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The Ireland Podcast
100. Fender Jackson: Reflecting On 99 Episodes - Part 1
Episode 100 is the first part of an interview with Fender Jackson by his old friend and former fellow bandmate, the esteemed Dr. James Morrow reflecting back on 99 episodes of The Ireland Podcast.
Conversation includes: (re)introductions; the history of The Ireland Podcast; the journey of most podcast episodes; the first interviewee; the origin story of The Ireland Podcast; the dying embers of Gaelic as a first language in the Sperrin Mountains; Fender interviewing family members about 25 years ago; PlayLouder.com; John Cale; Seán Gallagher from Derry; Seán Óg McKiernan; listener feedback; Liz Hackett watching Rugby in Australia; Gerry Mulholland, aka Jarir Al-Majar; Sam Henry the musicologist; imposter syndrome; Elvis Costello; David Bowie; Fender Jackson; The Pixies; the duty of the archivist; deciding who to interview; Nirvana; editing as well as other topics.
Relevant Links
Additional Links
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7n9YLV83HBp3cpC7bs4v5p
Face to face recording in Armagh City, County Armagh at approximately 8.18pm on Monday 2nd September 2024.
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135. James Fearnley: Life Until 'Red Roses For Me'
01:23:10|Ep. 135 has Fender in conversations with The Pogues' Accordionist James Fearnley from England living in Los Angeles on the day before the 2025 LA Fire started. They go through 'Red Roses For Me' and James’ book ‘Here Comes Everybody: The Story Of The Pogues’.Conversation includes: introductions; The Low & Sweet Orchestra; Cranky George; The Walker Roaders; infomercials; ‘Here Comes Everybody: The Story Of The Pogues’; Gregory Peck’s movie "The Bravados" (1958); Brad Wood; audio book recording; James the impressionist; James Joyce; early years in Worsley, Manchester, England; moving to London; studying in Ealing Technical College which has an alumni including Freddie Mercury and Pete Townsend; life’s journey as a musician; Culture Club vs. The Nips; painting and decorating with Jem Finer (The Pogues’ banjo player); the support of Jem and Marcia; early days with Shane MacGowan and Shanne Bradley in The Nips; joining Pogue Mahone; DJ Kid Jensen and transitioning to The Pogues; recording ‘Red Roses For Me’ with producer Stan Brennan at the end of July and beginning of August 1984 in Elephant Studios, London; track by track starting with ‘Transmetropolitan’; London; Shane the Pied Piper; James’ gratitude to Shane in a letter; the hate because of the love; that incident with Allie Campbell from UB40; the anvil; Baby, Please Don’t Go; Holly Mullineaux; Sea Shanty vs. The Kesh Jig; the other band members; the Three Castles Burning Podcast; how the sound of The Pogues came into focus; goat hooves; the sequel to Here Comes Everybody; The Popes and Charlie Maclennan; John Francis Flynn; Dylan Walsh; running orders and setlists; Ted Hutt and The Walker Roaders; Marc Orrell and Dropkick Murphys, as well as other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.instagram.com/walkerroaders/The Walker Roaders on Spotifyhttp://www.pogues.com/Additional LinksSpotify Playlist for Episode 135https://www.amazon.co.uk/Here-Comes-Everybody-Story-Pogues/dp/0571253970https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Here-Comes-Everybody-Audiobook/B00XYKQ4XA134. Rónán Ó Snodaigh: Musician
01:05:14|Ep. 134 has Fender Jackson chatting with Rónán Ó Snodaigh on New Year’s Eve 2024 before his performance with Kíla in Monroe’s, Galway.Conversation includes: introductions; early years; Slógadh; Coláiste Eoin (established 1969); Liam Ó Maonlaí (Hothouse Flowers); mycelium; the lack of English in Rónán’s childhood; wanting to be a poet and a musician from leaving school; Rónán’s father Pádraig Ó Snodaigh; Coiscéim; Conradh na Gaeilge; his mother Cliodhna Cussen; being Gaeilgeoirs in Dublin in the 1970s and ‘80s; “frith Ghaeilge” (anti Irish language); Cormac agus Osgur Breathnach; a performance of ‘Dúisigí