The Plastic Podcasts

29/07/2024

I’ve been trying to work out the words, but I simply don’t have them. So here’s the faintest of reflections.

When I’ve asked interviewees about heroes of or to the Diaspora* for our Plastic Pedestals section, Edna O’Brien is one of those names that comes up again and again.

Long may it be remembered and repeated.

Thankyou for the words, Edna. Thank you for the words.

*and she was both.

01/03/2024

Seven years ago…

On this day in 2017, Irish Travellers received Minority Ethnic status in Ireland with specific protections under the Race Relations Act.

"It is a historic day for our Travellers and a proud day for Ireland" declared Taoiseach Enda Kenny on this historic moment for Irish Travellers and Ireland.

International Irish Traveller Day Irish Traveller Movement Irish Community Care Irish in Britain

(Graphic courtesy of Friends, Families and Travellers)

16/02/2024

5-4-3-2-1 Blast off! A spot of uploading technical problem notwithstanding (I hit the laptop with a hammer), the mighty rocket Michael Flavin has been launched into the ether. Hear it now on https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/michael-flavin-the-many-small-steps-of-birmingham-irishness

Vulpine Press Irish in Britain Birmingham Irish Association
Irish Literary Society The Irish Literary Times Birmingham Irish

15/02/2024

Yes friends, sometime in the next 24.5 hours and counting, this little baby will be winging its way across to the ether to your lugholes. Can you wait? I’m not sure we can!!!
⁦‪ ⁦‪Vulpine Press ⁦‪Irish in Britain Birmingham Irish Birmingham Irish Association The Irish Literary Times Irish Literary Society

13/02/2024

And a happy 2024 to you!

It is now - The Plastic Podcasts are back this Friday with a funny, touching and insightful chat with Michael Flavin, author of "One Small Step", set in a Birmingham Irish family in 1974.

The year is in gear!

Vulpine Press Irish in Britain Birmingham Irish Birmingham Irish Association

01/02/2024

Happy one and all.
Happy Eve to all that follow the Goddess.
Here comes the Spring

04/12/2023

I've been in two minds about putting this up for nearly a week now.

Finally a couple of friends persuaded me to get over myself, so here it is.

It still has no title, though "2023 - What A F***ing Year" might be the most appropriate...

London Irish and Irish in London
Have lost a high priestess and priest.
One had the voice of an angel,
The other the snarl of a beast.

One cried for flowers unblossomed,
One called from down in the ditch.
But Irish in London, London Irish,
Can you tell me now which one was which?

02/11/2023

Yes indeed…

🍀 Save the Date: May 11-12, 2024 🍀



We’re heading to Dublin and you’re invited to join the celebration! Embrace your heritage at the Irish Roots Festival, a vibrant gathering for biracial families
& those of mixed rish heritage .

🎉 Highlights:

Celebrate Mixed heritage Irish Day on May 11th
Live performances, activities, workshops, stories and more .

Hybrid options to join from anywhere!

💚 Let’s highlight the beauty of our diverse Irish heritage and create unforgettable memories together.

👉 Stay tuned for updates!

01/11/2023

Some more of last night's gadflying...

01/11/2023

A delight last night to see faces old and new at the launch of
Irish in Britain's fabulous 50th Anniversary Exhibition "Look Back To Look Forward". One day I may even get the hang of this selfie thing!

Elizabeth Anionwu Breda Corish
Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith

For more details of the exhibition and its tour, go to: https://exhibitions.irishinbritain.org/lookback

Tell them Doug sent you.

27/10/2023

Hey - you want more from life? Well, more we got!

Here's Danielle Morgan from # on the dilemma of the Irish Diaspora with one day left before Brendan, Son of Dublin plays Liverpool Irish Festival


What? Even more? Why, here's her and John in the full interview...
https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/fatdan-fables-john-and-danielle-sing-songs-of-behan-and-beyond

It's our pleasure.

Irish Literary Society Liverpool Irish Literary Theatre - LILT Irish Stew Podcast The Tung Auditorium University of Liverpool Janet Behan Irish in Britain

23/10/2023

And now a bit of a story from us - a tale of another Behan - to sit alongside our interview with the brilliant

https://plasticpodcasts.com/2023/10/20/fatdan-john-merrigan-and-danielle-morgan/

Liverpool Irish Festival Irish Lit Soc The Irish Literary Times Irish Stew Podcast The Tung Auditorium University of Liverpool Janet Behan Irish in Britain

“We’re keeping what’s gone before alive.”

20/10/2023

And here they are - - on the latest episode of The Plastic Podcasts - talking , , and
Liverpool Irish Festival as well as their lives and love and so much more.

This fabulous episode also has placing onto The Plastic Pedestal and a special addition to the end.

Come on, you lucky people - join us

https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/fatdan-fables-john-and-danielle-sing-songs-of-behan-and-beyond

20/10/2023

John Merrigan and Danielle Morgan - aka fatdan productions - take a break between rehearsals to tell us about their lives, their love and their latest play (with music): "Brendan, Son Of Dublin." Theirs is a journey that takes us from Dublin and Tipperary to London and Liverpool via Dubai, from working a life surrounded by books and theatre to the oil industry, from the BRIT School to the police....

John Merrigan and Danielle Morgan – aka fatdan productions – take a break between rehearsals to tell us about their lives, their love and their latest play (with music): “Brendan,…

19/10/2023

Oh, to be in Liverpool, now Liverpool Irish Festival is here. 10 days of culture and craic with every night a blast.

