Rebel Matters Podcast

This week's guest is Dublin songwriter and producer Gemma Dunleavy whose recent EP 'Up De Flats' is a direct response to the ongoing developments in the Sheriff Street/Dublin 1 area. We chatted with her about the importance of community, how working class areas are often stigmatised & discriminated against, and about the danger posed to the area that she grew up in by ongoing commercial developments without regard for the community that have lived there for generations. Hear Gemma talk about systematic oppression, old souls, self-worth and how important poetry was to her growing up.

This week I am in conversation with author, screenwriter, playwright and former Provisional IRA volunteer and prisoner of war Laurence McKeown. Laurence spent 70 days on hunger strike as part of the 1981 hunger strike in the H-Blocks gaol that resulted in 10 republican POWs giving their lives for political status, and that changed the course of Irish history and the struggle for freedom from British rule.

Laurence has written two books about Irish republican prisoners in the H-Blocks; Nor Meekly Serve My Time: The H-Block Struggle 1976–1981 (co-written with Brian Campbell and Felim O'Hagan) was published in 1994, and Out Of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners, Long Kesh, 1972–2000 was published in 2001, as well as writing plays and films relating to his life experience.

I have created a Spotify playlist called '10' to go with this episode, which can be found on my own public playlist list.

We just posted an emergency episode in support of the current sit-in that is being staged by the former Debenhams workers on Patrick Street Cork on the 153rd day of their strike action for a fair redundancy package and for workers rights. I spoke to Carol Bridgeman who is one of 8 workers in the Patrick Street store having gained access to the building yesterday. We discussed the lead up to the strike, the demands of the workers, the personal toll that the strike is taking and some of the sacrifices being made to keep the strike going. They are planning to come out of the stort tomorrow at 1pm and there will be a rally of support outside the Patrick Street store when they come out. Get down and support them if you can.

This weeks episode is a solo run on the back of a week or so of feeling slightly off and somewhat stressed without being able to put my finger on exactly what was causing my feelings of worry and anxiety. I ended up having a good chat with myself and giving myself some solid advice via my notebook late one night, and share some of that self-advice in this episode. I also made a chill-out playlist on Spotify to accompany the episode, and had a good dig at the evil ways of hyper-captialism the dangers of constant competition, as you do!

This week I chat with actor Timmy Creed who has a one man show called Spliced that examines his relationship with our national game of hurling, showcases some of the wonders of the game, and confronts some difficult questions about the culture with GAA and team sports.

This weeks episode was recorded under the Milky Way at Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mountains of County Waterford. On account of the events of the night, the conversation veered towards the roots of anti-social behaviour and specifically, who it was actively encouraged by British security forces in the north of Ireland during the political conflict.

This weeks episode is the first in a few weeks, and is one of the rare episodes where it's me doing a solo run talking about the lockdown life, the hustle and bustle of every day life, the challenges of going back to work, and some things that I found useful to ease myself out of procrastination funks, and that help to let the creative and productivity energies flow freely. After i finished this episode last night I realised that I talked to myself for over an hour and considered that it might be a sign that I am losing my mind, but I will leave that up to you.

This weeks episode is a chat with historian and Three Castles Burning host Donal Fallon. We talked about the role commemorations have in the telling of history, the origins of the Blueshirts, how music plays an important part in the telling of history, and looked at some examples of how cities have come through tough times in the past.

I just released a special episode of the show with Tai Carpenter who is on the board of Don't Shoot Portland, which is a nonprofit organisation based in Portland Oregon dedicated to civic participation, community engagement and bridging social justice with art programming. They are playing an important role in helping to organise the current protests in America sparked by the brutal murder of George Floyd on Monday the 25th of May, and helping protesters who are being arrested and detained by police. This is a very important episode if you want to understand more about the political environment that has resulted in the murder of many people of colour while in police custody in America, learn more about what is happening on the ground as we speak with regards the anti-racist rising and protests, and find out how you can show your solidarity and support to the movement that is gathering momentum with every day in a way that will contribute positively.

Tai has also compiled a mutual aid spreadsheet of organisations that you can donate to should you wish to show your support in that way, and you can access from the link in her instagram bio (@taikittyy). Thank you to Tai for taking the time to record this episode, and solidarity and love to our brothers and sisters who are standing up for justice, equality, and ultimately freedom from oppression.

Comhrá leathan le mo shean-chara Aodh Ó Corcráin a bhfuil aithne air mar Bhéal Feirsteach agus mar chócaire., agus a chaith blianta thall i dTír na mBascasch ag cur faobhar ar a cheird.