Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Colm Toibin - ‘The problem in life is always middle aged men’

Colm Toibin returns to the Free State studio for what is now the traditional Christmas interview.He reflects on the year when he turned 70, why there is too many men watching rugby on television and why it’s important to take the 99 out of Irish politics forever.He talks too about the death of his father when he was 12 and how the great Irish psychiatrist Ivor Browne tried to open him up to the trauma in the most extraordinary way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best of Free State - Keith Donald

First there was the music. Keith Donald was always looking to escape. Music offered the first exit. Then came drink.Keith Donald was abused as a child by his headmistress. He found that jazz had the power to transform his existence.As a teenager he began to play music wherever he could. He played for a band on the Twelfth and toured the country with showbands.On Free State today Keith Donald talks about the music and the mayhem and how he found peace. He speaks about founding Moving Hearts and why even now music has the power to transform.This show was originally broadcast on August 23rd, 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Free State Family Christmas

Why do so many of us still cherish Christmas? And why do so many find it a tough time of year?On Free State today, Joe and Dion reflect on the power of Christmas and what it tells us about us as a people.Joe looks forward to a child’s wonder at Christmas while Dion is looking forward to the Ashes over Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'If I was in despair I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning’ - Leon Diop on building a New Ireland

When he was 11, Leon Diop had his first experience of aggressive racism. But his identity was something he wrestled with in many ways.In a remarkable interview on Free State, Leon Diop talks about the Ireland he grew up in and being mixed race in that world.He talks about the confusion and shame he felt about his father, a Muslim from Senegal, and how he internalised that shame for many years.He explains how education changed him as he realised the difference between standing up for yourself and fighting for yourself. At a time when Ireland is experiencing more racism, he says he might be frightened but he refuses to despair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rule West Britannia

Causes, as we know, are notoriously bloodthirsty,’ James Baldwin wrote. What does it do to do somebody when they have crossed the boundary into a world of killing and destruction? How do they enforce their code in a place untethered from the one the rest of us inhabit?On Free State today, Joe and Dion follow on from Tuesday’s episode on Stakeknife by looking at how rules of organisations like the IRA were enforced. Joe talks about what made his father lose faith in the republican movement. He also accuses Dion of deference to the British Empire which leads Dion to launch a verbal attack on Joe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.