Afleveringen
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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. Across the country, people were making plans to watch the game.
In The Heights Bar in Loughinisland Co Down, the small community had gathered on a Saturday evening with the added excitement of the game. In Belfast and other places there were fears of sectarian killings, but not in Loughinisland. In Loughinisland, the Troubles were something that happened somewhere else.
On this night it happened here. With eyes on the game, nobody noticed the UVF killers walking in to The Heights Bars. Six men were murdered that night, the oldest of them 87 years old.
On Free State today, Joe and Dion are joined by Trevor Birney to talk about the state collusion that was part of that massacre and his documentary No Stone Unturned, which led to a dawn raid on his house from the PSNI one summer morning.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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When Donald Trump shared an AI video of Gaza, the world responded as it often does to Trumpâs behaviour, with a mixture of disbelief, shock, resignation and laughter. âGaza 2025âŠWhatâs next,â read the caption before delivering a vision of whatâs next. "Donald's coming to set you free,â the videoâs songâs declared, âbringing the light for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear: Trump Gaza's finally here.â There were no more Gazans either in the video as Trump relaxed on a lounger sipping cocktails beside Benjamin Netanyahu. Because it is Trump, the world also laughs, something we continue to do even as his gangster fascism extends from Ukraine to the Middle East.
On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at the truth behind these videos, the erasure of the people of Gaza. Joe talks about Omar El Akkadâs stunning new book 'One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This' which details the complicity and silence of the west. In that context, knowing what we know, what are we doing when we laugh at Trump's video?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Brendan âBikâ McFarlaneâs life could be a metaphor for The Troubles. When he was 16, Bik McFarlane left Belfast to train as a priest in North Wales for two years. But with the nationalist community under siege, he cut short his studies and joined the IRA. During the hunger strikes, he was the commander of the IRA in the H-Blocks, with the unenviable task of being the man whose duty it was to let Bobby Sands and others die. But this was not the whole of Bik McFarlaneâs life. On Free State today, Joe and Dion discuss the man who in 1975 was part of the IRA unit that murdered five people at the Bayardo Bar in Belfast during the height of sectarian killings in the north. How does a man like Bik McFarlane, remembered by so many for his intelligence and charm, end up committing acts such as these? Joe remembers his friend who became a key champion of the peace process, while Dion wonders what it tell us about Sinn Fein in 2025, that they can be so effusive in their tributes to Bik McFarlane? Is he missing the point about what was endured during The Troubles or does his view have merit?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 strongmen and rewarding their acts of war and aggression. On Free State, Dion and Joe look at what comes next. As Germany prepares for elections this weekend, will there be a further sense that whenever things have hit rock bottom there is further still to fall. But what explains Donald Trump? Joe looks at the story of Trumpâs election, the sycophants he has surrounded himself with and the narcissism that drives him. This explains why he will stop at nothing and why America itself will soon be unable rto escape his grip.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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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 Waterford but he decided to leave the order. He joined the IRA instead. He became a founding member of the Provisional IRA and the intelligence officer for the Belfast Brigade. They called him âthe Mad Monkâ but he also reclaimed the youth he had abandoned to the monastery and pursued women. On Free State today, Joe and Dion tell the story of how Joe Lynskey went from monk to becoming the first of The Disappeared. They look at how Joe Lynskeyâs love affairs led to an extraordinary sequence of events that sealed his fate. They examine the role of Dolours Price in the story and the trauma and bonds that tied her to Joe Lynskey. Lynskeyâs family suffered from the cruelty of his disappearance and murder, as well as the stories spun to keep the truth from them. But more than 50 years since Joe Lynskey's killing, how many knew the truth?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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The last episode of Free State ended with Joe and Dion arguing while guest PĂĄdraig Ăg Ă Ruairc kept the peace. Today, they continue the conversation about how Ireland deals with the trauma of the wars fought on this island over the past 100 years. What would have become of Michael Collins if he hadnât been killed? Would he have continued to simply be a fine finance minister as some Fine Gael politicians said or would he have taken a turn in another direction? Joe and Dion continue to disagree about how the past is dealt with. They look at the Bandon Valley Massacre and why the truth about these events must be confronted.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 past? On Free State today Padraig Ăg Ă Ruairc joins Dion and Joe to talk about his book The Disappeared. Dion and Joe turn on each other as they interrogate the past and examine these tragic stories. Why do the restless dead haunt Irish history and what is needed for a proper reckoning with the darkest acts of the past?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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As Elon Musk and Donald Trump take control in America, what is the consequence of resistance? Musk campaigns against the unelected bureaucrats even though he is unelected too. Meanwhile he delivers dog whistles and simple fascist salutes for the far right. But what does it matter in Ireland? On Free State today we look at the international network supporting the far right movement in Ireland north and south. What is its purpose and who is behind it? Thereâs also an attempt to see if Deep Seek can transform Joeâs view of Mickey Harte
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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On Sunday evening, Donald Trump became the first sitting American president to attend the Superbowl. His attendance, in the eyes of many, sealed the union between American Football and American Nationalism. On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how the NFL became part of the US war machine. From Vietnam to Iraq, the sport embraced militarisation but insisted that sport and politics should never mix. At the same time, Britain escalated the wearing of a poppy from a muted tribute to war dead into a pageant of insistent patriotism, designed to sportswash imperial crimes. Everyone had to bend the knee, including the Cookie Monster. In an America being bent to the will of Donald Trump, they wonder who will provide the resistance and what price will they pay for dissent?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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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 those moments. It transported them back to the days of Heffoâs Army and the rivalry with Kerry which were the foundation for a million sporting dreams.
