Episode 14. The word "legend" has been bandied about so much it has almost lost its meaning. However it is with great consideration and without any doubt that we can announce the guest of this Christmas Special of The Ireland Podcast as Derry, Ireland and indeed Europe's own living legend, Mr. Phil Coulter.

Not only has Phil been the first Eurovision composer to have penned two winning songs for two different countries but he also has composed some of the most memorable songs that Ireland has heard in the last century including The Town I Loved So Well, Scorn Not His Simplicity, Steal Away and Ireland's Call to name but a few. Elvis Presley has even recorded one of this man's songs!

As producer he has brought us some of the best recordings from the likes of Planxty, The Dubliners, The Fureys, Sinead O'Connor and Van Morrison.

He's sold literally millions of records worldwide and has amassed awards resulting in a list that anyone can care to remember.

We deep dive into some Phil's background, his production techniques, his methods for composing as well well as some tales from some of the other amazing artists he has worked with. We are truly honoured to have recorded this Christmas Special with Phil Coulter.

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Episode 13. Dr JP McMahon discusses his early life, his education, Marina Carr, Tom Murphy Brian Friel, the three Lady Gregory plays, Brendan Kennelly poet, Samuel Beckett, Dadaism, Hugo Ball, bringing art into the restaurant, choosing music to match the restaurant, using photography in the restaurant, Food On The Edge, staging a performance with food, Hugo Ball, his Cava and Aniar restaurants, the seriousness of Michelin starred restaurants, how Michelin stars are awarded, how Aniar is a process, Irish brown flour, the black Irish bee, farmers market vs supermarkets, the state of farming in Ireland today and the challenges it faces, a message to the policy makers when it comes to farming as well as other topics. WARNING: This podcast discusses some adult themes.

Relevant Links

https://www.aniarrestaurant.ie

https://www.cavarestaurant.ie

https://jpmcmahonpbrosz.bandcamp.com/album/the-beckett-project

Photo by Sean Lydon

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As a fan of Shane MacGowan and The Pogues since 1985 this episode is made with the most respectful of intentions. It is a collection of thoughts, conversations and music from Shane's funeral in Nenagh, County Tipperary on 8 December 2023 - a day that would have been Sinéad O’Connor’s 57th birthday.

In the interests of time two notable omissions have been made: the speech from an Uachtaráin Michael D. Higgins and the eulogy from Shane’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke. (Both are really worth looking up.) Victoria does offer a great insight into Shane via a context of the presentation of the symbols. 

Please forgive and endure the first two interviews as the wind was a bit strong: the audio quality gets better from then on.

Victoria concluded her eulogy with this, ”He demonstrated that it's possible to be a multiple drug user – like not just an alcoholic but absolutely multiple, every kind of drug known to man, there wasn't a single drug he didn't take – to still be a genius and a beautiful soul and make massive contributions to the world and be loved. So, next time you see somebody who you're thinking ‘that guy is just an alcoholic or drug addict’, stop. Give thought to it and just let yourself just consider giving a a bit of compassion and respect to that person, that would be my final message.”

Sincerest gratitude to all that contributed to this project.

Photo Credit 

https://www.instagram.com/dragana23

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Kevin takes us deep into his early years when he trained as a fiddle player as well as a violin player. He discusses moving to American in 1980, Alan’s Irish Fiddler Book, Sligo Fiddle Player Paddy Killoran, Kevin’s way of playing, BB King, adapting the way one talks in certain scenarios, the music being on display vs. the musician, the semantics of music, Jackie Daly the great accordion player, playing with cajun influences, playing with open strings, Brendan Behan’s “The Hostage”, playing in awkward keys, how certain keys sound "violiny" and others sound "fiddley", playing with Andy Irvine and Paul Brady, Yehudi Menuhin, Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor, Gilles Apap, Motown, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Green, Pete Townsend, The Who, John Brennan the guitar player, Poco, Jethro Tull’s Serenade To A Cuckoo’, ‘Blue Room Blues’, working the blues into Irish tunes, Miles Davis, Nile Rodgers, playing two notes effectively, genetic vs. environment, advice to parents with children who are beginning to play music, his videos “Music From An Irish Cottage”, Sharon Shannon & Sean Smyth, Seamie O’Dowd & Rick Epping, John Carty & Rosaleen Stenson Ward, Leonard Barry (pipes) & Mick McAuley, Josephine Marsh & Mick Kinsella, Nuala Kennedy & A.J. Roach, prioritising personalities over instrumentation whern curating such events and other topics.

