The Mick Clifford Podcast

Brian Cowen was elected Taoiseach just as the economic storm clouds were gathering in 2008. By the time he left office the country was dependant on the kindness of strangers. Was Cowen culpable for what befell the country/ Was he simply the victim of bad timing? And did his time at the top impinge on his political legacy up to then. Professor Gary Murphy has written a biography of the former Taoiseach and he is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How was it for you? For everybody it would appear that the budget was spread so thin it will be difficult to feel any difference. Neither austerity nor giveaway it also left questions hanging. Such as where now for this government? What if anything is its guiding compass? This week’s guests are drawn from the Irish Examiner Political team, Paul Hosford and Tadgh McNally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new initiative that could herald a while new way of life in some disadvantaged communities is being set up. The social supermarket is a model that has been tried successfully abroad and now is being introduced in north Dublin. It has been popularised by current New York mayor Zohran Mamdani but what exactly is it. Joining us to discuss is Angela Ruttledge, head of policy at Foodcloud, one of the groups behind the initiative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vincent Browne was the founding editor of Magill magazine and oversaw it, officially and unofficially, for the 1980s. It was a time of great change and the emergence of outstanding journalists to document it.
DCU academic and journalist Kevin Rafter has documented the highs, lows and the madness in Fearless! – Vincent Browne’s Magill and Ireland in the 1980s. Kevin is this week’s guest on the podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new book takes us behind the closed doors of a party that remains something of a mystery. Sinn Fein to some appears to retain the closeness of a tribe rather than a political party and its policies generally don’t follow a beaten path.
But is that the case or there less to see than might be thought? Siobhan Fenton worked as an advisor for the party and her new book is titled Ourselves Alone – Sinn Fein Behind Closed Doors.
Siobhan is this week’s guest on the podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.