Dúisigí’; bells and the Kenyan musician Ayub Ogada; the sound of Kíla and the structures of the music; the gobsh*te power; spirituality vs. religiosity; biscuit cookie philosophy; heaven and hell on earth; performance of ‘Táimse I Mo Dhúiseacht’ based on a poem written by Cliodhna Cussen; the people lost on the island in recent decades; the kids; Malachi O’Doherty; the work Rónán has done to understand unionism; the Orange Order; Rónán’s busking in Europe; songwriting; Myles O’Reily; Brian Brody; Paul Muldoon and the makar and the troubadour; Mark French; upticks in the success of Kíla; advice to younger musicians starting out and singing “as gaelige”; driving up north with Colm and Lucas; Burntollet; Bernadette Devlin McAliskey; Hedwitschak Bodhrán; a performance of Hiúmar as well as other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://kila.ie/https://www.instagram.com/kila_official_/https://www.instagram.com/ronano.snodaigh/https://www.facebook.com/kilaofficialhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSTfl7UYUz_bilhbrq110wwhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/6YtMPqKR0zhZ5OPv3RrJNx?si=4gaLJg7JRU-Xw0xB-oJfoghttps://open.spotify.com/artist/3hThC58n5Lt8GC656aSYNQ?si=-vK6evdtRYm_SGs225B_YAAdditional Linkshttps://www.coisceim.ie/https://sallinsinquirynow.ie/https://monroes.ie/collections/live133. Moses Rowen: Inventor - Part 2
50:18|Ep 133 is the second half of Fender's chat with inventor Moses Rowen.Inventor Moses Rowen picks up the timeline of his career talking about a low cost steriliser for medical equipment; his amount of inventions; patents, royalties and intellectual properties; the triangle of creative and design, the engineering and science, the human factors; the psychology around medical devices; science vs. art (part two); the design process; working with Chris Soraghan and the tracheostomy team at St James's Hospital, Dublin; the iterative process of the inventor being the producer and playing mixes back to the “band”; the release a.k.a abandoning of work; Steve Lillywhite’s regret of not having mixed Fiesta by The Pogues “better”; learning from people who a lot about one thing; being able to move fast; Galway and the west and south of Ireland being a medical capital of the world; Cook Medical; Boston Scientific; Boston Medical; Hollister IE; Stryker having the biggest titanium 3D printing factory in the world; how to find work as an inventor and advice for other budding inventors out there; non disclosure agreements; a story about Shane MacGowan; Moses seeing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with Caleb in the 3Arena; Fender chatting with Shane MacGowan at a Nick Cave gig in Alexander Palace, London; Gavin Friday being quality over quantity and his releases ‘Ecce Homo’ (2024), ‘Catholic’ (2011), ‘Shag Tobacco’ (1995); Dr.Quirkey’s; breaking new ground as someone creative; ‘Ashes To Ashes’ by Bowie; a Bono and Eddie Jordan story from 2003; Formula 1 and the Monaco street circuit; ‘Surrender’ by Bono; reversing the priority and backwards designing for the end user/client/patient; cars as well as other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.mosesrowen.comAdditional LinksEp. 132 Moses Rowen: Inventor - Part 1Ep133. Spotify Playlist132. Moses Rowen: Inventor - Part 1
44:18|2025 kicks off with Fender Jackson interviewing Moses Rowen, inventor. Part one charts his schooling, early career and an overview of a piece of kit he designed for NASA!Conversation includes: introductions; Guggi; being an inventor; schooling vs. autodidacticism; doing a Mechanical Engineering degree in DIT (Technological University Dublin); luck; Kev; ‘No Country For Old Men’; ‘Cool Hand Luke’; working in the airport; art vs. science in music and inventing; National College of Art and Design; learning from fellow students about new technologies vs. what you learn in the classroom; working for an architecture firm in Rotterdam; open calls; gambling; designing BIMGEC (Bio-Inspired Micro Gravity Exercise Concept) an exercise device for zero gravity for NASA’s Artemis pod; dining with Coco; trail running and climbing; getting a cash course in eccentric bias from his brother Noah as well as other topics.Relevant Linkshttps://www.mosesrowen.comOverview of BIMGEC on InstagramOverview of BIMGEC on FacebookOverview of BIMGEC on TikTokOverview of BIMGEC on LinkedIn131. Red Roses For Me: 40th Anniversary
