The GAA occupies a special place in Irish life. But that special place is what makes it so attractive to sponsors.
Today Joe and Dion look at the plan to sell the naming rights of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and rename it SuperValu Park. 
Dion vaguely recalls his only visit to the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh. And, in a world where everything is for sale, how does the GAA protect what is precious?
Joe also describes his day at the All Ireland club finals, his meeting with President Higgins and the president’s answer to Joe’s question: Will you endorse me as your successor?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SuperValu GAA: Brands are burrowing into the GAA’s culture. If they are not checked, soon they will become the culture.

Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life.&nbsp;
Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author.&nbsp;
They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They will never try to sell you a penis scented candle. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

News

Politics

When Leinster missed a drop goal in the final seconds of the European final were they just unlucky? Or were they, like Mayo, missing chances or losing three finals in a row because something fundamental was missing? On Free State today, Joe and Dion continue their exploration of the great teams and captains in sport.
Is team spirit just an illusion glimpsed in victory or is there another reason why these team succeed and others experience relative failure? 
They look at what the great teams had in common, the factor that drove them towards relentless success and why luck had nothing to do with it.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Leinster cursed or just losers? What causes great teams to become serial failures? Captain Class Part 3

Roy Keane drove Manchester United and Ireland on through the force of his personality. He was the most important player in Alex Ferguson’s side but was he a man apart or the invisible essence of the team? On Free State today, Joe and Dion debate Roy Keane and where he belongs in the captain class. They look at those who led a different way, who didn’t let heart attacks or jibes about being a water-carrier stop them leading.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Roy Keane Conundrum - The Captain Class Part 2

What is it that unites the greatest teams in sport?
What is the factor that ensures a team remains successful over a prolonged period?
When the American journalist Sam Walker began to study the greatest teams in sport, he found a common denominator that shocked him.
On Free State today, Joe and Dion discuss Walker’s book The Captain Class and the individuals who drove the greatest teams, even if, in one case, it resulted in his testicle being ripped out.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Captain Class Part 1

The Ulster final was a study in winning and losing. A perfect example of the question everyone in sport has wrestled with for generations: what makes one team win and another team lose?
What makes one team confident as they reach the dying moments of a game while another becomes tense, tight and anxious?
What separates Dublin from Mayo or Donegal from Armagh? What distinguishes Alex Ferguson from David Moyes?
On Free State today, Dion and Joe look at the difference between winning and losing. Joe talks about the time he spent with the men from the great Kilkenny sides recently and what he discovered from those conversations about the secret of success. And when they talk about winning, naturally the conversation leads back to Jim McGuinness.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Winners & Losers

Joe Klecko always had mayhem on his mind. Klecko, the legendary defensive linemen for the New York Jets, is regarded as the strongest man in the history of American Football.
When Joe Klecko was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he invited Joe Brolly to Cleveland to be part of the event.
On Free State today, Joe Klecko talks to Joe about his life on the front line of the most demanding sport of all. But it came easy to a man who once wrestled a bear and another time pulled the doors off Burt Reynolds’s tour bus. How he dealt with Joe was another story…
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SuperValu GAA: Brands are burrowing into the GAA’s culture. If they are not checked, soon they will become the culture.

Download our free app to listen on your phone