Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning
Episodes
Skorts, Skirts and Shorts. What will the new pope say?
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since we launched the podcast, we have never been afraid to ask the big questions. This has sometimes come at a cost but that is the way it has to be....
Omar El Akkad author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This on how the west failed Gaza
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone wil...
The Revolutionary Road. Women’s Liberation Movement Founder Rosita Sweetman on divorcing her family and why Kneecap were right
03 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rosita Sweetman wanted to change the world. Like many of her generation, she was inspired by the civil rights movement in the US. She became a founder...
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing - Kneecap and Britain's Periodical Fits of Morality
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality,” a man once said, When it has come to the ...
Kneecap, Louis Theroux and how the truth became Anti-Semitic
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Micheál Martin has called on Kneecap ‘to urgently clarify’ their views on Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as killing Tory MPs. Why? How is society s...
The Killing Fields: How the GAA survived the British murder machine... and flourished
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Each of the entries included in the book has the same ending.” Peadar Thompson wrote those haunting words in his introduction to Lost Gaels, the st...
No Pope of Rome, no bilingual signs, no border poll. Pope Francis’s death and Micheál Martin’s impossible demand.
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Pope Francis’s death was announced by the Vatican this week, the world found the words to pay tribute.From Kings to Prime Ministers to Presiden...
High Noon: How one man retreated from the world and found his way back again
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eamonn Sweeney’s life changed on a June day in the year 2000.He was a sportswriter enjoying the traditional rhythm of the GAA summer as he arrived a...
This Machine Kills Fascists - Historian Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc on the return of the far right
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The history of the far right in Ireland is long and dark. From the Blueshirts and Eoin O’Duffy to the Nazi collaborator Sean Russell and the return ...
Arise Sir Rory and Joe Brolly says sorry
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you still talking about Rory McIlroy? Joe has reflected on his comments on Tuesday’s episode and Dion believes his views have changed. Have they...
Rory McIlroy. Glory is forever, winning is closure.
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rory McIlrory ended his quest for the Masters on Sunday night. It was sporting drama which gripped the nation. Well, nearly all the nation. On Free St...
Edna O’Brien: The woman who defied a nation
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Edna O’Brien’s early novels shocked Ireland which plotted its revenge. Her first novel The Country Girls was banned and she had to withstand the w...
iPhones, groceries & tinned cats. The truth about Trump’s tariffs.
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Donald Trump paused tariffs for 90 days after a week of chaos, once again the world tried to interpret his actions. When people tell you who...
Long Orgasms and Golden Years. The Secrets and Myths of Mick O’Dwyer
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the world sinks deeper into madness, Joe and Dion remember the time of wonder that was the Kerry team under Mick O’Dwyer. What was it that drove ...
‘I betrayed women all over the place’. Author John Banville on hating the Catholic Church and his terror of eternity
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“I thought I came here to talk about books.” John Banville is one of Ireland’s great writers. He won the Booker Prize for his novel The Sea and ...
Rebel With a Cause. How Martin Galvin galvanised Irish America
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1984, the British government banned Martin Galvin from entering Northern Ireland. Galvin was a key figure in Noraid, the American organisation rais...
Exile On Main Street: Rosie Schaap the New Yorker who found happiness in an Antrim village
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rosie Schaap grew up leading the archetypal New Yorker lifestyle. Her mother was impossibly glamorous and her father was a sportswriter who befriended...
Two fingers: Michael Lowry and the humiliation of Ireland
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Lowry giving Paul Murphy - and everybody else - the fingers has become the defining image of the controversy over speaking time in the Dail. L...
Remembering Giants: George Foreman and Muhammad Ali
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
George Foreman’s death robbed the world of one of the great sporting figures. It was also a reminder of a time when boxing ruled the world. On Free ...
The Truth About Stakeknife: Legendary journalist Martin Dillon on the real stories of the Troubles
22 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Martin Dillon knew Rosemary Nelson. He says he has only met a few people like her in his life. He describes her as someone with "overarching respect f...
