Michael Harding: “The sun gaslights us in Ireland. We’re never sure of it”
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Michael Harding, welcome back to the show. It's always lovely to have you.
It's lovely to be here, Brendan.
Yeah, now listen, there is... So, just to tell people what the rough kind of borders of the conversation are, we spoke in the middle of... before winter about your book Midwinter, about the mini death that happens in the winter. We're back here now. The light is there. We're coming to life again, I think.
What psychological effects does sunshine have on Irish people?
Yeah. But... We couldn't have timed it better because the sun came out then a few days ago.
I know.
And you're like a two-year-old. You're bounded in. You're kind of a frisky... I get overexcited. The sap is up, is it?
I know. I get overexcited in the good weather. But I do get like... You can go from one extreme to the other. And the problem in Ireland is like that the sun... it's like if there was a God, he's gaslighting us. Do you know what I mean? It really is. It's the original gaslighting because it's a big gas ball, isn't it? And so it's like the sun comes out in Ireland and then just as it comes out, it goes away. So that, like, I remember when I was young, I'd be swimming, right, in Donegal. And you'd look at everybody else swimming and they'd be all beautiful young people, male and female, and they'd be all on Carrick Finn. And you'd say, gee, it's a lovely day. Like, you couldn't but get in, you know. And people would chastise you.
They'd say, are you not getting in for a swim? So eventually you'd get the old towel around you and you'd take off the top and you'd expose your bare chest and then you'd take off your trousers and you'd put on the togs, you know, and you'd be feeling the goose pimples coming on you with the coldness. But the sun would be shining and then you'd throw away the towel and you'd head for the water, right? And the sun would go in. Yeah. Just like that. And the blue of the sea, the blue of the sea would turn grey like it was a day in September. And you'd look around and suddenly there was nobody else swimming but you. And you'd say, I'm an awful eejit. What did I do this for? And that's the way the sun kind of gaslights us in Ireland.
We're never sure of it.
And I always remember too... So then when it's there... we really have to go for it.
Yeah, or you'll get the people, you see, who are cautious in Ireland, who won't go for it. They won't make ages of themselves throwing off their clothes and getting red arses, right? Yeah. So you'll get people like... I know that if you ask people where I live, country people, and it's a really lovely day, and you'd be so excited that you'd actually, you know, speak out the window of your car to the neighbour, and you'd say, isn't that a great day?
How does the concept of 'gaslighting' relate to the Irish experience of sunlight?
And he'd say, aye, but will it last? Do you know what I mean? In other words, if it's sunny, that means it's going to rain.
Like the Chinese fellow about the French Revolution, it's too early to say anything. So, yeah. So it's confusing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we get overexcited.
We do, but isn't it great? It's great when there's that outbreak of madness, isn't it? I was walking on Thursday evening and they were all spilling in the pubs.
Yeah, I saw it last, yesterday evening, yeah. And it's like what we do in Ireland. Like we do it from, I would say the 1st of May is the Bealchina Festival. And it's like, you know, the Hill of Ishnuk fire. And then in the middle you have the fire on St. John's Eve. And then at the end you have Lunasa. And it's all about this fire. But in a way, it's about spilling out of the pubs. It's getting overexcited and it's going to festivals. Right. So there's festivals everywhere. Aaron Moore has a festival in the middle of May. Electric Picnic is the end of August or whenever it is. Arts festivals, Galway, like it's unbelievable. Galway Arts Festival is gorgeous on a sunny day. Do you know what I mean? Standing around outside with a pint of Guinness or something on Sharp Street, it's gorgeous.
And we get overexcited. But I suppose the point is, it's not all superficial. Like we need the sun. We need it physically. And I think that, I think the sun is the last great metaphor, right?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:28
2
What psychological effects does sunshine have on Irish people?
0:28–2:40
3
How does the concept of 'gaslighting' relate to the Irish experience of sunlight?
2:40–11:07
4
What memories does Michael Harding share about summer festivals in Ireland?
11:07–15:15
5
How does light serve as a metaphor in different cultures?
15:15–22:09
6
How does aging influence our perception of summer and light?
22:09–29:40