The Irish Passport

In the period from 1534 to 1653 Ireland was profoundly transformed. At the start, it was almost entirely Gaelic, ruled by Gaelic clans with an ancient way of life, and unique legal and political system. A hundred years later, Ireland was unrecognisable. In this first part of our new mini series, Conquest, Tim and Naomi set the scene for the profound transformation of the island of Ireland by colon...

Every year the Irish government and national media lend their full attention to the arrival of Santa Claus on the island of Ireland, and discuss the various logistics of his visit to every child in the country. In this mini bonus episode, we bring you this most important news story of the year, and explain how, for a few days every December, Santa dominates the parliamentary agenda of Dáil Éireann...

Tim published a book!  How does nobility work as a power strategy,  why does it bear so many curious similarities to the construct of race, and what does all of this have to do with Ireland? We delve into Tim's book,  "Nobility and the Making of Race in Eighteenth-Century Britain", published by Bloomsbury Academic this autumn, and uncover the intricate power dynamics of Irish nobili...

As the world reels from the horrific Hamas attack on Israel and its deadly retribution on the Gaza Strip, Ireland has emerged as a prominent player in the European response to the worsening conflict. In this episode, Naomi and Tim sum up the current situation and explain some of the historical context that explains why Ireland has traditionally been one of the most sympathetic western countries to...

We're back and diving straight into breaking politics, as Naomi explains the chilling implications of the UK government's new "Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Bill". This controversial new law has provoked outrage from across the communities of Northern Ireland, uniting unionist and nationalist political parties against it. But what does this law entail, how will it affect the people of Northern...

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...

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...

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....

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 he...

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...

Beannachtaí na féile Pádraig oraibh! To celebrate Ireland's national day, please enjoy this classic St. Patrick's Day episode from our archives, originally released in 2018.

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 gree...

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 se...

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. Naomi’s image: https://twitter.com/NaomiOhR...

This is a repeat of an Irish Passport classic episode, “Ireland and India: Assassins of Empire”, originally published on June 21 2021. 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 t...

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...

As all Hell breaks loose in the halls of Westminster, Naomi and Tim break down what on earth has just happened in the UK. Why did Prime Minister Liz Truss resign after only 44 days? Who might take over her post? And what are the consequences of all this chaos for the island of Ireland? We hear commentary from Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and discuss the pot...

In the final episode of our War of Independence mini-series, Tim and Naomi lay out the historical events that split the emerging Irish nation and led to a civil war. As we pick up on the story, global condemnation has pressured the British government into offering a truce. Following years of gruelling guerilla warfare against the might of the British army, an exhausted team of representatives from...

Tensions threaten to flare again between Ireland, Britain and the EU with a new UK prime minister who has promised to take a hard line on the Northern Ireland Protocol. The death of Queen Elizabeth however put a pause on developments for the period of mourning, and produced some fascinating moments too as her successor King Charles met with Sinn Féin and acknowledged them as the biggest party in N...

The third installment in Naomi and Tim's series on the War of Independence discusses a landmark of 20th century Irish history: the partition of the island. Tim digs into the backstory to reveal how once again, an unhappy chapter of Irish history is linked to Winston Churchill. This episode lays out the thinking at the time and how the so-called 'Irish question' was shaped through parliamentary deb...

The second installment of Naomi and Tim’s series on Ireland’s War of Independence focuses on the Black and Tans: the brutal reinforcements sent by Winston Churchill to put down the forces of the revolutionary Irish republic in 1920. Historian Dr Conor Mulvagh of University College Dublin lays out the key role of the women’s movement, Cumann na mBan; dissects the tactics of the old Iris...

The War of Independence was the moment in which Ireland threw off British rule and emerged as a state. The dramatic events that took place and the beliefs that informed them would shape the emerging nation, and play a role up until the present day. Tim and Naomi break down the events of 1919-1921 in this series of episodes, starting with the establishment of Ireland's revolutionary parliament: the...

A seismic election in Northern Ireland returned the pro-Irish unity Sinn Féin as the largest party for the first time ever. The Alliance Party, identifying neither as nationalist nor unionist, surged to become the third force in northern politics in another historic first. Desite this, the power-sharing executive has yet to be formed due to the opposition of the unionist Democratic Unionist Party....

Since our last episode, Europe's political landscape has been transformed - and that of Ireland along with it. Naomi lays out the facts about Ireland's unique position in the international response to the Ukraine crisis. We find out why debates about military neutrality and NATO membership might once again be coming to the fore, and discuss why Ukraine's president gave Ireland a less-than-glowing...

This weekend, a group of musicians gathered in O'Briens Irish pub in the Ukranian capital and belted out traditional Irish tunes as a distraction from the threat of war. In this episode we uncover the surprisingly rich common history shared by Ireland and Ukraine, as told by a woman living through the dramatic recent events that have drawn the world's attention to Kyiv as Russian troops advance. J...