The Battle for Adolescence: How Conor McGregor and Andrew Tate Are Shaping a Generation
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The former England football manager Gareth Southgate warned this week that “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers” are having a dangerous ef...
Conor McGregor and The Burkes: Coming To America (Be Very Afraid)
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Conor McGregor’s appearance in the White House for St Patrick’s Day was another insight into Trumpworld. McGregor was claiming to speak for Irelan...
Life and Death in the Ring. With legendary boxing writer Donald McRae
15 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Donald McRae was a young sportswriter, Hugh McIlvanney told him one night at a bar in Las Vegas that as he made a life covering boxing, “ambiva...
When Trumpish Eyes are smiling. Micheal Martin goes to the White House.
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Micheál Martin walked out of the Oval Office feeling triumphant. He had left the lion’s den - or the bully’s lair - without humiliation. Donald T...
The trouble with Simon & Micheal. The end of Irish neutrality, the RTÉ/FF/FG pact and standing with Israel.
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish establishment is softening people up to sacrifice the country’s neutrality. But why? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how c...
Colum McCann on Trump, Gaza and the secrets at the bottom of the ocean
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Colum McCann won’t look back. His life as a writer has always drawn him to the edge. In an exhilarating conversation on Free State today, McCann tal...
I Fought The Law (and the law lost): Kneecap, Roy Keane, and Steve Coogan. With Trevor Birney.
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Trevor Birney was arrested by the PSNI in 2018, he was thrown in a police cell and told an incredible tale. His documentary No Stone Unturned had...
Trumpworld: Hell for Zelensky, paradise for bullies, rapists and woman haters
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Volodymyr Zelensky walked into a trap when he sat down beside Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday. He was surrounded by bullies who were embolde...
Shooting Crows - Trevor Birney on Mass Murder, State Collusion and Press Freedom
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On the evening of June 18, 1994, Ireland stopped. At the Giants Stadium in New York, Ireland were playing Italy in the first match of the World Cup. A...
Trump & the Gaza Riviera. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Donald Trump shared an AI video of Gaza, the world responded as it often does to Trump’s behaviour, with a mixture of disbelief, shock, resigna...
From student priest to IRA commander. The momentous life of Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane.
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane’s life could be a metaphor for The Troubles. When he was 16, Bik McFarlane left Belfast to train as a priest in North Wa...
The art of the deal. Donald Trump and his Charlie’s Angels.
22 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was a week when decades happened. By the end of it, Steve Bannon was doing a Nazi salute, as Trump continued his policy of siding with the strongme...
The lonely death and burial of Joe Lynskey. From Cistercian monk to lover and hitman.
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the age of 16 Joe Lynskey joined a monastery with the intention of becoming a Cisterian monk. He spent six years in Mount Melleray monastery in Wat...
The Disappeared. From 1920 to 1998. How the memory of the murdered has become a game of whataboutery.
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The last episode of Free State ended with Joe and Dion arguing while guest Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc kept the peace. Today, they continue the conve...
The Restless Dead: How the Irish establishment turned the good old IRA into a propaganda opportunity with historian Padraig Óg O’Ruairc
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the disappeared in Irish history is long and murky. Why are some of the tales wrapped up in myth and others part of the barbaric recent p...
The Shamrock My Father Wore - For God, Ulster & Elon. How the Irish far right embraced loyal Ulster.
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Elon Musk and Donald Trump take control in America, what is the consequence of resistance? Musk campaigns against the unelected bureaucrats even th...
America’s War Game: How the Super Bowl Became a Weapon of Mass Destruction.
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday evening, Donald Trump became the first sitting American president to attend the Superbowl. His attendance, in the eyes of many, sealed the u...
Conquering Hill 16. Paddy Cullen & the Dublin revolution
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are times when, as a great writer said, the past beats inside us like a second heart.The death of Paddy Cullen was, for so many people, one of t...
Assassinating Peter Robinson: How an IRA hired hitman almost took out the DUP hardliner. With Unionist historian Aaron Edwards.
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1981, the FBI raided the New York apartment of a 27-year-old Englishman who they believed had been commissioned by the Provisional IRA to murder a ...
The Decline of the Loyal Family. How Ulster Protestants were sold out by their leaders. With Unionist historian Aaron Edwards.
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
CS Lewis wrote that there would be no better to place to live than Northern Ireland ‘if only I could deport the Ulstermen’. On Free State today Jo...
Joseph O’Connor: Free State Special
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What were the challenges in being part of the resistance to the Nazis? What was the peculiar torment for women who took on the Reich? On a Free State ...
Is there a world after Gaza?
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When President Donald Trump said he wanted to ‘clean out’ Gaza, where was the condemnation from world leaders? People might dismiss it as just ano...
Poitín for dogs, cows and Gaelic football. The launch of Starship Gavin & the alcoholic Alsatian
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does giving poitín to a cow who has just calved have to do with the new rules in Gaelic football? On Free State today, Joe explains how Jim Gavi...
Storm Eowyn and the silencing of Joe Brolly
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Storm Eowyn swept across Ireland on Friday morning as winds of biblical force shook the nation. 32 counties were joined in a red alert and in towns, v...
MAGA with a fada - Michael Lowry, Micheál Martin and how corruption won the best seat in the 34th Dáil.
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who is Michael Lowry and what does he want? On Wednesday, the sitting of the Dail had to be abandoned after the opposition collectively resisted attem...
Donald Trump, Making America Great Again Again.
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Donald Trump spoke about pursuing America’s ‘manifest destiny into the stars’ at his inauguration, Elon Musk gurned happily in the background...
Say Nothing? Gerry Adams, Jean McConville and the Price sisters. How Disney turned a tragedy into a cartoon.
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The success of Say Nothing has sparked a worldwide interest in the disappearance and murder of Jean McConville, the role of the Price sisters and the ...
Chris Mullin, a very unBritish coup. How an Englishman saved six Irishmen & transformed modern Britain in the process.
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Mullin has lived a life less ordinary. He was a fearless investigative journalist who became a Labour MP determined to speak, not just truth to ...
The lonely crusade of Chris Mullin. The man who freed the Birmingham 6 and planted a bomb under the British legal establishment.
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On November 21 1974, five men were taken off a train in Heysham, Lancashire questioned as they went to catch a ferry to Belfast. Earlier that eve...
How to Get Ahead in Horseracing, Gaelic football and journalism. A Free State Saturday Special
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The phrase Calm The Jets has a special meaning for Joe Brolly. So when he saw a horse with that name was racing on Friday evening, he decided to follo...
Another Bloody Sunday: Bono, saving the world one song at a time
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In two weeks, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president in Washington. There is a new order in America but where does it leave those close to the ...
Enoch Burke or Bono? The choice is yours.
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last weekend at the White House, Joe Biden bestowed America’s highest civilian honour on a group of what he called “truly extraordinary people”....
Luke Littler, Donald Trump and the Death of the American Dream
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve reached that special time of year when Dion tries to get Joe interested in cricket. He opens with a hard sell this time but will Joe, who rece...
We are the champions. A journey into the minds of multiple All Ireland winners
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It is a time of resolution and new beginnings but what do you do when your resolve shatters immediately? Joe wonders about a spectacular resolution fa...
Jimmy Carter, Rebirth and Drink. A Free State New Year’s Eve Special
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On New Year’s Eve, Dion and Joe call a temporary ceasefire. Joe talks about Lola’s christening and they look back on the extraordinary life of Jim...
Colm Tóibín: Free State Special
28 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Colm Tóibín is one of Ireland’s greatest living writers. He joins Dion on this Free State Special for a wide-ranging chat on Ireland today, what h...
Free State St Stephen’s Day (or is it Boxing Day?) Special
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lola is enjoying her first Christmas but Joe breaks away to look back on another Free State highlight. In another crucial history lesson, Dion educate...
Free State Christmas Eve Special
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Christmas Eve, Joe and Dion reflect on the meaning of Christmas and if that meaning can include calling someone a c***? Joe remembers a memorable C...
