Rebel Matters Podcast

We’re so pleased to get to speak with the relentlessly prolific underground Irish hip-hop artist and producer Craic Boi Mental. As well as being one half of Whip Mental (his project with his wife, Whip Girl), Craic Boi has released countless tapes, tracks and music videos under a multitude of distinctive hip-hop aliases such as Oscar Benso, Yung Gowl, Dudewithswag, Mili$, and King Flora. Humour, hooks and vibes abound! Craic Boi also pioneered the $quick movement, a supportive community platform for underground and uncategorisable rural-based artists in Ireland.  Craic Boi Mental talks to Rebel Matters about being diagnosed with autism in his late teens, his personal creative process, and how to deal with the haters. Dismissed and rejected for years by national mainstream music circles for being too outside the box, even the Gardaí couldn’t hold Craic Boi Mental back. Despite existing on the fringes of Irish hip-hop for years, Craic Boi has always had a devoted international online cult following. Now he is t

We are very proud to be part of #DouglassWeek, the weeklong, wide-ranging celebration of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s visit to Ireland over 175 years ago. For this episode, we speak with historian Laurence Fenton, the author of Frederick Douglass in Ireland: 'The Black O'Connell' and 'I Was Transformed' Frederick Douglass: An American Slave in Victorian Britain.  #DouglassWeek runs between 8-14 February, 2021 and is an all-island, collaborative event series that celebrates the arrival of Frederick Douglass in Ireland between 1845-1846. Douglass had been born into slavery but escaped bondage on a plantation in Maryland by fleeing to the North, where he became a prominent anti-slavery activist. Douglass lectured to large and enthusiastic audiences in Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Belfast, met with Daniel O’Connell, and reflected upon the devastating effects of the famine then beginning to sweep the nation. Laurence talks us through Douglass' life, and that memorable Irish visit.

This week's episode is with artist, actor, peace activist, playwright and pirate radio queen, Margaretta D'Arcy. Margaretta has campaigned for decades on issues related to global peace and civil liberties. In 2014, Margaretta, then aged 80, served two prison sentences resulting from her opposition to the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.  Over the years, her activism has taken many forms. She was a member of Bertrand Russell's Committee of 100 group. She participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations at Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, and took part in the H-Block women's protests in Armagh. Broadcasting from her kitchen in Galway, she operated a long-running women's pirate radio station, which served to give a platform to lesser-heard and marginalised voices in the community. She wrote and devised a large body of 'Loose' theatre, often working in collaboration with her late-partner, the radical playwright John Arden. Together, they created the much-celebrated The Non-Stop Connolly Show, the sto

Investigate this hideous din.  We welcome Ian Lynch as our first Rebel Matters guest of 2021! Many listeners will know Ian from the acclaimed folk group Lankum, and more recently from his podcast Fire Draw Near, a monthly show which investigates Irish traditional music and song in all of its myriad forms.  Try on the boots. Ian opens up about an unseen aspect of being in a regularly gigging band, giving us a sense of the havoc that a heavy touring schedule can wreak on the body and mind. Just what has he been doing with all this free time, now that gigging is off the cards for the foreseeable future? Check the wall for secret passages. We went down a pretty unconventional path with this episode, discussing the fantastical world of Fighting Fantasy role-playing gamebooks that Ian has been a fan of since he was eight years old. We even played a bit of one of them during the episode! We talk about the role that mythologies play in helping people make sense of the world and their place in it. Listen in to hear mo

This weeks show is a solo run episode with Ainle taking a news year's look at health. A kind of crossover episode encompassing Ainle's professional experience of over 15 years in the strength and conditioning field, personal thoughts on the health and fitness industry and how it often serves to exaggerate our insecurities for the benefit of selling us more rubbish, and some practical suggestions on wholesome exercise, nutrition, and self-care.

In this episode, I talk to Kate McGrew (also known as Lady Grew) about sex work in Ireland and SWAI, the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland. SWAI is an organisation that works with sex workers for better access to rights, health and justice in Ireland. SWAI believes sex workers themselves should be at the centre of the development of policy which directly impacts upon their lives. We spoke about Kate's own background as a performer, how she went from working as a Greenpeace 'chugger' to working in a house of domination in New York, before eventually settling here in Ireland and getting involved in SWAI. Kate talks about the laws that surround sex work here in Ireland, and explains how this year has drastically affected sex workers in Ireland - from the complete lack of support from the state with regards to emergency payment, to the realities of workers who were forced to risk their health by going back to work during the pandemic. (SWAI crowdfunded during this emergency, to help workers with small payments to help

Stevie G is a DJ, radio presenter, a producer, a promoter and a youth worker who, for the past number of years, has been helping to nurture and amplify the creative expressions of Cork’s young migrant communities.  Many people will be familiar with Stevie from his long-running show on Cork's RedFM and from spinning records in clubs all over. He started out DJing back in the early 90's at many legendary club nights and is a generous and respected figure in the Cork arts community, using his wide platform to help, encourage and open doors for the next generation.  We talked about the legendary Sir Henry's nightclub in Cork and why it’s important not to wallow in nostalgia, we learn how Stevie got deep into music in the first place (did you know that Stevie G was originally a punk?) and we talk about the various projects Stevie is involved in, including the dynamic and important Cork Migrant Centre Youth project. As often happens during Rebel Matters chats, we delved into some of the current issues facing our so

This week's guest is Virginia O' Gara who co-founded the vegan food company My Goodness in Cork in 2014. We chatted about the Food Not Bombs movement, how Virginia learned Spanish from guerrilla fighters in Guatemala, the intersection of business and revolutionary politics, and the Cork Urban Soil Project. It was recorded in the social space of ACLAÍ in Cork while sipping on some lovely My Goodness kombucha. 

