Advertise on podcast: Irish Stew Podcast

Andre Archimbaud spent his life carrying three passports worth of heritage: a French surname, an Italian-American upbringing, and, buried a generation or two back, an Irish line he didn't know existed until a chance conversation set him straight. This episode, recorded at Ryan's Daughter on the Upper East Side, traces how Archimbaud built an identity by choice rather than inheritance. It started years earlier at a bar in Washington Heights, where a stranger, several drinks in, turned to him and said, "You are what your mother is," invoking a mitochondrial logic Archimbaud had never considered. Two weeks of digging into his maternal line turned up a great-grandfather from Sligo and a great-great-grandmother born in Dublin. From there, U2, a 1997 road trip through Killarney, and a growing engagement with Irish radio and Irish Twitter did the rest. Archimbaud's other education came from his father, a man who rose from a cramped East Orange apartment to sit on the US Olympic Committee, and who taught his son to network simply by being watched. "It imprinted in me the sort of how to do this," Archimbaud says, a skill that now underwrites Clearly Now Media, the digital agency he launched after nearly two decades in paid search and social advertising. Even the agency's name has an Irish thread: a Hothouse Flowers cover of "I Can See Clearly Now," framed on his living room wall, that his girlfriend pointed to when he needed a name. Archimbaud closes on a quieter note: two days alone on Inchydoney Beach in West Cork, sun and rain and a double rainbow, that stayed with him through a season of change. LINKS ANDRE ARCHIMBAUD Clearly Now Media LinkedInPodcastBlogIRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentralRYAN'S DAUGHTER WebsiteEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 25; Total Episode Count: 166 Send us Fan Mail

Gearóid Mcdaid, known across the surfing world as G-Man, grew up twenty minutes from Mullaghmore, County Sligo's fearsome slab wave, and now holds the 2025 European shortboard title with an eye on the 2028 LA Olympics. John and Martin caught him mid-vacation in New York, tucked into Georgie's Chelsea, right under a photograph of the man himself mid-wave. "It's a pretty cool thing that surfing's in the Olympics now," he says. Gearóid's victory at the European Championships last year did its part for the sport back home, proof, as he puts it, that Ireland has surfers who can compete with the best in the world.  Gearóid walks us through the two lives of a pro surfer: the technical, judged world of competition, and the far riskier business of chasing 50-foot slabs at Mullaghmore, a wave made by limestone reef geology and giant North Athlantic swells. Chasing those waves takes a safety crew on jet skis and a fair amount of nerve, skills built on a childhood his surfer father set in motion, long before Mullaghmore's entered the picture. "You're always scared," he admits, "but it's just trying to push through it and enjoy it." He talks sponsors, wave pool training in Scotland, four straight years of injuries, and the tight-knit, fast-growing surf scene back home. "The Irish surf community's so small," he says. "Everyone knows each other that surfs." Next up for G-Man: a video trip to France for Monster in October, then the World Championships in Peru in November, all building toward one goal. As Martin puts it, fingers crossed we'll see the Irish flag flying on a beach at the LA Olympics in 2028. LINKS GEARÓID MCDAID InstagramYouTubeMullaghmore in the Summer - Hurricane Erin SwellMullaghmore in the Winter - Dec 2025Seamus Plug: Jackdaw GEORGIES CHELSEA (our hosts for this episode) Website POINTBREAK (this episode's featured music) Bandcamp IRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 24; Total Episode Count: 165 Send us Fan Mail