Eoghan Murphy: From Idealist to Fine Gael’s Minister for Homelessness. A Free State Saturday Special
21 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Eoghan Murphy became minister for housing, he wanted to change everything. He wanted to declare housing an emergency. He wanted a constitutional ...
Fantasemitism. Israel, Ireland and why when everyone is an antisemite, no one is.
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, the Israeli foreign ministry summoned Ireland’s ambassador in the country to their offices. Ireland was debating the Occupied Territories B...
Tax Breaks, Horseracing, Greyhounds and the GAA: Where Do Ireland’s Priorities Lie?
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How important is the GAA in Irish life? How important is it to our politicians? Is it something they cherish or does it provide merely a photo opportu...
The moral dilemma of Luigi Mangione, CEO killer. Hero or villain?
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Luigi Mangione was eating a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania when an employee recognised him and called the police. Mangione was arrested and sub...
Rebel without a clue. The curious schizophrenia of Michéal Martin
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Micheál Martin will be Ireland’s next Taoiseach. He returns to the most important position in Ireland at a critical time in Irish life.But during t...
The true cost of being Conor. Conor McGregor & the race for our young men.
07 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the court where he faced Nikita Hand, Conor McGregor had money but he didn’t have power. On the streets where some continue to idolise him, McGre...
Parenting with Joe & Dion. With contributions from Jim Gavin & Greg Wallace.
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past 18 months Free State has wrestled with the big issues in Ireland and across the world. But today they confront the most intractable...
Pardon Me, President Biden & what the election results tell us about Ireland
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The General Election was a glorious example of democracy at work. Ireland showed that it is a place where ideas are debated, policies fiercely contest...
“Great question Miriam. And thank you for asking it.” A Free State election eve special.
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More than a million people tuned into RTE’s final election debate and if he could Simon Harris would have thanked every one of them. Instead he...
Conor McGregor for President 2025. Make Ireland Great Again.
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Conor McGregor believes he lives in a world without rules, a world where he hears only the laughter of his entourage and answers to nobody. Like...
Should RTÉ be independent? Or is free speech a thing of the past? Free State Weekend Election Special
23 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How does RTÉ influence politics in Ireland? During an election campaign dominated by photoshoot which are just government press releases on camera, i...
What Has Britain Ever Done For Us?
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Paul Mescal said meeting King Charles was ‘not on his list of priorities’, some were appalled. We should be thanking the British not booing t...
The Godfather, the Garda commissioner & the McGahon dynasty. Another Free State Election Special
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What does the selection of John McGahon as a general election candidate tell us about Fine Gael and their attitude to power? On Free State today, Dion...
The Monk’s Manifesto, abolishing extradition and winning the egg and spoon race: A Free State Election Special
16 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are the election candidates’ favourite biscuit? Who is the best runner? Who can pour the best pint? Given the photo ops that have marked the el...
Hello Again Mary Lou. Part 2.
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is Mary Lou McDonald’s vision for a United Ireland? On the second part of a Free State Special, Mary Lou McDonald talks about the Ireland she b...
Hello Mary Lou. A Free State Special with the leader of the opposition, Part 1 (no hamsters were harmed in the making of this podcast)
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Lou McDonald is promising change but will Sinn Fein be able to deliver? On the first Free State election special, Mary Lou McDonald joins Di...
Rick Perlstein on Donald Trump and the Dukes of MAGA. A Free State Saturday Special
09 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When historian Rick Perlstein is asked what awaits America under Donald Trump’s second presidency, he quotes Clubber Lang in Rocky III - Pain.On a F...
Trump’ll fix it for you, and you and you…
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you destroy democracy and will anyone notice if it happens in America? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how Donald Trump became US pre...
The Last US Election? Donald Trump & Project 2025
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
America gets ready to vote but what is really at stake? Kamala Harris doesn’t have a radical plan to tackle the inequality that plagues America. Don...
The Perilous Life of the Penis (and associated scandals)
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What drives people to behave recklessly? What is it that motivates men to send dick pics without a thought to the consequences? On Free State tod...