This weeks episode is a solo run with Ainle and is the first show in 5 weeks on account of a family bereavement. Ainle chats about a few aspects of his experience over the last month or so including thoughts about acceptance, meditation, and the importance of community. 

This week's guest is Dublin songwriter and producer Gemma Dunleavy whose recent EP 'Up De Flats' is a direct response to the ongoing developments in the Sheriff Street/Dublin 1 area. We chatted with her about the importance of community, how working class areas are often stigmatised & discriminated against, and about the danger posed to the area that she grew up in by ongoing commercial developments without regard for the community that have lived there for generations. Hear Gemma talk about systematic oppression, old souls, self-worth and how important poetry was to her growing up.

This week I am in conversation with author, screenwriter, playwright and former Provisional IRA volunteer and prisoner of war Laurence McKeown. Laurence spent 70 days on hunger strike as part of the 1981 hunger strike in the H-Blocks gaol that resulted in 10 republican POWs giving their lives for political status, and that changed the course of Irish history and the struggle for freedom from British rule.  Laurence has written two books about Irish republican prisoners in the H-Blocks; Nor Meekly Serve My Time: The H-Block Struggle 1976–1981 (co-written with Brian Campbell and Felim O'Hagan) was published in 1994, and Out Of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners, Long Kesh, 1972–2000 was published in 2001, as well as writing plays and films relating to his life experience.  I have created a Spotify playlist called '10' to go with this episode, which can be found on my own public playlist list.    

We just posted an emergency episode in support of the current sit-in that is being staged by the former Debenhams workers on Patrick Street Cork on the 153rd day of their strike action for a fair redundancy package and for workers rights. I spoke to Carol Bridgeman who is one of 8 workers in the Patrick Street store having gained access to the building yesterday. We discussed the lead up to the strike, the demands of the workers, the personal toll that the strike is taking and some of the sacrifices being made to keep the strike going. They are planning to come out of the stort tomorrow at 1pm and there will be a rally of support outside the Patrick Street store when they come out. Get down and support them if you can. 

This weeks episode is a solo run on the back of a week or so of feeling slightly off and somewhat stressed without being able to put my finger on exactly what was causing my feelings of worry and anxiety. I ended up having a good chat with myself and giving myself some solid advice via my notebook late one night, and share some of that self-advice in this episode. I also made a chill-out playlist on Spotify to accompany the episode, and had a good dig at the evil ways of hyper-captialism the dangers of constant competition, as you do! 

This week I chat with actor Timmy Creed who has a one man show called Spliced that examines his relationship with our national game of hurling, showcases some of the wonders of the game, and confronts some difficult questions about the culture with GAA and team sports. 

This weeks episode was recorded under the Milky Way at Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mountains of County Waterford. On account of the events of the night, the conversation veered towards the roots of anti-social behaviour and specifically, who it was actively encouraged by British security forces in the north of Ireland during the political conflict. 

This weeks episode is the first in a few weeks, and is one of the rare episodes where it’s me doing a solo run talking about the lockdown life, the hustle and bustle of every day life, the challenges of going back to work, and some things that I found useful to ease myself out of procrastination funks, and that help to let the creative and productivity energies flow freely. After i finished this episode last night I realised that I talked to myself for over an hour and considered that it might be a sign that I am losing my mind, but I will leave that up to you. 

This weeks episode is a chat with historian and Three Castles Burning host Donal Fallon. We talked about the role commemorations have in the telling of history, the origins of the Blueshirts, how music plays an important part in the telling of history, and looked at some examples of how cities have come through tough times in the past. 

I just released a special episode of the show with Tai Carpenter who is on the board of Don’t Shoot Portland, which is a nonprofit organisation based in Portland Oregon dedicated to civic participation, community engagement and bridging social justice with art programming. They are playing an important role in helping to organise the current protests in America sparked by the brutal murder of George Floyd on Monday the 25th of May, and helping protesters who are being arrested and detained by police. This is a very important episode if you want to understand more about the political environment that has resulted in the murder of many people of colour while in police custody in America, learn more about what is happening on the ground as we speak with regards the anti-racist rising and protests, and find out how you can show your solidarity and support to the movement that is gathering momentum with every day in a way that will contribute positively. Tai has also compiled a mutual aid spreadsheet  of organisat

Comhrá leathan le mo shean-chara Aodh Ó Corcráin a bhfuil aithne air mar Bhéal Feirsteach agus mar chócaire., agus a chaith blianta thall i dTír na mBascasch ag cur faobhar ar a cheird. 

This week's episodes is a quarantine chat on the importance of the arts in Ireland with actor and spoken word artist Roxanna Nic Liam There is a spoken word treat from Roxanna at the end of the chat, and as usual, a bit of story time after the outro music.