Podcast Corner: The 10 best Irish podcasts of 2021 so far
Siobhán McSweeney presents the Bad Bridget history podcast. Picture:Moya Nolan
From the team behind Eamon Dunphy’s The Stand podcast, The Witness finds Joseph ‘Joey’ O’Callaghan, the youngest person in the State to enter the witness protection programme in 2005, telling his life story. Riveting and gripping.
The Examiner Sports columnist started this show to raise money for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Over the course of 14 episodes, he talked about coaching and how to do it better. Guests included Derek McGrath, Bernard Jackman, and Ann Downey.
It’s sad that Let’s Solve Nothing has ended, but Joanne McNally instantly turned to this show with Vogue Williams that provides a similar amount of LOL moments.
RTÉ’s Documentary on One team follows up The Nobody Zone with this eight-part series. It details the arms crisis of 1969 and 1970 and features the stately "country gentleman" 'Squire Haughey' giving a tour of his Meath stud farm.
Soon to depart her slot with BBC Radio 1, Annie Mac showcases her empathy throughout series five of her conversations podcast. Guests include Bez and Kelis, while there’s a mini-series to coincide with the release of her debut novel, Mother Mother.
Cork DJ Stevie G has a long and storied career but has always been focused on others, particularly the next generation. That continues on his brilliantly titled podcast, where he talks to people as varied as former Comet Records boss Jim O'Mahony, Tolu Makay, and 12-year-old MC Tiny.
It’s usually difficult to resist the sheer enthusiasm of hosts in nature shows and so it proves with Niall Hatch and Ricky Whelan here. With conversations about birds, wildlife, and wild places, it’s informative and an aural treat.
A mini-series within Caroline O’Donoghue’s Sentimental Garbage feed (one of the best book shows), the Cork presenter dishes with Dolly Alderton about every series of Sex and the City. Their fandom is obvious, but their infectious, hilarious rapport is the highlight.
This is to be a quarterly show of longform interviews by Donal Dineen with artists steeped in their work. We’ve only had one episode so far but it’s 136 minutes long, and offers so much. Dineen talked with photographer Eamonn Doyle about his career, which involved a long detour in the dance scene, for over 18 hours for the episode. Not a moment was wasted.
From academics Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick, this five-part series goes behind the traditional emigrant success story to tell the hidden tales of women that history has chosen to forget. Narrated by Siobhán McSweeney.
