This week I'm joined by goldsmith and stone-setter Nigel O'Reilly, whose career took off after a period spent honing his craft in Stockholm with Michael O'Dwyer, and his high-end jewellery is now to be found in some of the finest stores in London and New York. Rory Moore from the Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden also drops by to talk about the series of events they are co-hosting around the topic of applied sustainability, and Greta Thunberg takes the mickey out of me for my Dublin "th"s ... ...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 4 min
This week we're joined by one of Ireland's best-selling authors and biggest Scandiophiles, the magical Marian Keyes, as she takes us on a journey through her writing career and a recent trip to Rättvik to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, all with the purpose of finding out why Sweden loves her so much. There's also a reminder not to forget the upcoming event with the Irish Chamber of Commerce in Sweden - you can find the details on irishchamber.se. Support the show: Swish 1232424166 patreon.c...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Last week the LPI Group opened an office in Gävle, some 90 minutes north of Stockholm, becoming the latest Irish company to establish a long-term presence in Sweden, so I drove up to talk to the founders, the Ambassador, Enterprise Ireland, the local mayor and many others about what this means for our community here. There's also news of an Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden event, and a shout-out to the girls of the Gaels who didn't make the last podcast due to "technical difficulties"!...
Sep 05, 2022•58 min
A busy program this week that starts with Irishman Shane Quinn explaining about the Better Governance projects and his fascinating work in international relations before we head to Skarpnäcks IP for a brilliant final round of the Nordic Gaelic football championship, where many of the golden Gaels of Stockholm were making a long-awaited return! Our friends and rivals from Gävle arrived down with a sizeable and very talented squad for the day and almost pulled off a brilliant victory and a H...
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr
This week's chat is all about life, love and rugby with Dave Hanley in Karlstad. The Corkman moved from his native county to Västmanland and soon found himself preaching the gospel of the oval-ball game, and it can only be described as a massive rucking success. Dave talked about his study of cognitive behavioural therapy, co-parenting after separation and how sport helps bring our community together. There's also lots of information for the diary this week with Gaelic football in Skarpnäck on A...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Sweden goes to the polls to elect a new government on Sept 11, so Paul O'Mahony of The Local came down to the studio on Atlasgatan to talk about the runners and riders. Who are the main personalities? What policies will decide the outcome? And what difference will it all make to the Irish community in Sweden? Find out here! The Local has some great subscription deals on offer to help you keep up with the news in Sweden, and it's all in English - check out their offers here: https://www.thelocal....
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 1 min
This week, multi-talented Corkonian Mark O'Sullivan grabs a cup of coffee for a chat about making everything from hit records to successful footballers, embracing creativity and forging your own path. There's also a call for volunteers to help out at Midnattsloppet as a fund-raiser for the Stockholm Gaels, and some info about new ways to access birth information from Ireland. Support the show: On Patreon: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm Swish: 1232424166 Advertising/sponsorship: irishi...
Aug 08, 2022•1 hr 16 min
The podcast returns after the briefest of summer breaks, and to help you enjoy the rest of the Swedish summer I spoke to Alan Dalton about bird-watching, fishing and how to get the most out of nature here in Sweden. Dubliner Alan has been here for over 20 years and his knowledge of the subject matter, not to mention his passion for it, is unparalleled. When we spoke he was on an island outside Umeå keeping a keen eye out for anything that might fly by...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 6 min
This week's podcast is a bittersweet one as I say goodbye to Eoghan O'Connor, who has spent the last couple of years in Stockholm working with Enterprise Ireland and who is now moving on to work in London. Eoghan and I spoke about how he ended up in Sweden, the work he was doing here and how the Irish Chamber Of Commerce in Sweden helped him build his business network. You can find out more about the chamber, who have generously contributed to the podcast, at their website here: https://ww...
Jul 11, 2022•54 min
A jam-packed podcast this week kicks off with Stockholm Gaels legend and ex-Shanghai Siren Anna Rönngård, who recounts her key role in putting the women's game at the heart of the Stockholm Gaels. Anna's experience in China did not just launch an interest in Gaelic games - it also saw her start a career in sustainability, particularly around fashion, that has made her one of the most sought-after experts in the field. We're also joined by Marcus Shilling, whose pose on Facebook in a t-shirt refe...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 21 min
With the worst of the pandemic seemingly over, the hotel business is booming again, and none more so than the magnificent Marriott Hotel on Kungsholmen, where Kildare woman Marjorie Sundström is Sales Manager. I sat down with her in a beautiful conference room to talk about her career in the hospitality industry, what makes a great hotel and having the Swedish-Irish Society there as guests for Christmas dinner. Support the show: On Patreon: patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm Swish: 1232424166 Adverti...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 6 min
On June 16 Bloomsday was celebrated around the world, so I paid a visit to a marathon reading of Ulysses at Rönnells Antikvariat in Stockholm to talk to Dubliner Niall Balfe, who was dressed as Leopold Bloom for the day and has long been part of celebrating Joyce's great work. Another rising Irish literary star is musician, photographer and writer Ian Moloney in Gothenburg, and he joined me to talk about his memoir "Bastard Boy", which is a tremendous saga of rock 'n roll from Ireland's south-ea...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 16 min
A love of music and friends made through the metal scene led Alan McCahey to a one-way Ryanair ticket to Sweden and life on the road with symphonic metal band Zornheym, while Ragnar Almqvist's more diplomatic path saw him appointed secretary at Ireland's Swedish embassy as his Swedish-Irish family's story came full circle. He joined me to talk about representing Ireland abroad, and the importance of culture and literature in telling our story to the world. You can find all of Zornheym's music an...
Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 27 min
This week we here how Phil Martin's love of Mexican food led to his products being stocked on the shelves of some of Sweden's finest supermarkets, and former AIK assistant coach Sean O'Shea talks about growing up Irish in Huddersfield, his time with the Allsvenskan club and if he might be tempted to return to these shores...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 29 min
This week social media was on fire as the hashtag #Swedengate gave the nation's carefully-cultured image a bit of a shoeing over some its cultural curiosities. An innocent story of a kid left alone while their friend went to eat dinner in a different room was met with gentle criticism and mockery - that in turn was met with outright racism as many people of colour shared their experiences of being excluded in other social settings. The woman behind the #Swedengate hashtag is author, academic and...
Jun 03, 2022•24 min
This week we hear from Miranda "Murre" Eriksson, a Swedish folk-rock singer who discovered the joy of Ballyshannon blues legend Rory Gallagher during the pandemic and started translating some of his songs into Swedish, and Tralee artist Laura Fitzgerald was in Skärholmen together with Ormston House with a humorous collection of visual art featuring both hay bales and hope for the changing world we live in. Enjoying the shows? Let this be the week you start to support the podcast: On Patreon: pat...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 3 min
A podcast producer recently brought an article in the Daily Telegraph to my attention about how Sweden's excess mortality rate proved that lockdowns were too harsh a measure in handling the pandemic. To understand why such a blunt instrument isn't the best way to measure success, I spoke to public health epidemiologist David Steadson about how statistics are used, his own experiences with the virus and the curse of long COVID, which has affected his teenage son for much of the last two years....
May 27, 2022•39 min
Having reached the summit of Gaelic football with her last-minute goal to win the Nordic championship for the Stockholm Gaels in 2019, Julia Kjelsson has set her sights on another peak - the midfielder joins the Irish In Sweden podcast to tell us why she is taking a break from the GAA to climb Kilamanjaro in July. As he says himself, Keith Begg shot to infamy in Sweden when he started a group back in 2020 that criticised Sweden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic - little did he know it would le...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 24 min
This week I'm joined by Paddy Kelly to talk about his book "We Can English", which weaves together some hilarious copywriting fails in Sweden with the story of his life here, and Carlow and Luleå's Neil Costigan, who recently concluded a deal to sell his company Behaviosec - the second hugely successful business he has helped to build during his time in Sweden. Neil takes us from his time in university to Uppsala, Stockholm, Silicon Valley and all the way to the frozen north. There's also news o...
May 16, 2022•1 hr 10 min
This week Aidan from Stockholm's Spuds & Sill Drama Society joins me to talk about their upcoming production of "Cupid Wore Skirts", and I catch up with former Stockholm resident, actor, writer and director Joe O'Neill, who has sworn himself off alcohol for a year as part of a charity drive - with some interesting results... You can get tickets for "Cupid Wore Skirts" here: www.olympiateatern.se/cupid-wore-skirts/ Joe's films can be found on YouTube, among them this one, "Toxic": www.youtube...
May 09, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Unlike yours truly, who needs to have a serious think about his life choices, MMA journalist and podcaster Petesy Carroll was in New York to see Katie Taylor make history against Amanda Serrano last Saturday, and he joined me to tell me exactly what it was I missed on a magical week in the Big Apple.
May 04, 2022•53 min
This week we pay a visit to the basement of Wirströms Pub as a group of people got together to practice speaking Irish. There's news of Paddy Kelly's new book "We Can English" and the latest Spuds & Sill theatre production, and a journey down south to Malmö to hear from Kevin Dunne about his route to Sweden and his new company kitting out sound studios all over the country. You can find the Irish speakers on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/196555260941173 Info about Spuds &...
May 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min
This week there's new music from the legendary Brian O'Connor and we hear how Dan Hickey went from Scandinavian Gaelic games star to professional golfer over the course of a couple of seasons. He also gives a few tips about how to correct your swing, so with the golf courses of Sweden opening up for the season, there's never been a better time to listen!
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Later this week Stockholm Gaels will kick off a historic first season as the club's soccer team makes its debut in Division 7D of the Stockholm Football League - player-coach Seán "The Drogheda Destroyer" Donnelly joins me to set the scene for the season. You can keep up to date with the games and everything else happening in the Swedish-Irish community by subscribing to the community calendar here: shorturl.at/bpFU8 I also talked to Malena Reynolds, founder of theirishstore.se, about her strugg...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr
A bumper week of Irish sport in Scandinavia leads to a bonus podcast here during Easter week, with visits to a Gaelic football tournament in Helsinki, the Friends Arena in Stockholm and Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg for Ireland's thrilling 1-1 draw in their World Cup qualifier with Sweden. We hear from Galway's Emma Ridge, Michelle Cotter from Clare speaking Finnish, Meadbh Murray on pride in the jersey, as well as Louise Quinn's friends and former team-mates Vaila Barsely and Annica Barsley, who a...
Apr 13, 2022•33 min
As Ireland take on Sweden in Gothenburg, former Eskilstuna defender Louise Quinn joins the podcast to talk about playing here, selling tickets in the rain and learning the language, and another brilliant footballer Alex Orphanides tells us what you can expect from the language courses at Folkuniversitetet. Support the show: Swish: 1232424166 patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm Advertising/sponsorship: [email protected]...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 11 min
A friend's shared spooky experience struck a chord with writer and broadcaster Danny Robins, but little did he know it would pretty much change his life. A number of hugely successful podcast series and a West End hit featuring singer Lily Allen have led to a TV deal - and thousands of people getting in touch to share their stories of the supernatural. But what is it about ghost stories that appeals to us? Why are people so interested? And what effect has it had on Danny's career? All this and m...
Apr 08, 2022•38 min
This week we visit Eskilstuna where Irish artist Alannah Robbins provided the visuals for an uplifting musical experience, and I chat to Rory Moore in Örnsköldsvik about how he wound up in Sweden and the Swedish-Irish Chamber Of Commerce, which has really taken off in the last couple of years. We open with a mention of the Swedish-Irish community calendar, which you can subscribe to here - do so and you'll never miss an event again! https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/lpc0pc4p56qet7oulnc5g...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 8 min
It may seem amazing now, but Sweden's Roland Nilsson was one of only 11 foreign players to play on the very first weekend of the Premier League back in August 1992. The mild-mannered defender was brought to England by "Big Ron" Atkinson and quietly went about hammering opposing wingers as he became a cult hero at Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City in the Premier League. Find out who the toughest challenge was, why he moved back to Helsingborg in 1994 and which Premier League legend he wished ...
Mar 29, 2022•31 min
Sally Hayden's book "My Fourth Time, We Drowned" is the most important book that will be published in Europe this year. It painstakingly documents the brutal path to Europe for many migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, containing shocking tales of political indifference, human trafficking and misery, as well as tiny glimmers of hope. Listen to the podcast, then go buy the book.https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/696846/my-fourth-time-we-drowned-by-sally-hayden/
Mar 28, 2022•35 min
