Irish Times Inside Politics

Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:   ·       Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Thoughts now turn to the election of his successor and whether they will be viewed to be as tolerant and progressive as the late pontiff.   ·       Minister for E...

Cork-based author Pádraig Óg O'Ruairc joins Hugh Linehan to discuss his new book 'Burn Them Out; a history of fascism and the far right in Ireland’. He argues a line can be drawn directly between the far-right and, in the case of the Blueshirts, openly fascist movements of the 1920s and 1930s and the Dublin riots of 2023. Ó'Ruairc objects to the Irish exceptionalism many feel in having largely esc...

This episode was first published in October 2023. Naomi Klein shot to fame with her first book, No Logo, which offered an acute critique of how powerful corporations in the 1990s had profited off exploitation in a globalising world.  Her later books have examined a range of subjects including crisis capitalism, militarism, and climate change.  Klein is also commonly confused online for a...

Pat Leahy and Harry McGee analyse the latest Irish Times / Ipsos B&A poll results, which show that Sinn Féin has regained its position as the most popular party in the Republic while Fine Gael has slumped to a record low in the series. The new data also show voters have little enthusiasm for the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independent Coalition. Would you like to receive daily insights into world ev...

Cliff Taylor joins Pat Leahy to assess the latest developments in the trade war initiated by US president Donald Trump that threatens to upend the global economy. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

As the head of an organisation called Labour Together, which despite its name '"was all about dividing the Labour party and defeating the left", Irishman Morgan McSweeney handpicked Keir Starmer as the leadership candidate to take on Jeremy Corbyn and the party's left wing in 2020. That is according to Patrick Maguire, co-author of Get In, an entertaining book about Starmer's road to Number 10 and...

On Friday afternoon Taoiseach Micheál Martin talked to Hugh and Pat about a range of issues: On tariffs, the Taoiseach says he "suspects" a US decision on pharmaceuticals may be incorporated into overall trade negotiations, to Ireland’s advantage. He says that Ireland will resist any move by the EU to apply new taxes to US tech firms and supports the pharmaceutical industry's call for more favoura...

Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·       The ‘Golden Age of America’ came and went over the course of a week as US President Donald Trump decided on Wednesday to pause his reciprocal tariffs for most countries for the next 90 days.   ·       The status of suspended Socia...

The podcasters turn away from the heavy news agenda of tariffs and economic upheaval to examine a lighter, more enjoyable but still important topic: the 2025 Irish presidential election.  What makes a good president? What makes a good presidential candidate? And who are the candidates in the running at this late stage?  From big party nominees like Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness to left...

Why does it take so long to build infrastructure in Ireland? If you consider the amount of red tape needed to secure approval for something relatively simple like the upgrade of Dublin's bus lanes, it is hardly surprising, says Barra Roantree, Assistant Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin. He talks to Hugh Linehan about the costly bottlenecks in Ireland's planning and implementation o...

Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh to look back on the week in politics:  It may have been one of the most consequential weeks for Irish politics in years, if US president Donald Trump’s tariffs have the expected impact on the Irish and global economy. The speaking rights row came to an end, at least for now this week following votes on the future of Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy and t...

Cliff Taylor and Pat Leahy are with Hugh to discuss the tariffs announced yesterday by US president Donald Trump. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Irish political system awaits tariff news from Washington, political editor Pat Leahy joins Hugh to look at how the day might unfold.  But first they assess the outcome of yesterday’s Dáil vote on the future of Verona Murphy as Ceann Comhairle. Murphy survived the vote - but there will be longer-term consequences from the controversy.  Would you like to receive daily insights into...

Wednesday April 2nd is when US president Donald Trump is expected to announce tariffs on a wide range of imports from several countries, probably including the European Union. But what can the EU do in response? Cliff Taylor and Jack Power join Hugh. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: iri...

Pat Leahy and Sarah Burns join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·       The Dáil will enter uncharted territory next Tuesday as a motion of no confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy will be debated in the Dáil. Mary Lou McDonald and Labour leader Ivan Bacik are united in their insistence that Murphy’s position is no longer te...

Sally Hayden talks to Hugh Linehan about her experiences reporting from Syria and Lebanon. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: Jack reports from Brussels where EU leaders have been meeting to discuss issues including defence and rearmament. Paschal Donohoe used the sidelines of an EU summit to deliver a stark warning on the impact of tariffs on the economy. Conor McGregor’s appearance at the White House on St Patrick’s Day has heighten...

The idea that a country can't increase the size of its territory by taking it over another has been a principle of Western foreign policy for decades. If that changes it will be a profound shift. "Once that genie's out of the bottle, it will be very hard to put back in", says Tom Wright, the Irishman who was a member of Joe Biden's National Security Council and is now a senior fellow at the Brooki...

Cormac McQuinn and Sarah Burns join Jack Horgan Jones to look back on the week in politics:   ·       Most analysis of the Taoiseach’s extraordinary meeting with US president Donald Trump this week has called it a success - but the underlying economic threat remains. ·       A brief intrusion by three members of the Burke f...

Pat Leahy reports from Washington where Taoiseach Micheal Martin met US president Donald Trump this afternoon. How did the Taoiseach do? In part two, Harry McGee talks to political scientist Dr Kevin Cunningham about the evolution of polling and what data reveals about Irish political trends. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Stau...

A report last week made a stark forecast: Ireland will be subject to EU fines and costs ranging from from €8 billion to €26 billion for failing to meet its 2030 climate goals. So why are we not taking more action, more swiftly to avoid this fiscal calamity - or indeed to avoid the underlying catastrophe of climate change? Hugh talks to Hannah Daly, Professor of Sustainable Energy at University Col...

Jack Horgan-Jones and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh to look back on the week in politics:   ·       Did Simon Harris put his foot in his mouth when he contradicted the US account of a phone call between him and Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio? The comments added to jitters over the Taoiseach’s visit to Trump’s White House next week. ·  &nb...

US president Donald Trump's hard line with allies and his overtures to Russia have upended assumptions about the transatlantic security alliance. So where does it leave Europe and Ireland? Hugh talks to Edward Burke from UCD's Centre for War Studies and Irish Times security correspondent Conor Gallagher. They discuss Ukraine's ability to fight on without US assistance, the future of European secur...

How ready are citizens of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for a border poll? What role would economics play in the debate? And what impact has Brexit had? The Irish Question, a new documentary by Alan Gilsenan and John Walsh, considers these questions through interviews with key players including former US president Bill Clinton. Alan and John talked to Hugh about their documentary an...