Charlie Bird meets Trinity graduate and humanitarian Seán Binder who has travelled to Lesbos, Greece, to save and rescue people at sea.

In 2018, at the age of 23, Seán took his seafaring, search and rescue skills, learned off the coast of Kerry, and began his own rescue operation for refugees in Lesvos, Greece.

Seán was moved to do this by the death of the three-year old boy, Alan Kurdi, whose image, lying drowned on a beach near the Greek islands, shocked and outraged people all across the world.

Little did Seán know the journey that his instinctive reaction would bring him on.

“I wanted to find out why one young person, out of thousands, decided to say, ‘I’m not going to accept this, I’m not going to just sit around and do nothing’,” said Charlie Bird.

“In Seán, you had a young man with the world at his feet, an intelligent, articulate Trinity College graduate, who could have chosen any path.

“But Seán isn’t just anybody and listeners will learn about his unique background, why he was spurred to take action in the Mediterranean and, shockingly, how his humanitarian actions led to him serving over 100 days in a Greek jail.

“Although he still faces the threat of charges under Greek law, I have no doubt that listeners will hear an outstanding young role model, and an incredibly courageous person, in Seán Binder.”

Charlie’s interview with Seán isn’t all about the hardship of the trials that he has faced, however.

Over the course of the podcast, the pair also discuss Seán’s upbringing near Castlegregory, west Kerry, his love of the ocean from an early age, and the story of a pilgrimage taken by boat to the ancient monastery of Iona, in order to fulfil the lifelong dream of an old friend and County Kerry priest.

“People will identify with Seán Binder, with his values and his passion,” added Charlie Bird.

“If there is a perfect role model for young Irish people - although there is no such thing - Seán Binder comes extremely close.”

Seán Binder is also in the finals of the UK’s Big Idea Environmental Entrepreneurship Competition. “I've been interested in the environment since growing,” he says. “But because it’s been so difficult to move forward with my career, I thought I'd make myself a job. So, I am setting up an initiative that helps plant trees. Nice and simple.”