The Irish Passport

A century since a revolutionary Irish government declared the birth of a new nation, we ask how Ireland could be re-invented for the future. We are living in a moment of rapid change. Great geopolitical shifts are destroying old certainties. Climate change is poised to transform our way of life. In Ireland, landmark referendums have been a break with the Ireland of the 20th century and a beacon of democratic innovation. Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney take the opportunity to re-imagine what Ireland could be, with special guests Clare Bailey, leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland, award-winning science fiction writer Sarah Maria Griffin, and the political scientist who lead Ireland's Citizens Assembly David Farrell. Unification? Votes at 16? Moving the capital out of Dublin? Banning cars? It's all up for discussion.

Special thanks to our hosts the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.

For bonus episodes, support us on: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

Tote bags are available to buy on our website: https://theirishpassport.com/shop/

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

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The Irish Passport is opening up the floor to listeners in this episode, and taking questions on everything from recent Irish political history, to life as a returned member of the diaspora.

Several people got in touch with practical questions about a United Ireland. Is the republic prepared for the possibility of loyalist violence? And would people born in Northern Ireland still be able to claim British citizenship in a unification scenario? Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney delve into the history of countries that broke off from the British empire to ask what we can learn from precedent.

Is it true that the Irish people were told to vote again after rejecting the European Union Nice and Lisbon Treaties? We speak to the Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration John O'Brennan and discover the complex truth of an argument often used in the Brexit debate.

A listener in the United States who is Irish by descent got in touch to say he was considering a move to Ireland, and would like to hear from people who had already done the same. We hear from people who moved to Ireland as adults and discover the country through fresh eyes: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful.

Special thanks to everyone who responded, including: Tadgh Jenkins, Shana Slow, Kevin from New York, Kath O'Meara, Stevie Nolan, and Guy Le Jeune.

To hear a full interview with Professor O'Brennan and additional responses from people who moved to Ireland, support us on: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

Featuring editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/ .

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Support this podcast

The second installment in two episodes bringing you the voices of those with the most at stake as a disastrous No Deal Brexit threatens the island of Ireland. Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney speak to Orla Smyth, a businesswoman who has invested everything she had in building Belfast's thriving Kaffe O coffee chain, only to see the prospect of tariffs, the plummeting pound and delays at the border threatening all she has worked for. A man whose house is a mile from the border tells us what it was like growing up in militarized South Armagh and how the prospect of a return to the past drove him into activism. And border integration expert Caitríona Mullan talks us through life in a cross-border household, the work that has gone into building networks across the dividing line, and how she sees people reverting to old coping mechanisms from the time of conflict to deal with the atmosphere of uncertainty.

Part one of two episodes bringing you the voices of those for whom the Brexit stakes are highest. You can listen to part one here: https://www.theirishpassport.com/podcast/s3-episode-7-where-the-brexit-stakes-are-highest-part-1/.

Featuring editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/ .

For the full interview with Caitriona Mullan and more bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Featuring 'Voyeur' by Jingle Punks.

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With the threat of a cliff edge Brexit posing extremely serious consequences for the island of Ireland and the border, we bring you the voices of people with the most at stake. Featuring a doctor in Derry who is worried about his patients getting their essential medicines, young people in Belfast facing changes to their rights, and people who rely on a peaceful open border in their daily lives. We hear from Irish News security correspondent Allison Morris on why the Brexit uncertainty and talk of a hardened border has emboldened dissident republicans, with an increasing pace of shootings and bombings over recent months. Tim Mc Inerney sums up the chaos and shenanigans in Westminster so far, and the government's predictions of riots and shortages in the case of a No Deal. Naomi O'Leary describes the view from Belfast's loyalist Shankill Road, where she went to interview former paramilitaries about their dissatisfaction with the peace, why they hate the so-called "Backstop", and the real risks of a return to violence they see now.

This is the first in a two-part episode focused on the voices of those for whom the Brexit stakes are highest. You can listen to part two here: https://www.theirishpassport.com/podcast/s3-episode-8-where-the-brexit-stakes-are-highest-part-2/

Featuring editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/ .

For the full interview with Allison Morris and more bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Support this podcast

Irish law in an international outlier in its restrictions on where its its citizens can vote. The franchise is limited to those resident inside the boundaries of the 26 counties of the republic, with almost no provision for early, postal or overseas voting. Ahead of a planned referendum to extend the right to vote for president to all Irish citizens, including in Northern Ireland and overseas, Naomi and Tim explore the political implications of the current voting system and weigh the arguments for and against change. We hear the case for reform from Irish people from the north, and from people who travelled back to Ireland in the famous ‘Home to Vote’ movements. This episode features a report from the campaign launch of Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad by contributor Michael Lanigan, as well as the voices of ordinary people in Dublin on their hopes and concerns about the proposal.

Editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

The music you heard in this episode is Night II, by Swelling, and Serial Killer, by John Bartmann.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Irish law in an international outlier in its restrictions on where its its citizens can vote. The franchise is limited to those resident inside the boundaries of the 26 counties of the republic, with almost no provision for early, postal or overseas voting. Ahead of a planned referendum to extend the right to vote for president to all Irish citizens, including in Northern Ireland and overseas, Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney explore the political implications of the current voting system and weigh the arguments for and against change. We hear the case for reform from Irish people from the north, and from people who travelled back to Ireland in the famous 'Home to Vote' movements. This episode features a report from the campaign launch of Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad by contributor Michael Lanigan, as well as the voices of ordinary people in Dublin on their hopes and concerns about the proposal.

Editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

The music you heard in this episode is Night II, by Swelling, and Serial Killer, by John Bartmann.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Support this podcast

There’s a shift in the air. The British government looks set to pursue a crash-out, “No-Deal” Brexit. Meanwhile, the Irish government has started to accept that this would mean a hard border on the island. Is disaster becoming unavoidable?

In this bonus Halfpint episode, freely available to all our listeners, Naomi reports on the mood in Dublin, London and on the continent as the clock ticks down to October 31st. University College London professor Ronan McCrea reflects on going viral in a media interview, and tells us why giving the straight facts is no longer working in public debate. Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director Aodhán Connolly explains what the impact will be on ordinary families the day after Brexit. We also hear from Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on why checks on goods cannot be avoided.

We make Halfpint episodes to say thank you to our Patreon supporters. To gain access to our full catalogue of halfpint episodes, you can head over now to www.patreon.com/theirishpassport, and become a supporter of the podcast today.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

Support this podcast

Fishermen kings, Spanish galleons, and fearsome pirate marauders – these are just some of the things that make the history of Galway City on the west coast of Ireland so intriguing. Take a tour around the medieval old town with historian Adrian Martyn, and find out all about the infamous ‘Tribes of Galway’ who presided over this western frontier-city for over five centuries. Who were they? Where on earth did they come from? And what’s left of them today?

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

If you want to check out more from historian Adrian Martyn and order his book ‘The Tribes of Galway’, you can find his work here: https://adrianmartyn.ie/

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

A Newry woman visits her big brother in Paris. The two share a drink and talk all night. The next morning, he leaves instructions for taking the metro, and disappears. His family never see him again.

The story of Anne Morgan’s 32-year search for her missing brother Seamus is just one told in this episode, the second in a two-part series on the theme of dealing with the past. We speak to Damien McNally of Belfast’s Wave Trauma Centre about how trauma can be passed down from one generation to the next, and the implications of providing front-line care while political deadlock prevents wider societal change. Historian Roy Foster of Oxford University discusses Ireland’s culture of dealing with the past and how it differs from the mood in Britain as Brexit looms. From historical inquiries to ‘Derry Girls’, we explore different routes to closure: through justice, truth-seeking, or creativity. This episode concludes with an exclusive reading by poet Gail McConnell of her poem about the Long Kesh breakout and the death of her father, ‘Start Out’.

This is the first of a two-part series on the issue of dealing with the past, dedicated to the memory of murdered journalist Lyra McKee. You can read ‘Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies’, the essay which inspired these episodes, here.

’Start Out’ is published in Fourteen by Gail McConnell (Green Bottle Press, 2018): https://greenbottlepress.com/order-form/our-books/

Featuring editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/ . Special thanks to Emma Rainey of Fem-Vibes podcast for reading an excerpt of Lyra McKee’s writing for us.

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

The music you heard in this episode is Night II, by Swelling, and Serial Killer, by John Bartmann.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.

A brutal mass shooting shocks the world. In its wake, leaders vow to find those responsible and bring them to justice. But instead, the investigation goes nowhere. Evidence mysteriously goes missing or is destroyed. Suspects are tipped off before they are questioned. Leads are allowed to go cold.

This episode delves into the murky history of collusion in Northern Ireland. We speak to investigative journalist Barry McCaffrey about the damning information he discovered linking the the infamous Loughinisland massacre to the British state’s so-called “Dirty War”. Naomi traces how Brexit has re-politicised Northern Ireland for the British right, and how modest progress in digging up the truth about the path has led to a backlash at the top of Westminster politics.

This is the first of a two-part series on the issue of dealing with the past, dedicated to the memory of murdered journalist Lyra McKee.

Editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

The music you heard in this episode is Night II, by Swelling, and Serial Killer, by John Bartmann.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish.