Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

“The bravest man it fell to my unhappy lot to execute.” These were the words of the hangman who took Roger Casement to the scaffold in Pentonville Prison in 1916.Roger Casement’s final years were lived in pursuit of Irish independence. But was he a driver of rebellion or a hopeless romantic whose brainwaves did more harm than good? On Free State today, Rory Carroll talks about his book A Rebel and a Traitor about Casement and Reginald Hall, the man who pursued him.He talks about the lover who betrayed Casement, why Irish prisoners of war in Germany didn’t trust him and the complicated legacy that persists to this day.

What allows a manager to bring a group with them? What is it? How do they possess it and what happens when they lose it? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how managers fall to earth and consider how Ger Brennan can make it work as Dublin manager. They look at the power and control Alex Ferguson had and what happens when a manager becomes toxic and indiscipline spreads. They also consider the shocking developments in Howth where people aren't saying hello to Vogue Williams.

When Sinead O'Sullivan created a graph which she believed illustrated the problems in Ireland, she hadn't realised what would happen next. She found herself in the middle of an argument about data with many including Leo Varadkar. It raged over what Ireland did and didn't do well. But did it highlight the real problem in Ireland today? A defensiveness from the establishment which could be seen in a broader context in relation to the protests.Sinead O'Sullivan joins Dion and Joe on today's Free State to talk about what when wrong in Ireland, why the country is like this and how it can be changed.

As a young Roy Keane headed on the train to Dublin from Cork for a coaching course, he saw some railway workers toiling by the track.‘Look at them fuckers out there and they’re going like the hammers,’ he said. ‘I have to make it as a footballer.’On Free State today we look at what drives a man like Roy Keane and how is the boy the father of the man?Dave Hannigan, author of We Need to Talk About Roy, discusses how Ireland and Keane have got along and not got along. He explains the force that took him from Mayfield to England when many expected he would soon be back. But Keane stayed and succeeded in ways nobody could have imagined.

This week Irish life returned to normal and Irish politics resumed its normal parlour games.The resignation of Michael Healy Rae was described repeatedly as a ‘bombshell’ and the political parties shouted at each other in the Dail.Outside protestors and malcontents hovered but will their protests take on those who are really exploiting the ordinary people?Since Israel and the US launched their war against Iran, the top 100 oil companies are making an additional unearned ‘war profit’ of $30 million an hour. There are calls for a windfall tax but who will take the side of the ordinary consumer over big oil?On Free State today we look at the real divide in society and we consider the moment when Leo Varadkar ran out of diesel

‘Nobody has a right to blockade our country,’ Micheal Martin stated when announcing what the government would be doing in response to the protests that brought the country to a halt.But what does it tell us about the fraying of the social contract that people felt they had to take to the barricades in their country to demonstrate how desperate things have become?On Free State today Joe and Dion look at a week that might have changed Ireland and why the establishment doesn’t know how to respond. We ask who were the bad actors who tried to attach themselves to the protest and explain why they are being used as a distraction to avoid dealing with the fundamental problems in the country.Joe and Dion also discuss the piece by Sinead O’Sullivan which you can read here https://www.butthistime.com/p/mind-the-gap. Feel free to email info@freestate.podcast.com with your own thoughts.

“It is a low bar to ask that people aren’t killed so that I can fill up my car.” Alex Perry is an investigative journalist who has uncovered an extraordinary story.It is a story where the backdrop is the new imperialism. If the first scramble for Africa was led by the imperial nations in the 19th century, the second has been by the oil companies that have so much power in the world today.In Ireland, we have seen this week the power of oil and gas, but on Free State today, Alex Perry talks about the incredible story of Palma in Mozambique. He tells us about the massacre that took place there in 2021 which the world knows nothing about and why so many who should know more also say they know nothing.

How close did the world come to annihilation this week? What will happen the next time Trump parades his negotiating skills and can the world always be sure that Trump Always Chickens Out?On Free State, Dion and Joe reflect on a ceasefire which was a defeat for Trump and ignored by Benjamin Netanyahu.Does this mean peace or does it mean we should enjoy the little things that make life worth living? Since the death of his friend Michael Lyster, Joe has been reflecting on what made Lyster the man he was and he shares a story which captures his magic.

Stalin was reported to have asked ‘How many divisions does the pope have?’ when told of the Vatican’s view on world affairs.On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo addressed the crowds at St Peter’s Square and said, "Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace."Shortly afterwards, Donald Trump gave his view on world affairs. “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”On Free State today we ask who will stand up to Donald Trump? Are the church leaders who are supposed to provide leadership in terms of morality being forceful or are they dealing simply in wooly abstractions that are of no use?When Trump is becoming increasingly deranged and there is a need for firm and moral leadership, will someone stand against him or will they continue to use language that is vague and uninspiring?