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The Bishop, the Guns, and the Virgin Mary
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Did you ever hear the one about the bishop and the airport? Or the unlikely group of Irish revolutionaries who ended up changing history through an ill-fated trip to Belgium on a yacht?
Naomi and Tim tell some of their favourite, quirkiest stories from Irish history in this special seasonal story-time episode.
Huge thanks to our sponsors, Irish at Heart, for backing this episode. Sign up to receive surprise boxes of artisan Irish goods at irish-at-heart.com, and get a special 15% discount off your first box with the discount code IRISHPASSPORT. Here’s the link: https://irish-at-heart.com/
The music you heard in this episode is X-mas Carol by Jahazzar, from their album Sele
Bonus episodes are published for our supporters over at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport
Former soldier and security analyst Tom Clonan on Irish defence and neutrality
Neutrality, Part 2: Ireland’s Dubious Defence
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This summer, the chaotic fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban left Irish citizens stranded, exposing the state’s lack of aircraft large enough to conduct an evacuation. It also highlighted the issue of Ireland’s tiny and under-funded defence forces, which force the state to rely on outside forces like Britain and the European Union for day-to-day security in areas like air and maritime patrols and cyber security. From this weak position, Ireland has increasingly been drawn into participating in international defence arrangements over the last two decades, which arguably blur the lines of its neutral status. Naomi and Tim lay out what’s at stake in an increasingly unstable global order and as the EU debates a shift in defence policy in response. Guest Tom Clonan shares his experience as a soldier and lays out the profound risks to Irish interests posed by gaping holes in national defence. Conor Gallagher of the Irish Times tells us the backstory of how Irish officials worked behind the scenes, leaning on old relationships with allies this summer to get Irish citizens out of Kabul.
This is part two of a two-part episode on Irish neutrality. In part one, we explained how Irelands’ neutrality policy was born in the 20th century, at a time when the leadership feared that involvement in the Second World War could crush the fragile new Irish state. You can listen to the episode here: https://www.theirishpassport.com/podcast/neutrality-part-1-escaping-dominion/
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We’ll post the full version of our interview with Tom Clonan for our supporters over at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport
Huge thanks to our sponsors, Irish at Heart, for backing this episode. Sign up to receive surprise boxes of artisan Irish goods at irish-at-heart.com, and get a special 15% discount off your first box with the discount code IRISHPASSPORT. Here’s the link: https://irish-at-heart.com/