Another jam-packed episode this week as Carrie Cook and Sarah Galligan join me to talk about their new "Arrivals" exhibition which will take place in the spring and feature YOUR art, and Amy Falck in Malmö tells me about her plan to swap homes with someone in Ireland early next year so that her, her husband and her soon-to-be-firstborn can steep themselves in some Irish culture for a couple of months while on parental leave! You can out how to submit to the "Arrivals" exhibit...
Feb 26, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Israel attacked Gaza in the wake of the violent and bloody incursion by Hamas on October 7 that saw more than 1300 people killed and around 250 hostages taken, one Palestinian-Irish family was caught in the eye of the storm. Zak Hania, who had moved to Ireland where his four sons were born and had returned to the Strip to take care of his ageing parents, found himself doing everything he could just to keep his family alive while they sought to escape. A plea was made to the Irish consular o...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irish filmmaker Dennis Harvey explores themes of migration and identity in his work, and many of his films feature people that he has gotten to know during his seven years spent on and off here in Sweden. His film "The Building And Burning Of A Refugee Camp" documents how a group of far-right protestors set fire to a migrant camp in Dublin last year, and that led to a fascinating chat about racism, refugees and housing and much, much more. . His next film "Celtic Utopia" will...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irish comic Stevo Timothy's character of Farmer Michael has become a global internet phenomenon, reaching audiences around the world with his clumsy (and often offensive) takes on everything from feminism to football, and he's brining his live show to America for St. Patrick's Day. But comedy and tragedy are never too far apart, and Stevo's backstory is one of the most intriguing you will ever come across - he crashed his motorbike while drunk, killing a friend and sustaining inj...
Feb 15, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode, Doreen Burke form the Irish embassy in Stockholm talks to me about how to go about getting an Irish passport abroad, whether you're renewing your own, getting one for a child born outside of Ireland, or you find yourself in an emergency situation. You can apply for your Irish passport here: https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/passport-online/ Please support this podcast by going to patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm and pledging €5 to help me to produce these podca...
Feb 11, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Irish comedian Cormac Moore is coming to visit Stockholm in mid-February, and he joined me this week to talk about life as the man behind the mic, what it takes to get up there and make people laugh, and how being convenient is almost as important for your stand-up career as being funny ... Get your tickets for Cormac's show here: www.thelaughhouse.se/event/feb-17th…tting%20comedy ....
Feb 06, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast A busy one this week packed with drama and music! I paid a visit to the initial readings for English-language theatre group Spuds & Sill's upcoming production of "Canaries" which will take place in the spring, and later in the week I caught up with Ged Graham, the writer and performer behind the "Seven Drunken Nights" stage show which tells the story of the Dubliners and is set for four dates in Sweden in early February. The end of the week was spent with the wonderfu...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Corkman Dr. Mark O'Sullivan is causing serious ripples in the sporting world from his position as associate professor of football at Norway's School Of Sports Science in Oslo, ripping up the coaching manuals as he tries to answer the question - how do we coach the next generation of athletes so they can get the most out of sport? Support the podcast: www.patreon.com/ourmaninstockholm You can follow Mark on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/markstkhlm
Jan 26, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dubliner Alan Dalton has been a guest on the show before to talk all things birding and nature, and he joins us again to talk about his new podcast "Wild Bird Acoustics". An accomplished artist, photographer and bird-watcher, Alan puts an incredible amount of time into recording birds as they migrate around Sweden, and his new podcast uses those sounds as a backdrop to some fascinating wildlife conversations.
Jan 22, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast A love of rugby has brought Dubliner Gar Moss from Raheny to coaching Albania in their first official international against Kosovo last weekend - via Beijing and Dubai and a few more places in between! The nation's first head coach for their international team joined me to talk about the growth of the game and how, despite his boys being on the wrong end of a 34-12 defeat, the future is bright for growing the game internationally.
Jan 18, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast We've all heard about the great things happening outside of the big cities, but what's it actually like to live in the colder, more northerly parts of Sweden? Journalist Paul Connolly and his partner abandoned the high-flying media life in London and moved to Skellefteå, and they haven't looked back since - hear their story on this week's podcast!
Jan 15, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tadhg HIckey's searing memoir "A Portrait Of The Piss-Artist As A Young Man" won the Global Gael Bok Of The Year award for 2023 and if you've read it, you'll know why - it's a warts-and-all account of how he tried to balance tremendous success as a writer and actor with family struggles and the bottomless despair of alcohol addiction. In a scenario that many in the Irish diaspora will recognise, Tadhg's abuse of alcohol really spiralled out of control when he was pe...
Jan 11, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the first podcast of 2024 I'm joined by Kalle Ryan to talk about celebrating a Swedish-Irish Christmas in Dublin, creativity and how he came to quit the booze a few years back, instantly making Dry January a walk in the park every year! You can find Kalle at www.kalleryan.com , where he says: All my services are on there, and I have several blog posts about creativity for anyone interested, here's a handful: https://kalleryan.com/batman-creativity/ https://kalleryan.com/what-creativi...
Jan 08, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This year the podcast and the team behind it grew considerably, and we got the chance to talk to some truly amazing people about their lives as Irish people abroad. Those factors led us to the decision to create a set of awards to recognise the achievements of some of the most talented and generous people among us - some are still living outside the country, some are still based in Ireland but regularly bring joy to Irish people around the globe, and on this episode of the podcast we go behind t...
Dec 28, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast In what MIGHT be the final podcast of the year, we talk to Rory English at Lotts & Co. in Dublin where the Swedes in Ireland go to get their Christmas goodies, and there is the very welcome return of Billy "The Kid" Chaney to Stockholm from Barcelona after a turbulent six months in which our favourite artist and barber showcased his legendary creativity and resilience.
