The Irish Passport

After almost half a year of negotiations and political maneuvering, Ireland finally has a government. It's unlike any that has come before it, and it doesn't include the party that got the post votes in the last election, Sinn Féin. In this livestreamed podcast, Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney answer listener questions with special guests Aoife-Grace Moore, political correspondent with The Irish...

Young Black people in Ireland have taken to the streets to demand an end to racism and discrimination in the midst of a global uprising inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Documentary maker Amanda Adé explores the conversations and momentum for change that is happening in Ireland in the wake of the protests. We hear from Boni Odoemene, the co-founder of the Black and Irish Instagram page,...

Protests against Ireland's controversial system for housing asylum seekers Direct Provision have been re-ignited as demonstrations against racism sweep the United States. We interviewed Bulelani Mfaco where he lives in Knockalisheen Direct Provision centre on the border of Limerick and Clare for our episode on the system published in January. In this bonus episode made specially to thank our Patre...

Ireland shares a fascinating history with the Australian continent - by the 19th century, in fact, about 25% of settlers in Australia were Irish-born. In this episode, we speak to Victoria University's Diane Hall about the history of the Irish in Australia, Tim Mc Inerney meets two generations of Irish Australians who explain what their unique identity means to them, and Naomi O'Leary explores som...

As the Coronavirus hits the Native Americans hard, Irish people have taken the chance to repay a 173-year-old debt.  A fundraiser to help the Navajo and Hopi Nations fight one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the United States has taken off in Ireland. Donations have been flooding in, in tribute to an act of kindness during the Great Hunger in Ireland that has never been forgotten. In the w...

In our first episode of Season 4, we take on the Irish Accent: where did it come from? What secrets might it hide? And why is it so often an issue of contention? Tim Mc Inerney speaks to accent expert Shane Walshe of Zurich University about how Irish accents are seen by the wider world, Naomi O'Leary talks with Senator Lynn Ruane about why some Irish accents can lead to discrimination and marginal...

In Northern Ireland, questions of national identity often come with some surprising answers. Our reporter Jennifer Smith catches up with two Belfast residents born around the time of the Good Friday Agreement. They explain their understanding of identity in Northern Ireland and how nationality there constitutes a complex and ever-changing web of politics, family history, and social class. This bon...

In this bonus episode made specially to thank our Patreon supporters, Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney take a look at some of the good news coming out in the times of Coronavirus. We’ll be talking about drive-through testing centres in Dublin, mass volunteering efforts to help neighbours and the health service, EU officials embracing poetry, and some very promising statistics and real concrete hel...

A seismic result has emerged in the Irish election: the left-wing nationalist Sinn Fe'in are the most popular party, sweeping away the traditional dominance of Fine Gael and Fianna Fa'il for the first time in the history of the republic. What caused the political earthquake? And what happens now? Naomi O'Leary joins Tim Mc Inerney from the main voting count centre in Dublin to break down the...

The global rise of radical right nativist parties seemed to skip Ireland. But the last 18 months have seen efforts to introduce anti-immigration politics to Ireland in a way not seen before, amid a backlash against the legalisation of abortion. We hear how a conspiracy theory elevated by US pundit Alex Jones has ended up on the streets of Cork, as protesters ambush an event by ruling party Fine Ga...

Tech workers abandoning Dublin due to housing costs, an Airbnb maintenance worker who is himself homeless, and the woman battling to transform Ireland's swathe of vacant properties into homes. This episode takes an inside look at the housing crisis from the point of view of people facing the hard edge of the issue in different ways. As polls ahead of the election on February 8th indicate Taoiseach...

Ireland goes to the polls on February 8th. Naomi O'Leary breaks down six points that explain the election. Who are the players? Why was the election called? What are the main issues? How will the election work? What are the likely results? And what do the Black and Tans have to do with it? This is an episode of Halfpints, the bonus episodes of The Irish Passport podcast we make specially to thank...