But if we had to pick a highlight, it would be this.

Luckily, creators John and Danielle (aka ) are our guests on tomorrow's episode.

So go on - pull up a chair and join us

www.plasticpodcasts.com

18/10/2023

Taking lessons from the past into the present, and into yourself - that's the task for productions as they bring to Liverpool Irish Festival on October 28th.

But there's time enough for them to chat to us this Friday on http://plasticpodcasts.com

The Tung Auditorium Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith
Irish Stew Podcast University of Liverpool Janet Behan
Irish Literary Society Liverpool Irish Literary Theatre - LILT
Liverpool Writers Group Liverpool Creative Writers The Irish Post
The Irish World David John Llewellyn Irish in Britain Irish Times Culture

16/10/2023

A tale that takes us from Dublin and Tipperary to London and Liverpool via Dubai. John Merrigan and Danielle Morgan () talk Behan, Wilde, Lynott and more - this Friday on

Liverpool Irish Festival Irish Cultural Centre HammersmithIrish Stew Podcast Liverpool Irish Literary Theatre - LILT Liverpool Sings Festival 2023 Janet Behan The Tung Auditorium University of Liverpool

16/10/2023

It's too early to be talking Christmas, isn't it?

We say that every year, from early September to about 3:30 on December 24th when we're running round the shops screaming for crackers

However, these - by East London-based Irish illustrator Brendan O'Rourke - are little bits of pop art food nostalgia for any time of the year. I don't normally highlight other people's work in this way, but for some reason they just got me.

Want to find more (or fill your wrapping paper with one)? You can find him on Instagram and and he'll be exhibiting at the Clapton Christmas Bazaar on the 25th November and 2nd December at The Old Sorting Office, 227 Brooke Road, E5 8AB.

Or just order through Etsy:
https://printsbybrendesign.etsy.com

Irish in London IRISH IN LONDON NETWORK

16/10/2023

16/10/2023

This is a brilliant project, and so glad to see it's received funding. The possibilities for DNA Testing to help fill in the gaps in someone's story are simply too myriad to number.

NEW PROJECT! Absolutely delighted to share our latest news with you all.

The Mixed Museum has been awarded a Mindsets + Missions grant to explore the role of DNA and genetics within the context of the lives of the families of Britain’s wartime ‘brown babies’.

The project – titled ‘Reclaiming Stories Through Science: DNA testing in the lives of ‘brown babies’ families – will be steered by a cohort of ‘brown babies’ families and supported by a project team led by The Mixed Museum.

It will begin with a series of facilitated conversations that will eventually lead to activites and a brief for a commission which will also be shared and preserved at The Mixed Museum. The commission is open – it could be anything from a film to a dance piece, a painting, or a lecture series.

Find out more here! https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/news/museum-awarded-mindsets-missions-grant/

Mindsets + Missions is funded by UK Research and Innovation in partnership with The Arts and Humanities Council and delivered by Museums Association in partnership with The Liminal Space and the Association for Science and Discovery Centres.

16/10/2023

Our dear friends The Mixed Museum have this fascinating talk on DNA Testing and Britain's Wartime Babies. It's going on tonight at 6pm, British & Irish Time. Not just for the 'brown babies' of WW2, but all generations, plus their descendants or relatives.

Free and online.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/discussion-dna-testing-and-britains-wartime-brown-babies-families-tickets-734626376267?aff=oddtdtcreator

Rosemary Adaser - Mixed-Race Irish The Association of Mixed Race Irish IamIrish Brent Museum and Archives Declan McSweeney Pauline Nevins IRISH IN LONDON NETWORK The Irish Post The Sound Agents Anthony Ekundayo Lennon

11/09/2023

It'll be a delight to see not one but two TPP interviewees - Craig Jordan-Baker and Cherry Smyth - at this fab event courtesy of Epoque Press

Tickets still available - catch you there?

Not long to go till the immersive performance of ‘If the River is Hidden’ by Craig Jordan-Baker and Cherry Smyth - with music by Philippe Barnes

Thurs 14th Sept, 7pm at the Grand Central Pub, Brighton

Have you got your ticket yet? https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/if-the-river-is-hidden-tickets-679265269707

28/07/2023

"Everyone is made of a lot of different parts."

Among the many parts of our interview with the electric are holidays, class, memory, the erotic power of the Fiat and the question of the world's "best colour".

All these and more at https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/emma-orourke-painting-memories-in-light-and-shade-and-knicker-pink

Emma O’Rourke Art Irish in Britain Brent Musarch IRISH IN LONDON NETWORK Declan McSweeney Irish Arts Center The Irish Post The Irish World Arts Council England British Council London Irish Centre

London-born artist Emma O’Rourke uses her own personal archive – and those of other people and institutions – to negotiate that most Irish of concerns: memory and remembrance. Whether sourcing family photos, the recollections of strangers or museum artefacts, her abstractions are b...

27/07/2023

In advance of tomorrow's latest Episode of The Plastic Podcasts - a word from our sponsor (and his tailor)

Emma O’Rourke Art Irish in Britain Brent Musarch IRISH IN LONDON NETWORK Declan McSweeney Irish Arts Center The Irish Post The Irish World Arts Council England British Council London Irish Centre

27/07/2023

Power and Peace,
Power and Peace,
May you rest in power and peace.