The Irish Passport

It's been a spicy few weeks in politics: Ireland was blindsided by an unexpected endorsement of Irish unity by United States President Donald Trump while on a visit to the country. Meanwhile the pro-independence parties of Scotland and Wales signed a cooperation agreement with Sinn Féin, agreeing common interests and to share strategy, including regarding the European Union. Regarding which - is Canada about to be the newest member? Naomi and Tim discuss it all in this latest episode.

The video version of this podcast is available for Patreon supporters over at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport - come and check it out!

In the latest installment of our Oscar Wilde series, Naomi and Tim discuss Oscar Wilde's move to Oxford, ascent as a star student, and launch in London to become one of the most famous figures of his day -- a kind of Victorian-era influencer. This is a period in which Wilde begins to emerge is a writer: of beautiful fables to be read to children, and of his book Dorian Gray, which would cause a scandal in London.

Patreon subscribers enjoy early access to this episode. A bonus Halfpint episode all about Dorian Gray and its hidden meanings is available on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport/posts/halfpint-dorian-166685376

Before the world knew Oscar Wilde, Ireland knew Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde: the son of a famous nationalist poet mother and a pioneering surgeon who grew up at the heart of Ireland's cultural renaissance of the 19th century, between Dublin and famine-ravaged County Mayo.

We discuss how Ireland shaped the budding writer and how Irish politics and the context of the time are key to understanding who he was.

This is the first episode in a series dedicated to Wilde, a fascinating and pivotal figure for Ireland and the wider world, made available early for Patreon supporters.

A bonus episode is available over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport/posts/halfpint-irish-163604289

Last week footage of a shocking stabbing in Belfast went viral. After it emerged that the perpetrator was an asylum seeker originally from Sudan, protests were called that soon devolved into a racist pogrom. Gangs of young men created checkpoints, burnt out cars, and set fire to the homes of people suspected to be migrants.

An old friend of the podcast, Matthew O'Toole, got a frontline view to the impact. The constitutency office he now runs as an elected official for the SDLP was converted into a temporary shelter for families fleeing their burning homes. He drove a family in the back of his car to safety in a convoy through Belfast as the violence still raged.

Thanks to longtime listener James and to supporter Kathy for suggesting the topic. This is a bonus episode made specially to thank Patreon supporters - due to the urgency of the topic, we've decided to make this one public.

A proposal for the smallest statue in the world to be built in Cork, in honour of the local mosquito that reputedly bit Oliver Cromwell ultimately causing his death, recently went viral. The idea inspired this episode discussing the diverging historical memory of Cromwell in Ireland, where he is remembered as a genocidal murderer, and in Britain, where he retains many admirers. We speak to Green party Cork Councillor Oliver Moran about the inspiration behind his statue proposal, a 'monument to the role of biodiversity in the national struggle' as one wag put it. Naomi and Tim then explore the stark divergences in Irish and British depictions of Cromwell in art and literature going back to the 16th century.