Dec 18, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we talk to the wonderful and talented Áine O'Neill about her brilliant career in TV and media, throwing off the shackles and her desire to help other women be their true selves. There's also details of the Global Gael Awards for 2023 and how the whole process works and a beautiful new Christmas song by the tremendously gifted Danni Morgan!!
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode we visit Carrie Cook at the Made By gallery at Fridhemsplan to talk textiles, design and sustainability - her beautiful collection is on show there until Dec. 20 and she shares some fascinating thoughts about how to be more aware of what we wear and use in our homes and workplaces, as well as what happens to it when we're finished with it.
Dec 11, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast George Murphy was given the honour of being one of the musicians called upon to sing at the funeral of Shane MacGowan on Friday, and he came on the podcast to take us behind the scenes of an iconic occasion where Shane's life and work were celebrated in joyous occasion filled with love, music and loss.
Dec 10, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Mother & Baby Homes, where young women were sent to give birth before having their children taken away from them, are a stain on Irish history, with many of the children born there having suffered neglect, abuse and trauma. Those children went on to become adults, and many of them left our island to find a better future abroad. The wrong done to those children and their parents has since been recognised by the state, and attempts are afoot to try to compensate them in some way, but becau...
Dec 08, 2023•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast An absolutely amazing day and night in Stockholm this weekend as the Irish Chamber Of Commerce In Sweden staged its networking event and a stunning gala dinner, with craft brewer Ivan Keane walking away with the prestigious Beacon award at the end of the night! I spent the day talking to representatives from companies great and small to get the view from the ground for Irish businesses in Sweden, and the creativity, drive and sense of community on show was incredible - hear all the voices from t...
Dec 04, 2023•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast On Nov 20, 2023 Shane MacGowan, leader of the Pogues, singer, poet, writer, carouser and cultural icon, passed away at the age of 65. Shane was the man who did more than most to make the Irish in England both visible and proud of themselves, and that was no mean feat in the Britain of the 1980s. An incredible songwriter who burned the candle at both ends, his ability to put into words what it was and is to be Irish abroad is a cornerstone of the global experience of our people, and this podcast ...
Nov 30, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's podcast (which is late, and it's all Hozier's fault!) Jim Smith Rehnström joins me to tell the story of how his grandad upped sticks and moved to Sweden, making him one of the oldest members of the Swedish-Irish diaspora, and Cormac O'Brien in Gothenburg has been out swinging at one of Swedish TV's biggest football commentators! All of this and more on this week's episode!
Nov 28, 2023•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I'm joined by Marjorie Sundström and Louise Waller to talk about Orange Day on Nov 25, the international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls. It's a cause Marjorie has long supported privately and professionally, and Louise works for UN Women in Sweden with such issues. There's a business shout-out to remind you to get your Christmas food ordered, and a reminder that Thin Lizzy's Brian Downey is on tour in Sweden this week. If your'e experien...
Nov 20, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Another bonus episode as Brian Downey hits the road in to bring the music of Thin Lizzy back to Scandinavia! Brian, Phil Lynott and the boys were tremendously popular here in their heyday and Brian is brining his "Alive & Dangerous" band back to many of the Swedish cities and towns they visited over the next 10 days or so - make sure to get out and see one of Irish rock's biggest legends live! Full list of dates here: https://www.briandowneysaliveanddangerous.com/tour...
Nov 17, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Irish community in England is well-served with brilliant organisations taking care of our people, and Leeds Irish Health & Homes is among the best there is. For decades Ant Hanlon and his team has looked after Irish people in Yorkshire, and he joins me on this week's podcast to talk about their valuable work. https://www.lihh.org/
Nov 16, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we hear from Irish author Doireann Ní Ghríofa who was in Sweden last week to promote a brand-new translation of her book "A Ghost In The Throat" ("Ett Spöke I Strupen") and Birgitta Hedin Curtin came by the studio to tell the awesome tale of how she ended up in the Burren in Co. Clare smoking fish that is now sold all over the world!
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back in the 1980s Ireland was awash with brilliant bands all being chased by record companies looking for the next U2, and when they found a teenage drummer from Walkinstown and his older brother, they thought they'd found them. Keith Walker went on to sign for a major label and tour the world, becoming hugely famous in Japan in the process, but like all such rock 'n roll dreams, it wasn't all plain sailing. A friend for more than three decades, he joins me on the podcast to talk abo...
Nov 10, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast A rare midweek episode as artist Alannah Robins arrives in Stockholm to exhibit her work at Galleri Duerr. Titled "Comfort Ye My People", Alannah has created some tremendous visual work based on the surroundings of her Connemara studio, where the rugged mountains and age-old landscape give an impression of permanence, despite the ongoing climate crisis. I visited the exhibition before it opened and Alannah took me through the process of creating the work, bringing it to Stockholm and e...
Nov 09, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This weekend we went behind the scenes with the Glass Mask theatre company as they took a play by one of Sweden's foremost writers and staged it in the Swedish capital. The director and cast tell us what it takes to put on a show like this, what it's like to perform in a different country and culture, and whether or not they might be back again with another English-language production any time soon ...
Nov 06, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Few people can have had an impact as profound as that of Father Denis Slattery, an Irish priest from Fermoy whose St. Finbarr's Schoool in Nigeria went on to set the standard for they country's education system. Former pupil Adedeji Badiru joined me to reminisce about the man who gave him - a young boy with no shoes and his options fading fast - the chance at an education that has sustained him through a successful career in business and academia.
Nov 02, 2023•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
