Mooney on Irish Politics

In this episode of the upcoming Mooney on Politics podcast, I chat with good friend and acknowledged referendum campaign expert Tiernan Brady.
We discuss the lessons he learned from directing the successful marriage equality referendums in Ireland Australia, and how they could apply to any further referendum on Irish Unity.
With UK PM Andy Burnham saying a border poll is off the table, for now, Tiernan sets out why fixating on the "when" and seeking a date for a border poll on Irish Unity is a distraction. He urges everyone to focus now on the harder, and much more urgent question: how those of us who want unity start working to persuade of the positive case for Unity.

(Yes, I have new theme music via foximusic.com )
There is a video clip with this podcast https://youtube.com/shorts/Hv7rYfgT9JY?feature=share

Is Ireland's peacekeeping legacy at risk?
Derek Mooney chats with Prof Roger Mac Ginty (Durham University), a key contributor to the 2023 Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, to unpack Irish neutrality, the future of UN peacekeeping, and the government's push to scrap the triple lock.
They dig into the OSCE's untapped potential, a "weak" UN Secretary-General, Europe's abdication on Ukraine, and why cross-party consensus on defence matters more than ever. A sharp, honest look at Ireland's place in a fracturing world order.

In this episode I look at some of the paradoxes of Irish politics... the government is hugely unpopular (on a par with Trump in the US) but the opposition cannot capitalise on it.
Meanwhile Taoiseach Micheál martin attempts to deflect from his own vulnerabilities by going to war with his own backbenchers in a way that just further highlights those vulnerabilities... !

In this episode I set out the 7 core leadership lessons for Irish political parties from Andy Burnham's ascent to No 10:
1. Don’t make it personal
2. Timing matters – no delays
3. Prepare properly
4. Take risks
5. Keep control of the message
6. Day one counts
7. Don’t fear blood

This is my Summer 2026 holiday political reading list... these are the 8 books I recommend to take away with you to read while on your summer holidays. All eight are political and should be of interest to any Irish politico... whatever their political hue. This podcast also looks at the books that almost made the list... and the one that most definitely didn't. You can read the original blogpost via my website: www.derekmooney.ie