53:30|Ep. 131 has Fender Jackson catching punters' reactions, thoughts and favourite songs from The Pogues' 40th anniversary gig of Red Roses For Me which took place in 3 Arena, Dublin on Tuesday, 17th December 2024. We are publishing this on Christmas Day 2024 - what would have been Shane MacGowan's 67th birthday. Happy birthday Shane. Hope you are swimming in streams of whiskey.John Naughton, Shrewsbury, England‘Boys From The County Hell’ - Kojaque, Pogues and more. (Audio recorded by @njdel1)Jimmy Johnson, Bayside, Dublin‘The Auld Triangle’ - Nadine Shah, Pogues and others. (Audio recorded by @fuiseog9682)Semele, Athens, Greece‘Streams Of Whiskey’- Fontaines D.C., Pogues and others. Audio recorded by @fuiseog9682Flo, London, EnglandSemele’s story about Mikis Theordorakis‘Waxie’s Dargle’ - Mary Wallopers, Pogues and others. Audio recorded by @fuiseog9682Luca, Italy; Callum, Dublin; Gill, DublinGerry, Amersham, Bucks, England and Emer Gilna, Laytown, Meat'Transmetropolitan'Fionn Manning, Cork City and friends‘And The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda’ - Jim Sclavunos, Pogues and more. Audio recorded by @njdel1Fiachra Meek, uilleann piper‘Dirty Old Town’ - Jim Sclavunos, Pogues and others. Audio recorded by @the-master-switch‘Fairytale Of New York’ - Charles Hendy, Radie Peat, Pogues and more. Audio recorded by @alexhickey5633‘Kitty’ - John Francis Flynn, Pogues and others.NB Some of the recordings are from Pogues earlier gig this year in Hackney Empire. The audio in these recordings is mostly caught on phones. We highly recommend you see the band live for the full experience.Relevant Linkshttp://www.pogues.com/Additional Linkshttps://www.youtube.com/@njdel1https://www.youtube.com/@fuiseog9682https://www.youtube.com/@the-master-switchhttps://www.youtube.com/@alexhickey5633https://www.theirelandpodcast.com/latest-podcast/episode/9ed3bab4/29-tommy-keane-uilleann-pipe-player130. Seán Lyons: Musician / Singer-Songwriter
59:01|Ep. 129 brings singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Seán Lyons from County Clare to Fender’s studio in Galway. Seán demonstrates his exceptional musicianship, performing live and engaging in an insightful chat about his creative process, inspirations, and journey in music.Seán’s day job; Clare FM; reading the deat(h)s; John Lyons, Seán’s musical family consisting of John (late father), Ann Lynch Lyons (mother) and Aisling (sister); a performance on a ‘Wild’ Bb whistle of Liz Carroll’s ‘The Champaign Jig Goes to Columbia’ and Arty McGlynn’s ‘Spanish Harlem Dan’; a performance of ‘Factory Girl’ on a ‘Lir’ low D whistle of Liz Carroll’s; the price of whistles; Shaun ‘Mudd’ Wallace; shruti box; Niamh Parsons; a performance of Tom Waits’ ‘The Briar And The Rose’; Lillis Ó Laoire; Ennis Trad Fest; Sean and Tony McLaughlin; singing sessions; An Spailpín Fánach; sean-nós singing; Tim Lyons; a performance of ‘Ye Rambling Boys Of Pleasure; trad music scene; jazz; Frank Sinatra; a performance of ‘With These Very Hands’; songwriting; a performance of 'The West Wind' and 'The Old Bush' reels on a set of Tom White uilleann pipes acquired from Blackie O’Connell and a chanter from Cillian O'Briain, as well as other topics. Relevant Linkshttps://www.instagram.com/seanlyonsmusic_/https://seanlyons.bandcamp.com/https://open.spotify.com/artist/5bvNLNbW0TnRDV9izUAl1d?si=_l0gfqFGSq6UgOvadOBuow129. Dr. T. Finn & Dr. T. Varley: Inside Rural Ireland
01:14:14|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/128. Mark McCauley: Bosnian War
37:46|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/nm1828579/127. Steve Lillywhite: Music Producer Of The Pogues
53:58|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/