One year and a week since taking his new post, the Consul General of Ireland in New York Gerald Angley hosted the Irish Stew podcasters in his office high above Park Avenue for a behind-the-scenes look at Irish diplomacy in action while sharing his reflections on the first year on the job. One event stands out for Gerald. "The scale of St. Patrick's Day blew our minds,” he says. “It's 24/7 for a number of weeks." Gerald walks listeners through the impressive scale of his six-state consular territory of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. "That's 59 million people. That's the same population as the UK," he notes, adding that the region ranks as the world's third-largest economy in its own right. The conversation traces Gerald’s path from a University College Dublin commerce degree and a stint at Citibank to a career in the Department of Foreign Affairs, with postings in Brussels, Paris, and London during Brexit. On landing the coveted New York job, he admits to a bold move: "I wrote a letter that said, 'I dare you not to pick me.'" Talk turns to the perennial Irish Stew topic of diaspora engagement, where the diplomat reflects on evolving Irish American identity, saying, "We have to look at it not as purely Irish-born people, but rather people who have several identities." He also points to what distinguishes Ireland's mission from other consulates: "We're one of the only countries that has an immigrant support fund... we need to be bigger than most of the other consulates, and we are." As the episode wraps, Gerald provides the listeners with his must-read book recommendation and previews of the imminent launch the Green Pages, the new directory of Irish organizations in his consul region. And what’s it like to be a Consul General in New York? Gerald quotes a predecessor in his role who said, "It’s Wall Street by day, Broadway by night!” Links: Gerald Angley WebsiteLinkedIn Consulate General of Ireland in New York WebsiteLinkedInInstagramFacebookXEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 23; Total Episode Count: 164 Send us Fan Mail

Why doesn’t a country good enough to produce Ryanair and Stripe have a normal venture fund industry? Alan Merriman spent three years lobbying the Irish government just to be allowed to launch one, and what he ran into along the way says more about Ireland’s capital gap than most economic reports ever will. Merriman built Elkstone from a boutique advisory firm into one of Ireland's most active venture investors, and in this conversation he's candid about what it actually took to get there. In this episode, you'll learn:  Why Ireland’s tax code made venture investing nearly impossible before 2022, and what it took to change itWhy Merriman puts the quality of a founder at eighty percent of any investment decision, and what he’s really screening forWhy Elkstone bets on the country instead of a sector, and what that says about the depth of the Irish marketWhat Merriman calls “network compounding,” and his pitch for why the Irish diaspora is worth more than its checkbookIf you've ever wondered what it actually takes to build serious venture capital in a small country, or how Merriman makes the case for engaging the Irish diaspora as more than a source of sentiment, this one's worth the full listen.  ALAN MERRIMAN LINKS LinkedInElkstone  IRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 22; Total Episode Count: 163 Send us Fan Mail

Through its ongoing “Global Irish Nation Conversation” Irish Stew is all about connecting the worldwide Irish family, so sitting down with Dr. Martin Russell, one of the world's foremost diaspora engagement strategists, felt like a meeting of kindred missions. The proud Corkonian has spent nearly two decades turning diaspora theory into practice, working with governments and communities across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Balkans, all while championing Ireland's potential to be a global leader in the field. Hosts John Lee and Martin Nutty open with a thought-starter on the "diaspora World Cup" unfolding across North America, then trace Russell's journey from a would-be mathematician at UCC to a scholar of the Irish diaspora's role in the Northern Ireland peace process. Along the way, Russell unpacks the famous 70 million Irish worldwide figure, his four pillars of diaspora engagement, and the crucial distinction between migration and diaspora. "Other partners come and go and that's fine. That's the nature of life. But your diaspora are a community of consistency if you do it well," Russell says, making the case to governments worldwide. The conversation turns to Ireland's new Diaspora Strategy 2026–2030, which Russell's research helped inform, the duty of care owed to the vulnerable Irish abroad, and the threat of "diaspora fade" in Irish America. His answer? "The quick answer is don't let it happen, be active." A masterclass in belonging from a thought leader who's incredibly bullish on the diaspora's future. MARTIN RUSSELL LINKS LinkedInThe Diaspora InstituteThe Networking InstituteEPISODE REFERENCE LINKS  Ireland’s Diaspora Strategy, 2026-2030NY Times: Is this the diaspora World Cup? EU Global Diaspora Facility  Institute for Integrated TransitionsBOOKS Fragile Neighborhoods by Seth KaplanBelonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Jeffrey CohenOn Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation  by Kim SamuelIRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 21; Total Episode Count: 162 Send us Fan Mail

