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 election campaign so far these would seem to be the issues convulsing Ireland. On a Free State Saturday special, Dion and Joe ask if these stage managed stunts are what will decide the election. Or will the issues that matter to people like housing and the cost of living take over? 

Joe reveals the contents of The Monk’s election manifesto, including his plan to abolish extradition. When Eoghan Murphy tells us that when he was Fine Gael Housing minister he didn’t solve the housing crisis because Fine Gael did not want to, do we believe him? Will it make a difference to voters once they learn about a candidate’s love of custard creams?

Dion and Joe also tell the truth about small talk while extending an invitation to the Taoiseach Simon Harris.

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.

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 believes in and the 32 county country she imagines.

With half a million new voters added to the register this year, McDonald outlines how she wants to change Ireland. She explains what led Sinn Fein to alter their policy on immigration and why the far right protestors were not disenchanted Sinn Fein voters. Mary Lou also talks about her difficult relationship with her father and what she said to him before he died earlier this year.

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.

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 Dion and Joe for a major podcast interview.

She talks to Dion and Joe about the challenges facing her party and why she believes the media is hostile to Sinn Fein. Will Dion indulge in ‘IRAing’ or are these legitimate questions to be asked of the leader of Sinn Fein? When does IRAing come to an end and normal politics begins? When it does will Sinn Fein bring the same radical change as Bernie Sander and Jeremy Corbyn promised? Or will they be destroyed by the system before addressing Ireland’s fundamental problems. Will this be the first podcast where one of the interviewers storms out? And will any hamsters be harmed in the making of the podcast?

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.

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 Free State Special, Perlstein talks to Dion and Joe about the long rise of the right in the US. Through his books Nixonland and Reaganland, Perlstein has chronicled the Republican Party and their journey to the world beyond truth.

He tells Dion and Joe how Trump is now ready to take full control of American democracy and what will happen to that democracy.

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.

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 president again. Was it the economy, stupid, was it the weakness of Kamala Harris or did America embrace the hateful elements Trump has tapped into.

Joe Biden’s role in Trump’s return can’t be overlooked. What will Trump do with the power which is coming his way and which he is ready for this time. Are there any warning for Ireland in what has happened in America? Democracy might be under threat but do the 70 million Americans who voted for Trump care?

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.

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. Donald Trump might have a radical plan, but it looks a lot like fascism. On Free State Dion and Joe look at the polarisation of America, Trump’s Project 2025 plan which attacks democracy at its heart and why Trump might not care about the polls. Joe also reveals a letter to his new baby from a surprising source

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 today, Joe and Dion look at the anatomy of scandals and how they unfold. They move on to disagree about the developments in the Brian Stanley affair. They also consider the new drama Say Nothing and argue about the damage it may or not do to Sinn Fein.

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, it won’t be a parlour game, but a chance to shape Ireland for the better. On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at the media coverage of the crises that have engulfed Sinn Fein and how it affects the opportunity for change. Will the election be shaped by these issues or will the need for radical change in housing, health and education dominate? What would make Ireland a better place to live in?

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 housing crisis and an encounter in a toilet with Liam Gallagher. Doyle’s new book The Women Behind the Door has been nominated for an A Post Irish Book Award. Doyle talks about his long journey with the main character Paula Spencer from the seminal series Family to today. He remembers the abuse he and his mother received at the time. He also explains why death threats aren’t what they used to be.

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 it just a new form of IRAing, a way of denying Sinn Fein a platform to talk about how they would change Ireland or are these serious issues being covered seriously by the media.

Joe argues that the talk of glove puppets and unseen controllers insults those in the north who have voted and relied on Sinn Fein, while Dion believes there are legitimate questions.

But is this because Sinn Fein also ate his hamster?

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 how some sadness has deepened with time. Dion and Joe ask the question we all will face-how do we keep going when death visits us? They talk about the rituals we have to cope with death and they also make up after a weekend falling out.

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG Productions.

For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.