Irish Left Archive Podcast
Exploring Left politics in Ireland past and present
A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive.
We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns; Left publications and political documents they’ve been involved in; and the history and development of progressive politics in Ireland. We also look at the role of the Irish Left Archive and similar informal projects.
The podcast is hosted by Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey.
#14: John Goodwillie: Young Socialists, Socialist Labour Alliance, SWM, Socialist Labour Party, Gralton magazine and the Green Party
- Mon, 02 Nov 2020
- 1 hr 16 mins
In this episode we talk to John Goodwillie. John is a long-time political activist, who has been involved in a number of progressive parties and organisations. He was a member of Labour in the 1960s and belonged to the Young Socialists, Socialist Labour Action Group and subsequent Socialist Labour Alliance. He was involved with the Socialist Workers’ Movement (SWM) in the 1970s, and joined the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) when the SWM merged with that party as a tendency, and remained on the National Executive until the SLP’s dissolution.
Episode 14
#13: Brian Hanley: The Lost Revolution - The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party
- Mon, 26 Oct 2020
- 1 hr 16 mins
In this episode we talk to historian Brian Hanley about The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party, the book which he co-authored with Scott Millar, published in 2009. We discuss the history of Official Republicanism from the move to the Left in the 1960s up to the contemporary, and how Brian and Scott went about researching and writing the history of that movement.
Episode 13
#11: Colm Breathnach: Workers Party, Democratic Left and Irish Socialist Network
- Mon, 12 Oct 2020
- 1 hr 12 mins
In this episode we talk to Colm Breathnach. Colm was a member of the Workers Party throughout the 1980s, and was elected as a local councillor for the party in 1991 in Dún Laoghaire. He subsequently joined Democratic Left when that party split from the Workers Party, but left over the issue of coalition when the party entered government. He was later involved in the formation of the Irish Socialist Network. Since then Colm moved to Scotland where he was involved with the Scottish Socialist Party and RISE, and remains politically active.
Episode 11
#10: Ber Grogan: Abortion Rights Campaign, Repeal, and Communities Against Racism
- Mon, 05 Oct 2020
- 1 hr 12 mins
In this episode we talk to Ber Grogan. As an activist, Ber was involved with the Abortion Rights Campaign, and was a co-ordinator in Dublin North West during the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. She also ran a Seanad campaign for the NUI panel, and is currently active in Communities Against Racism.
Episode 10
#9: Michael Pidgeon: Green Party, and Irish Election Manifesto Archive
- Mon, 28 Sep 2020
- 58 mins
In this episode we are joined by Michael Pidgeon. Michael is a long-standing member of the Green Party and was elected to Dublin City Council in the 2019 local elections for the South West Inner City Local Electoral Area. He is chair of the city’s environment and climate policy committee, and leader of the Green Party group on Dublin City Council.
Episode 9
#8: Orla Egan: Cork LGBT Archive
- Mon, 21 Sep 2020
- 1 hr 03 mins
In this episode we are joined by Orla Egan of the Cork LGBT Archive. Orla founded the project in 2015, and has developed it to now encompass a digital archive available at CorkLGBTArchive.com, which is also retained as part of both the Digital Repository of Ireland and Europeana; a physical archive now housed in the Cork City Council Public Museum; a book entitled Queer Republic of Cork; and a number of exhibitions.
Episode 8
#7: Mary Muldowney: Trade Union and Left Campaigns, the Socialist Party, and Oral History
- Mon, 14 Sep 2020
- 56 mins
In this episode we talk to Mary Muldowney about her political background and experience campaigning in the trade union movement and working in the Socialist Party; pro-choice campaigns including the Women on Waves ship and the abortion referendums; and her work as a historian, and how that relates to her activism.
Episode 7
#6: Rhona McCord: Trade Unionism, the Right2Water Campaign, and Community Organising
- Mon, 07 Sep 2020
- 57 mins
In this episode we talk to Rhona McCord about her political background, the Right2Water and Right2Change campaigns, community organising, and the challenges for the left and Trade Union movement in the contemporary period.
Episode 6
#5: Alan Kinsella: Collecting Political Ephemera, "The Others", and Politics During a Pandemic
- Mon, 31 Aug 2020
- 1 hr 08 mins
In this episode we talk to Alan Kinsella about his Irish Election Literature collection, how it has developed, and the advantages of a wide online network that has spread internationally; how political activity has changed during the Covid19 pandemic; his podcast “The Others” and the histories that that explores; and also the state of the contemporary party system since the last election and the current coalition was formed.
Episode 5
#4: Conor Kostick: SWP, Independent Left, and Left Organising and Activism
- Mon, 24 Aug 2020
- 1 hr 18 mins
In this episode we talk to Conor Kostick of Independent Left, and formerly the Socialist Workers Party, about a range of areas including his own history, activism and historical research, materials in the Left Archive that he has contributed to and issues like the use of social and other media in Left organising.
Episode 4
#3: Catherine Stocker: Social Democrats
- Mon, 17 Aug 2020
- 51 mins
In this episode we talk to Catherine Stocker of the Social Democrats. Catherine is a local councillor in Dublin City. She has been a member of the Social Democrats since 2016, and since then has been involved in policy formation, sat on the National Executive of the party, and in 2019 was elected to Dublin City Council for the Clontarf LEA.
Episode 3
#2: Laurence Cox: Left Publications, Social Movements and Activism
- Mon, 10 Aug 2020
- 1 hr 05 mins
We talk to activist, writer and academic, Laurence Cox about publications in the archive in which he has been involved, the organisational and political aspects of those projects, and the contexts in Left politics and movements from which they emerged.
Episode 2
#1: The Irish Left Archive Project
- Mon, 03 Aug 2020
- 52 mins
Introducing the Irish Left Archive Podcast! In this episode, Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey discuss how the project got started in 2007 and how it has developed since then.
Episode 1