From Crumlin and Tallaght to the City of Brotherly Love, Irish Stew spins another Philadelphia story, appropriately timed to America's Fourth of July celebration of the Declaration of Independence forged in Philadelphia 250 years ago. Recorded in advance of Philadelphia's Irish American Business Chamber & Network's Ambassador Awards Luncheon, cohost John Lee talks with John Cummins and Adele Farrell, who drew on the grit of their working-class Dublin roots to build business success and rewarding lives in America. They tell of brutal Boston winters, tropical job sites in Puerto Rico, founding their breakout company NEXA Enterprise Asset Management, successfully exiting from it, and founding their new business initiative, Cummins Business Ventures. The pair underscore the importance of the Irish American Business Chamber and Network in their success story, calling it the “missing piece” they wished they'd found on day one. They look forward to the Chamber’s signature Ambassador Awards event every year, especially in 2023 when John and Adele received the IABCN’s prestigious Taoiseach Award. The episode wraps with a heartfelt Seamus Plug. This October, in partnership with the IABCN, John and Adele are launching a fundraising gala benefiting The Autism Hub, a new Dublin-based charity providing assessments, therapies, and family support for autism services in Ireland, a cause that's become deeply personal for them both. Hosted by their Rise Above Fund and the IABCN, The Infinity Gala will be held on Oct 15 in Warrington, PA. It’s a warm, genuine, and often inspiring Global Irish Nation Conversation about finding your tribe in Philadelphia, three thousand miles from home. LINKS John Cummins LinkedInAdele Farrell LinkedInThe Rise Above FundIrish American Business Chamber & NetworkInfinity GalaIRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 20; Total Episode Count: 161 Send us Fan Mail

What's Sherlock Holmes doing in New York's most Fenian pub? That's the intrigue at the heart of Terror From America: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, the debut novel from journalist and historian Terry Golway, and the question Irish Stew podcast cohosts Martin Nutty and John Lee set out to answer before a packed, raucous house at Ernie O'Malley's on the first of June. A Staten Island native with a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Rutgers and two decades of political reporting at the New York Observer, Golway has written more than a dozen acclaimed works of nonfiction. But fiction, he tells us, unlocks something facts alone cannot: "You can learn as much about history through a novel as you can in a history book." His novel imagines Britain dispatching the world's greatest detective to infiltrate the Irish American revolutionary underground of 1885 New York, a mission rooted in a real and largely forgotten chapter of history. "The original crime is based on something that actually happened," Golway explains. "Several Irish Americans were going to try to blow up London Bridge…instead they blew themselves up." Holmes's investigation pulls him into the orbit of real historical figures, none more compelling than John Devoy. In a dramatic reading brought brilliantly to life by actor Mick Mellamphy, Devoy records in his diary what Charles Parnell had told him when they met: "The American people are now the arbiters of the Irish question,” to which Devoy replied, "I almost had tears in my eyes when I heard those words. That was exactly what we in New York wished to be, the arbiters of the Irish question." And what does Holmes make of the Fenians he encounters? After infiltrating New York’s Irish revolutionary underground as an itinerant fiddler at Clan na Gael gatherings, Sherlock observed, "The Fenians who inhabit the back rooms of New York's clubhouses and taverns bear little resemblance to the crude caricatures portrayed in some less reputable newspapers. Formidable not because of their capacity for mayhem, but because of the power they yield over the production of memories." Fiddler Eileen McLain provided the evening’s musical accents while Mick Mellamphy served as producer. Past Irish Stew guests Peter Quinn, Larry Kirwan, and Maura Clare were in the house as were Black 47 co-founder Chris Byrne and Irish American Writers & Artists president Liza Engesser. LINKS TERRY GOLWAY WebsiteSubstack: ObserverLinkedInBook: Terror From AmericaAmazon: Terror From America ERNIE O'MALLEY'S Website IRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 19; Total Episode Count: 160 Send us Fan Mail

