Novara Media

For over 100 years, Irish revolutionaries hoping to drive the British out of Ireland looked to the United States for money and support. They also looked across the Atlantic for new technology that might give them an advantage, including homemade surface-to-air missiles and even the world’s first modern submarine. In this bonus episode, we explore […]

Conservative politicians have said Boris Johnson could face a vote of no confidence as soon as next week. Are we about to see the back of Boris Johnson? Plus: Keir Starmer is handed a questionnaire by Durham police and Justin Welby says Prince Andrew should be forgiven. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial.

After Bloody Sunday in 1972, Irish Northern Aid saw its power, influence and donations increase dramatically — but a higher profile brought new enemies. Secretly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned its sights on Noraid: auditing their books, cultivating informers and staking out meetings. On the public stage, Irish American politicians like Ted Kennedy, who […]

As Priti Patel sends leaflets to asylum seekers warning of imminent deportation to Rwanda, a leaked Home Office report has admitted UK migration policy is steeped in racism. We speak to immigration barrister Zehrah Hasan. Plus: Starmer gets called out by the boss of the RMT; Liverpool fans are attacked by french police; and Carrie […]

Lea Ypi’s life is awash with instances that question what it means to be free. From growing up in communist Albania to teaching at the London School of Economics, her story is a window onto the complex connections between freedom and sovereignty, and between the personal and the political. Aaron Bastani speaks to Ypi on […]

Rishi Sunak’s belated cost-of-living package has been welcomed by Labour. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? We ask chief executive of the New Econimcs Foundation Miatta Fahnbulleh. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.

In 1927, the Irish republican Michael Flannery emigrated from the quiet backroads of Tipperary to the crowded streets of New York City, swapping a life of rebellion for a humdrum career in life insurance. But the Irish American community hadn’t forgotten about the old country, and as the Troubles began in Northern Ireland, Flannery found himself at the heart of the campaign to end British rule.

In episode two of Foreign Agent, Flannery’s life story unlocks the roots of anti-colonial struggle in Ireland and how the Irish became white in America. We trace the history of Noraid, the organisation he helped to found, and the political tensions threatening to rupture the republican movement.

Further reading:

Irish America and the Ulster Conflict by Andrew Wilson

Noraid and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1970-1994 by Robert Collins

The Provisional IRA by Tommy McKearney

Ireland, Colonialism, and the Unfinished Revolution by Robbie McVeigh and Bill Rolston

How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev

Black and Green by Brian Dooley

Enemies and Passing Friends by Pamela Clayton

“Irish Republicans in Inter-war New York” and “The Politics of Noraid” by Brian Hanley

The interviews recorded with Michael Flannery and Martin Lyons are courtesy of the Tamiment Library at New York University.

Hosted by Nate Lavey

Produced by Nate Lavey and Michael McCanne

Original music by Matt Huxley

https://novara.media/ForeignAgent

The Sue Gray report reveals a culture in Downing Street of rule-breaking, cover-ups, and disrespect towards lower paid staff. Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial dig into the details.

When six suitcases full of guns are discovered on an Irish dock in 1971, suspicion falls on a newly founded organisation of Irish Americans known as Noraid. For nearly 30 years, the US, British and Irish governments accused the group of being a front for the Provisional IRA and of funnelling weapons and cash from the pockets of Irish America to the coffers of the socialist guerillas. But could they prove it?

In episode one of Foreign Agent, host Nate Lavey explains how militant Irish nationalism took hold in the bars and social clubs of the Irish American diaspora, and recounts how the appearance of an iconic American rifle on the streets of Belfast led to a courtroom drama in Texas, ending in embarrassment for the American and British governments.

Further reading:

Irish America and the Ulster Conflict by Andrew Wilson

A Secret History of the IRA by Ed Moloney

The Lost Revolution by Brian Hanley and Scott Millar

The interviews recorded with Matthias Reilly and Pascal Morahan are courtesy of the Tamiment Library at New York University. The interview with Brendan Hughes is from the film Voices from the Grave and is courtesy of Ed Moloney.

Hosted by Nate Lavey

Produced by Nate Lavey and Michael McCanne

Original music by Matt Huxley

https://novara.media/ForeignAgent

After the police cleared Boris Johnson of all but one rule breach, photos have emerged of the PM drinking booze at a separate gathering during lockdown. How have the Met let him get away with it? Plus: Australia has a new PM and the Tories are still all over the place on an energy company […]