The Irish Passport

A bonus special episode in honour of our national day! We discuss the annual pilgrimage of Irish politicians to the White House that inevitably results in scandal. Tim tells us the surprising origins of the St. Patrick's Day festival and the murky history of the leprechaun mascot. Naomi investigates the global empire behind the viral spread of Irish Pubs from Hong Kong to Panama, but discovers how a friendly Irish bar can be a real  asset for immigrants far from home.

A United Ireland: the idea has been a political force in Irish and British politics for centuries, and it has been given fresh momentum by Brexit. Tim explains how the concept long pre-dates the partition of the island and was once championed by Protestant elites. Naomi visits a public meeting about unification in central Dublin, and asks why it matters to people -- and when they expect it to happen. We hear from expert Katy Hayward on the potential options for Northern Ireland after Brexit, and why she believes talk of a United Ireland should be avoided altogether.

It's the grand finale to the first season! Tim and Naomi examine how a standoff over the Irish border in the Brexit negotiations brought ignorance about Ireland among politicians and media to the surface. We review the biggest embarrassing moments on air from the past few weeks, quiz ordinary English people about what they know about Ireland, and give a quick and dirty roundup of the history you need to know to understand today's news. Tim hears from a group of Northern Irish podcasters about what it's like to be from the forgotten province, and Naomi meets the Irishman who worked in Downing Street in the thick of the Brexit campaign and tried in vain to warn his colleagues of the border problems that were coming. We speak to finance professor Brian Lucey about the myths about Ireland that Brexit has brought to the surface, and hear an audio essay by Gordon Guthrie about Britain's 'great forgetting'.

Just below the surface of modern Ireland, a parallel world exists with its roots in pre-Christian belief. Irish fairies aren't like Tinkerbell - they're more like a supernatural mafia. So be careful what you say, because as the story goes, they're probably listening. Tim talks to one of Ireland's last seanchaí or story-teller historians, who once managed to get a highway diverted to prevent the felling of a fairy bush. We also hear about modern traditions from the streets of Galway as the Celtic New Year Samhain festival is underway. Meanwhile, Naomi discovers that fairies can even make an appearance in modern politics, thanks to Ireland's unique clan of rural populists, the Healy Rae political dynasty of County Kerry.

Ireland has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Banned unless the woman's life is in serious danger, it carries a 14-year prison sentence. Rumblings of change are beginning, but some a campaign could open up ugly political fault lines. Why is Ireland like this? Tim and Naomi explore the strange and surprising backstory to Ireland's constitutional abortion ban. Tim hears from a journalist who snuck contraband condoms into 1970s Dublin. We hear from Ireland's 31-year-old health minister on what change he wants to see, while Naomi meets a 17 year-old student who has swapped her textbooks for a megaphone in the pro-choice campaign. Just don't let her Catholic school find out...

Have you heard that the Irish were slaves? If so, you may have been targeted with political propaganda from the American far right. Naomi speaks to actress and writer Azie Dungey about how Irish history is being abused for a political agenda in the United States, while Tim asks two experts in the topic about the truth behind the internet myth. We hear from American journalist Traci White who set out to investigate why the meme was appearing on her Facebook page, while Irish Senator Aodháin Ó Ríordáin tells us what the Trump administration needs to know about Irish-American history. Featuring: ‘When the Wick is Gone’ by the Pangolins

Ireland's great famine was the worst peacetime disaster in 19th century Europe. It shaped both Ireland and the world. And it remains such a political bombshell that people still can't agree on what to call it. We explore the hidden history of the mass starvation, from its little-known role in the origins of modern journalism to its surprising link to a Native American tribe. Tim discovers a piece of 1840s Ireland in the middle of Manhattan, while Naomi asks what lessons should be applied to current events today.

Applications for Irish passports surged in the last year, largely from people in Britain and Northern Ireland. Who are the new 'Brexit Irish'? We meet them in this new episode and hear their motivations for claiming their Irish identity. We also speak to the Irish ambassador who found himself in the eye of the storm as applications soared. Tim hits the streets of Galway to investigate what ordinary Irish citizens think of the newcomers -- and is taken aback by what he hears.  Discover why Ireland has such a large diaspora in the first place, and the key role they played in the foundation of the state.

Ireland and Europe: what is Ireland's future in the EU now that its neighbour the United Kingdom is leaving? Is the so-called Irexit at all realistic? We explore Ireland's relationship with the continent now and in the future and unpick why Ireland differs so much from Britain in its history as part of Europe. We speak to Ireland's most, and perhaps only, well-known eurosceptic Ray Bassett, as well as Ireland's Minister for European Affairs and the ordinary people of Dublin to understand Ireland and Europe at this crucial moment in history.

Who are Ireland's elites? That question was once easily answered, but not since independence upended the entire social order! In this episode, Naomi visits a castle in Dublin that has been the home of one family for 35 generations -- and finds the current heir still feels he's not accepted as one of Ireland's own. Tim investigates how his own ancestors went from being aristocrats' servants to rebels in one generation. Or perhaps they were rebels all along? We speak to an expert who says Ireland today is in denial about having elites, when they are hiding in plain sight. Find out who they are in our chat with elitism expert Dr. Ciaran O’Neill.