When Frederick Douglass left Belfast in 1845, only seven years after escaping slavery, he declared: "Wherever else I feel myself to be a stranger, I will remember I have a home in Belfast." That remarkable statement from a Black abolitionist finding radical welcome in a 19th-century Irish city is the beating heart of North Star, the immersive musical and theatrical experience that Northern Ireland-based DJ, broadcaster, and creative producer Kwame Daniels brings to New York's Irish Arts Center, June 3–21. Irish Stew cohosts Martin Nutty and John Lee met Kwame at the Irish Arts Center a few days before opening night and recorded this episode in the IAC Library He relates that his journey to Belfast began in a Ghanaian household in East London, where identity was worn proudly inside the home and navigated carefully beyond it. "As soon as we entered the house again, it was absolutely back to the background, the roots, and the culture," he recalls. "But outside, there was almost a code-switch going on. We were firm in our identity, and yet we were also aware of our surroundings and how we had to move within them." That same fluency served him when he arrived in Derry in 1997 and found a city divided along lines he didn't yet understand. Music became his passport across the sectarian divide. "I was bringing in sets of decks (the equipment DJs use to play, control, and manipulate music). That's the conversation, all the other conversations come out of that." Kwame relates that Douglass's Belfast story with his evocation of finding a home in the city hit him with the force of revelation. "A Black man, an enslaved man on the run in 1845 and that's his response to being in Belfast. That has to be the starting point for us to reset." The result is a 77-minute production, one minute for every year of Douglass's life, an immersive experience fusing hip-hop, jazz, gospel, classical, and electronic music with spoken word, choral arrangements, and the honest voices of young people from both Belfast and New York. "You're going to be presented with a level of musicianship that is extraordinary, and it's unlike anything you've ever seen." North Star runs June 3–21 at the Irish Arts Center, tickets at irishartscenter.org. Next up from Irish Stew, Fresh Stew LIVE with Terry Golway on his new thriller Terror From America: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, recorded before sold out audience in the Malachy McCourt Room at Ernie O’Malley’s Pub in NYC with the fiddler Eileen McLain and actor Mick Mellamphy enhancing the experience. LINKS NORTH STAR Irish Arts Center info and ticketsInstagramKWAME DANIELS InstagramFacebookLinkedInORGANIZATIONS Bounce CultureSolabIRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 18; Total Episode Count: 159 Send us Fan Mail

While Team Irish Stew preps for its Fresh Stew LIVE before a paying (!) audience on June 1, past guest Sean Granahan and The Floating Hospital he leads are gearing up for June 2, the evening of their 160th anniversary Summer Gala. Given the charity's deep roots serving Irish and other impoverished newcomers to New York, John and Martin are revisiting their conversation with Sean to shine a fresh light on the Floating Hospital and its mission-critical fundraising effort. Sean is a Pennsylvania-born lawyer with Mayo and Dublin roots who has spent two decades leading the Floating Hospital, a charity founded to provide basic healthcare to the Irish and other destitute arrivals crowded into New York’s first slum, Five Points, where tuberculosis was grimly called "the natural death of the Irish." Today the Floating Hospital is New York City's largest healthcare provider to families in homeless shelters and domestic violence safe houses, caring for 30,000 people annually across pediatric, mental health, and dental services. Sean notes that since its origins 160 years ago, The Floating Hospital has stood on its "three-legged stool" of meeting immediate needs of displaced people, providing essential health education, and delivering care to its neighbors in need. The charity's colorful maritime era saw ships taking kids on fresh-air harbor cruises while delivering vaccines and health education, a chapter paused after 9/11 when their vessel, the Lia, was retired. After 20 years at the helm, Sean still dreams of sailing again, saying, "The ship is magical. If you want to get 500 kids vaccinated, all you do is say, 'We're going out on the ship on Friday,' and you'll have a thousand." A volunteer stint keeping the then-struggling organization afloat rerouted Sean's career from corporate law to community service. He and his staff continue navigating funding threats and political headwinds to serve the city's most vulnerable families. Now we can help, through attending the Floating Hospital Summer Gala or providing a donation to support the organization that helped so many Irish and other newcomers survive and thrive in New York. FLOATING HOSPITAL LINKS WebsiteSummer Gala TicketsGivingFacebookInstagramLinkedInBlue Sky IRISH STEW LINKS Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 17; Total Episode Count: 158 Send us Fan Mail

