The Irish Passport | theirishpassport.com
Breakdown | BBC Sounds
I am disgracefully late to the brilliant The Irish Passport, a podcast about the culture, history and politics of Ireland that has been going since 2017. But crikey, I am enjoying it now. More than 40 shows in, it’s like an amazing library, with each episode a new book: you turn to stories that seem familiar, which you feel you’ve read before, only to find that there are entire chapters that were never even in the copy you owned. And then you discover other episodes, unknown worlds of poetry and politics – beautiful and heartbreaking to hear. If ever there was a podcast for the UK parliament to listen to, it’s this one. It should be piped over PAs into the House of Commons. Our new prime minister, who wondered why the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, wasn’t “called Murphy like the rest of them”, should be followed around by someone with a boombox, blasting out every episode of The Irish Passport until he has some vague idea of what he’s talking about.
Hosted by Politico Europe journalist Naomi O’Leary and Tim McInerney, a lecturer in British and Irish cultural history at the University Paris 8, you might assume that The Irish Passport has a pro-European feel. Actually, O’Leary and McInerney are remarkably even-handed, often calling upon other experts, cultural and political, to comment. They also interview local people affected by whatever’s in discussion. Though you can hop about with this podcast, I would start with the first two episodes, as they demonstrate the long history of Ireland’s internal divisions and its fraught relationship with Britain, as well as the entirely sudden, up-to-the-minute way that Brexit has shaken everything up.
Episode 1 is a concise and fair history of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. That’s followed by a surprise episode on the DUP, made immediately after the 2017 UK general election, when it became clear that Theresa May was going to have to rely on Arlene Foster and her chums’ support in order for the Conservatives to keep power.
One of the most interesting early episodes is The Knowledge Gap, about the difference in education at Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland. Two of the saddest are recent: Collusion (about the 1994 Loughinisland murders and Barry McCaffrey’s recent investigation) and Poetry and Pain, about Ireland’s culture of dealing with the past, which ends with Gail McConnell reading her poem about the Long Kesh prison breakout and her father’s death. There are episodes about Bloody Sunday, Derry, Galway and Irish Travellers. There are bonus shows for those who contribute via the Patreon website. The Irish Passport has an international following; it would be great if the UK caught up.
Especially now. As O’Leary says in the Collusion episode: “Brexit has repoliticised Northern Ireland as an issue for the British right, it’s redrawn the old division lines of British versus Irish.” If you want to understand, you should listen.
For anyone who wants a shortened Northern Irish primer, try Radio 4’s 15-minute Breakdown. Ruth Sanderson, who grew up in Northern Ireland, takes us through the events of August 1969, the battle of the Bogside and how its legacy still causes trauma.
In the first episode she talks to her mother and father about how they were affected: not directly, but every single one of their sons left when they became adults and made their homes elsewhere. Not one of their nine grandchildren lives nearby, though Sanderson herself has moved back. Still, “no one from my generation seems to talk about the Troubles”, she says, and tries to understand. She brings emotion into the story – as she should – and looks at the Scarman tribunal report into what happened 50 years ago. You can study Irish politics whenever you like, and this is as good a starting point as any.
Three series from the Edinburgh festival fringe
On the Mic
Union Jack, the national digital station, is broadcasting every night from the fringe, 9-10pm. Hosted by Martin Walker and Sophie Mitchell, each show features four comedians, with snippets from their shows and short chats. So far we’ve had Alun Cochrane, Dominic Frisby and the actual Basil Brush, among many others. In a sign of how much the Edinburgh fringe has changed, episode 10 features an all-women lineup: Jena Friedman (reviewed on page 33), Alice Fraser, Pussy Powered Protest, Esther Manito and Louisa Fitzhardinge.
The Edinburgh Fringe Show
Bafta-nominated podcaster Ewan Spence launched this show way back in 2005. It used to go out every day of the fringe, but this year is restricting itself to a single weekly one-hour episode. Spence is sweet and chatty, with some great questions, in a friendly show in which he interviews four comedians. He also dispenses advice on how to winkle out the good fringe shows, aside from the ones he recommends (ask random people in the street, use an iFringe app). There’s indie music too, two tracks per show.
Comedy Club
Radio 4 Extra is known for its comedy reruns, but also broadcasts new fringe stuff. Funny From the Fringe is three episodes of interviews, gossip and news, broadcast each Saturday night during the festival, with comedian Catherine Bohart hosting. The final episode will be broadcast next Saturday, when the main comedy and best newcomer awards are announced. There are also two episodes of 4 Extra Stands Up at the Fringe 2019, hosted by the fabulous Janey Godley, with extended sets from comedians recorded in the BBC Blue Tent.