On a Free State Special, Joe remembers the Paddy Cullen he knew, a member of that Dublin team who werenât just extraordinary players, but exceptional men.
He recalls his encounters with Paddy Cullen and the thread of community that runs from that Dublin team to the great Jim Gavin team. Dion meanwhile reveals his role as a Gaelic football missionary in south Dublin.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 unionist politician. On Free State today, Aaron Edwards continues his journey inside the psyche of unionism and reveals the details of that extraordinary story. He talks to Dion and Joe about unionismâs reluctance to change. The goodies and baddies might be different but the attitude is the same. Is it a philosophy or a state of mind? Aaron also talks about his next gripping book and Joe manages to achieve the impossible and rudely interrupt himself.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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CS Lewis wrote that there would be no better to place to live than Northern Ireland âif only I could deport the Ulstermenâ. On Free State today Joe and Dion talk to the world-renowned historian Aaron Edwards about the predicament of unionism today. Is unionism a philosophy or an anxiety? Do unionist politicians have a strategy or are they trapped by parochialism? Edwards talks about his own upbringing on the hardline loyalist Rathcoole Estate in Belfast and why every victory gets turned to defeat.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 Special, Dion talks to author Joseph OâConnor about his gripping new book The Ghosts of Rome. It continues the story of the Rome Escape Line, the extraordinary group that smuggled allied soldiers into the Vatican and away from the Nazis. He also looks back on the extraordinary life of the Kerryman Monsignor Hugh OâFlaherty who led that resistance in Rome but cared most for horses and the Kerry footballers. It is an extraordinary interview with one of Irelandâs greatest writers.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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When President Donald Trump said he wanted to âclean outâ Gaza, where was the condemnation from world leaders? People might dismiss it as just another crazy thing Donald Trump says but it was more revealing that that. On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how the world is being reshaped by the response of the west to Gaza. They consider Pankaj Mishraâs new book The World After Gaza and what it means. They also consider the response to President Higginsâ speech at the Holocaust Memorial Day and why his words were necessary and humane
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What does giving poitĂn 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 Gavinâs plans will allow Gaelic football to embrace chaos again. A game that has been coached to the brink of extinction will be reborn by a return of the skills that made people love it in the first place. Dion wonders if you can ever go back, but also offers some tactical tips to conceal his ignorance. Joe explains why the coaches who have driven risk from the game will be the ones who are punished and why original thinkers will triumph. And they wonder if the priest with the alcoholic Alsatian who could hold his drink might also have something to offer the Football Review Committee.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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, villages and cities people sheltered from the storm. But perhaps Storm Eowynâs greatest show of force was to silence Joe Brolly, as he was among hundreds of thousands who lost electricity and internet. On Free State today, Dion looks back on episode three, the remarkable interview with Charles Anyaegbunam about his life of privilege in Nigeria and his son the rapper Rejjie Snow.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 attempts to allow those supporting the new government to speak also as opposition. MicheĂĄl Martin called it a âsubversion of the constitutionâ. But MicheĂĄl Martin has said many things in the Dail, especially about the effective leader of those independents, Michael Lowry. On Free State today, Dion and Joe examine the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal and what it said about Irish politics. They look at Lowryâs rise and how he operated. They also discover how Ben Dunne confused a renovation of the Ilaac Centre with the building of a house for Michael Lowry. An accounting error anyone could make. They also answer the pressing question: how long does a crow bear a grudge?
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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As Donald Trump spoke about pursuing Americaâs âmanifest destiny into the starsâ at his inauguration, Elon Musk gurned happily in the background. Trump wants to make Mars great again but what will happen to America? On Free State, Joe and Dion look at the ending of the American dream disguised as making the country great again again. They explain why this isnât a transfer of power but a heist. The tech bros like Musk are eyeing up an entire country. They also look at what it means for Ireland if the American Empire is coming to an end.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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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 relationship Gerry Adams had with the IRA. It has also led people to ask questions about the Troubles, trauma and what they would have done if they had been part of a community under siege? But what if the history isnât history at all? On Free State today novelist Timothy OâGrady joins Dion and Joe to talk about the flaws in Patrick Radden Keefeâs book. They ask what impact it has if many elements of the story are told from the perspective of people opposed to the peace process? They consider too how the TV series managed to turned the darkest act of the Troubles into a cartoon.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
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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 power, but to go in search of the truth, however uncomfortable it was. In the second part of his chat with Joe and Dion, Chris explains how the establishment were forced to confront a reality they had tried to suppress once the Guildford Four were released in 1989. Two years later the Birmingham Six were free. If the death penalty had still been in operation they would have been hanged as many other innocents were. The man who was described by The Sun as a âmouthpiece for IRA sympathisersâ, explains how his doggedness helped transform the British legal system. He talks about A Very British Coup, his novel which predicted the future, as well as his friendship with Tony Benn. Chris served as a minister under Tony Blair and he talks about how a messianic fever took hold in Blair leading to the disaster that was the invasion of Iraq.
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.
For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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