Love and Courage

Rare and revealing interview with legendary Irish folk musician Christy Moore exploring his personal life, his music and his politics. Published on Ruairí McKiernan's Love and Courage podcast.

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I grew up listening to Christy Moore, as did many Irish people, and indeed people all over the world. He’s a folk singer and musician in the tradition of Woodie Guthrie and so many other greats who write, collect and interpret songs that capture and communicate the struggles and emotions that many of us face.

Christy’s songs gave me an education and an insight into areas of life and events in history that I otherwise may not have known about. He also brings great warmth, depth and fun to the mix, offered with a real sense of humanity and connection with the listener. Christy Moore has been singing and performing now for over 5 decades. Think about that, over 50 years making and sharing music.

Christy has been named Ireland’s greatest living musician and has recorded almost 30 solo albums and as well as many others as a founder member of legendary groups Planxty and Moving Hearts. Never shying away from the issues of the day, he has had songs banned and faced criticism along the way, but he continues to speak out and stand in solidarity with people, issues and causes that need support.

Christy was my number 1 choice of guest when I first started this podcast. He rarely gives interview or discusses his personal life but he nonetheless generously agreed to do an interview with me.

As with all of my interviews, this was totally unscripted. I didn’t prepare any questions in advance, preferring to take the approach of this being a conversation based on presence and connection in the moment so what you’re about to hear is very much a free flowing conversation. It was so free flowing that the interview started slightly unexpectedly with Christy announcing to me that he was going to sing a song straight away. I was slightly taken aback as I hadn’t my microphones full set-up and was searching in my bag for something but the moment just took off and pulled me in to the most incredible experience to have Christy sitting there in front of me singing accapella. The song was such a powerful one that you’ll hear by my reaction that I was literally lost for words for a few seconds.

This is a really rare and special interview and I hope you enjoy it. I put a lot of work into these podcasts so if you enjoy it please be sure to rate and review the Love and Courage podcast, subscribe to it if you haven’t already, donate if you can, and please please spread the word of this great episode far and wide including on social media where you can tag me. Just search for my name, Ruairi McKiernan, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

This was a live recording that took place at University College Dublin as part of the UCD Volunteers Overseas annual forum. The theme of the event was The Age of Activism – making space for intergenerational learning and it was sponsored by Concern Worldwide, Comhlamh and UCD international.

This wide-ranging conversation featured 3 inspirational voices for change.

CAOIMHE BUTTERLY

Caoimhe Butterly is, without doubt, one of the most impressive activists I have ever met. She has lived in solidarity with communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon for over 15 years. She has spent the past five years involved in refugee, undocumented and asylum-seeker support networks in Greece, Lebanon, the Balkans, Calais and Ireland. Now living in Dublin, she is also studying and working in the area of Systemic Psychotherapy, with a focus on collectively experienced trauma. She also makes short documentary films, one of which, ‘The Border’ won the 2016 ICCL Human Rights Film Awards.

CODIE PRESTON

Codie Preston is from Jobstown in Tallaght and is a past UCDVO volunteer. He studied science in UCD and travelled to Haiti and India with UCDVO. As a young person, he attended Citywise Education, an organisation that promotes education in a fun and engaging way. He continued to stay involved as a volunteer and now sits on the Board of the charity. He has worked as a secondary school teacher for the last 10 years and was involved in the campaign to release Ibrahim Halawa, a former student of his, from prison in Egypt. He is also a recipient of a Youth Award, in the Tallaght Person of the Year awards and has been involved in various other campaigns and believes in young people, education and social justice

DR URSULA BARRY

Ursula Barry is Associate Professor in social economics and gender studies in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice in UCD. Ursula has wide-ranging experience as a researcher and policy analyst in the area of gender equality in Ireland, the EU and globally. She has been a committed activist and writer on reproductive justice, gender equality, LGBT issues and human rights in Ireland since the early 1970s and has written extensively on the economic and social situation of women in Ireland.

