House of Mel presents: For the Love of Mary

Welcome to episode 15. This is the final episode of this series. In this episode, I shared my conversation with my daughter, Chloe Bradley. I knew that I wanted a conversation that would talk about my journey and what I'd learned, and there was no other woman in this world that I would have wanted to share that conversation with, than my daughter. It was our last night together before she went off to university. As you can imagine, it was a very emotional experience.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 14. In this episode we travelled to Kerrytown. It had been on the to do list for a while and on a beautiful sunny Sunday, we decided to go there. This podcast is something of a bonus episode. We met a woman there who agreed to tell me a story, to share her experience with me as long as I didn't ask for her name. I never did. This is her story.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 13. I know that some people consider this to be an unlucky number, but not me. In fact, it was so lucky that this episode found me sitting having tea and a conversation with the incredibly talented actor, writer and feminist Siobhán McSweeney. 

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 12. In this episode, I travelled to Carndonagh to meet with a good friend and wonderful woman Michaela McDaid who had the most amazing stories to share. 

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 11. In this episode, you can hear how giddy I am with excitement. I got to sit down and share a conversation with Sara Ní Chuireáin. A fantastic queer rights and feminist activist, stand up comedian and all round lovely woman.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 10. In this episode I had a chat with Mary Scally. I'd wanted to interview Mary for quite some time and when you listen, you'll understand why. She has been such an inspiring woman, I was filled with so much excitement over this conversation.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 9. In this episode, still with Clare Women's Network, a member of the network that was unexpected became interested in taking part in the project after a chat over a cup of tea with some of the other women. Margarite is from Poland and has been living in Ireland for 2 years. 

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 8. In this episode, still with Clare Women's Network, I met with Deirdre Maher who shared her raw stories and thoughts with me on her relationship with the Virgin Mary. 

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 7. In this episode, I met up with a woman I made connections with through Clare Women's Network. Arlene Murphy is a feminist activist and was involved in the Repeal campaign. It was a pleasure to meet with her and share her stories.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.

Welcome to episode 6. In this episode, I've travelled to County Clare, to Corofin to meet a good friend, longtime feminist activist and archeologist, Eve Campbell.

For the Love of Mary is a podcast series that tracks my journey to finding the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the position of women in Ireland. It is told through the conversations and stories shared with some of the most amazing women on this island.

My practice as an artist is very much founded in the idea of gathering the stories of women and this project started with, wouldn’t it be great craic if… supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award, I was able to travel to meet with women, research the ideas that came up in our conversations, document shrines, all with the view of getting to the bottom of why she’s so prevalent in Irish culture and create a new works of spoken word and poetry.

I had no script, no questions drafted, what you’re about to hear are all very much responsive conversations.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I did.

And don’t forget to share and subscribe.