The Mick Clifford Podcast

Sunday January 30 marks the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the day that thirteen innocent people were shot dead in Derry by members of the parachute regiment of the British army. Another man later died from his wounds. Irish Examiner political correspondent Aoife Moore, a native of the city, is also a niece of one of those murdered on that day, Patrick Doherty. She talks about how the event traumatised and shaped whole communities and acted as a recruiting agent for the IRA.She also discusses what she sees as apathy in the South towards the campaign by families to get justice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As always, the major political stories for the coming year are likely to emerge from nowhere that is currently on the horizon. However, we do know that there will be two major events in 2022. An assembly election in the North may well see Sinn Fein take over as the largest party and be rewarded with the office of First Minister. And in December – if the government gets that far – there will be a change of Taoiseach in the rotation agreement between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. But what else is likely to come dropping over the course of the year? Irish Examiner Deputy Political Editor Elaine Loughlin joined us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Haughey bestrode public life in Ireland for four decades and was then hauled back into the spotlight in retirement when it was discovered that he had been in receipt of millions from wealthy individuals when he had been a senior politician.Professor Gary Murphy of DCU has written a compelling account of Haughey’s life that examines the good, the bad and the ugly of probably the most talented and divisive politician of the second half of the last century. Turn on, sit back and listen to a fascinating account of Haughey and the times he lived in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, Romi Ramtohil was living on the streets and in bad health. After thirteen years in this country he saw no way out of the rut into which he had fallen. He wanted to return to his native Mauritius. But how could he get there. He had no way home, no means, no passport, not even a mobile phone. Into the breach stepped a whole array of people to help Romi, including the Alice Leahy Trust, two gardai, and various medical personnel. The result was a rare good news story, which is particularly appropriate at this time of year. Alice Leahy and Garda Damien McCarthy are this week’s guests on the podcast.The Mick Clifford PodcastIrish ExaminerMick Clifford Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much damage is your poor old Christmas jumper doing to the environment? The cost of fast fashion in not just abuses of working and human rights, but also damage to the environment is now being acknowledged. Recent images from the Atacama Desert in Chile where hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unwanted clothes are left to rot slowly have presented the reality of what happens when we buy cheap and discard easily. The desert is one of the hottest places on earth and a favoured dumping ground for clothes from all over the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week the cabinet recommended a presidential pardon for John Twiss, a 34-year-old man who was hanged for a murder he didn’t commit in 1895. Twiss, a native of Castleisland in Co Kerry, was convicted on flimsy and manufactured evidence of the murder in Newmarket, Co Cork of a man who was an agent for landlords. Even before he was executed his case was recognised as a grave injustice. A petition signed by 40,000 people was presented to the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin but to no avail. Today, we examine the John Twiss case, including contemporaneous newspaper reports from the time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exactly a century ago on 6 December, the Anglo Irish Treaty was signed in London. The document for the first time recognised Ireland’s right to independence, albeit under particular conditions. The occasion was marked by initial euphoria which quickly gave way to some confusion and anger, in turn leading all the way to the outbreak of civil war within six months. By August 1922, the two leading Irish signatories, Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins, were dead.But how significant was the occasion? Did the signatories on the Irish side get the best deal possible? And did it really represent, as Collins claimed at the time, the freedom to achieve freedom. UCC history lecturer Gabriel Doherty spoke to Mick for this week’s podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 25 February last on a small farm in North Cork, Johnny Hennessy killed his two brothers Paddy and Willie and then drowned himself in a nearby river. The three brothers had been close, their lives since childhood having largely revolved around the family farm. They were regarded as ordinary, decent hard working men. So what happened to prompt this tragedy and could anything have been done to prevent it. The Irish Examiner reporter Neil Michael, who attended the inquest into the brothers deaths, is this week’s guest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank O’Rourke lost his Dail seat, which he had held for one term, in 2020. In the days prior to the election, there was both a physical leaflet drop and an online campaign which spread scurrilous lies about his personal life. He believes the campaign led directly to his loss and he launched a legal action against social media companies. One culprit was identified as having issued a defamatory tweet on the day of the election, but O’Rourke believes there was an organised campaign too, as he puts it, take him out. Frank O’Rourke is Mick Clifford’s guest on this week podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imelda Wickham spent twenty years as a prison chaplain in one of Ireland’s largest prisons. During that time she met hundreds of prisoners and their families and her experience has led her to the conclusion that for the greater part prison doesn’t work. She talks about the kind of people she met over her years as chaplain and the families of prisoners who have to bear their own burden. She also explores why it is that only those from the poorest backgrounds who usually end up behind bars. Imelda would like to see greater emphasis on restorative justice as it would facilitate the victim but avoid what is supposed to be the last resort of prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.