Question of Taste: Donal Dineen on his top podcasts, gigs and more

From a memorable performance at All Together Now to re-reading Sinéad O'Connor's memoir, Donal Dineen shares some of his favourite cultural moments

Donal Dineen speaks to Eoghan O'Sullivan of the Irish Examiner on Saturday, August 26 as part of the Cork Podcast Festival. Photo: Bríd O'Donovan.

Donal Dineen is from Rathmore in Co Kerry. He recently moved back to Kerry from Dublin and is working on a short documentary there about set dancing in Sliabh Luachra and the death of his father, who died in 1986. 

He runs a dance night called Backstory in Dublin and has a music podcast called Make Me An Island. 

Donal speaks to Eoghan O'Sullivan of the Irish Examiner at Maureen's at 5pm on Saturday, August 26 as part of the Cork Podcast Festival. 

He will DJ in the Woodford later that day. 

Best recent book you've read and what you liked about it:

I just re-read Rememberings by Sinéad O'Connor immediately after her passing. Like most people in Ireland, I felt a deep sense of loss upon hearing the tragic news. 

Reading the book for a second time while knowing how the story ended was incredibly sad but it was a way of connecting with the extraordinary power she wielded in her prime and I definitely needed to do that as I found a lot of the coverage in the aftermath hypocritical and suffocating. 

Sometimes I think Ireland hasn't changed that much at all the way we love a saint. She never got her dues in life and that's such a shame. 

I think it's fair to say she was the bravest and the best. One thing I love about the book is the way it serves her brilliant sense of humour so well. She had tremendous comic timing.

Best recent film:

Asteroid City by Wes Anderson. I know there are those who have grown tired of his style but to me he's just getting better.

Best recent gig you’ve seen:

The best performance I've seen recently was by Michelle Doyle who plays under the name Rising Damp. 

She occasionally plays with a full band but I just saw a solo show she did at All Together Now festival and it was the highlight of the weekend. 

Hard to describe why but it was just the kind of energy explosion that I needed to witness at that moment.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

It changes all the time. I am constantly looking for tunes to play at Backstory and even if I come across something I absolutely love, the connection rarely if ever lasts forever. 

I've been listening to a lot of new Cumbian music lately. There are lots of new more electronic variations on the style and I am playing a lot of that stuff in my DJ sets. 

Closer to home, I am still listening to the Lankum and Lisa O'Neill records and I'm really looking forward to forthcoming releases from Rachael Lavelle, ØXN and Poor Creature.

First ever piece of music that really moved you:

'Joan of Arc' by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. That emotional electronic sound was made for my teenage head.

The most memorable gig you've ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

Impossible to pick one. There have been a lot of gigs! 

The most memorable big one recently was Iggy Pop though, an extraordinary band on full power from start to finish. No room for argument. 

I also saw an amazing show by Poor Creature who are Cormac Dermody from Lankum and Ruth Clinton from Landless. What they are doing is so special.

Tell us about your TV viewing:

I haven't owned a TV since 1997 so it's pretty much non-existent. 

I am allergic to adverts which is one of the main reasons I got rid of it. 

I do love documentaries however and the most interesting ones I've seen recently have been two different series on country and jazz music made by the genius that is Ken Burns. 

Research and archival footage on a different level, completely exhaustive and utterly fascinating.

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk is about the only mainstream radio show that I can stomach. 

He's a great presenter, capable of handling the serious and frivolous equally well which is the hallmark of a quality broadcaster. 

Blindboy's podcast is a remarkable thing, really. He has made that format his own.

You're curating your dream festival – which three artists are on the bill, living or dead?

Karen Dalton, Mark Hollis and Nina Simone.

You can portal back to any cultural event or music era – where, when, and why?

I am fascinated by Jamaica in the 1950s as I love the music of that place and period. 

To me, it's thrilling that an entire music form emerged in the space of a few years. 

It's also very interesting from the point of view of the development of DJing. 

I love the way that the tunes were made for the dances by the people that hosted them to serve the needs of the dancers who craved a sound of their own. 

That musical revolution and how it came about is one of the most interesting of them all.