The Prodcast

Simon and David explore how Irish Protestants came to bequeath the Gothic novel to the world, while going in search of a deep Irish identity with roots in a magical past. They ask whether the same skill for bypassing politics to find shared attachments to the natural world continues to be useful today.

David and Simon talk about the Anglican choral tradition and the wider Protestant love of hymn singing – scones for the ears you might say.

David and Simon consider the events on the Garvaghy Road and what they mean for relationships across the island.

Neale Richmond is the most senior Protestant in the Irish Government. We talk to him about what motivates him, and what his Protestant identity means to him. We also lay to rest the rumour that he is in his nineties.

Simon and David ask why the Irish, famed for their gift as talkers, sometimes make a fetish of silence.

Who was really having sex in repressive 1980s Ireland? Plus the Irish government’s failed effort to woo Ulster Unionists with condoms and divorce, and David audibly blushes amid Simon’s insinuating banter.

David and Simon explore the identity-defining questions of scones, jam and tray bakes… and David makes a confession.

With a nod to our favourite bass player, Conor “Deego” Deegan, we look at whether continued lamenting of the treatment of Ireland by the English might be a sign of insecurity rather than confidence. With references to the World Cup, and an out-of-date plug for Simon’s history festival, there’s a lot more to talk about than just 800 years of oppression.

The stereotypes about Irish Prods are durable, but David and Simon discuss some of the ways in which they can and should be challenged.

Southern Ireland, partition, prod pride and other listener notes & queries

David and Simon explore why Southern Prods still seem so reluctant to talk about their identity in public.

A look at more recent history and varieties of Irish Protestant experience and outlook.

In which we canter through the first few centuries of Irish Protestant history and some of their legacies.

What did being Protestant do to our thinking about politics and the society around us in the 1980s and 1990s?

David grew up in the South, Simon in both the North and the South. What was it like being Protestant in 1980s Ireland. Why might it matter now?

Simon and David get into the details, including Simon explaining his beef with Deego.

Simon Kingston and David Clarke explain the motivation for recording the Prodcast and why this is an interesting time to be talking about the Irish Protestant community

David Clarke and Simon Kingston try to explain what an Irish Protestant is and what this series is about.