Irish Stew couldn’t make it to Dublin, so cohost Martin Nutty and John Lee settled for the Dublin House, a venerable watering hole on New York’s Upper West Side, known for its low-key vibe, high quality pints and its 10-foot-tall neon sign in the shape of a harp that has been lighting the way to a great craic for decades.

The occasion was a meet-up over a pair of those pints for “Stew in Review,” a holiday retrospective on their 2025 season.  

Martin reflected on the core message of the Joseph Kennedy III episode as the former US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland advocates for the healing power of civility over the destructive impulse of rage.

John notes for craic it’s hard to top the episode recorded in the cavernous, cacophonous Common Market with Belfast Night Czar Michael Stewart and Belfast Food Tours’ Caroline Wilson, and for raw, riveting emotions the episode with Northern Irish actors John Duddy and Ciaran Byrne as they relived their experiences of The Troubles.

That was one of two episodes of Irish Stew recorded live before a (paying!) audience as part of the Origin Theatre First Irish Festival, a 2025 highlight made possible by then artistic director Mick Mellamphy, an high-energy experience the pair hopes to expand on in the year to come.

With a pint or two oiling the conversational gears the pair shared recollections of The Irish Stew residency at the Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival, a standout episode with the groundbreaking Irish president Mary Robinson, the sense of commitment to community they found throughout their Off the Beaten Craic in the Hidden Heartlands Road Trip, the destination dining at Thyme Restaurant in Athlone, and the serendipitous stories they stumbled upon in their off-season Midlands ramble.

The podcasters also raise a toast to their travel partner Tourism Ireland, media partner IrishCentral, the Dublin House for welcoming them into their cozy confines, and, above all, the folks who lend their ears--the listeners. The episode wraps with a sneak preview of what’s to come in 2026, and, after settling their bar tab, the podcasters head back into the windy winter weather on West 79th Street, pausing for a selfie under the glowing green harp that heralds the Dublin House.

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Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 38; Total Episode Count: 141