The Irish Passport

In this listener questions episode, Naomi and Tim take questions from listeners on everything from Gaelic Ulster, to nomadic patterns of land use, and the quirks of Ireland's postal system. We discuss the long tail of...

The famous 'pint of plain' has become one of the most recognisable commercial brands in the world, and is inextricably linked to the Irish pub. In light of a new Netflix series on the Guinness family, this episode dives...

Naomi and Tim take a look at the candidates who have put themselves forward for the highest office in the land and consider what the Irish presidency means in the 21st century. We look at the odd nature of presidential...

An Irish language rap group has, improbably enough, become the focus of global media attention and political debate. Why? For describing Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide and accusing the United States of...

In the grand finale of our Conquest series, Naomi and Tim dig into one of the most notorious episodes of Irish history, starring none other than Oliver Cromwell. We explore his rise to power as a major player in the...

Naomi spent months investigating a rogue landlord who built up an empire of rental properties in Ireland backed by family wealth in Luxembourg. In this episode, we tell the story of Marc Godart: his back story, the...

In the last 24 hours the global economic order may have transformed forever, as Donald Trump declares crushing tariffs for countries all over the world, not least the European Union. In this hot-off-the-press episode...

A very different cultural and political model dominated Irish society prior to the British conquest: Gaelic Ireland. This was a system that prevailed for thousands of years, right back into prehistory, protected by...

Did you know that the United States' border policy and power to deport people was invented to get rid of famine-era immigrants from Ireland? It's a little-known chapter of history that challenges many current day...

Why did chaos disrupt the formation of a new Irish government? What has the government promised to do, and who's in it? We break it down in this new episode. We also a look back on some of our prior reporting on the...

Nollaig shona daoibh go léir! During this festive season please enjoy this short holiday episode which we originally recorded last year. Every year the Irish government and national media lend their full attention to...

Ireland went to the polls last week for the 2024 general election, and the results are beginning to build a picture of what the next government could look like. We break down what the vote means in this moment of...

By the early 17th century England had finally gained political control over the island of Ireland, but within a few years the whole colonial project had once again collapsed into chaos and bloodshed. In this new edition...

The attention of people around the world has been captured by the presence of Irish soldiers standing in the way of the Israel Defence Forces as they launch an invasion of Lebanon in a bid to defeat militant group...

On Ireland's west coast, far from the noise and fury of US partisan politics, presidential contender Donald Trump has been bested by a fearsome foe: a tiny snail no larger than a pin prick. Naomi and Tim dig into the...

We're on holiday! So please enjoy this classic episode of the podcast first recorded back in 2018. We'll be back soon with all new episodes and Halfpint extra content. == The most popular sports in Ireland are the...

In the fourth episode of our Conquest miniseries, we take on of the most defining moments in the history of Ireland: the mass-plantation of Ulster. We'll see how the arrival of thousands of colonial settlers in this...

We have made this halfpint bonus episode freely available to all our listeners. If you want to access more than 100 extra-content episodes just like this, you can sign up to support the continued making of the podcast...

In February 2024, Michelle O'Neill assumed the position of first minister of Northern Ireland, making her the first person of an Irish-identifying, Catholic background to hold this most high-profile post in the devolved...

The most expensive, most all-consuming war in Elizabethan England was not waged against France or Spain, but against Ireland. In the third instalment in our Conquest series, we see how the great clan chiefs of Ireland...

In this political update, Naomi and Tim sum up the background of the incoming new Taoiseach Simon Harris and discuss the sudden resignation of Leo Varadkar and the different factors behind it. One of them was Ireland's...

Part two of our Conquest mini-series explores the violent occupation of Gaelic Ireland by Elizabethan adventurers between 1560 and 1590, heralding an age of terror and genocide that would ultimately lead to a full-scale...

In the period from 1534 to 1653 Ireland was profoundly transformed. At the start, it was almost entirely Gaelic, ruled by Gaelic clans with an ancient way of life, and unique legal and political system. A hundred years...

Every year the Irish government and national media lend their full attention to the arrival of Santa Claus on the island of Ireland, and discuss the various logistics of his visit to every child in the country. In this...

Tim published a book! How does nobility work as a power strategy, why does it bear so many curious similarities to the construct of race, and what does all of this have to do with Ireland? We delve into Tim's book...