The Ireland Podcast

Editors Tomás Finn and Tony Varley discuss their book, Inside Rural Ireland. They explain how rural Ireland’s success is intrinsically tied to the prosperity of the entire nation, emphasising the importance of nurturing rural communities for Ireland’s future.Tomás Finn is a Lecturer in History at the University of Galway and is currently a member of the Social Sciences Research Centre at the University of Galway. He has published a book and articles on the role of intellectuals and the influence of ideas in the modernisation of Ireland. His monograph Tuairim, Intellectual Debate and Policy Formulation: Rethinking Ireland, 1954–75 was published in 2012.Tony Varley is a former Senior Lecturer in Political Science and Sociology and is now a member of the Social Sciences Research Centre at the University of Galway. He has co-edited A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland (2009), Integration through Subordination: The Politics of Agricultural Modernisation in Industrial Europe (2013), and Land Questions in Modern Ireland (2013).In the early decades of native rule rural Ireland – and in particular the new farmer-owners who had emerged as the major winners in the recent agrarian revolution – exerted a considerable influence over the new Free State and over Irish Catholicism. Patriarchal power on the land had been strengthened by the transfer of land ownership from landlord to tenantfarmer and was given further strength by patriarchal Catholicism and patriarchal nationalism. After 1932 the strides protected import-substituting industrialisation was making never went nearly far enough to threaten agriculture’s economic primacy or the countryside’s central position in Irish society. Inspired by the traumatic experience of severe crisis conditions in the 1950s, a transformation that set southern Ireland on the path of urban industrialism commenced in earnest in the 1960s.What emerges is that the power of the state to promote rural change has at once contracted and expanded in the years since Ireland joined the EEC in 1973. Views are divided as to how urban industrialism has impacted on different rural interests. Throughout much of the period since the 1950s the power of organised farmers to represent Irish farming interests remained high as those working the land continued to dwindle in number. In recent decades the always limited power of clerical activists and intellectuals to restructure rural civil society along Catholic (or even Christian) lines has undergone further decline. Most recently the prospects for farm women increasing their relative power have arguably improved the most in certain respects, even if land ownership still remains stubbornly and overwhelmingly in male hands.Inside Rural Ireland delves deeply into the evolution of Ireland’s rural history to explore rural Ireland before and after these momentous transitions by examining the power of ruling politicians and state bodies, farmers, clerical and non-clerical civic activists, intellectuals (social commentators as well as fiction writers), returned emigrants, and farm women to promote or impede a wide range of rural changes.Relevant Linkshttps://www.ucdpress.ie/page/detail/inside-rural-ireland/?k=9781739086367Additional Linkshttps://charliebyrne.ie/https://www.hodgesfiggis.ie/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 128 is a continuation of the conversation with Derry man - Director of Photographer, Mark McCauley - who talks about his experience of being in the frontlines of the Bosnian War.Conversation includes: a brief overview of the Bosnian War; the inappropriate hiring of a car; driving in search of a frontline; spending a night in a house under fire; best decisions vs. least bad options; sleep; deciding on the safest part of the house in a bombardment; driving through a minefield; Sarajevo; a description of what made this a particularly bad war; sharing footage; a German aid charity transporting kids out of Sarajevo along a no man’s land road; being at a burial during a sniper attack; processing trauma in real time and then later; to be there or not to be there; the colouring/non-colouring of news coverage; interference of news by governments and commercial ownership; fighting propaganda; what was suitable to broadcast and other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.markmccauley.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/markmccauley2020/https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1828579/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 127 has Fender chatting with six times Grammy Winner, producer Steve Lillywhite who produced 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' and 'Peace And Love' by The Pogues to commemorate the first anniversary of Shane MacGowan’s passing.Conversation includes: introductions; how Steve came to work with The Pogues; Frank Murray; RAK Studios; bands on the way up/down; ‘Straight To Hell' soundtrack; how ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’ was recorded; The Engine Room, The Bridge and The Vocal Booth; getting the best takes; recording ‘Fairytale Of New York’; James Fearnley’s “mistake” in the intro; a photo of Little Richard getting into a red Cadillac; good vs. not good; one of Steve’s biggest production decisions; walking through each track of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’; ‘Hong Kong Garden’; John McKay vs. The Edge; Phish; Bowie and Bali; ‘Don’t Let Me Down And Down’ in Indonesian; The Nipple Erectors; Fiachra Trench; fade outs; the Birmingham 6, Guilford 4 and Gerry Conlon; social comment songs; lyrics; Andrew’s pocket; drummers before clicktracks; Stewart Copeland; Steve’s 3 word review of IISFFGWG; Steve’s biggest hits and other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.instagram.com/steve_lillywhite/https://www.discogs.com/artist/50809-Steve-Lillywhitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_LillywhiteAdditional Linkshttp://www.pogues.com/https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5pJ3NropplwdBOK0XVwj1H?si=01f37735923e424ahttps://www.facebook.com/groups/25862095788/posts/10162117825130789/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 126 has Fender in conversation with Director of Photography Mark McCauley. Mark details his meteoric rise from being a musician in Derry to witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall.Conversation includes: introductions; early years as a musician; The Undertones; moving to London; landing a job in the BBC; working at the BBC on programs e.g. The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Of The Pops, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads etc ; transitioning from audio to video recording; moving into the news department; Ingo Prosser; an overview of Berlin and Germany from World War II to 1989; covering the fall of the Berlin Wall; managing nerves; Robert Capa; Cartier-Bresson; W. Eugene Smith; Günter Schabowski’s press conference; Brian Hanrahan; witnessing the fall of the wall at Bornholmer Straße, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate as well as other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.markmccauley.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/markmccauley2020/https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1828579/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50013048 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.