Balmy spring weather lured Irish Stew cohosts John Lee and Martin Nutty to Central Park to record this episode in an urban pine forest, steps from the site of Seneca Village where so many Irish immigrants once lived. Backed by a chorus of birdsong, the podcasters preview their most ambitious show yet: Fresh Stew LIVE, a podcast recording before a live audience with historian and now novelist Terry Golway on Monday, June 1st, at Ernie O'Malley's,140 E 27th Street, New York City. Tickets are on sale at Eventbrite. Terry will spin tales from his new thriller Terror From America: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, telling how New York to break up the Fenians responsible for Irish American dynamite campaign in London in the 1880s. The evening will open with a fiddler to set the Holmesian and Irish mood setting the stage for the centerpiece conversation with Terry, with dramatic flourishes from actor Mick Mellamphy and musical accents from the fiddler. Once the program winds down, Terry will stick around to sign books (cash or check only) while legendary uilleann piper Chris Byrne of Black 47 fame leads a session to keep the craic going, The evening will include prize drawings and the first drink on in Irish Stew. The Fresh Stew LIVE episode with Terry Golway recorded that night will drop in early June. Links Tickets:  Fresh Stew LIVE with Terry Golway Terry Golway Book Link:  Terror From America: A Sherlock Holmes AdventureWebsiteFacebookLinkedInErnie O’Malley’s Irish Stew Links Website Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentral Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 16; Total Episode Count: 157 Send us Fan Mail

It’s a wrap for Irish Stew as the podcast-in-residence at the 2026 Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival in Metro DC with this episode of five conversations spanning three films: Saipan, Báite, and Conveyance. The Festival’s Opening Night feature Saipan unspools the drama that played out on that distant island between the manager of the 2002 World Cup-bound Irish football team Mick McCarthy, played by Steve Coogan and its star player Roy Keane acted by Éanna Hardwicke. Co-director Glenn Leyburn speaks to co-host John Lee about the challenge of dramatizing one of Irish football's most divisive moments: "You want to show both sides of that story and show both men as three-dimensional human beings. We realized how much they wanted the best for their country and the team but just had different ways of going about that. Drama is built from having those shifts and then having shifts within that." Co-director Lisa Barros D'Sa explained the creative process of her filmmaking partnership with her husband Glenn, saying, "The most important thing is to agree on the voice of the film and what the tone is. Once we lock that in, we know the film that we want to make. And then on set, I work a bit more with the actors. Glenn works a bit more with camera." Festival regular and Irish football fan Dan Mahoney provides some audience perspective: "I've probably been to this festival seven or eight times. I was in Dublin for the semi-final match in 1990, which was an unbelievable experience. I didn't remember the whole story, but I thought it was a fabulous film," he said. The following day, John spoke with Eleanor O'Brien, lead actor of Báite, the Irish-language murder mystery and family drama that earned the festival’s fan favorite award. "It was my first feature film where I was the lead — and challenging for that reason, and also because of the Irish in it. By no means am I a native speaker," she says, adding “It's really nice being there at the start and being able to create a character knowing that the character is with me in mind." Eleanor shares the unlikely early steps in her young career and towards the end of the conversation with the rising star, you’ll learn the Irish word for handcuffs! Co-host Martin Nutty closes out the festivities with Gemma Creagh, associate editor of Film Ireland and director of the short film Conveyance, a satirical and spooky look at Ireland’s housing crises, told through the eyes of a young couple trying desperately to find a home. “They go to see some really dilapidated, horrible places, and then they find this most incredibly gorgeous apartment in Dun Laoghaire overlooking the sea, however, it is not without an undisclosed guest of some ghostly kind,” she says. Gemma also offers a sweeping account of the Irish film industry's rise, pinpointing a pivotal moment, saying, "Game of Thrones came into Northern Ireland and it was the biggest production that had ever been in Ireland. The impact was huge." Three films, five voices, and a fitting farewell to a festival that keeps delivering. Irish Stew Links Irish Stew CIFF EpisodesFacebookInstagramLinkedInBlueskyMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 15; Total Episode Count: 156 Send us Fan Mail

