to us oh, that will now get, you're, you're gonna cause pain to the hungry to ghost. Because the hungry goats ghosts have holes in their throats, and when we pour the water outside for the hungry ghosts, the rice particles are gonna get stuck in their throats. And a lot of people were like, what? What are you talking about Mark: Hmm. Michael: But I thought that was beautiful because it doesn't, not, you don't have to. It's a story that has a purpose, and that's why, you know, It made me think about the superstitions that we have. And I don't know if I like superstition like these, calling it that. Cause I think a lot of these things have purpose and you have to look for the purpose behind them. And the purpose of that story of the honky go story, maybe for him it is about not causing harm to these, these spirits, but it's also about not wasting food. And I think it, it has more power and more meaning. And you remember. More thoroughly when you have a story like that to back up this, this practice. So I think it kind of made me rethink a lot about the kind of folkloric things that I, in my, in the Irish tradition and that, you know, I think about things like fairy forts, which are, you know, the, these are the archeological sites that you find around Ireland. Like, I think there's like 60,000 left around the country. These, these circular. Homesteads that made a stone or, or saw, or saw that you find all over the country and people don't disturb them because they're afraid they'll get fair, bad luck. The, if you, if you disturb the, the fair fort the ferry's gonna come after you , or if you could, or if you cut down a tree, a lone tree. Lone trees that grow in the middle of fields that don't have a, a woodland beside them, just singular trees. These are known as fairy trees and it's bad luck to cut them down. But I feel like these folk beliefs help preserve the past as well, because, you know, farmers who don't have this belief, they don't have any problem tearing down fray, forts and that kind of thing. They just see it as a, something in the way of them farming, especially in the kind of age of industrial agriculture. Yeah. So it just made, that was when I started to think about how important it is to keep folk belief alive. And I've really, and I really started to study Irish folk belief after that point. And I lived in South Korea as I mentioned. I met my wife there, she's from Iowa and she was also teaching in, in South Korea, and we moved to Vietnam after that. And we lived there for a couple of years, and I might come back to that later. But fast forwarding, we moved to Iowa then in 2013, and I'm teaching a course in Irish. At a local community college, but I always start with this poem by Shama Heini Boland. And I just wanted to read two extracts from it. So the first stands out is we have no prairies to slice a big sun at evening everywhere. The eye concedes to encroaching. And then moving downwards. Our pioneers keep striking inwards and downwards. Every layer they strip, they, every layer they strip seems camped on before. So I, I started with that initially, kind of trying to, as, it was almost like a gateway for my students to kind of look at. Look at Iowa with its historic prairies, which don't really exist anymore. It's all farmland. There's very little prairie land left. I think maybe 2% of the state is prairie. But that idea, that idea of our pioneers strike downwards, and I've been thinking about that a lot as well, that that's kind of a, a colonial look at the land because this land, the American land has is just as camped. As Ireland, and I've been kind of experiencing that more and more. I have a friend who's an archeologist here and just hearing them talk about the kinds of fines that they have. You know, we lived in a town where there was a Native American fishing weir was a couple of hundred years old. It you could kind of see the remains, but it mostly washed away by the time we had. But I did see an old postcard of it from the seventies, and you could see it very clearly. And so just make, and then we always it's become a ritual every every autumn, we go up to northeast Iowa to these, to these effigy mounds, which are some Native American mounds up there on a bluff, just overlooking the miss. Mark: Hmm. Michael: And that's really amazing to look at that and experience and experience that. And you know, I'd love to go back, unfortunately, Shamus, he died more than 10 years ago now, but I'd love to go back and ask him if he would consider rewriting that line, you know, because this land is just as a count on Yucca: Mm-hmm. Michael: and I'm trying to, trying to make sense of that and what it means. As an Irish person living in America, Yucca: Mm. Michael: Cuz we, Irish people are victims of col colonialism, Mark: Hmm. Michael: Irish people, when they moved to America, they just became white as well and had the same colonial attitudes as everybody. And I'm trying to kind of, but you know, there's, there's, there's kind of stories of reciprocation as well. Where during the