Sinn Féin set to lose seats as their part in the assassination of JFK revealed. And Mary Lou denies involvement in the crucifixion of Jesus.
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you happy with the Ireland you live in? Are you happy with the Ireland your children are going to grow up in? When the General Election is called,...
Free State Interviews: Dion talks to author Roddy Doyle
26 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Roddy Doyle is the great chronicler of Dublin in our time. On the latest Free State special, he talks to Dion about working with Roy Keane, the housin...
Sinn Féin ate my hamster
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is at the heart of the media response to the Sinn Fein ‘omnicrisis’? On Free State today, Joe and Dion debate the coverage of Sinn Fein. Is i...
The Day of the Dead
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world is divided into the bereaved and unbereaved. On Free State today, Dion talks about the death of his mother, the enduring pain of loss and ho...
Johnny Sexton. Part 2. House of Pain
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is the difference between winning and losing? In 2023, Ireland lost another World Cup quarter final to New Zealand, but was this different to the...
Johnny Sexton. Running into brick walls. Part 1
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What drove Johnny Sexton? What did he have that separated him from other players?On a Free State Special, one of the world’s great rugby players joi...
Free State Interviews: Dion talks to author Robert Harris
12 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Almost nobody in the world who has ever got power has wanted to lose it,” author Robert Harris tells Dion during this special episode of Free State...
Genocide Pictures, in association with Hollywood studios present: How Israel saved Gaza
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2002, Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US congress as the drums for war in Iraq beat louder and louder. “If you take out Saddam I guarantee you t...
Making genocide respectable. How the Western media colluded with Israel.
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since the horrors of October 7, Israel has waged war on the people of Gaza with genocidal intent. The slaughter now has spread to Lebanon with the wes...
Embracing Racism: Fine Gael’s Plan To Win the Election
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you are building a bike shed in the Oireachtas or the new children’s hospital, Ireland is a good place to live. But what about those marginalised...
Surviving a newborn, Lebanon burning & how Kristofferson beat the Devil.
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you reason with a 13-day-old baby? On Free State, Joe deals with the after effects of a night trying to soothe an unsoothable newborn whil...
What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In one of the most personal episodes of Free State, Joe talks to Dion about his childhood growing up surrounded by violence and trauma. He talks ...
Parenting with Joe Brolly
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s Free State is the podcast you didn’t know you needed. Joe provides tips on nappy changing, getting babies to sleep and dealing with the un...
Mona Lisa: John Finucane, the man behind the mask. Part 2
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When the British government announced a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the news was met with the same noises from the usual chorus. O...
Mona Lisa: John Finucane, the man behind the mask. Part 1
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Free State today we celebrate life. Joe spent the weekend on the maternity ward and he speaks with joy and wonder about the experience of being pre...
Trump, Kamala and two nice Jewish boys
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump was undermined by his own narcissism in his presidential debate. Kamala Harris took him apart with a lawyer’s precision. On Free State,...
Poisonous Patriotism: Lords, Anthems & broken lives
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Tánaiste Micheál Martin condemned the booing of God Save The King by Irish fans before Ireland played England on Saturday. The Daily Mail c...
The coal man’s son
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is more rewarding? Winning or glory? If you are Donald Trump or the modern GAA coach then nothing matters except winning. But can we as Trump sai...
From Elon to Enoch: The entrepreneurs of hate
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Enoch Burke is in jail again. He is unwavering in his beliefs but is he a pawn in other people’s games? On Free State, Dion and Joe look at foot sol...
Will they ever get tired of walking backwards? Kicking the Brits out, Part 2
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On August 31, 1994, the Provisional IRA announced that “there will be a complete cessation of military operations. All our units have been instructe...
Kicking The Brits Out, Part 1
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More than 30 years ago, Bill Clinton said he still believed in a town called Hope. At the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama said hope is ...
Keep a light at the window. The rise and fall of Douglas Beattie
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Doug Beattie sank a bayonet into Taliban fighter during a hellish fight for survival in Afghanistan, he could never escape his actions. Yet the t...