Since its inception in 1978 Photo Museum Ireland has gone through a number of changes but its original ethos and aims are still very relevant and are the backbone of its activities. Assistant Curator, Darren Campion spoke with Ger Sweeney recently on Talk Radio Europe, to offer some insights into what they do and how they do it.
SHE – See Her Elected is an organisation that encourages and assists women across Ireland to get elected to local councils. Dr. Michelle Maher is the Programme Manager of SHE and in this conversation Michelle explains the work of See Her Elected with Ger Sweeney. As next year’s local elections are on the horizon maybe this will be of interest to you, or a woman in your life.
In the small village of Meanus (near Bruff) which is about 20 minutes South of Limerick City there is a fabulous attraction called the Old Irish Ways Museum. The owner and curator is Denis O’Connor and he has spent the last 14 years building it up, collecting treasures of “old Ireland” and preserving them. Ger Sweeney visited the Museum recently with his microphone and got the tour – which is recorded here. Find out more about the museum through it’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/oldirishways
On March 31st 2023 Ger Sweeney boarded the Brittany Ferries “Salamanca” to travel from Bilbao in Northern Spain to Rosslare Europort in Co. Wexford. The 29-hour was an eventful one and as the Salamanca made its way through the Bay of Biscay and onward to Rosslare, Ger chatted with the crew of this fabulous ship.
Joe and Steve Wall have been household names since their days with “The Stunning”. Since 2000 the brothers have been making music together as “The Walls”, while still recording and gigging with the Stunning. There’s a new album coming from the Walls so Joe talks to Ger about it and about the brothers’ musical journey thus far.
The High Kings have been part of the musical landscape in Ireland and farther afield for the past 15 years. The lads are about to embark on the first ever world tour and they’re just about to launch something special by way of their new album. Darren Holden of the High Kings talks to Ger about it all
“Quinn” is the name of a book released in December 2022 about former billionaire businessman Sean Quinn – The man who was too big to fail. The book was written by Emmy-nominated film producer, director and journalist, Trevor Birney who joins Ger to talk about Quinn.
He first came on to the “music radar” as a member of The Johnstons in the late 1960s and since then we’ve seen Paul play and sing with Planxty, as a musical partner to Andy Irvine and as a solo artist. One of Ireland’s foremost singer/songwriters Paul Brady has penned a cross-section of hits for himself and others and has toured with greats such as Eric Clapton and Dire Straits and he is still going. His recently published memoir titled “Crazy Dreams” is a very honest account of his life to date. He spoke recently to Ger Sweeney about this.
On 10th September 2022 the 420th anniversary of the death of Red Hugh O’Donnell occurs. Red Hugh died in Simancas and was buried a few miles away in Valladolid. For generations the final resting place of Red Hugh was sought and through persistence from people in both Donegal (where Red Hugh is from) and Vallodolid the mystery was solved. There is a special weekend of commemorations planned for the 420th anniversary in both Simancas and Vallodolid. In this piece Eddie Crawford and Brendan Rohan speak to Ger Sweeney from Donegal and Carlos Burgos joins the conversation from Valladolid to explain what is planned.
Martin Hayes has travelled the world with his fiddle. His performances and recordings expose his audiences to his personal interpretation of the traditional Irish music that has been handed down from generation to generation. Nights by the fire at home in East Clare as a boy listening to traditional music and playing with the Tulla Céilí Band as a teenager lit the flame of passion. We experience that passion every time we listen to Martin play, in whatever setting.
Recently, Martin and Ger Sweeney chatted for Ger’s Irish radio programme on Spain-based Talk Radio Europe. Here is that conversation.
