Our Man In Stockholm

Leona O'Neill witnessed the murder of fellow journalist Lyra McKee in April 2019, an incident that she reported on diligently, barely realising how it was traumatising her. Together with Chris Lindsay she has put together a book called "Breaking - Trauma In The Newsroom", in which some of the best journalists in Britain and Ireland relate their stories of how their work had massive negative effect...

Another jam-packed episode that takes us to the midlands town of Örebro, where Swede Pelle Blohm's new novel "From Bangor With Love" is set to go to print after a successful crowd-funding drive, and Wicklow's Graham "Reggie" Reynolds tells us how he landed a spot in Sweden's international fly-fishing team after a stellar summer on the rivers, as well as an upcoming delivery to the Irish Store he r...

This week's guest is Warren O'Neill, who tells his story of moving to Sweden and starting up Nabla Analytics before going on to explain how the price of one of the hottest commodities of the year - electricity - is priced. There's also TONS of community news and events, and even a couple of jobs that are up for grabs for the right people, so make sure to share the info with anyone who might be in...

Back after a looooong summer break with Mia Eriksson, one half of women's soccer podcast "Their Pitch", which is taking the game by storm thanks to its analytical approach. Mia and I went in-depth about what makes a great soccer podcast, the best way to approach players, the importance of trust and how the most vital question to ask when it comes to sports is 'why'.

By day, Cork native Morty McCarthy is a language teacher at Folkuniversitetet, but behind his unassuming studious exterior lies the story of the punk rock drummer behind one of Ireland's biggest hit records and a man who has managed merchandise sales for some of the world's biggest bands - even if he couldn't convince Garth Brooks to sell his own stetsons in Croke Park.  Check out this fascin...

This week I'm joined by goldsmith and stone-setter Nigel O'Reilly, whose career took off after a period spent honing his craft in Stockholm with Michael O'Dwyer, and his high-end jewellery is now to be found in some of the finest stores in London and New York. Rory Moore from the Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden also drops by to talk about the series of events they are co-hosting around the top...

This week we're joined by one of Ireland's best-selling authors and biggest Scandiophiles, the magical Marian Keyes, as she takes us on a journey through her writing career and a recent trip to Rättvik to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, all with the purpose of finding out why Sweden loves her so much. There's also a reminder not to forget the upcoming event with the Irish Chamber of Commerce i...

Last week the LPI Group opened an office in Gävle, some 90 minutes north of Stockholm, becoming the latest Irish company to establish a long-term presence in Sweden, so I drove up to talk to the founders, the Ambassador, Enterprise Ireland, the local mayor and many others about what this means for our community here.  There's also news of an Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden event, and a sh...

A busy program this week that starts with Irishman Shane Quinn explaining about the Better Governance projects and his fascinating  work in international relations before we head to Skarpnäcks IP for a brilliant final round of the Nordic Gaelic football championship, where many of the golden Gaels of Stockholm were making a long-awaited return! Our friends and rivals from Gävle arrived down w...

This week's chat is all about life, love and rugby with Dave Hanley in Karlstad. The Corkman moved from his native county to Västmanland and soon found himself preaching the gospel of the oval-ball game, and it can only be described as a massive rucking success. Dave talked about his study of cognitive behavioural therapy, co-parenting after separation and how sport helps bring our community toget...

Sweden goes to the polls to elect a new government on Sept 11, so Paul O'Mahony of The Local came down to the studio on Atlasgatan to talk about the runners and riders. Who are the main personalities? What policies will decide the outcome? And what difference will it all make to the Irish community in Sweden? Find out here! The Local has some great subscription deals on offer to help you keep up w...

This week, multi-talented Corkonian Mark O'Sullivan grabs a cup of coffee for a chat about making everything from hit records to successful footballers, embracing creativity and forging your own path.  There's also a call for volunteers to help out at Midnattsloppet as a fund-raiser for the Stockholm Gaels, and some info about new ways to access birth information from Ireland. Support the sho...

The podcast returns after the briefest of summer breaks, and to help you enjoy the rest of the Swedish summer I spoke to Alan Dalton about bird-watching, fishing and how to get the most out of nature here in Sweden. Dubliner Alan has been here for over 20 years and his knowledge of the subject matter, not to mention his passion for it, is unparalleled. When we spoke he was on an island outside Ume...