Contains an interview about anti-LGBT+ and anti-immigration violence. In this season finale, The Irish Passport takes on one of Ireland's most controversial issues: Direct Provision. The system for housing people who apply for refugee status in Ireland turns 20 this year. Tim Mc Inerney and Naomi O'Leary speak to Bulelani Mfaco, who fled persecution of gay and LGBT+ people in South Africa to Irela...

Every year, thousands of returning emigrants make their way through the sliding doors of Dublin airport arrivals to come home to Ireland for Christmas. Tim Mc Inerney and Naomi O'Leary record from the scene to bring you the stories of those who have travelled from far and wide and come back home to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. We share funny stories, sad stories, moving stories, an...

The UK has voted for a Boris Brexit, and the future of the union has never seemed so fragile. What does the biggest Conservative majority in a generation mean for Ireland north and south? Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney dissect the election results, discuss how a number of upsets from the Democratic Unionist Party indicate the party seriously miscalculated on Brexit, and bring you fresh analysis...

During the 20th century, a significant proportion of the Irish population was incarcerated in a network of institutions. These ranged from Magdalene laundries where 'troublesome' women were put into servitude, to industrial schools for children that were famed for their cruelty. Journalist Caelainn Hogan is the author of Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland's Institutions for 'Fallen Women' . I...

Live from Dublin, the Irish Passport brings you the hidden history of the Irish capital with Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney. Comedian and author Tara Flynn discusses her favourite Dublin secrets. Tonie Walsh describes gay life in the city before the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the furious anger at violence against gay people that fuelled the earliest Pride marches. Terry Fagan of the...

Islands on opposite sides of the world with deep differences, and surprising similarities! Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney explore the thriving traditional Irish music scene in Tokyo, reporting from a session in a downtown pub where dozens of Japanese musicians meet to play jigs and reels, many of them speaking in Irish accents. Ireland's ambassador in Tokyo Paul Kavanagh tells us why Japan is th...

A century since a revolutionary Irish government declared the birth of a new nation, we ask how Ireland could be re-invented for the future. We are living in a moment of rapid change. Great geopolitical shifts are destroying old certainties. Climate change is poised to transform our way of life. In Ireland, landmark referendums have been a break with the Ireland of the 20th century and a beacon of...

The Irish Passport is opening up the floor to listeners in this episode, and taking questions on everything from recent Irish political history, to life as a returned member of the diaspora. Several people got in touch with practical questions about a United Ireland. Is the republic prepared for the possibility of loyalist violence? And would people born in Northern Ireland still be able to claim...

The second installment in two episodes bringing you the voices of those with the most at stake as a disastrous No Deal Brexit threatens the island of Ireland. Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney speak to Orla Smyth, a businesswoman who has invested everything she had in building Belfast's thriving Kaffe O coffee chain, only to see the prospect of tariffs, the plummeting pound and delays at the border...

With the threat of a cliff edge Brexit posing extremely serious consequences for the island of Ireland and the border, we bring you the voices of people with the most at stake. Featuring a doctor in Derry who is worried about his patients getting their essential medicines, young people in Belfast facing changes to their rights, and people who rely on a peaceful open border in their daily lives. We...

Irish law in an international outlier in its restrictions on where its its citizens can vote. The franchise is limited to those resident inside the boundaries of the 26 counties of the republic, with almost no provision for early, postal or overseas voting. Ahead of a planned referendum to extend the right to vote for president to all Irish citizens, including in Northern Ireland and overseas, Nao...

Fishermen kings, Spanish galleons, and fearsome pirate marauders - these are just some of the things that make the history of Galway City on the west coast of Ireland so intriguing. Take a tour around the medieval old town with Tim Mc Inerney and historian Adrian Martyn, and find out all about the infamous 'Tribes of Galway' who presided over this western frontier-city for over five centuries. Who...

A Newry woman visits her big brother in Paris. The two share a drink and talk all night. The next morning, he leaves instructions for taking the metro, and disappears. His family never see him again. The story of Anne Morgan's 32-year search for her missing brother Seamus is just one told in this episode, the second in a two-part series on the theme of dealing with the past. We speak to Damien McN...