Fiach Kelly, Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to talk about all the results we have so far from the weekend's local and European elections. What is behind Sinn Féin's slump? Could good news for Fianna Fáil in Dublin foretell a return to power for the party? Will anything come from talk of a Green-left alliance at the next general election? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 27, 2019•47 min
As voters go to the polls in 28 countries this weekend to select the new European Parliament, the expectation is of a significant surge in support for populist parties, from La Lega in Italy to Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. But what do we mean when we describe a political party as populist? Hugh talks to Jan-Werner Müller, professor of politics at Princeton University and author of the 2016 book, What is Populism? Jan-Werner was in Dublin to address the Institute of International and E...
May 24, 2019•41 min
A 'climate emergency' has been declared in Dáil Éireann, and green issues are coming up on the doorsteps in this election campaign, putting pressure on our politicians from below to take the problem seriously. But even if they do, and even if the predicted 'Green wave' materialises, is our system really capable of tackling a problem the size of climate change? To discuss, Hugh and Fiach are joined by Gavin Daly of the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network and Sadhbh O'Neill, a former Gre...
May 22, 2019•51 min
To talk about what has been a rather low-key EU election campaign so far, Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy, Fiach Kelly and Jennifer Bray. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 17, 2019•40 min
They are powerless, frustrated, underpaid and too often reviled by their constituents. Many local councillors have spoken out about how unattractive the role has become. Today we talk to two young, promising sitting councillors, Fianna Fáil's Frank Kennedy of Dublin City Council and Labour's Grace Tallon of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, about why they are not running for reelection in #LE2019. The Irish Times Dublin correspondent and council-watcher Olivia Kelly is also here with her analysis of what'...
May 15, 2019•44 min
At the age of 76, Bob Woodward has now covered nine different American presidents. That's 20% of all presidents from George Washington to Donald Trump. Most famously he contributed to the downfall of one, Richard Nixon, with his reporting on the Watergate scandal. Fear: Trump in the White House is published by Simon and Schuster. A public conversation with Bob Woodward on the state of the US presidency, moderated by Fintan O’Toole, will take place in the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on Monday, June ...
May 11, 2019•29 min
Today's Irish Times / Ipsos MRBI poll is actually three polls, with one conducted in each of our three European parliament constituencies: Dublin, Midlands-North-West and South. It gives us the first look on a candidate-by-candidate basis at who is winning the battle for European Parliament seats. If the numbers are right, we're in for some extremely close races.Political Editor Pat Leahy is here to explain the poll and its findings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 10, 2019•24 min
It's the topic none of you has been asking us to cover: the forthcoming plebiscites in Limerick, Cork and Waterford to see if those cities should have a directly-elected mayor. On the ground, journalist Patrick Freyne has found a total lack of knowledge of or engagement with the issue among voters. Has this process been designed to fail? Hugh and Pat are also joined by DCU's Jane Suiter to discuss the presence of right-wing populist candidates on the European ballot papers. And finally the panel...
May 08, 2019•45 min
Our guest today is Irish-American writer Michael Brendan Dougherty, who is a journalist with the New York-based conservative magazine National Review. His new book 'My Father Left Me Ireland' examines his own relationship with his Irish roots, competing views of Irish history and Irish nationalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 03, 2019•37 min
Nearly a fortnight on from the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry, local elections take place in Northern Ireland tomorrow. Will those who come out to vote decide to make an appeal for compromise and moderation following her death, or hold to the polarised status quo? Belfast-based reporter Amanda Ferguson joins Hugh, Pat and Harry to discuss the New IRA and the political situation in the North, ahead of the planned resumption of talks on powersharing next week.In the second part of the sh...
May 01, 2019•37 min
Bret Easton Ellis, best known as a fiction writer of novels including American Psycho and Less Than Zero, has just published his first non-fiction book, White. The collection of eight essays responding to contemporary culture has caused a stir due to the writer's views on US politics, the overreaction - as he sees it - of middle class liberals to the presidency of Donald Trump, the shortcomings of movements like #MeToo and the moral and intellectual failings of millennials.Easton Ellis, who says...
Apr 25, 2019•38 min
Political scientist and polling expert Dr Kevin Cunningham joins Hugh, Pat and Fiach to discuss a report he co-authored for the think tank, the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the shape of the next European Parliament. The study found that anti-EU parties are likely to form the second largest bloc in the parliament after next month’s elections. How will their opposition to EU initiatives impact on how the other pro-EU parties work together? They also talk about how the European electio...
Apr 24, 2019•47 min
Independents 4 Change TD Clare Daly joins Hugh and Fiach to discuss her decision to run for a seat in the European parliament. Why has the TD some see as one of our most accomplished parliamentarians decided to leave the Dáil? They also discuss Garda reform, Francis Fitzgerald's ouster, the rise of far right politics and her own criticism of the media. After that, there's time for Fiach's overview of the many runners and riders in the European parliament race. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Apr 17, 2019•47 min
The new October Brexit deadline impacts British politics in myriad ways, obvious and subtle. But it also has implications for politics here in Ireland and across Europe. First Denis Staunton and then Fintan O'Toole join Hugh and Pat to talk it through and take stock, as one Brexit chapter ends and another begins. Warning: this podcast contains major spoilers for Flann O'Brien's 'The Third Policeman'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 12, 2019•44 min
As Theresa May waits to find out what Brexit extension EU leaders will offer her, we ask what, if anything, Irish society can gain from Brexit. To do that Hugh is joined by economist David McWilliams, Dr Shana Cohen, director of think-tank Tasc, and columnist Cliff Taylor. They also discuss property tax and the Irish obsession with property ownership. Is a unique Irish mindset or government policy chiefly to blame? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 10, 2019•47 min
As Theresa May sends a letter to Brussels seeking another extension, Hugh and London Editor Denis Staunton are joined again by Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge and co-host of the Talking Politics podcast, to assess the difficulties facing Prime Minister May and Jeremy Corbyn as they seek to strike a deal on Brexit that will pass muster with enough members of their own parties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 05, 2019•29 min
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg made a flying visit to Dublin this week, during which time he met with politicians including Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on the issue of fake news. On today’s podcast the Dublin Bay South TD joins Hugh and Pat to discuss what Zuckerberg said and what it really means. They also talk about why a greater focus on the issue of climate change hasn’t improved the Greens standing in the polls and how to prevent the carbon tax going the way of water charges. Ho...
Apr 03, 2019•40 min
It was meant to be the day when "church bells were rung, coins struck, stamps issued and bonfires lit to send beacons of freedom from hilltop to hilltop", to paraphrase Boris Johnson. Instead, UK PM Theresa May has suffered another defeat of her withdrawal agreement, albeit by a slimmer margin of only 58 votes. Our London Editor Denis Staunton and Ronan McCrea, Professor of Constitutional and European Law at University College London, talk about what comes next, and some longer term Brexit probl...
Mar 29, 2019•31 min
First: Later today in the UK House of Commons, 'indicative votes' - designed to show how much support different Brexit options enjoy - will be held, upending the normal, natural state of government-led parliamentary procedure. The various votes will encompass a range of options from revoking Article 50 entirely to a straight-up No-Deal Brexit. Denis Staunton in London and Pat Leahy on what it all means and how different factions might vote. Then: Fiach Kelly and Jennifer Bray on the Fine Gael pa...
Mar 27, 2019•45 min
Taking a break from the chaos of Brexit, we turn to a rather chaotic and already crowded field of candidates for the Democratic Party nomination to take on President Trump in next year's US presidential election. There are many factors at play and to help us understand them we talk to Suzanne Lynch, The Irish Times's Washington correspondent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 21, 2019•32 min
First: Patrick Smyth in Brussels joins Hugh and Pat to talk about the thinking behind the EU's stance on a potential Brexit delay. Then: Jennifer Bray on why councillors in Donegal, using one of their few regulatory powers, have voted to legalise gaming machines despite the risks of addiction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 20, 2019•40 min
Western democracies are beset by a variety of problems: fractured legislative bodies, the rise of the far right, the erosion of norms and the dangers posed by technology. But we shouldn't confuse those with the problems of the past, according to David Runciman in his book How Democracy Ends. Ahead of his talk at the Mountains to Sea festival on Sunday March 31st, he talks to Hugh about his ideas. And about Brexit too, of course. David Runciman is Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and...
Mar 15, 2019•42 min
Prime Minister Theresa May has failed spectacularly in her bid to pass a Brexit deal through the House of Commons. The Guardian's Brexit correspondent Lisa O'Carroll on the fallout in Westminster, the few paths forward and the 'atomisation' of conventional politics.Fintan O'Toole on the characteristics that have brought Theresa May and the nation she leads to this point of political breakdown. How much blame for Brexit is hers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 13, 2019•37 min
The second set of results from the Irish Times / Ipsos MRBI poll reveals attitudes to Brexit and Irish unity across the island of Ireland, north and south. Among the most significant findings: respondents from all communities in Northern Ireland are heavily in favour of "the softest of soft Brexits". A majority of voters would choose to remain in the EU in a second referendum. And majorities of both Catholics and Protestants feel the DUP and its leader Arlene Foster are not representing Northern...
Mar 07, 2019•29 min
Political Editor Pat Leahy is here with the latest Ipsos / MRBI poll which brings bad news for most political groups but especially for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, support for whom has dipped significantly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 07, 2019•19 min
First: Fiach Kelly explains what we've learned from a cache of documents featuring exchanges between Solidarity TD Paul Murphy, his party colleagues and an international umbrella organisation for socialist politics, while Jennifer Bray has the latest on internal divisions within the Social Democrats. Then: Is there any version of the backstop that could be accepted by the EU, Ireland and Britain? In part two we're joined by Peter Foster, Europe Editor of British newspapers The Daily Telegraph an...
Mar 06, 2019•49 min
Finally it seems that meaningful moves are being made in Westminster toward some sort of conclusion to the Brexit saga. Denis Staunton and Pat Leahy analyse the public shifts in position made in recent days by Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and hard Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, and the private strategising of the Irish government, the DUP and the European Union. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 27, 2019•38 min
The EU-Arab League summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, today has been dominated by talk of Brexit. And it has turned out to be a more eventful day than promised, with expectations growing that UK Prime Minister Theresa May will take steps to avoid 'No Deal', reports our Deputy Political Editor Fiach Kelly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 25, 2019•13 min
At the Fianna Fáil ardfheis in City West, everyone, from the regular delegates on up to the party leader Micheál Martin, wants to take the fight to Fine Gael in a general election. But not right now, of course. As all are at pains to point out, the party must hold off in the national interest. Harry McGee and Pat Leahy were there to assess the party mood. They were joined by the party's Brexit spokesperson Lisa Chambers and European candidate Barry Andrews to talk about the party's direction, th...
Feb 23, 2019•39 min
Jennifer Bray and Fiach Kelly join presenter Harry McGee to discuss the big political stories this week: the continuing National Children’s Hospital controversy, the government's Brexit omnibus, UK Labour resignations and Fianna Fáil's Ard Fheis this weekend.Later: Historian Dr Marisa McGlinchey talks to Harry about her book, Unfinished Business - The Politics of 'Dissident' Republican Groups, for which she spoke to 90 members of paramilitary groups about their motives and ambitions. Hosted on A...
Feb 20, 2019•42 min
