Urban-rural toxicity, a Guard's fears for Ireland and the even more toxic Roscommon-Mayo divide
28/04/2026 | 48 mins.
“I’m getting in touch because I’ve written the attached open letter as a serving Garda,” this email was one of many we received since Sinead O’Sullivan came on the podcast. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” it continued, “but I felt I had to say something given how things are going. I wrote it out of a genuine sense of frustration with the direction the country seems to be heading. More than that, I’m writing as a father of a young family, and I’m increasingly worried about what kind of Ireland my kids are going to grow up in.” On Free State today we ask why people hurting has been turned into an urban versus rural debate when everyone is affected. Does this tell us something about the inability of the ruling class to see beyond the short term? Why is there always a defensive attack or a short term fudge rather than leadership? And when it comes to lack of leadership? Could things actually get worse for Mayo? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Roger Casement - Rebel and Traitor? With Rory Carroll
25/04/2026 | 39 mins.
“The bravest man it fell to my unhappy lot to execute.” These were the words of the hangman who took Roger Casement to the scaffold in Pentonville Prison in 1916. Roger Casement’s final years were lived in pursuit of Irish independence. But was he a driver of rebellion or a hopeless romantic whose brainwaves did more harm than good? On Free State today, Rory Carroll talks about his book A Rebel and a Traitor about Casement and Reginald Hall, the man who pursued him. He talks about the lover who betrayed Casement, why Irish prisoners of war in Germany didn’t trust him and the complicated legacy that persists to this day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Power and Control: How a manager falls to earth
23/04/2026 | 45 mins.
What allows a manager to bring a group with them? What is it? How do they possess it and what happens when they lose it? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how managers fall to earth and consider how Ger Brennan can make it work as Dublin manager. They look at the power and control Alex Ferguson had and what happens when a manager becomes toxic and indiscipline spreads. They also consider the shocking developments in Howth where people aren't saying hello to Vogue Williams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Premature Birth of a Nation with Sinead O'Sullivan
21/04/2026 | 1h 3 mins.
When Sinead O'Sullivan created a graph which she believed illustrated the problems in Ireland, she hadn't realised what would happen next. She found herself in the middle of an argument about data with many including Leo Varadkar. It raged over what Ireland did and didn't do well. But did it highlight the real problem in Ireland today? A defensiveness from the establishment which could be seen in a broader context in relation to the protests. Sinead O'Sullivan joins Dion and Joe on today's Free State to talk about what when wrong in Ireland, why the country is like this and how it can be changed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why some people fail and some succeed. The story of Roy Keane and Ireland
18/04/2026 | 54 mins.
As a young Roy Keane headed on the train to Dublin from Cork for a coaching course, he saw some railway workers toiling by the track. ‘Look at them fuckers out there and they’re going like the hammers,’ he said. ‘I have to make it as a footballer.’ On Free State today we look at what drives a man like Roy Keane and how is the boy the father of the man? Dave Hannigan, author of We Need to Talk About Roy, discusses how Ireland and Keane have got along and not got along. He explains the force that took him from Mayfield to England when many expected he would soon be back. But Keane stayed and succeeded in ways nobody could have imagined. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They will never try to sell you a penis scented candle. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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