Though the latest Irish Stew guest is Aileesh Carew, CEO and Museum Director of Dublin’s EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, this interview takes place in Philadelphia, upstairs again at Fergie’s Pub. Both Aileesh and cohost John Lee came to the “City of Brotherly Love” for the Irish American Business Chamber and Network’s Ambassador’s Awards where Aileesh would accept the Uachtarán Award for EPIC as an organization that has shown exemplary leadership in philanthropic contributions of time and talent to non-profits in Ireland. "We are so honored to be recognized by the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, an organization that really understands and deeply cares about the Irish community, the links and the legacy,” she says. The award comes at an especially meaningful time for EPIC. “To receive the award and be recognized in our 10th anniversary year is very special to us,” says Aileesh, who has been with EPIC almost every step of the way. “EPIC’s purpose really is to tell the impact of the Irish around the world. Over 70 million people claim Irish heritage and we can chart at EPIC 1,500 years of immigration. It's the legacy of what the Irish people have achieved around the world." Philadelphia was an important destination for Irish emigres and many played key roles in the birth of the American republic. "John Dunlap was the printer of the Declaration of Independence. He was born in Bann in County Tyrone. He immigrated to Philadelphia as a boy and built one of the city's most influential printing businesses. He actually printed the Declaration working through the night on July 4th, 1776, and went on to print the first 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence." Over its ten-year history, the interactive EPIC experience rose quickly in the ranks of not only Irish but European destinations, awarded Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction three years in a row. Take that Eiffel Tower! But rather than counting their laurels, Aileesh and her team are charting the course for the next ten years. She says, "If you stand still, you go backwards, so we’ve embarked on a 10-year master plan. We're about to unveil three brand new galleries including “Isle of the Senses”f that will chart and evoke the Ireland the people left behind, what people take with them in the smell, the touch, the sense, and in their hearts.” This is Irish Stew’s second EPIC episode having featured its first director, John Patrick Greene, for episode that dropped in 2022. Next week Irish Stew shares the buzz around the Capital Irish Film Festival in conversations with the great cinema talent at the annual Solas Nua event. Links Irish Stew Newsletter Signup - on home pageEPIC The Irish Emigration Museum WebsiteLinkedInFacebookInstagramAileesh Carew LinkedInIrish Stew Links Episode Page: Aileesh CarewWebsite Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 14; Total Episode Count: 155 Send us Fan Mail

No Ordinary Heist had just finished rolling when Irish Stew cohosts Martin Nutty and John Lee took to the AFI Silver Theatre stage on the second night of the 2026 Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival in metro-Washington, DC. Before a near-capacity crowd of almost 400, the podcasters-in-residence led the post-screening Q&A on the gripping new Irish thriller inspired by the 2004 Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, still one of the largest bank robberies in British and Irish history, with £26.5 million in cash stolen. On stage with John and Martin are the film's Belfast-raised director and co-writer Colin McIvor and Dublin-based producer Ruth Carter of Picture Locked Productions. The conversation explores the riveting human stories of the film set against the backdrop of a city emerging from The Troubles, the meticulous casting of Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke in leading roles alongside memorable Irish supporting talent, and the editorial choices that kept audiences white-knuckled throughout. "The old cliche is that you create your heroes and then you trip them up every two minutes. Just what else can you do to screw it up for them," Colin says explaining the creative philosophy behind the film's tension. The discussion broadens to explore the thriving all-island filmmaking ecosystem, with Ruth noting the increasingly seamless collaboration between Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland saying, "We're really lucky in Ireland because we have such great support both in the South and in the North. They really go with an all-Ireland approach as much as they can." Reflecting on how far Northern Ireland's film industry has come since 2004, Colin adds, "It's hard to believe that when I was a student coming through, that we would be where we are. We have got a place in the filmmaking industry now." An engaging night of Irish cinema, covering everything from the craft of tension-building to the state of all-island filmmaking, all in this episode of Irish Stew. With thanks to the Northern Ireland Bureau for their support of this screening and Q&A, Solas Nua and Festival Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh for naming Irish Stew in the Capital Irish Film Festival Podcast-in-Residence and to John Collins for recording this episode. Links No Ordinary Heist IMDbWikipediaColin McIvor IMDbRuth Carter Picture Locked ProductionsIMDbLinkedInInstagramAll Irish Stew Libations Episodes - Ten episodes. All in one place. Capital Irish Film Festival EpisodesIrish Stew Links Episode Page: Fergus CareyWebsite Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInBlueskyMastodonMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 13; Total Episode Count: 154 Send us Fan Mail