Relevant Links

https://www.kevinburke.com

https://musicfromanirishcottage.vhx.tv

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Episode 10. Comedian behind Ireland's Smallest Comedy club which takes place upstairs in Dew Drop Inn, Galway ever Thursday at 9pm. Johnny discusses his early influences, sketches of the priest and Christy Moore, Jasper Carrott, Benny Hill, things you can and can’t say, Ritchie Kavanagh, comedy being the poor relation of the entertainment business - you don’t qualify for Arts Council grants etc, Dermot Roche, Dew Drop Inn, the difference in comedy and music, the requirements of comedy for a live venue, Bob Hennigan, Comedy Festival, Milton Jones, Reginald D. Hunter, Trip Advisor, Hector, Colin Geddis, The Empire, Jerry Sadowitz, the survival techniques of comedians, how comedians can be a bit shorter, how the comedians are in Ireland's Smallest Comedy Club are solid if lesser known, open mic nights, how people shouldn’t feel picked on at a comedy club, solo travellers feeling self conscious at a comedy club, the smoke and mirrors of a comedy act, Will Smith, Chris Rock and the effects on live comedy, punching up and punching down in comedy, trash talk in comedy clubs, why comedy exists, the effects of cancel culture on comedy, calling out the elephant in the room, how comedians come from minority backgrounds, how comedy is like therapy, the oedipus complex, Dara O’Briain, The Ruby Room in The Kings Head in Galway, Tommy Tiernan starting out in comedy, how the likes of Tommy works on a show (in Johnny’s opinion), giving tourists a good old holiday, the transformation of a comedy club back into the upstairs room of a pub, the amount of admin involved in the arts, The Rolling Stones and other topics.

Relevant Links

My Cat Is Fat on Amazon

Ireland's Smallest Comedy Club tickets on Eventbrite

Ireland's Smallest Comedy Club on TripAdvisor

Manflu - The Truth

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Second of a series of episodes tracing the connection between John Prine and Ireland. A conversation with Grammy-winning producer Jim Rooney and his good friend from Kinvara, the musician Paul Mulligan.

0:03:20 Introductions

0:05:06 Jim's first encounter with John

0:06:50 John starts Oh Boy Records

0:07:50 The first release on Oh Boy Records

0:10:44 John loved Christmas

0:14:50 John, his jukebox and the hit that was so big we can't remember the name of

0:23:04 John loved phrases and aphorisms

0:23:52 Paul and Jim's Tribute #1

0:28:01 Paul's first encounter with John

0:31:01 Paul's first encounter with Jim

0:33:35 Jim's connection with Ireland

0:34:12 Why is Ireland so musical?

0:35:47 Jim and Paul's Tribute #2

0:40:11 Where are John's ashes?

0:41:18 A favourite memory of John by Jim

0:48:52 John's post-cancer voice

0:50:00 A favourite memory of John by Paul

0:51:40 How John captured his songs

0:52:24 John's lyrics

0:58:29 John listened to a lot of country music

0:59:40 Jim and Paul's Tribute #3

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First of a series of episodes tracing the connection between John Prine and Ireland. Here's some highlights from his wikipedia entry:

• Prine won four Grammy Awards out of 13 nominations, as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• In 1971, Prine was playing regularly at the Earl of Old Town. Steve Goodman, who was performing with Kris Kristofferson at another Chicago club, persuaded Kristofferson to go see Prine late one night. Kristofferson later recalled, "By the end of the first line we knew we were hearing something else. It must've been like stumbling onto Dylan when he first busted onto the Village scene."
• One admirer, Bob Dylan, once described his canon as 'pure Proustian existentialism' and 'Midwestern mind trips to the nth degree.'
• Johnny Cash, in his autobiography Cash, wrote, "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years—Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four ..."