This week's podcast is a bittersweet one as I say goodbye to Eoghan O'Connor, who has spent the last couple of years in Stockholm working with Enterprise Ireland and who is now moving on to work in London. Eoghan and I spoke about how he ended up in Sweden, the work he was doing here and how the Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden helped him build his business network.  You can find out more...

A jam-packed podcast this week kicks off with Stockholm Gaels legend and ex-Shanghai Siren Anna Rönngård, who recounts her key role in putting the women's game at the heart of the Stockholm Gaels. Anna's experience in China did not just launch an interest in Gaelic games - it also saw her start a career in sustainability, particularly around fashion, that has made her one of the most sought-after...

With the worst of the pandemic seemingly over, the hotel business is booming again, and none more so than the magnificent Marriott Hotel on Kungsholmen, where Kildare woman Marjorie Sundström is Sales Manager. I sat down with her in a beautiful conference room to talk about her career in the hospitality industry, what makes a great hotel and having the Swedish-Irish Society there as guests for Chr...

On June 16 Bloomsday was celebrated around the world, so I paid a visit to a marathon reading of Ulysses at Rönnells Antikvariat in Stockholm to talk to Dubliner Niall Balfe, who was dressed as Leopold Bloom for the day and has long been part of celebrating Joyce's great work. Another rising Irish literary star is musician, photographer and writer Ian Moloney in Gothenburg, and he joined me to tal...

A love of music and friends made through the metal scene led Alan McCahey to a one-way Ryanair ticket to Sweden and life on the road with symphonic metal band Zornheym, while Ragnar Almqvist's more diplomatic path saw him appointed secretary at Ireland's Swedish embassy as his Swedish-Irish family's story came full circle. He joined me to talk about representing Ireland abroad, and the importance...

This week we here how Phil Martin's love of Mexican food led to his products being stocked on the shelves of some of Sweden's finest supermarkets, and former AIK assistant coach Sean O'Shea talks about growing up Irish in Huddersfield, his time with the Allsvenskan club and if he might be tempted to return to these shores...

This week social media was on fire as the hashtag #Swedengate gave the nation's carefully-cultured image a bit of a shoeing over some its cultural curiosities. An innocent story of a kid left alone while their friend went to eat dinner in a different room was met with gentle criticism and mockery - that in turn was met with outright racism as many people of colour shared their experiences of being...

This week we hear from Miranda "Murre" Eriksson, a Swedish folk-rock singer who discovered the joy of Ballyshannon blues legend Rory Gallagher during the pandemic and started translating some of his songs into Swedish, and Tralee artist Laura Fitzgerald was in Skärholmen together with Ormston House with a humorous collection of visual art featuring both hay bales and hope for the changing world we...

A podcast producer recently brought an article in the Daily Telegraph to my attention about how Sweden's excess mortality rate proved that lockdowns were too harsh a measure in handling the pandemic. To understand why such a blunt instrument isn't the best way to measure success, I spoke to public health epidemiologist David Steadson about how statistics are used, his own experiences with the viru...

Having reached the summit of Gaelic football with her last-minute goal to win the Nordic championship for the Stockholm Gaels in 2019, Julia Kjelsson has set her sights on another peak - the midfielder joins the Irish In Sweden podcast to tell us why she is taking a break from the GAA to climb Kilamanjaro in July. As he says himself, Keith Begg shot to infamy in Sweden when he started a group back...

This week I'm joined by Paddy Kelly to talk about his book "We Can English", which weaves together some hilarious copywriting fails in Sweden with the story of his life here, and Carlow and Luleå's Neil Costigan, who recently concluded a deal to sell his company Behaviosec - the second hugely successful business he has helped to build during his time in Sweden. Neil takes us from his time in unive...

This week Aidan from Stockholm's Spuds & Sill Drama Society joins me to talk about their upcoming production of "Cupid Wore Skirts", and I catch up with former Stockholm resident, actor, writer and director Joe O'Neill, who has sworn himself off alcohol for a year as part of a charity drive - with some interesting results... You can get tickets for "Cupid Wore Skirts" here: www.olympiateatern....