Our Man In Stockholm

This week we're on the west coast where Irish-American Stephanie Coughlan is launching an online second-hand bookstore called Läs Is More. Stephanie hopes to soon have a physical store in central Gothenburg from which she can share the many English-language books that she has acquired, finding new homes for great stories! You can find the shop's website here - do her a favour and grab your...

This week we talk to Dan Reid about the amazing story behind the Equator Gaels and how Ugandan coaches are teaching Ugandan kids to play Gaelic games in East Africa! Kilkenny man Dan moved to Uganda as a young teacher and found himself at the centre of an African hurling revolution that has seen Ireland's traditional sports entrench themselves in schools there, offering children both an educat...

Another jam-packed episode featuring Anthony Morrissey and the announcement of the Irish Chamber Of Commerce In Sweden's gala event for 2023, a new open mic night at Wirströms and Josh Lenn introducing improv comedy at the Liffey, and we round off with a shout-out from the Mary Wallopers to the Stockholm Gaels camógs! Support the show: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

On this week's podcast Wexford man Kevin Deegan joins me to talk about his work as vice-president of innovation at Finnish food giant Valio, and there's also recommendations for new books by Irish authors Tadhg Hickey (A Portrait Of The Piss Artist As A Young Man) and Aoife Moore (The Long Game - Inside Sinn Féin). Support the podcast: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm

A jam-packed episode this week as we catch up with Ireland captain Katie McCabe in Linköping to ask her about being nominated for the Ballon d'Or as the world's best footballer, and we talk to Albin Winbo from Varberg about his adventures with Cork City in the League Of Ireland! There's also news of our new ambassador, a diplomatic Swedish-Irish connection to Hungary and some gigs to a...

Ireland have travelled to France for the Rugby World Cup with best squad we've ever had and in the form of our lives, but we're facing perhaps the toughest draw we've ever had too. Irish rugby legend Alan Quinlan joins me to answer the question - after some past disappointments, can this be the team that finally answers Ireland's World Cup call?

Sport brings out the best in our communities, and the Irish in Sweden are no different - this weekend it was the turn of our hurlers and especially our camógs to remind us of the remarkable things we can achieve when we all pull in the same direction. Brendan Weathers of the Viking Gaels and Michelle Cotter of Stockholm Camógie join me to report on an incredible weekend for the small-ball game, an...

Kurdish-Swedish comedian Özz Nujen joins me to talk about his family's extraordinary flight from Turkey to Sweden in search of refuge, how the country has changed and how its application to join NATO has once again put the Kurds in the firing line. We also cover the shame of Fortress Europe, where migrants are left to drown in the Mediterranean.

A report from a magnificent day of Gaelic games in Gävle is followed by a chat with Sligo man Tony McCarrick, for whom a teaching job in Nigeria ended up in a marriage to Nina and eventually, a job as a strategic advisor on artificial intelligence and all things technological!

This week I'm joined by Irish author Kate Kerrigan, whose new one-woman show "Am I Irish Yet?" explores questions of identity from the perspective a woman who grew up in an Irish family in London. Kate went on to be a hugely successful magazine editor and author, and her show is now taking audiences by storm as she mixes humour and anecdotes to get to the bottom of that thorny questi...

The Irish In Sweden microphone was out and about and ended up under the noses of a huge amount of people as the Swedish-Irish Society and the Stockholm Gaels put on a mighty family day at Skarpnäcks IP on Saturday that featured the first game of camógie ever played in Sweden. Here from the fabulous camógs, those new to the parish and a few familiar voices on a great day out.

In our final podcast looking at the Women's World Cup, I'm joined by Ireland's Chloe Mustaki who takes us behind the scenes at the tournament. The defender looks back on the highs and lows of Ireland's debut at a major finals, and we look forward to the upcoming Women's Super League Season in England where she plays with Bristol City, as well as talking about the state of the g...

All good things must come to an end, and even if the tenure of Ambassador Austin Gormley was undoubtedly one of the best things that happened to our community, but the time has come for him to move on. He will soon officially take up his new role in South Africa, but before he departed Sweden's shores he sat down with me to talk about his time here and what it meant to both him and us.

After coming up short in a Celtman triathlon, Dubliner Willie Murphy felt he was pretty much done with the sport - but then his name was pulled out of the hat as one of only 260 racers at the 2023 Norseman - the world's most extreme triathlon - and he had to think again. But there was a a problem. Willie had lost all his motivation and hadn't trained in ages, so how on earth could he get f...

Michelle Cotter and Hazel Reilly from the recently-founded Stockholm Camógie join me to talk about the rapid progress the team has made during the summer, and give us the lowdown on the preparations for their first tournament in the Hague in the first week of September.

The last week of July saw the global GAA family gather in Derry for the World Games, with footballers, hurlers and camógs from all over the world battling for glory in a truly international series of competitions. Gaelic Games Europe Development Officer Tony Bass joins me on this week's podcast to talk through the event and what it means for our games around the world.

Stockholm Pride will have an Irish tint this year as drag queen Dee Bugg makes her Celtic presence felt - Dee came to the IIS studio to talk about the event and how you can go about becoming the most fabulous version of yourself!

The Girls In Green are out, but not down and there's still one more chance to impress as they take on Nigeria on Monday in their final World Cup group game. Before the tournament I spoke to Samuel Ahmadu, Africa's foremost football journalist, to get the lowdown on the continent's most successful team, male or female.

As Sweden experiences some very Irish summer weather, we pay a visit to Växjö to talk to legal expert Graham Butler about living in Sweden, working in Denmark and how different laws at different levels influence how we live our lives - not least if you're running a microbrewery like some of our previous guests!

A narrow defeat in our first game means it's all to play for against Canada, a team riven by strife with their FA and whose talismanic player missed a penalty in a scoreless draw with Nigeria. But who are the Canadians and how do they play? Harjeet Johal joins me to give us the lowdown ahead of Wednesday's Women's World Cup clash between Ireland and Canada!

The moment is almost upon us - on Thursday Ireland take on hosts Australia in the opening game of the FIFA Women's World Cup, and to set the scene I spoke to former Matilda Joey Peters about her career and what this World Cup means, and journalist Isobel Cootes, who gave me the lowdown on the players and tactics that Ireland will face in front of a sold-out crowd!

An internship when she was at Warwick University taught Nic Keaney one valuable lesson - no matter how much money it paid, she didn't want an "ordinary" job, so she went into journalism instead. Her readiness to go anywhere in the world at a moment's notice and her ability to come back with the story no matter what saw her quickly rise to the top of the profession. A pivot to the...

Semester?! What semester?! A jam-packed episode this week with news of two Swedish-Irish weddings and an open call for young architects, followed by a dinger of a chat with the wonderful Anthony Morrissey about moving his family to Gothenburg and how he is gradually making his mark in both business and the community there. For more info on the Trading Spaces architecture open call, visit their web...

This week, we kick off the Global Gael's Women's World Cup coverage with Ireland international Rianna Jarrett, who talks about her playing career in the U.S. and England, playing for Vera Pauw and what we can expect from the Girls In Green as Ireland appear at their first major finals against Australia, Canada and Nigeria.

He may have started out as a lowly stable hand in County Meath, but Paddy Looney's sharp mind and huge capacity for hard work quickly saw him rise through the ranks, and he now runs a very successful horse-breeding business north of Stockholm. He talked to me about the work that went into building up his reputation and his business, the challenges he faces here, and how he works as a consultan...