It's almost as if NI politics only really matters in a wider UK context to whack opponents over the head with it once every election cycle.

Irish: a rare and ancient language that is spoken from the streets of Canada to the corridors of power in the European Union. This episode delves into why the language is such a powerful national symbol for Ireland, its fraught history, and how it's still a point of political strife today.

Episode 3: The Irish Language

Why is there a knowledge gap about Ireland in the UK? As journalists scrambled to put together basic facts about Northern Ireland in the wake of the 2017 UK election, the country's blind spot about one of its own constituent nations became painfully evident. The Brexit debate further highlighted that many were unaware of the sovereign independence of the UK's closest neighbour, the Irish Republic. We talk to journalists and authors about the phenomenon, while Naomi digs up some rather worrying evidence from a contemporary UK school history book.

Episode 4: The Knowledge Gap

For decades, Ireland was synonymous with Catholic state control - but the last 30 years have seen a new cultural climate take hold in the country, and a furious backlash has broken out against the legacies of the Church's institutional stranglehold. We'll be looking at how the Church became so powerful in the Irish Republic in the first place, and the reasons behind its dramatic fall from grace in recent times. We'll be talking to the formidable local historian Catherine Corless, who exposed institutional abuse and cover-ups on a massive scale in 2014, and we'll also interview journalists and doctors at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, which inspired public outrage when the state almost gave it over to an order of nuns with a very questionable past.

Episode 5: The Catholic Church

Who are Ireland's elites? That question was once easily answered, but not since independence upended the entire social order! In this episode, Naomi visits a castle in Dublin that has been the home of one family for 35 generations -- and finds the current heir still feels he's not accepted as one of Ireland's own. Tim investigates how his own ancestors went from being aristocrats' servants to rebels in one generation. Or perhaps they were rebels all along? We speak to an expert who says Ireland today is in denial about having elites, when they are hiding in plain sight. Find out who they are in our chat with elitism expert Dr. Ciaran O’Neill.

Episode 6: Elites

Ireland and Europe: what is Ireland's future in the EU now that its neighbour the United Kingdom is leaving? Is the so-called Irexit at all realistic? We explore Ireland's relationship with the continent now and in the future and unpick why Ireland differs so much from Britain in its history as part of Europe. We speak to Ireland's most, and perhaps only, well-known eurosceptic Ray Bassett, as well as Ireland's Minister for European Affairs and the ordinary people of Dublin to understand Ireland and Europe at this crucial moment in history.

Episode 7: Ireland and Europe

Applications for Irish passports surged in the last year, largely from people in Britain and Northern Ireland. Who are the new 'Brexit Irish'? We meet them in this new episode and hear their motivations for claiming their Irish identity. We also speak to the Irish ambassador who found himself in the eye of the storm as applications soared. Tim hits the streets of Galway to investigate what ordinary Irish citizens think of the newcomers -- and is taken aback by what he hears.  Discover why Ireland has such a large diaspora in the first place, and the key role they played in the foundation of the state.

Episode 8: The Brexit Irish

Ireland's great famine was the worst peacetime disaster in 19th century Europe. It shaped both Ireland and the world. And it remains such a political bombshell that people still can't agree on what to call it. We explore the hidden history of the mass starvation, from its little-known role in the origins of modern journalism to its surprising link to a Native American tribe. Tim discovers a piece of 1840s Ireland in the middle of Manhattan, while Naomi asks what lessons should be applied to current events today.

Episode 9: The Great Hunger

Have you heard that the Irish were slaves? If so, you may have been targeted with political propaganda from the American far right. Naomi speaks to actress and writer Azie Dungey about how Irish history is being abused for a political agenda in the United States, while Tim asks two experts in the topic about the truth behind the internet myth. We hear from American journalist Traci White who set out to investigate why the meme was appearing on her Facebook page, while Irish Senator Aodháin Ó Ríordáin tells us what the Trump administration needs to know about Irish-American history.

Featuring: ‘When the Wick is Gone’ by the Pangolins

Episode 10 The Irish Slaves Myth

A United Ireland: the idea has been a political force in Irish and British politics for centuries, and it has been given fresh momentum by Brexit. Tim explains how the concept long pre-dates the partition of the island and was once championed by Protestant elites. Naomi visits a public meeting about unification in central Dublin, and asks why it matters to people -- and when they expect it to happen. We hear from expert Katy Hayward on the potential options for Northern Ireland after Brexit, and why she believes talk of a United Ireland should be avoided altogether.

Season 2 Episode 1 A United Ireland

he most popular sports in Ireland are the Gaelic games: uniquely Irish sports with an ancient history and a dramatic political backstory that are finding increasing international success. Tim visits the Paris Gaels to hear why players who have never set foot in Ireland have taken to Gaelic football, while Naomi explores the importance of the intensely local amateur sports to communities in Ireland. We hear from sports historian Paul Rouse of University College Dublin on how the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884 was deeply linked to the nationalist politics of the time. From Bronze Age myths about hurling matches between ancient tribes, to a devastating massacre in Croke Park stadium in 1920, we hear why modern Ireland can't be understood without getting GAA.

S2 Episode 6 The Gaelic Games

A podcast about the culture, history and politics of Ireland by Naomi O’Leary and Tim Mc Inerney. Taking on the knowledge gap since 2017.

Episode 4: The Knowledge Gap

The Irish Passport

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