Irish Based Episodes

When you have a good story to tell, why not invite the world? For our Lost In Belfast series finale, we convene in the Titanic Hotel’s grand vaulted hall, where the ill-fated ship was designed. Hundreds have gathered from across local communities and from around the globe for the Belfast International Homecoming—civic leaders, elected officials, business executives, investors, entrepreneurs, culture makers…and two peripatetic podcasters. Co-host and a Belfast Homecoming Ambassador himself, Jo...

In the 10th episode of the Irish Stew Podcast's Lost in Belfast series, host Martin Nutty sits down with poet Linda McKenna. Together, they discuss poetry, history, and forgotten voices of Irish history. Linda's path to poetry began almost by accident, but her talent was apparent, confirmed when she received the prestigious 2018 Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing. Recording from the Observatory room at Belfast's Grand Central Hotel, Linda opens up about her unique approach to poetry, drawing in...

Join us in jail, or is it gaol, as in the Crumlin Road Gaol, the last Victorian era prison relic in Northern Ireland, now being put to better use as the home of the Belfast Distillery Company, working to revive the classic old McConnell’s Whisky brand and creating a major new hospitality and tourist attraction in the process. We stop for “just the one” in this all-too brief episode, where CEO John Kelly lays out the twin goals for the distillery: “Restore the legend of McConnell’s Irish Whisky t...

When you’re in a UNESCO City of Music, you expect to hear some great sounds, which we did when we found our way to the Duncairn Centre for Culture & Arts to hear the Belfast singer, songwriter, performer, and musical explorer Suzanne Savage. Hooked at age seven by an Ulster Orchestra concert, she picked up a violin at age eight. Within a few years, she was practicing classical music by day and gigging with Belfast bands by night. Suzanne talks about her deep connections with Belfast and its musi...

This episode of the Irish Stew Podcast features a discussion with documentary filmmaker Alan Gilsenan and journalist John Walsh about their film 'The Irish Question.' The film delves into the recent history of Ireland, the partition between North and South, and contemplates the concept of a United Ireland in the post-Brexit era. The conversation highlights the impact of Brexit, economic and cultural complexities, and the fragile peace established by the Good Friday Agreement. The episode also ...

After Origin Theatre’s artistic director Mick Mellamphy welcomes our paying (!) audience to the 1st Irish Festival’s first live podcast event, we introduce theatre makers, Derry’s own Labhaoise Magee of Fair Play Productions and Big Telly Theatre’s Crissy O' Donovan who was raised in Dublin, worked in GB, and is now based in Northern Ireland. Fair Play brought Sinéad O'Brien's "storytelling masterclass" No One is Coming to Origin 1st Irish this year, while Big Telly staged the immersive Granny J...

We found the right guides for Belfast’s burgeoning food and festivities scene in Michael Stewart and Caroline Wilson. Caroline is a lawyer-turned-serial-entrepreneur of food and drink experiences. She founded Belfast Food Tour, co-founded Taste and Tour, Ahoy Belfast, Fooday and Belfast Gin Fest and she’s on the Board of Visit Belfast and The Strand. A well-known man about Belfast, Michael Stewart, spent close to 40 years in hospitality--and was he ever hospitable to us, helping us arrange for t...

We commemorate the 100th Anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby this week with Patrick O'Sullivan Greene, author of Gatsby: Death of an Irishman . Patrick guides us through F. Scott Fitzgerald's troubled Midwest upbringing, his quest for status, his ambivalence towards his Irish heritage, the sociopolitical climate of early 20th-century America, and the careless Jazz Age excess portrayed in Gatsby. Patrick peels back the intricate layers of Fitzgerald's character, revealing the un...

Join us in the Queen’s Quarter at the former derelict buildings that Anthony and Andrea Kieran transformed into Belfast’s stunning five-star boutique hotel, Regency House. Their story intertwines personal histories with The Troubles (including when Anthony was the victim of two bombings in one day in South Armagh), their serendipitous meeting in Washington, D.C., his work for NASA, their decision to move to Belfast, their unplanned venture into the hospitality business, and the peak experience o...

Join us for the first stop on Day 2 of our Lost in Belfast Road Trip as we visit the magnificent City Hall to meet Lord Mayor Micky Murray. The city’s youngest and first openly gay Lord Mayor shares refreshing new perspectives on his changing city, saying “Where Belfast is now and where we're going is a lot more exciting than what's happened over the last 50 years.” The Lord Mayor talks about his political journey, Alliance Party affiliation, priorities in office, LGBTQ+ community efforts, and f...

The third stop on our “Lost in Belfast” series is the city’s oldest cultural organization, The Linen Hall Library, located in an 18th-century building across the street from City Hall and a reminder of Belfast’s days as “Linenopolis” when it dominated the global linen trade. Our conversation with director Julie Andrews delves into the library's rich history since its establishment in 1788, its role as a neutral space for political and cultural dialogue, and its extensive collections, including i...

For the 2nd year in a row, Irish Stew hosts Maedhbh Mc Cullagh, the director of the Capital Irish Film Festival, who discusses the festival's offerings, the audience's response, and the challenges and rewards of organizing such an event in Washington, D.C. Eva Birthistle joins John Lee and Martin Nutty to discuss her directorial debut, Kathleen Is Here , a gripping psychological thriller. The conversation explores the ideas behind the film, along with Eva's move to the other side of the camera. ...

