Dublin City Libraries & Archives

Welcome to the Dublin City Libraries podcast.

In this episode entitled Prostitution in Dublin in the early 20th Century, Dublin City Historian in Residence Mary Muldowney explores how prostitution became entangled with the cause of Irish Independence, as it was framed, not as a social issue, but as a symbol of degeneracy of the British Empire.

Recorded at the Central Library in October 2022.

Coming Out: Author Andrew Meehan On Discovering He Writes Love Stories

Andrew Meehan is nailing his colours to the mast. He writes love stories, he says – although it took him until his third and most recent novel to recognise it.

It was only as he was working on his latest novel, Instant Fires, that realisation dawned.

“Halfway through I discovered, ‘Andrew, you write love stories. OK, it took you a while to cop on to the fact it’s what you do’.” Looking back, he understands that all three of his novels are love stories.

“You write what you want to read,” concludes Andrew. “We all get put in boxes and some of us invite ourselves into certain boxes and I’m now embracing the fact that I’m a writer of love stories.“

The novel is about two strangers who meet over the course of a week in Heidelberg, Germany, and feel an instant attraction – despite the woman, Ute, being convinced love is not for her. Their courtship is “diffident, gentle, awkward” and is characterised as a prelude to love by Andrew’s publisher.

Instant Fires by Andrew Meehan is published by New Island. More here: https://www.newisland.ie/fiction/instant-fires

Hidden Truths in Reissued Classics

“Fiction sometimes unearths truths – and truths we’re not even aware of knowing,” says novelist Catherine Dunne.

She’s talking about her novel, A Name For Himself, and Lia Mills’s novel Another Alice, reissued in new editions as part of the Arlen House Classic Literature.

Both were published originally in the 1990s, but their themes of coercive control and an abused childhood remain relevant today.

More info: http://arlenhouse.ie

Writer Colum McCann talks about his hope that his book, Apeirogon, may contribute to peace. It fictionalises the true story of two fathers, an Israeli and a Palestinian, who each lose a child in the conflict.

Elsewhere in the interview, Colum says he can’t write poetry but is drawn to it, and talks about writers he has known including Frank McCourt and Benedict Kiely. He also reads from his novel.

Produced and presented by author and journalist Martina Devlin. Music by Daragh Dukes.

:: Apeirogon is published by Bloomsbury https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/apeirogon-9781526607874/

Welcome to Episode 12 of Belong Bí Ann.

Playwright and actor Thommas Kane Byrne (aka TKB) chats to host Sorcha Keane about his work, where he draws inspiration, and how he minds himself, and members of the Black Queer Book Club speak about the importance of building a community, a space of creativity, safety, friendship and support for black queer people in Ireland

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Welcome to Episode 11 of Belong Bí Ann.

Join host Sorcha Keane as she explores storytelling and story-making in this episode. Storyteller & collector Aideen McBride shares the process of story collecting and the importance of stories, while children's author Juliette Saumande & illustrator Tarsila Krüse explore how their collaboration came to be, and introduce their recent work - My Little Album of Ireland.

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Welcome to Episode 10 of Belong Bí Ann.

Language, music and culture combine in this episode. Guadeloupean singer Ines Khai shares songs and stories of her career with host Sorcha Keane, while Francesca La Morgia from Mothertongues and Kirsi Hanifin from Post Primary Languages Ireland explain how important and powerful languages are

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Welcome to this bonus episode of Belong Bí Ann.

In this special episode, in partnership with First Fortnight Festival, host Sorcha Keane is joined by First Fortnight CEO Maria Fleming, and author Ann Ingle, to chat about Ann's book 'Open Hearted - Eighty Years of Love, Loss, Laughter and Letting Go'.

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Welcome to Episode 9 of Belong Bí Ann.

Visual Art is the focus of this episode - Street Photographer Ruth Guest chats to host Sorcha Keane about her work in nightclubs and on the streets of Dublin, while visual artist Silvia Loeffler explores the city streets in her project with the Central Library - City Routes

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Welcome to Episode 8 of Belong Bí Ann.

Chandrika Narayanan Mohan, poet & performer, and Collie Ennis, zooligist, chat to host Sorcha Keane about their work, how art & science mix, nature and biodiversity. Collie gives us some tips for biodiversity in gardens, and Chandrika shares some beautiful poetry with us.

Belong | Bí Ann Artists Podcast is hosted by Sorcha Keane and is

a collaboration between Dublin City Libraries and axisBallymun and funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.