The Mick Clifford Podcast

Denis Eustace is the fifth generation of his family to train and practice as a consultant psychiatrist. He has specialised in later life mental health. Since the onset of the pandemic he says that he and colleagues are noticing some very worrying features in the mental health of older people. Fear and isolation are contributing to a rise in people experiencing mild cognitive impairment and more needs to be done to protect one of the most vulnerable cohorts in the population at this particular time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the former minister for Social Protection became the first parliamentarian from the government benches to criticise the Mother and Baby Homes Commission report. Now the leader of the Seanad, she talks about what she feels needs to be done for survivors of the homes. She also explains why she changed her mind after initially indicating she would leave politics when she lost her seat, and why she bristles at the narrative that her Fine Gael party is full of privately educated and privileged representatives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The report of the Commission of Investigation into the Mother and Baby homes has answered some questions and left many others hanging about the treatment of women who gave birth outside of marriage in twentieth century Ireland, and the fate of their babies.For whom was the investigation conducted? Was it for those who gave birth and were born in these homes, or was it to provide the state with a forum to tell itself a story about the times?To discuss that and other issues that have arisen since the publication, Mick was joined by Dr Katherine O’Donnell, Associate professor at the School of Philosophy in UCD and a member of the Justice for Magdalene Research group. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Financial consultant Eddie Hobbs takes out his crystal ball and looks into the future as it might unfold once we get the pandemic under control. That future, according to Eddie, could well be determined by a technocracy of the world elite who meet and make plans under the guise of bodies like the World Economic Forum.He cautions that the democratic world must be vigilant to avoid being subjected to the kind of controls that totalitarian states like China exercise on their people. And he also thinks that we might emerge from the pandemic in pretty good nick in this country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

War of Independence Podcast - Part Four:WOMEN OF THEIR TIME: Helene O’Keeffe.The role of women during the revolutionary period had, until recent decades, not so much been written out but not written in at all. That is beginning to change with greater research into the roles played by women both inside and outside Cumann na mBan. Helene O’Keeffe speaks here about a number of the women who made serious contributions during that period. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish Examiner political team runs the rule over the ministers in the government since its formation last June.Danny McConnell, Elaine Loughlin, Paul Hosford and Aoife Moore give their individual assessments and markings out of 10 for each of the ministers who have governed during what must be one of the most difficult times in a generation. There are a few surprises in there, some who have done better than might have been expected, and a few who most definitely must do better once the New Year opens up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice Leahy is this week’s guest. She talks about the people who visit the Alice Leahy Trust at this time of year, particularly those who have no homes and quite often simply don’t fit into society.Alice has been running the Trust Agency, which is a drop in centre in Dublin’s inner city, for more than forty years and she wonders whether the pandemic will have given people the opportunity to slow down and take time to spend a little time with each other. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mick Clifford talks to John Borgonovo on the War of Independence. The War of Independence was an early example of guerrilla warfare, fought with the co-operation and consent of the native population. But how intense was the war? What kind of people were the volunteers and how did they operate and engage with the native population and how did they deal with informers?Dr John Borgonovo is the guest on this week’s podcast, one of the Irish Examiner’s series to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the revolutionary period. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish Examiner political correspondent Aoife Moore is on the podcast talking about a week in which she found herself the target of online trolls from across the political divide, having a go at her over various pieces she has written in the paper. She also talks about attitudes down south to a Derry girl like her and whether or not a border poll would receive as great a welcome among the nationalist community in the north as some might think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kieran McCarthy: The burning of Cork in December 1920 was one of the seminal events of the War of Independence. Major damage was done to the city centre and to the psyche of the population in what was an wanton act of violence and destruction. The event had a major impact on the city and its populace for many years after. Historian Kieran McCarthy discusses what led up to the fateful night, how it unfolded and the drawn out aftermath. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.