The Irish Passport brings you an interview with Jer O’Leary: actor, activist, artist, orator of Jim Larkin speeches and Dublin legend who recorded these tapes before he died in 2018. Jer discusses growing up in the Irish capital and how it changed over his life, and how he ended up in the national art college despite leaving school at 14, and his work creating banners for Ireland’s union movement, a body of work that led writer Fintan O’Toole to once describe Irish protest marches as moving exhibitions of Jer O’Leary’s art. O’Leary describes his route into theatre and film through political activism, and we hear from childhood friend Richard Collins about how Jer ended up behind bars for his role in an IRA holdup in the political turmoil of the 1970s – and how it changed his life.

If you haven’t heard it, listen to our episode to the 1913 Dublin Lockout, a prequel to this interview: https://www.theirishpassport.com/podcast/the-irish-left-legacies-of-the-lockout/

Some images of Jer’s life and work can be seen here: https://comeheretome.com/2018/12/26/goodbye-to-jer-oleary-actor-and-larkinite/

Jer O’Leary can be seen in My Left Foot here: https://youtu.be/CNFrixpsOAg

And in Game of Thrones here: https://youtu.be/MXGPgNp719k

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