North Dublin native Fergus “Fergie” Carey didn’t just open a bar in Philadelphia, he helped invent a neighborhood, a scene, and a sense of community that stretches from Center City to the Irish arts world and back again. In this on‑location episode recorded upstairs at Fergie’s Pub on Sansom Street, Irish Stew cohost John Lee traces Fergie’s journey from Burgerland on O’Connell Street to becoming one of Philly’s best‑known publicans and civic connectors. Fergie recalls the bleak job prospects of 1980s Dublin, his short, ill‑fated stint in Houston, and the sudden sense of being “revered because you’re Irish” when he finally landed in Philadelphia and started a job at El Taco Grande the very next morning. He walks us through bartending at McGlinchey’s, the leap to open Fergie’s with his Palestinian partner Wajih Abed in a rough‑and‑tumble City Center street, and the chaos of a first night saw the Guinness run dry in 40 minutes. We explore how Fergie built a career as co‑owner or founder of beloved spots like Monk’s Café, The Goat, The Jim, and soon The Monto, while never losing sight of the core lesson he learned in fast food: you’re managing people, not walls. He talks about keeping a pub current yet grounded in tradition through his self-invented live-band karaoke, Quizzo evenings, Saturday trad sessions, ballad nights, and the hugely popular “pub sing.” We also hear about Fergie’s deep engagement with Philadelphia’s civic and Irish cultural life, from Inis Nua Theatre Company and Beckett in the back room, to his tours to Ireland and charity concerts like his recreation of The Last Waltz. We spoke on eve of the Irish American Business Chamber & Network’s Ambassador’s Awards Luncheon, the signature annual Irish event on the city’s calendar, after which those in-the-know kept the craic going at the nearby Fergie’s Pub. Among them were local business and civic leaders John Cummins and Adele Farrell who will share their insights on the Irish American Business Chamber & Network and tales from their own Dublin-to-Philadelphia success story on a future episode of Irish Stew. Links Fergie’s Pub WebsiteFacebookInstagram All Irish Stew Libations Episodes - Ten episodes. All in one place. Libations EpisodesIrish Stew Links Episode Page: Fergus CareyWebsite Home PageFacebookInstagramLinkedInBlueskyMastodonMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 12; Total Episode Count: 153 Send us Fan Mail

A language returned Mollie Guidera returns to the Irish Stew for a second conversation. Since her first appearance in November 2023, she has published The Gaeilge Guide and grown Irish with Molly into the fastest-growing Gaeilge community in the world — more than 10,000 students across 75 countries. But what Mollie is really doing is harder to quantify: dismantling the barriers that sit between Irish people and their own language. The problem was never the language Fourteen years of compulsory classes, taught through the very language you were trying to learn, left a generation feeling guilty for failing at something that was never properly taught. Mollie's argument is simple: the language is logical, patterned, and far more learnable than people believe. The problem was always the delivery. Hidden in plain sight We spend time on Hiberno English — the way Irish survives in everyday speech. "Is the dinner not ready yet?" Nobody in America says that. Say it in Irish and it makes perfect grammatical sense. From Wilde to Joyce to Sally Rooney, the Irish literary tradition is Hiberno English in action — a colonized people turning the language of their oppressor into a thing of beauty. The key holder The episode carries the presence of Manchán Magan, who passed away last year. Mollie recalls asking Manchán for advice on a documentary about her offshore students — Hong Kong, Moscow, Alaska — and his reply coming back immediately: go for it. His wife's words at the Irish Book Awards said it best: Manchán opened the door and showed us all the way through. We just have to walk. The language is yours Fluency is a myth. What matters is showing up consistently, with curiosity, and without shame. The language is yours. It always was. Episode Quote "People have this negative reaction to Irish — and yet this regret for not learning it. There's a very complicated relationship. But I don't think the language itself is complicated." — Mollie Guidera Links Mollie Guidera Website: Irish With MollieBook: The Gaeilge GuidePodcast: Irish with MollieInstagramTikTokIrish Language Resources TEG: Irish Language CertificationAn Siopa Leabhar - Irish Language Book StoreAll Irish Stew Irish Language Episodes - Ten episodes. All in one place. Irish Language EpisodesIrish Stew Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInBlueskyMastodonMedia Partner: IrishCentralEpisode Details: Season 8, Episode 11; Total Episode Count: 152 Send us Fan Mail