Herstory was set up in 2016 by Melanie Lynch as a storytelling platform that shines a light on female role models. Herstory has been to the fore in a number of great projects but one in particular is the travelling exhibition that celebrates the women of Northern Ireland that were so important in bringing peace to the island of Ireland. Melanie tells Ger Sweeney about Herstory and the Peace Heroines Exhibition.
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.
There is definitely a knack to playing the harmonica. Remembering how Santa Claus brought many a young person a harmonica at Christmas down through the years and how not knowing what to do with the instrument resulted in many being forgotten about at the back of cupboards. In the off chance that Santa delivered some harmonicas this year Ger Sweeney went to meet one of Ireland’s best harmonica players, Mick Kinsella, to find out just how make the most of the gifted harmonica.
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.
Mick Hanly has been making music and singing songs for over 50 years. The Limerick man has just released his latest album called “Marathon”. It is a mixture of new Hanly compositions, a fresh sound to some familiar ones and a few covers. He talks to Ger Sweeney about it, and a few other things.