0:00:00 Intro

0:07:40 Arrival in Kinvara

0:12:00 Sextons Bar

0:16:00 Tim the Bar Manager, Connolly's Bar

0:21:12 Sarah the Proprietor of a Dog Business who sings with her husband late at night

0:23:00 Maeve the singer from Fling - check out Fling's album on Spotify

0:29:25 Julian the Marathon Runner

0:42:15 Mary Green

1:00:17 Seán Óg McKiernan in South Korea

1:02:22 Summer's End/Watching The Detectives Mash Up by Fender Jackson

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Second half of a conversation recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 21st October 2023.

03:10 Sunningdale

04:48 Sinn Fein and the IRA's opposition to Sunningdale

05:47 The Loyalist strikes

10:06 Paisley's Third Force

12:30 Getting used to the Troubles

17:10 Getting protection

19:31 Good Friday Agreement: Hume's "solo runs"

21:32 Bríd's annoyance at the Hume/Adams talks

22:13 The relationship between John Hume and Seamus Mallon

28:26 Bríd's role in the Good Friday Agreement

35:40 Blair and Clinton's intervention with David Trimble

37:02 The certainty of peace

40:00 Trimble the heroic leader

43:58 Sinn Fein wearing SDLP's clothes

44:17 What more could Bríd have done to make SDLP more relevant today?

45:47 Voting for Sinn Fein to keep them at the table

50:47 Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

58:17 Viewing the current political situation

1:01:07 Where does Bríd see NorthernIreland in 30 - 40 years time?

1:03:27 Doug Beattie and the UUP

1:04:46 Bríd's legacy

1:06:34 Bríd's tribute to all of the people who worked with the SDLP and stood by them over the years

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First half of a conversation recorded on the afternoon of Saturday 21st October 2023.

01:18 Intro and first awareness of discrimination

08:01 Fianna Fáil vs Fine Gael

08:43 University

09:31 Voting for the first time

14:00 Getting involved in Civil Rights and first communications with John Hume

17:15 Joining and ascending the SDLP

20:30 Why did Bríd get involved in politics?

22:53 Labour, The Republican Movement, The Worker's Party

24:20 People's Democracy: Eamonn McCann, Michael Farrell

26:10 Bernadette Devlin

27:53 SDLP representing all classes

29:10 John Hume and SDLP reaching across to moderate unionists

32:16 John Hume transitioning from teacher to politician and setting up the Credit Union

34:02 How the situation on the island has changed on both sides of the border

37:47 The heroism of David Trimble

40:17 Hume bringing business to Northern Ireland

41:59 Rioting versus working 

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A wide ranging interview with Ollie Walsh who is the co-founder and CEO of Pipit Global, a FinTech start up based in Galway. Ollie also consults for and mentors FinTech/Tech/Social Impact founders and companies globally.

Ollie discusses starting up a FinTech company, how he got into this type of work, his competition and the difference in his company, the amount of money required to get people out of extreme poverty, , how markets can turn and how these can affect organisations of huge sizes, the venture capitalist approach to investing, Nigeria and how it will be an even bigger powerhouse in terms of economy and population, how it is virtually risk free for an investor in the UK to invest but there's a greater risk in Ireland, the advantages and challenges of running a FinTech business in Ireland as well as Galway, his interest in Tai Chi and how it is vital for any budding entrepreneurs that they maintain a balanced life, the Portershed in Galway, how covid has changed his method of working as well as other topics.

Relevant Links

https://www.pipit.global

https://olliewalsh.com

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