famine, the Irish famine the, I think, I believe it was the Chota Nation sent Emin relief to the AR to Ireland. Even though they didn't have much themselves, they still saw this. People in need across the water and they sent money to help. And, you know, there's that connection between the Chta nation and the Irish has continued to this day. But I am just trying to figure out what it means to be an Irish person and a pagan living in this country. And that's kind of where I, where I am right now. But to get back to how I got into Ethiopia, paganism I mentioned earlier that I was really into the Wickerman and I found this group called Folk folk Horror Revival on Facebook. And somebody one day mentioned that there was this group called Atheopagan. And so I decided to join and I found a lot of like-minded people. And I've been kind of involved in the community for, for, I think that was maybe 2018. Mark: Mm-hmm. Michael: And I've been involved in the community since then and maybe on a bigger, I've been much more involved since Covid started and we started doing our Saturday mixers. And I think I've made maybe 90% of those Mark: something Michael: and we've, yeah, and we've been doing that for the last three years and it's just been. It's a really amazing, it's one of the highlights of my week to spend time with with other people in that, in that hour and 45 minutes that we spend every Saturday. Mark: Mm. Michael: Mm-hmm. Mark: Yeah, I, I really agree with you. That's, I, it's a highlight of my week as well. Such warm, thoughtful people and so diverse and living in so many different places. It's yeah, it's just a really good thing to do on a Saturday morning for me. And. We'll probably get into this more a little bit later, but the idea of creating human connection and community building I know is really important to you and it's really important to me too. I think there have been other sort of naturalistic, pagan traditions that have been created by people, but they just kind of plunked them on the internet and let them sit. And to me it's. That would be fine if I were just gonna do this by myself. But when other people started saying, I like this, I want to do this too. To me that meant, well then we should all do it together. Right? Let's, let's build a community and support one another in doing this. And so the Saturday mixers, when we, when Covid started, I think. I mean, to be honest, COVID did some great things for the Ethiopia, pagan community. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: yeah. Kind of accidentally, but that's, that's Yucca: Well that's the silver linings, right? That's one of the things we, you know, life goes on. We have to find the, the, the benefits and the good things, even in the challenging times. Mark: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Michael: yeah. I think. I'm just thinking back to when we started. So it's kind of, we have maybe six or seven regulars who come to every meeting maybe. And then we have other people who join now and then, but I'm just trying to think back to the first meeting. I think we, that's when the idea of doing virtual ritual began as well in that first meeting. And we were trying to figure out how to do. Yucca: Was that was the first meeting before Covid or was it as a response to Covid? Mark: You know, honestly, I don't remember. I think it must have been in response to Covid because everybody was shut in and, you know, everybody was kind of starving for human contact. Michael: I think the first one may have been March or April. 2020, Yucca: Okay, so right there at the. Michael: Yeah, right at the beginning. Yeah. And I think, I remember in the first meeting we were talking about ritual ideas and I think the first suggestion I came up with was like I'd love to somebody do like a, describe what an atheopagan temple might look. Mark: Oh yeah. Michael: Yeah. And I left, and I think you were recording the meetings at that time, but we don't record 'em anymore, just so people can feel free to be themselves and not have a recorded recording of themselves out there, . But I know that, I think James who you interviewed recently he, he was listening to that one, I believe, and he came the next week and actually had prepared a guided meditation. Of what a pagan temple would be like to him. And it was a walk through nature. I think that was the first, our first online ritual together. Mark: Yeah, I remember that now. Yeah, and it's been, it's really been a journey trying to figure out how, how can you do these ritual things over a, a video conferencing platform. In a way that makes everybody feel like they're participating and engaged. Right. So that there's a, a transformation of consciousness. But I think we've done pretty well, to be honest. I mean, some of the rituals that we've done have been really quite moving. Michael: Yeah. And I think the ritual framework that you've worked at translates very well to. A Zoom conference as well. I dunno if maybe, if he wants to describe that, what the usual atheopagan ritual would