The Irish Passport

Hi everyone, Naomi here. Like many people I've been reeling since the news of the death of Sinéad O'Connor. I took a moment to share some of my thoughts and a little about Sinéad and who she was - the girl with towering musical gifts who broke out of a Magdalene Laundry to busk on the streets of Dublin and achieved worldwide fame while never losing her soul. Unfortunately, her life was cruel, and she paid the price. Here are some of the links I mentioned: Radio Sinéad, a Spotify playlist of 467 songs that she loved and put together to share publicly: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tJNA0rDI3sdlO5fF2f4jW?si=goXEjQDBQiWD8lLpUopDbg A tribute to Sinéad O'Connor by President Micheal D Higgins https://president.ie/en/media-library/news-releases/statement-by-president-higgins-on-the-death-of-sinead-oconnor Black Boys on Mopeds (1990), by Sinéad O'Connor https://youtu.be/n14lwdpYkAA Sinéad O'Connor explains why she ripped up the picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live https://youtu.be/b3CuF7B3tIY Sinéad O'Connor faces down a booing crowd at Madison Square Garden, and stands by her remarks about child abuse in the days after her controversial Saturday Night Live Appearance https://youtu.be/GzxTDHMQza8 The Prayer of St Francis, 1993 https://twitter.com/KillianM2/status/1684302806067322883?s=20 You Made Me the Thief of your Heart (1994) https://youtu.be/X2SVsV7Wuh4 In her own words, Sinéad O'Connor recounts her experience in a Magdalene Laundry as a teenager http://web.archive.org/web/20230329225310/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/sinead-o-connor-on-her-teenage-years-i-steal-everything-i-m-not-a-nice-person-i-m-trouble-1.4560611 A comeback performance in 2019 on RTÉ's Late Late Show in which Sinéad O'Connor proudly appeared in dress and headscarf reflecting the spiritual refuge she found in her conversion to Islam in 2018. https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2023/0727/1074429-sinead-oconnor-melts-hearts-on-late-late-show/

Ireland's strict libel laws and onerously expensive legal system is stacked against journalists and in favour of wealthy people who abuse the situation to censor reporting about them. That's when Naomi discovered in her research for a recent report for press freedom organisation the International Press Institute. She discusses what she found out, why property developers are particularly litiguous in Ireland, and what the impact is on ordinary journalists and media organisations from the largest broadcasters to the smallest magazines and podcasts. As it happens, Tim was recording this episode in Paris, just as France was about to face another night of large-scale rioting following the shooting of a teenager by police. He explains what led to the situation. To access more than 100 bonus episodes like this one, support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport Naomi's report can be read here: https://ipi.media/ireland-how-the-wealthy-and-powerful-abuse-legal-system-to-silence-reporting/

What's in a gene? We wade into the world of genetics, to find out all about an extensive DNA mapping project called the Irish DNA Atlas and to see what it can tell us about the history of Ireland. We also take a look at the phenomenon that is at-home DNA ancestry tests, which have exploded in popularity in the past few years, as well as exploring the ethical or legal concerns they might bring up. Finally, we take a deep dive into our own genetic legacy, revealing the potential secrets hidden in our DNA... Supporters of Patreon hear our episodes early and ad-free. You can sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport A bonus episode discussing the making of this podcast and additional insights is available here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/after-show-dna-83901131

In the second part of our episode on Ireland's lost forests, Naomi travels to the Beara peninsula in Co. Cork to speak to sculptor and author Eoghan Daltun. Eoghan's award-wining book, An Atlantic Rainforest: a Personal Journey into the Magic of Rewilding, recounts how he has brought a sector of ancient Irish woodland back to life by simply making space for native ecosystems to thrive. We also hear about how E.U. policy has shaped woodland preservation in Europe, we discuss how big predators might be the key to restoring biodiversity, and we return to the mystery of the bare-bottomed Woodkernes - discovering the weird and ancient art of the Braigetóir, or professional flatulists. A bonus episode will be available at https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

A rich political, social and economic history of Ireland can be told by an analysis of its landscape, and specifically through the history of its trees. In this episode, Naomi and Tim delve into the history of deforestation and its tangled associations with colonialism and agriculture, and whether the 'green' image of Ireland is all that it seems. Coming soon in part 2, we will visit a place where the ancient forest of Ireland is making a rebound: in the Irish Atlantic Rainforest restored on the Beara Peninsula by Eoghan Daltun. Patreon supporters can access a bonus debrief episode over at https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport in which Naomi and Tim discuss a genocidal Elizabethan poet who was banished to Cork, and why a blank and featureless lawn is considered an ideal to so many... Thanks so much for listening!

