Jessica Cecilia Anna Maria Martin (to give her full baptismal name) is a writer, actor, singer, impressionist and illustrator. She was one of the voices of the original Spitting Image, a punk werewolf to Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor Who and spent two years starring in the West End in Me And My Girl. She has of late become an accomplished illustrator of graphic novels including her own illustrated memoir, Life Drawing.

Plus Ruth McHugh raises a truly iconic Plastic Pedestal.

Born “the only black person in Ireland” in a small Tipperary town, Lorraine Maher has gone on to be a consultant, educator, trainer, creative and project manager. A director of Project 507 and Education Manager of Clean Break Theatre, she is also the founder of I Am Irish, which in five years has gone from photography exhibition to international support and training organisation, specialising in perceptions of Irishness, colour and identity heritage.

Plus Geraldine Judge raises not one but two Plastic Pedestals

Dublin-based artist, photographer, film-maker and documentarian Ruth McHugh tells of her forthcoming project looking at the curious history of Liverpool Metropolitan Catholic Cathedral. Plus the mystery of “her grandfather’s Caravaggio” and the last days of the Ballymun towers.

Meanwhile Anthony Ekundayo Lennon pays tribute to great-great-great-great grandfather James Doyle with his Plastic Pedestal.

Geraldine Judge (aka Geraldine Moloney Judge) is an outreach worker with Irish Community Care in Liverpool, as well as a writer and actor (the aka is her stage name).

Born in Southampton, raised in Dublin and now a resident of Merseyside, she has encountered bigotry on either side of the Irish Sea – too English for some, too Irish for others – but has come through those incidents with determination, humour and compassion.

We talk football, medicine, the need for specifically Irish community care, mishearing words, The Spy Who Loved Me and being taught by Roddy Doyle, as well as her solo show “Obscured View“.

Plus Pauline Nevins raises a very personal Plastic Pedestal.

Born to white Irish parents in West London, but with the colouring and facial features of a mixed race child, Anthony’s appearance led to family strife, police harassment,  and – eventually – accusations of “passing” as black in order to gain Arts Council funds. The subsequent media and Twitter storm – along with Anthony’s lifelong struggle to be accepted for who he is – is as fascinating as it is emotional.

We’re grateful to him for sharing his story with us.

Plus Joanna (“Jo”) Neary raises Lucia Joyce up onto The Plastic Pedestal.

Pauline Nevins is the author of Fudge, The Downs and Ups of a Bi-Racial, Half-Irish, British War Baby. Born the only mixed race child in a family of eight white children, hers is a story of family secrets, revelations and reunions.

Raised in Wellingborough, and now a resident of California,. Pauline’s story has been featured in two exhibitions organised by The Mixed Museum, one in conjunction with the Association of Mixed Race Irish, the other focussing on the “Brown Babies” of World War II.

Plus, Adrian Lunney selects Brendan Mulkere for The Plastic Pedestal

Jo Neary is an actor, writer, comedian, artist, puppeteer, singer…the list goes on. Nominated for a Perrier Award in 2004, she is arguably best known as Judith in the BBC series “Ideal”, starring Johnny Vegas.

Born in Coventry, but raised in Cornwall, to an Irish father and Welsh mother, she talks accents, growing up below the poverty line, going untouched by school bullies, her mercurial Irish gran, dad’s naked yoga and the life lessons she’s passing on to her son.

Meanwhile – over at The Plastic Pedestal – Patrick, Angela and Niall of Liverpool Irish Centre nominate the fab four of Tommy Walsh, Joe England, Phil Fitzpatrick and John Lennon

https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/jo-neary-cornwall-an-irish-granny-and-other-people39s-voices

Photo (c) Steve Ullathorne

Writer, journalist, editor and PR guru, Adrian Lunney graduated in English at Cambridge and was EMAP’s feature writer of the year in 1991. He now runs Adrian Lunney PR.

Born to Northern Irish parents in West London in 1960, Adrian’s story covers the rise of The Troubles on both sides of the water as well as left wing activism, the Catholic Church, the joys of Rory Gallagher and becoming reconciled to his identity and place in the world.

There’s also talk of music masters, Henry Cooper, squeamish butcher’s sons and David Soul.

Plus Mo O’Connell and Mary Tynan set the record for the largest number of Plastic Pedestals ever nominated in one episode…

https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/adrian-lunney-building-sites-fiddle-lessons-and-being-a-republican-in-purley

Patrick Gaul, Angela Billing and Niall Gibney of Liverpool Irish Centre talk about facing the challenges of Covid and staging virtual performances as well as the shopping lists you can fill at their Irish Shop.

They also discuss the history of both city and centre, the question of being Irish, English or Liverpudlian, the centre’s role in the wider community and the rise of the Irish-themed bar in Liverpool. All of this while waiting for The Logues to tune up.

Plus Laurence Cox raises trailblazer Michael Dillon onto The Plastic Pedestal

Maureen (“Mo”) O’Connell and Mary Tynan are actor-writer-directors who went from Ireland to England for professional reasons and who both returned to Dublin and Galway respectively in 2015/2016.

Mo is an award-winning film maker whose feature “Spa Weekend” is currently being feted with awards wherever it goes. She is also the founder of the Dublin International Comedy Film Festival

Mary is the creator of Notes From Xanadu, “probably” the world’s first online arts centre, and its sister institution Xanadu Theatre

Plus Nathan Mannion of EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum raises Paul Boyton – the fearless frogman – onto The Plastic Pedestal