look like. Mark: Sure. We've, we've talked about this before. The, the, the ritual structure that I proposed in my book is basically a, a five step process where the first is arrival, which is sort of, Transitioning into the ritual state of mind from the ordinary state of mind, and then the invocation of qualities that are a part that we'd like to be a part of the ritual with us, which is sort of the equivalent in Wicca or other pagan traditions of invoking spirits or gods or what have you, ancestors, what have you. And then the main working of the ritual, which varies depending on what the purpose of the ritual is. But it can be, well, we've done lots of different kinds of things. We've braided ribbons and then tied, not tied magical knots in them. We've made siles, we've we've done just lots of different kinds of things. And then gratitude expressions of gratitude. The things that we're grateful for. And then finally, benediction, which is sort of the closing of the ritual at a declaration that we're moving back into ordinary time. Yucca: So how does that look in, in a meeting, like a Zoom meeting In a digital format? Mark: Michael, you want to take that one or should I? Michael: So you know, you have maybe, I think usually when we have a ritual more people attend that and so we might have 12 people there and often Yucca: cameras on. Michael: Camera's on. Well, it's optional. Yeah. If you don't feel comfortable having your camera on, that's completely fine and you don't even have to speak. We do encourage people just to you know, leave a message in the chat so you can just listen in. You can engage as much or as little as you want. And you, you, so. We have all the people on in the conference, and maybe we'll try and get some more of the senses involved as well. So sometimes we'll like candles and everybody will have a candle in front of them. I do know for for some of our sound rituals. Mark, you've used two cameras where you, you aim one camera at maybe a focus, like what's one of the examples of that that you. Mark: Well we did that both at Sown and at Yu. So both the Halls ritual and the Yule ritual where I would create a focus or alter setup with thematic and symbolic things relating to the season. and then I would point, I would log into Zoom with my phone and point my phone at that. And then, and then I'd log in separately on my laptop for myself as a person, and then I could spotlight the focus so that it's kind of the centerpiece of what everybody experiences on their screen and sets the atmosphere. Michael: Yeah. So just a virtual focus that everybody can, everybody can virtually gather around. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Michael: Yeah. And I think we've also used a Pinterest board in the past as well for people. I think it was at Sound again, we had that Pinterest board where people could put up notes about. Their ancestors or loved ones that they were That's correct, isn't it? Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Or pictures of people that had passed recently or. Yucca: mm. Michael: yeah. So yeah, there's a lot of digital space that you can use for this ritual. We also try not to involve too many props as well. Because we wanna make it as easy as possible for people of all abilities. And just if you don't have the space for something, for a large proper if you don't wanna make a lot of noise, you know, we're not gonna have you using chimes or things like that. So we try and make it as easy as possible. Sometimes we do invite you to bring some food to eat as well, because, you know, a lot of these are feasting rituals. So we maybe, if you feel comfortable bringing some refreshments, you might want to do. And just have a friendly meal with people online. For example, we're actually gonna start doing I'm gonna be leading full Moon meals every month on the, on the, so the first one's gonna be December 7th. And I'll post, post about that on Discord, and I think Mark will post about that in the Facebook group. Yeah. And so the idea is everybody just comes. Joins the Zoom meeting and everybody should have their meal. Whether you're, whether that's lunch or if you're in a different time zone, maybe there'll be dinner or maybe it's just a snack. And then we'll spend a minute just thinking about the providence of the food and then we'll eat us and maybe people can talk about the food that they're eating and what it means to. And I'm hoping to make that a monthly event that we meet every full moon to share a meal together Mark: That sounds. I, I, I really I have pagan guilt over how little I pay attention to the full moon. I'm, I'm always, I'm always aware of what phase the moon is in, but I, I don't do a lot in the way of observances of the phases of the moon. And so, I'm excited to have this added in to something that I can attend. Michael: Mm-hmm. . But yeah, as you can see from that format, it's very simple. And again, you, if, if people listening would like to attend as well, there's no obligation to keep your. Your camera on, there's no obligation to speak. You just, you can just listen in and just feel part of the, part of the community that way. Yucca: Mm-hmm. So in the mixers sometimes ritual, are there discussions or what else do the mixers. Michael: Usually the mixer is kind of a freeform thing. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Michael: Maybe we'll have a topic sometimes, but usually people just come and do a check in and talk about how they're, how they're getting on that week and if there's anything they wanna discuss, we just open it up to that. Depending on the size of the turn, we may require some kind of etiquette stuff. So if there are a lot of people and we don't want people to. Shut it down or have spoken over. So we'll ask people to raise their hands if they wanna speak. That's, that really is only when there's a lot of people and, and often I, I know I'm somebody who likes to talk, so it's a, I think raising hands also gives people who are less confident, or, I'm sorry, not less confident, just not at, don't feel like interrupting. It gives them an opportu. To to have their say as well and be called on mm-hmm. Mark: Yeah. Yucca: Mm. Mark: I think it's really good that we've implemented that. It, it's, it helps. Michael: Mm-hmm. I think one of the really cool rituals we had recently was for like the ATO Harvest, so that was when was that? That was in September or October. In September, yeah. Yeah. So. We were trying, I mean, usually it's, you could do some kind of harvest related and I think we've done that in the past. But I have a book called Celebrating Irish Festivals by Ruth Marshall. And this is my go-to book for, for, for ritual ideas. And this is, and I like to. Kind of some of the traditional holidays and maybe just steal from them. . So Michael Mass is is the holiday around that time in Ireland? It's a Christian holiday, but it's also it's a Yucca: were older. Michael: yeah, yeah, Yucca: Christians took for the older Michael: yeah, yeah, yeah. you know, it's about St. And he's known for slaying a dragon as just as St. George was known for slaying a dragon. But I thought, well, let's turn this on this head and let's celebrate our inner dragons. Let's bring our dragons to life. So it was the whole ritual was about dragons. And we actually drew Dragons, drew our inner dragons and shared them. Talked about what they. And kind of we were feeding our inner dragon so that they could warm us throughout the coming winter. Yucca: Hmm. Michael: Mm-hmm. Mark: as well as watching the home. Star Runner Strong Door, the Ator video, Michael: Oh yeah, Mark: which you, you have to do if you've got dragons as a theme. It's just too funny to avoid. Michael: That's an old flash cartoon from the early two thousands. That was pretty popular. Mark: Mm-hmm. Michael: Yeah. Track toward the ator. Google it, and in fact, I did a, I did the hot chip challenge as part of that ritual as Mark: That's right. Yeah. Michael: where I ate a very, very hot tortilla chip on camera. And. It was it was painful, but I'm sure, I don't know if it entertained other people, but it was, it was fun Mark: Oh yeah. It was fun. Michael: So, yeah, they're like, I mean, these rituals aren't all, they're, they're fun and they're kind of silly and goofy and but I mean, I thought at the same time they're very meaningful because people really opened up in that one Mark: Yeah. Michael: and shared some really profe profound truth. That was one of my favorites actually, and I hope we do another, another dragon invoking ritual in the future. Mark: Maybe in the spring Michael: yeah. Mark: you do it at, at both of the equinoxes. Michael: Mm-hmm. Mark: so you've joined the Atheopagan Society Council, which is great. Thank you so much for your, your volunteering and your effort. What do you think about the future? How do you, how do you see where this community is going and what would you like to see? What's, what's your perspective on that? Michael: Yeah, so just before I discovered the Pagan Facebook group I had attended A local cups meeting. So that's the covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. And so it was just a taro reading workshop and, you know, I was, I, I like kind of using these kind of rituals just for their beauty and, but not, for not, not seeing anything supernatural in them. I was, it was amazing to, to find a group that was interested in these kind of things too, but without the they weren't incredulous. So I guess what I'm hoping for is that as we, as we kind of find more people who are, are, are aligned with us, maybe we can have more in. Experiences. That was one of the great, the great highlights of, of last year was attending the Century retreat and meeting all, all these amazing people in real life and being able to spend time together in real life. And I hope that as we kind of, as the word gets out about this group, more and more of us can meet in person or as we are able to, Mark: Mm-hmm. Michael: That's what I really hope for the future that you're finding your, your people that we are, we are being able to get these local groups together and then spend time on these important days of the year. And I believe the Chicago Afu Pagan group was able to do that not too long ago. And I know Mark, your local group meets quite regularly as well. Mark: We, we meet for the, for the eight holidays, for the eight Sabbath. So yeah, we're gonna get together on the 18th of December and burn a fire in the fire pit and do a, a ritual and enjoy food and drink with one another. And yeah, it's a, it's a really good feeling that that feeling of getting together is just You can't replace it with online connection, but online connection is still really good. So that's why, that's why we continue to do the mixers every Saturday. And Glen Gordon has also been organizing a mixer on Thursday evenings. Well evenings if you're in the Americas. And. Yeah, there's just, there's, there's a bunch of different opportunities to plug in and it's always great to see somebody new. Michael: Yeah, I think that would be another hope as well that, you know, if you've been on the fence about coming to a mixer I hope that what we've described today maybe entices you to come along. You know that there's no expectations and you can, you can share, you can just sit in the background and watch, or you can participate. There's no expectations and it's just a nice way to, to connect with people, so, Yucca: how would somebody join in? They find the, the link on the Facebook discord. Michael: that's right. Yeah. So I think, mark, you post it regularly on the Facebook group, and it's also posted on the disc. As well. So, and it's the same time every Saturday, so it's 12:15 PM Central for me, so, and that's like 1115 for you, mark, on the, Mark: No, it's 1115 for Yucca. Michael: Oh, okay. Mark: It's 10 15 for me. Michael: Okay. Okay. Yucca: one 15 for Eastern. Then Michael: one, yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yucca: Hmm Mark: And. Michael: and it's always the same time, and I think we've, I think we've only missed one week, maybe in the last three years. Mark: Yeah, I think that's right. I wasn't available and I couldn't find somebody else to host or something like that, but yeah, it's been very consistent. And I see no reason to think it isn't gonna keep being consistent. But yeah, we, you know, we welcome new people. And if you're not in the Americas, that's fine too. We've got a couple of Dutch people that come in all the time. There's a, an Austrian woman who lives in Helsinki who participates. So Yucca: E eight nine ish kind of for Europe, Mark: Yeah. Michael: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We've even had on the Thursday night mixer, we've even had Australians join occasionally too. So Yucca: That sounds like that'd be early for them then, right? Michael: yeah, Yucca: getting up in the. Michael: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. But I'd I'd love for some of the listeners to come and join us on one of the mixers and then cuz you know, you bring new ideas. And I we're always looking for new ritual ideas, Mark: Mm. Michael: That kind of bring meaning to our lives and to everybody else's. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yeah, cuz that's, I mean, that's what we're doing, right? We're, we're create, we're, it's a creative process for us. We've got these sort of frameworks like the Wheel of the Year and the, the ritual format that I laid out. Although people can use other ritual formats too. That's fine. But it's, it's an ongoing process of creation and of taking some old traditions and folding them in where they fit but creating new stuff as well. One of the innovations that we, that we've been doing for the l past year or so is if people want to be done with something, if they want to be finished with something in their. They can write it in the chat and then I take the chat file and I print it on my printer and I take it and I burn it in my cauldron. So it is actually being burnt physically. But it just takes a little bit of technical processing before that happens. Yucca: Hmm. Mark: And it's those kinds of innovations that are really useful for online rituals. And boy, if you have new ideas about things we can do for online rituals, I, I would love to hear 'em. Yucca: So thank you so much for sharing your story and your visions or the future with us. This has been, it's, it's really been beautiful to hear and to get that insight. Thank you, Michael. Michael: Well, thank you for having me on. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: It's been delightful hearing from you and, and I, I gotta say, I, I feel like our community is very lucky. You've been exploring religion and and folklore and ritual for a long time in a lot of different frameworks and I feel really fortunate that you've landed with us cuz I like you so. Michael: Okay. Well thanks very much. I like you too, Mark: Okay folks, that'll be all for this week. And as always, we'll have another episode for you next week on the Wonder Science Based Paganism. Have a great week. Yucca: Thanks everybody.