Gerry knows gin from his time behind the bar and from sipping his favorite tipple from the other side of the stick. But he found his perfect gin, though he could imagine just how it would taste, a taste he finally captured in his now award-winning Jawbox Gin. Join us as Gerry tells us how the idea for creating a gin just wouldn’t let him go, the Belfast stories behind the Jawbox name and striking logo design, how he managed to time the Jawbox launch just as the gin category was taking off, how T...

Join us in the first leg of our “Irish Stew Gets Lost in Belfast Road Trip” in the vibrant Cathedral Quarter at its prime culinary destination Waterman House as we explore the recipe for restaurant success with Chef and Founder Niall McKenna. Niall dishes on his culinary journey from West Belfast, training under influential chefs like Paul Rankin, the evolution of his multiple restaurant ventures including James St. and Hadskis, and the buzz surrounding his Waterman House Cookery School. For Nia...

Star Trek said it would happen in 2024, but for Paddy Cullivan, 2032 will be the year of Irish Unification. Through hot takes on Irish history and AI-fueled visions of Ireland’s future, Paddy charts the course to unity in 2032 through his antic, visionary one-man show I Can’t Believe It’s Not Ireland, on the eve of its US Tour. Paddy is best known for fronting The Camembert Quartet on Ryan Tubridy’s Tubridy Tonight and then The Late Late Show, playing with everyone from Sinead O’Connor to Russel...

Founded by actor/philanthropist Paul Newman in 1994 to “press play” for children affected by serious illness, Barretstown serves thousands of young people and families at its magical County Kildare castle and beyond with impactful programs across Ireland and the UK. Our guest Dee Ahearn has been the driving force behind the Barretstown success story, joining in 2010 as CEO after an international career in marketing and communications with a stint as chairperson of the Make A Wish Foundation Irel...

In this episode of the Irish Stew Podcast, host Martin Nutty welcomes back Maurice Casey to discuss the exciting developments in his life since his last appearance. Now a Research Fellow at Queen's University in Belfast, Maurice talks about his first book 'Hotel Luxe, An Intimate History of Communism's Forgotten Radicals'. The book has garnered garnered critical acclaim and was shortlisted for an An Post Irish Book Award in the H odges Figgis History Book of the Year category. Maurice shares the...

In this special check-in episode of the Irish Stew Podcast, host Martin Nutty welcomes back author Cauvery Madhavan to discuss her new novel, 'The Inheritance.' Cauvery shares the inspiration behind the novel, which weaves together stories from the Tudor conquest of Ireland and the more recent 1980s. Set in the Beara Peninsula, a place close to Cauvery's heart, the book explores themes of history, place, and identity while touching on the struggles of everyday people during turbulent times. The ...

John Connell traveled far from Ireland in his 20s, and early in his career, his work yielded accolades in journalism and filmmaking. Yet happiness and contentment proved to be elusive. Returning to the family farm in Longford, one of Ireland's heartland counties, provided a restorative space to pursue a career as an author. Three books followed, notably The Cow Book , which achieved critical acclaim; despite those successes, the way forward became unclear until an extended trip on the Camino de ...

Our Irish Stew Drinks Party is back with PJ Rigney, founder of The Shed Distillery--home of the breakout star of the burgeoning Irish gin category, Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, along with its Sausage Tree Irish Vodka, and Drumshanbo Irish Whiskey. The magic happened when PJ rolled the dice after an innovative career in the global drinks industry to strike out on his own. “To build a distillery is one thing, to create the product is another thing, but to create a way of communicating to consum...

In New York for the annual New York New Belfast Conference, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir swung by the Irish Stew Global Headquarters for a transatlantic conversation with co-host John Lee. In this episode, the Belfast Media Group and Irish Echo publisher tells of growing up during The Troubles, watching gun battles on his Belfast street, his move into politics, the less-than-warm reception he got as a Sinn Féin Belfast City Councillor, the superpower he discovered during his eventful year as the Lord May...

Writer, performer, and force of nature, born Morag Prunty, but best known by her pen name Kate Kerrigan whisks us from London where she grew up with an Irish identity to Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way where she’s living with an English accent. In this episode, Kate spins tales of idyllic childhood summers in Mayo, the dynamics of being Irish in England during the turbulent 70s and 80s, her challenges in navigating the complex terrain of her Irish identity, and her late-in-life recognition of the ob...

As Chief Executive of the Western Development Commission (WDC), Allan Mulrooney is a tireless advocate for the Western Region of Ireland, promoting social and economic development for the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway, and Clare. Why go west? Allan points to the region's mix of the old and the new, how it fosters a work-life balance, the contrast of beautiful natural areas and vibrant cities, its expanding broadband internet and innovation-spurring connected hubs-...

In the first of our “Irish Libations” series, we welcome Michael McKillop, who branched out from the 36-year-old Glens of Antrim Potatoes business to launch Glens of Antrim Distillery with its Lir line of Irish Whiskeys, amidst bucolic surroundings in Cushendall, Northern Ireland. We get a professional’s view of the growing, shipping, and marketing of Ireland’s favorite crop, and how his company is taking on the potato crisp business with its Glens of Antrim and Shindig brands with creative new ...