The Mick Clifford Podcast

One off housing has been a hot political potato for decades, and is still in the news. The government is due to issue new rules for one off housing at a time when there are objections to the whole concept for sustainability reasons but on the other hand some say that it has a role in play in tackling the housing crisis. Writer Adrian Duncan’s Little Republics – The Story of Bungalow Bliss features Jack Fitzsimons, a man who was instrumental in the proliferation of one-off houses in the 1970s and 1980s. The book also examines the cultural, economic and environmental impacts of this way of living and where it stands today. Adrian Duncan is this week’s guest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the government announced a €2.5bn redress scheme for the owners of apartments stuck by fire and other defects. The scheme comes at the end of a long campaign by homeowners but also raises questions about culpability. The state has acknowledged that regulation was, to put it at its mildest, lax during the frantic building boom of the 2000s, but what about the builders who threw up sub standard work in their rush to turn a golden buck. Mick talks to Irish Examiner political correspondent Ciara Phelan about the questions that arise and they also look in on the beleaguered Pascal Donoghue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The debates on the Anglo Irish Treaty which took place in December 1921 into January 1922 were historic and tragic, leading ultimately to the Civil War. Poet Theo Dorgan adapted the debates for Anu Productions which staged a ten hour production over four nights and was ultimately streamed on RTE last Saturday, the centenary of the vote on the treaty. The result is enthralling and profoundly sad in light of what was to unfold in the following months. Theo Dorgan speaks about what he learned from working on the material, how the men and women of the day were brought to life and what exactly is this Republic about which they argued. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the year ahead hold for politics? Irish Examiner political editor and current journalist of the year Danny McConnell joins Mick to give his forecasts on what to expect from the government under Leo Varadkar’s stewardship, what exactly to expect from the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, whether Micheal Martin is likely to lead his party into the next election and will Mary Lou McDonald continue to exude the appearance of a Taoiseach in waiting. Danny also gives his prediction on which politicians he expects to shine in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gavan Ring, one of Ireland’s leading tenors, talks about his life and work, performing post Covid, and why, when looking for a place to stay, it’s always better to describe oneself as an opera singer rather than a freelance musician! Gavan is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s podcast, the last of the year, looks back on the political year with Irish Examiner Deputy Political Editor, Elaine Loughlin. Who can face into the turkey and ham with a smug and relaxing demeanour and who realises they will have to do a lot better once the New Year bells are silent. Will the government, under its new Taoiseach, make an inroads into tackling the housing crisis, and what does the recently published Climate Action Plan mean to the general public. All is revealed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Special Criminal Court is hearing evidence in the trial of Gerard ‘the Monk’ Hutch and two others for the murder of David Byrne at the Regnecy hotel in Dublin in February 2016. The chief prosection witness, a long time family friend of Hutch’s, is giving state’s evidence against his former friend. The testimony has been riveting, offering an insight into Dowdall’s version of gangland crime and his own travails after he was previously imprisoned for torturing another man. The Irish Examiner’s Sean Murray reports from the court for this week’s podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Thomas Garavan was 12 he found out that his mother had a sister he never knew about. Over the following years, he was to discover that there were five other aunts and uncles whom he’d never heard about, all of whom along with his mother had been committed to Tuam Mother and Baby home when they were toddlers. The UCC academic set about tracing all of them and opening them up to the reality that they had siblings and extended families that they never knew about in a society where children committed to institutions grew up as second class citizens. Professor Thomas Garavan is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As numbers of refugees from the war in Ukraine and asylum seekers fleeing other forms of conflict continue to arrive in the country, accommodation services are under pressure. Reactions to the prevailing situation vary along the spectrum from welcoming to intolerance. However, some locations have been asked to do more than others in finding accommodation. One such town that has been in the headlines recently is Killarney. The town’s mayor Niall Kelleher talks about how Killarney has welcomed refugees and how it is managing in terms of accommodation but also in the face of wild and ugly untruths often spread about new arrivals.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we solve the housing crisis? The question is one bedevilling public life at the moment and will be at the centre of the next general election. The crisis is having major impacts right across society, but what are the answers. Michael O’Flynn, one of Ireland’s leading developers and housing policy analyst and author Rory Hearne was very different views on what needs to be done. In a robust exchange they put forward their respective proposals and punch holes in each other’s solutions. Michael O’Flynn and Rory Hearne are this week’s guests on the podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.