Advertise on podcast: The Mick Clifford Podcast

There has been a drip feed of revelations about alleged malpractice in An Garda Siochana in recent weeks. Central to the allegations has been a group of officers who have made protected disclosures. How their allegations were received, how they were dealt with, has become a huge element of the story. But what is it all about and where is it going? Labour party TD Alan Kelly was the first to bring it all into the public domain and he lays out the whole narrative plainly in this week’s podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Cowen was elected Taoiseach just as the economic storm clouds were gathering in 2008. By the time he left office the country was dependant on the kindness of strangers. Was Cowen culpable for what befell the country/ Was he simply the victim of bad timing? And did his time at the top impinge on his political legacy up to then. Professor Gary Murphy has written a biography of the former Taoiseach and he is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How was it for you? For everybody it would appear that the budget was spread so thin it will be difficult to feel any difference. Neither austerity nor giveaway it also left questions hanging. Such as where now for this government? What if anything is its guiding compass? This week’s guests are drawn from the Irish Examiner Political team, Paul Hosford and Tadgh McNally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new initiative that could herald a while new way of life in some disadvantaged communities is being set up. The social supermarket is a model that has been tried successfully abroad and now is being introduced in north Dublin. It has been popularised by current New York mayor Zohran Mamdani but what exactly is it. Joining us to discuss is Angela Ruttledge, head of policy at Foodcloud, one of the groups behind the initiative. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vincent Browne was the founding editor of Magill magazine and oversaw it, officially and unofficially, for the 1980s. It was a time of great change and the emergence of outstanding journalists to document it. DCU academic and journalist Kevin Rafter has documented the highs, lows and the madness in Fearless! – Vincent Browne’s Magill and Ireland in the 1980s. Kevin is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new book takes us behind the closed doors of a party that remains something of a mystery. Sinn Fein to some appears to retain the closeness of a tribe rather than a political party and its policies generally don’t follow a beaten path. But is that the case or there less to see than might be thought? Siobhan Fenton worked as an advisor for the party and her new book is titled Ourselves Alone – Sinn Fein Behind Closed Doors. Siobhan is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump is visiting the country this weekend and it’s safe to say that many people, from the upper echelons of power down to the man and woman in the street, would prefer if he stayed home. He is here to attend the Irish Open golf championship at the Doonbeg in Clare which he owns. But what kind of welcome will he receive and will he notice anything beyond the perfect arc of Rory McIllroy’s golf swing. And is time running out for this man whom many suggest is bringing democracy into disrepute. This week’s guest on the podcast is Clodagh Harrington who lectures on US politics in UCC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would a united Ireland look like? Could we come up with imaginative solutions that would only cheese off everybody equally? Paul Howard, the creator of Ross O’Carroll Kelly has written a satirical novel set in a government department charged with planning for a united Ireland. The results are not what you might expect.  Mick interviewed Paul before a live audience in Waterstone’s Cork for this week’s podcast.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dail has been recalled to delay the restoration of excise taxes in order to keep down the price of fuel. But is he government acting simply out of fear of a repeat of the fuel protests earlier this year? And what will happen if the USA’s war in Iraq continue through the winter and the price keeps rising? Are the government making it all up on the hoof? Irish Examiner political editor Elaine Loughlin is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democracy is under threat right across the world, certainly in the liberal form that persisted since the end of the Second world war. Donald Trump is leading the charge for a new form of populism and his administration is now providing funds for like minded organisations in Europe. Here, in contrast, a new body has been established to promote democracy and fight mis and dis information. Caradem was co-founded by Simon Coveney, Eamon Gilmore and Catherine Heaney. Catherine, the CEO of Caradem, is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride since John Moran was elected Mayor of Limerick, the first such office to be created in a city in the state. He has clashed on a number of occasions with councillors and most recently there has been conflict with traders in the city centre. But there has also been progress in establishing a new form of local government and injecting, as he would have it, new ideas on how a city (and county) should be overseen.  John Moran is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The coalition government, awash with cash and bereft of a core political compass, appears to be governing by the path of least resistance. The Irish Examiner’s Political Editor Elaine Loughlin recently outlined in a column how the government is now content to sort out those who shout loudest irrespective of the damage that might do to the country’s long term health.  Elaine is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Government says Ireland needs to build faster. To do that it is preparing legislation that could allow major infrastructure projects to bypass parts of the planning system. At the same time, a major review of local democracy wants to hand more power to councillors and reduce the dominance of unelected council executives. So are politicians taking back control, or are they concentrating power in different ways? Will these reforms speed up the delivery of housing, transport and public services? And what happens when national priorities collide with local democracy? Irish Examiner political reporter Tadgh McNally joins guest host Eoghan O'Sullivan to discuss two major reforms that could reshape how Ireland is governed and how decisions are made. Article:  Local authority 'mini cabinets' to give more powers to councillors: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41883649.html Government plans emergency laws to fast-track major infrastructure projects: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41885329.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The running of agents in the North by the British state was a moral maze. Those who were in charge of the agents often had to decide whether or not to allow a murder go ahead in order to protect an agent’s cover. But where is the morality in such decisions? Did a point arrive where the state ceded the moral high ground to groups like the IRA which were killing at will? Veteran reporter John Ware’s new book is entitled Neither Confirm Nor Deny – British Intelligence, lawless agent running and the suppression of truth. He is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the World Cup comes to a conclusion we look back on a month of football to celebrate the best of it but also to ask where exactly the game is going and whether it is irredeemable corrupt. And beyond that, do we care if we keep watching it which is exactly what everybody did. Joining Mick to discuss all this is Irish Examiner columnist Colin Sheridan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.