After years of deadlock, EU and UK leaders have declared a historic reset in their relations as they reach an agreement on Northern Ireland called the 'Windsor Framework'. Naomi and Tim unpick the details of what is in the deal on Northern Ireland's post-Brexit arrangements, intended to resolve the dispute over the so-called Protocol that came into force in 2021. What's the story with red and green channels? Why is everyone talking about the "Stormont Brake"? Will this finally be enough to get the Democratic Unionist Party back into power sharing? And why on earth was the British king involved? You'll find the answers to all these questions and more in this fresh-off-the-press Brexit update. Check our our bonus episodes available for Patreon supporters and with our full archive of extra content over at: www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

On the 27th of August 1979, the Provisional IRA assassinated one of the best known members of Britain's royal family as he holidayed in County Sligo. But this was just one of 25 killings that took place that day. The events of that afternoon soon came to represent a watershed in the history of Anglo-Irish relations, and a landmark moment of escalation in a Northern Ireland conflict that was now settling into what some referred to as the "Long War". Naomi and Tim unpick the wider context of this notorious episode of the Troubles, and explore how it encompassed so much more than the death of a celebrity royal. This podcast is only mad possible by our patreon supporters. If you would like to sign up to support the podcast today, and gain access to over 80 pieces of bonus content along the way, you can sign up to our patreon page now at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

From a mystery in rural Ireland that has persisted for over a century, to the little-known link between a World Cup star footballer and the town of Donabate, to the unexpected ways that Hiberno English is spreading in Europe... it's a story episode for you to enjoy over the holidays as Naomi and Tim share their favourite stories for 2022. https://twitter.com/NaomiOhReally/status/1599362845942370304?s=20&t=aEc52pKN3a8a0w9sECahFw Tim's image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolving_views#/media/File:Magiclantern.jpg A bonus episode is available for Patreon supporters along with our full archive of extra content over at: www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

Today, Leo Varadkar takes over as Taoiseach. This means that both Britain and Ireland have governments led by people of Indian heritage, as in London Rishi Sunak took over as prime minister in October. The coincidence has provoked renewed curiosity in these leaders, their backgrounds, and the complex shared history between Ireland and India under the British Empire. To mark the day, we're reposting our episode about that very topic: 'Ireland and India: Assassins of Empire'. Anarchist clubs, public assassinations, and secret rebel meetings in a notorious vegetarian restaurant – all these feature in this fascinating episode on the historical links between Ireland and India at the beginning of the 20th century. UCD’s Conor Mulvagh explains why Ireland and India were so symbolically important to the survival of the British Empire, and why the independence movements in both countries were often deeply intertwined. We hear how Indian law students in Dublin joined rebel militias, forged friendships with leaders of the Easter Rising, and later took inspiration from Irish nationalism to challenge the British Raj. Vikrant Sharma, founder of the international relations website The Global Telescope, tells us about the many parallels between Ireland and India’s history of British rule, and how both should perhaps be considered in a larger framework of colonial strategy and nationalist resistance. The books mentioned in this episode are: Conor Mulvagh, Irish Days and Indian Memories: V. V. Giri and Indian Law Students at University College Dublin, 1913-1916. Published in 2016 by the Irish Academic Press. Shereen F. Ilahi. Imperial Violence and the Path to Independence: India, Ireland and the Crisis of Empire. Published in 2016 by I.B. Tauris and Co. You can find Vikrant Sharma’s website, The Global Telescope, here: linktr.ee/TheGlobalTelescope Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @PassportIrish. If you enjoyed this episode, do give us a good review in your podcast app and share it with your friends. Bonus episodes are published for our supporters over at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

Ireland's dream as it emerged as an independent state was to 'take its place among the nations of the world'. The principle of international cooperation has therefore always been tightly bound up with Irish nationalism and how the country pursues its goals. In this episode, Naomi and Tim explore Ireland's quest for recognition, first at the League of Nations and then at its successor the United Nations. We speak to longtime UN staffer Niall McCann to hear the inside story of how Ireland is seen at the UN, and discuss the surprising role of the Irish government in pushing for radical reform of the intergovernmental body. Plus, Naomi discusses a story she broke that revealed how the outsized influence of the UN's five permanent security council members can warp its policy and disable the body from being effective-- in this case, on Ukraine. A bonus episode is available for Patreon supporters in which Naomi and Tim debrief from this episode and discuss what stood out to them. It's available for subscribers along with our full archive of extra content over at: www.patreon.com/theirishpassport