The conversation started with me asking the panel to reflect on the previous speaker at the conference, who was Michael Doorley, who is the Head of Active citizenship at Concern Worldwide. Michael’s talk was a hope-filled speech about his many decades of work for social justice and he’s someone I hope to interview in a future episode. The conversation really gets going after that where each of the guests reflects on their early influences, their journey in creating change, and their hopes for the future.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Ruairí McKiernan interviews Johann Hari, a British writer and journalist whose books have been international bestsellers. Chasing the Scream explored the failure of the global war on drugs and the follow-up book Lost Connections looks at depression and the social links to our mental health and wellbeing. Johan’s TED talk Everything You Think You Know about Addiction is Wrong has been seen by millions of people and he has attracted the support of people like Naomi Klein, Elton John, Glenn Greenwald, Russel Brand and Brian Eno as well as leading voices in the medical field.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Chuck is one of America’s leading economic equality campaigners, a Senior Scholar at the Institute of Policy Studies, a co-editor of Inequality.org, an author of several books including his autobiography Born on Third Base, and a longtime advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders. Chuck is also well known for his incredible story of growing up in a life of huge wealth and privilege and how he ended up giving away his fortune. This is something he talks about in this interview as well as discussing topics ranging from Donald Trump and populism, philanthropy, the potential and prospects of people power, and his particular interest in the world of trees.

Just to say the main interview was approximately 60 minutes and this is then followed by a questions and answers session with the audience. Some of the questions from the audience didn’t get picked up by the microphones but they should make sense when you hear Chuck respond.

It was a great experience doing the live interview from Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin and to meet so many Love and Courage listeners there. We had great music from one of my favourite musicians, Enda Reilly, and it was an added bonus that so many people stayed behind to chat and connect with each other. The live format is something I hope to explore again in the future. You can also watch a video of the event via a link on LoveandCourage.org and on the LoveandCourage.org youtube channel.

Thanks as always for your support for the Love and Courage podcast, especially those of you who have been spreading the word and chipping in online at LoveandCourage.org.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Amanda Palmer is a punk rock and cabaret musical legend, a member of the Dresden Dolls, bestselling author of The Art of Asking, and force behind the popular TED talk of the same name.

She has made numerous albums, toured the world several times, been a global trailblazer in the world of crowdfunding, and helped shine the light for D.I.Y music success in the modern age.

 Amanda is married to well-known author Neil Gaiman and they recently had a child together, something we discussed as part of our fascinating conversation.

Amanda is a force of nature, a true visionary and rebel and it was a real treat to spend time with her in New York City.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Sr Teresa Forcades is a Catalonian medical doctor and Benedictine nun. She is an outspoken feminist, a fierce critic of capitalism, pro-choice on abortion, and an influential leader for Catalan independence from Spain. A BBC profile of Sr Forcades referred to her as 'Europe's most radical nun'. 

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About the podcast

The Love and Courage podcast features interviews with inspirational people who are making a real difference in the world today. Guests are typically people passionate about social justice, and who have demonstrated courage and conviction in their lives.

Host Ruairí McKiernan is leading Irish social innovator, campaigner, writer and public speaker. He is the founder of the pioneering SpunOut.ie youth organisation, and co-founded the Uplift organisation. In 2012 the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins appointed Ruairí to the Council of State, a national constitutional advisory body whose members include all current and former leaders of the country. Ruairí is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright fellowship, and he contributes regularly to the media on youth, health, community and social justice issues.

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Subscribe, download, rate and review via iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, YouTube and please spread the word. If you are new to podcasts and have an iPhone, simply use the podcast app on your phone. On Android phones, using the Google Play App download an podcast app such as Podcast Republic and search for 'Love and Courage' and then click subscribe. Download each episode individually, subscribe for updates and sign-up for email announcements about new guests and episodes.  

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Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

Luke Concannon is a fiercely passionate English singer-songwriter who, with his own record label, has sold millions of records across the world while keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Like so many English artists including Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Morrissey, Lennon and McCartney, Luke grew up in an English household rooted in Irish heritage and the traditions of family gatherings and sing-songs.

