The Mick Clifford Podcast

Fine Gael has been in power for fifteen years so it should be no surprise that drift has set in. This weekend the party meets in UCC to try and get back on course. The Irish Examiner political team, Elaine Loughlin, Paul Hosford and Louise Burne take the temperature at the gathering and assess where the party goes from here, just over a year before its leader Simon Harris is due to resume his tenure as Taoiseach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US mid term elections dealt a severe blow to Donald Trump with the Democrats taking control of congress. But what will it mean for the remainder of Trump’s presidency? What will it mean for Americans struggling with the cost of living/ And wherefore the rest of the world, including this country, now that Trump’s time is closing in and we don’t know what is coming next. Professor of International Politics at UCD, Scott Lucas is this week’s guest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The recent violent protests in France were attributed to far-left elements. In a milieu where far right interests are gaining support across Europe, this was something of an anomaly. For DCU associate professor of politics, Eoin O’Malley, this scenario suggests that perhaps the media and many in politics are putting too much emphasis on threats from the far-right and perhaps should look at what kind of ideology is really being espoused in Irish public life. Eoin O’Malley is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been a drip feed of revelations about alleged malpractice in An Garda Siochana in recent weeks. Central to the allegations has been a group of officers who have made protected disclosures. How their allegations were received, how they were dealt with, has become a huge element of the story. But what is it all about and where is it going?
Labour party TD Alan Kelly was the first to bring it all into the public domain and he lays out the whole narrative plainly in this week’s podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.