Drama and theatre studies lecturer Dr David Clare explores four plays about Lewis that downplay his Ulster background. This talk was originally given at a CS Lewis symposium called Now We Have Faces, which was hosted by The CS Lewis Group at Ulster University in coordination with English at Ulster. The title of David's presentation was ‘“The man from God knows where”: Four plays about CS Lewis in which his Belfast background is ignored or downplayed'. For more on the CS Lewis group at Ulster: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/cs-lewis For more talks from Now We Have Faces: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjaoVaQAdjdVFIFenlZVg-g + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://pod.link/1560959545 + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter visit our new website + For online learning https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training + For our Premier Unbelievable? Live events + Support the podcast from the USA + Support the podcast from UK and rest of the world
English lecturer Dr Sarah Waters answers questions about Out of the Silent Planet, following her presentation at CS Lewis symposium Now We Have Faces. She was joined for the Q&A by drama and theatre studies lecturer, Dr David Clare, who speaks into Lewis' Irishness. For more on the CS Lewis group at Ulster, including details about their May conference: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/cs-lewis For more talks from Now We Have Faces: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjaoVaQAdjdVFIFenlZVg-g + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://pod.link/1560959545 + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter visit our new website + For online learning https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training + For our Premier Unbelievable? Live events + Support the podcast from the USA + Support the podcast from UK and rest of the world
"Great song ... great masks ... the plan sucks." That's how Dick Ebert summed up the infamous bait-and-switch horror classic "Halloween III: Season of The Witch," a movie that taught us what happens when you take the slasher out of a slasher series. Rob in Colchester commissioned this 1982 film, recorded a jingle for it and shared his mind-blowing theories on why a super-hot, grieving daughter would bang an alcoholic doctor, why TV stations would take orders from that doctor and why killer androids let him live. In this episode, Gene learns about Mr. Beast and immediate hates him. Big D teaches us how to punch dolphins, and Ash wonders what Irishness has to do with the Halloween franchise. The Shat Crew also praises the realness of Halloween III's black characters, suggests casting Jeff Goldblum instead of Tom Atkins and explores the drop-off in kids watching TV. SUBSCRIBE Android: https://shatpod.com/android Apple: https://shatpod.com/apple All: https://shatpod.com/subscribe CONTACT Email: hosts@shatpod.com Website: https://shatpod.com/movies Leave a Voicemail: Web: https://shatpod.com/voicemail Leave a Voicemail: Call: (914) 719-7428 SUPPORT THE PODCAST Donate or Commission: https://shatpod.com/support Shop Merchandise: https://shatpod.com/shop Theme Song - Die Hard by Guyz Nite: https://www.facebook.com/guyznite
Irish furniture brand Orior has an improbable history: Started in the late 1970s by the husband-and-wife duo of Brian and Rosie McGuigan, the company began in a small town near Belfast in the midst of the Troubles. 40 years later, the furniture is still manufactured in the same town, but the McGuigan's son Ciaran has brought the brand to New York and given it an edgy, cosmopolitan look. On this episode of the podcast, Rosie and Ciaran McGuigan tell host Dennis Scully about getting through tough times, leaning into their Irishness, and why being bold—and maybe a little crazy—has always been part of their company's DNA.This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Four HandsLINKSOriorDennis ScullyBusiness of Home
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