His band Nizlopi achieved mass fame with their no.1  hit the JCB song which is written as a beautiful ode from a young Luke to his father.

Nizlopi had a famously D.I.Y approach and their raw energy inspired a young Ed Sheeran to become one of their biggest fans. Ed cites them as a major influence on him and once spent 2 weeks on the road with the band learning the ropes. He has also recently recorded a song with Luke.

After Nizlopi ended, Luke went through a period of reflection and discovery including what he calls a hitch-hiking vision quest to Palestine where he worked a peace worker. Now a solo artist living in Boston, he continues to invest in his music and is a powerful voice for love and justice with his words, his approach to life and his music.

Luke and I have some mutual friends and it destined that we would end up meeting. What was originally intended to be an interview in Boston ended up in a random series of events that led us to the home of French artist Veronique Castellanos in Gort in Co. Galway, Ireland.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

World renowned spiritual teacher, author and lecturer Marianne Williamson has for the past 35 years been a popular voice in American public life, featuring extensively on television shows such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Good Morning America and Bill Maher.

Originally from Houston, Texas, she is the author of 12 books, four of which have been no. 1 bestsellers, including A Return To Love, a book which led Oprah to become an important champion of her work.

Marianne has always had a practical side to her writing, speaking and teaching. In 1989 she founded a meals-on-wheels programme that served homebound people with AIDS and she also co-founded the Peace Alliance.

In 2014 she ran for congress but was unsuccessful. However,  as you’ll hear in this interview, this hasn’t stopped her political campaigning and by the sounds of it we may not have seen the last of her political ambitions.

It was fascinating to learn about her remarkable life story when I sat down with her in her home near central park in Manhattan. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.

My guest in this episode is Gara LaMarche who is one of the world’s leading voices on funding and philanthropy for social justice.

Originally from Rhode island, Gara was the first in his family to go to college and he became the youngest person ever to serve on an ACLU policy committee.

During his college years at Colombia he says he was a reluctant student and spent much of his time teaching at a nursery school in Harlem which he credits as being one of the most formative experiences of his distinguished career.

As a former CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies, a former director of U.S programs for the Open Society Institute, and now the President of the Democracy Alliance, Gara has overseen the investment of tens of millions of dollars into social justice programs around the world. He has also worked with Pen America and Human Rights Watch, and is currently the chair of StoryCorps.

I first met Gara several years ago when he was visiting Dublin as part of his work with Atlantic Philanthropies and it was great to catch-up with him again during my recent trip to New York where I interviewed him in the StoryCorp offices in Brooklyn.

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About the podcast

The Love and Courage podcast features interviews with inspirational people who are making a real difference in the world today. Guests are typically people passionate about social justice, and who have demonstrated courage and conviction in their lives.

Host Ruairí McKiernan is leading Irish social innovator, campaigner, writer and public speaker. He is the founder of the pioneering SpunOut.ie youth organization, and helped set-up the Uplift and the A Lust For Life non-profits. In 2012 the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins appointed Ruairí to the Council of State, a national constitutional advisory body whose members include all current and former leaders of the country. Ruairí is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright fellowship, and he contributes regularly to the media on youth, health, community and social justice issues.

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Subscribe, download, rate and review via iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, YouTube and please spread the word. If you are new to podcasts and have an iPhone, simply use the podcast app on your phone. On Android phones, using the Google Play App download an podcast app such as Podcast Republic and search for 'Love and Courage' and then click subscribe. Download each episode individually, subscribe for updates and sign-up for email announcements about new guests and episodes.  

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Web:         www.loveandcourage.org
Twitter:     @loveandcourage 
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/hopehitching
Instagram: ww.instagram.com/ruairimc/
Linkedin:    

Subscribe, share, rate, review and donate to support this podcast. Thanks to patrons who chip in at www.loveandcourage.org Host Ruairí McKiernan is a well-known social innovator, charity founder, campaigner, counsellor, consultant, and author. Find out more via:  Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn and check out his book Hitching for Hope. He also has another podcast called Creative Souls of Clare.