Craig Jordan-Baker is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at The University of Brighton. He has published fiction in New Writing, Text, Firefly Magazine, Potluck and in the époque press é-zine.

In this, our final episode of season one, Sheila sits down with Craig to discuss his recently published book – The Nacullians. Sheila and Craig explore several key themes related to the book, including, the literacy of landscape; the book’s representation of grief and adversity; and how it is a dog can be more discerning than its owners.

In the final part, Craig shares the family wisdom we can learn from reading The Nacullians.

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Check out www.epoquepress.com/titles-the-nacullians where you can purchase The Nacullians. 

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Dara Molloy is a truly fascinating individual. Along with the likes of John O’Donohue and John Philip Newell, Molloy is considered to be among one of the few experts on the subject of Celtic Spirituality. 

In this episode James sits down with Dara to discuss his spiritual journey from Roman Catholic priest in Dublin to Celtic priest, monk and druid on Inis Mor (the largest of the Aran Islands). They also discuss a number of topics explored in Dara’s upcoming book titled ‘Holy God – Journey from Belief in God to a Spirituality.’ These include, what Celtic spirituality is and how it differs from organised religion; how the dominant religions have misunderstood the notion of faith; and why monotheism and its globalisation is a root cause of the loss of both cultural diversity and biodiversity on the planet.

In the final part, Dara shares his personal wisdom and recommends that we explore the vast resources that can be found in the Celtic spiritual tradition.

Check out www.aislingpublications.com where you can pre-order Dara’s latest book ‘Holy God – Journey from Belief in God to a Spirituality’ and purchase his and Tess Harper’s other publications. 

Music credit: Amhrán Mhuínse / The Song of Muínis – Líadan

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Owen Colgan is the Irish cult comedy hero, best known for his role as Buzz McDonnell in Hardy Bucks. 

In this episode I sit down with Owen to get to know the man behind the comedy. Owen starts off by telling us how growing up in the West of Ireland shaped his comedy. We then explore the differences between the rural and urban senses of humour; and the role comedy plays in helping us to understand the absurdity of life. We also discuss why being humble is so important for having a healthy and balanced outlook and the uncertainty that comes with the life of being a creative. In the final part, Owen shares his wisdom and recommends that we try to get out into nature as much as possible. 

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J.J. Houghs Singing Pub in Banagher, Co. Offaly is a legend among Irish pubs. Indeed, it has long held this status due to the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of its owners - the Hough family. From artists to actors to musicians and lecturers the Houghs are truly a talented bunch. This is no less true of the second eldest and current proprietor of the pub - Ger Hough. Through his creative exploits Ger has produced various short films which have gone viral on social media and regularly feature on national media in Ireland and abroad.

In this episode Sheila sits down with Ger to discuss a range of topics including the history of the pub, his use of social media to create an online mythology; the difference between Irish publicans today and of yesteryear and the challenges he faces in the Covid era. In the final part, Ger shares his wisdom and recites one of his well-known monologues titled ‘The Fear’.    

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In this edited interview Johnny Ziomek tells us how he ended up discovering Gaelic football in South Korea and about the setting up of the Houston Gaels. He also tells how a twist of faith related to one of the most tragic events in modern history, namely—9/11—brought him to play Gaelic football. In the final part, Johnny shares the wisdom we can take from his remarkable story.

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In this full (unedited) interview Johnny Ziomek discusses his background as a child actor, photographer, and globe trotter. We hear about his Irish roots and his founding of the Houston Gaels. He also tells us of his experience of 9/11 and the profound implications this had for his life. In the final part, Johnny shares the wisdom we can take from his remarkable story. 

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This is an excerpt from our upcoming episode 'How the man who photographed 9/11 fell in love with Gaelic football'. Here our guest Johnny (Ziomek) tells us how he ended being present at and documenting 9/11. 

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The Troubles or the 30-year political and sectarian conflict that took place in Northern Ireland was perhaps one of the darkest and bloodiest chapters in Irish history. And yet, there is much we can learn from it, not least about the nature of forgiveness.

In this episode we explore forgiveness. Sheila and James begin by outlining their views on forgiveness. They then explore the varying views on forgiveness that have come to the fore in Northern Ireland following The Good Friday Agreement. From this we see that forgiveness is an overwhelmingly good thing, which can have many positive effects for individuals and societies. However, it is not always the only or most appropriate way for one to overcome resentment. In the final part, Sheila draws on the wisdom of John Greenleaf Whittier to recite a poem about forgiveness. 

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The Troubles was perhaps one of the darkest and bloodiest chapters in Irish history. There is much we can learn from it, not least, about the nature of forgiveness. Here we share an excerpt from our upcoming episode dropping this Saturday.

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In Ireland we call our mothers “mammy” or “mam”. The bond with our mammy is unbreakable. Indeed, it is one of the most amazing gifts of life. In this episode we explore this bond through the lens of emigration and adoption in 19th and 20th century Ireland.

Sheila begins by telling us about her own experience of motherhood and about the bond she formed with her six children. We then look at the philosophical literature and see that this powerful bond is formed in gestation when both mother and baby are most exposed to the core of one another’s subjectivity. From the accounts of adoption and emigration we see how traumatic an experience the separation of mother and child was, and yet, we also see the power and joy of this bond in cases where both parties were reunited. In the final part, we draw on the words of the Irish philosopher & poet—John O’Donohue—to impart some wisdom and a blessing for mothers. 

Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

With thanks to the John O'Donohue Literary Estate for the use of the blessing titled 'For a Mother-To-Be'

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