This is a special episode, and one that was a long time in the making. Síomha Brock and I sat down by the fireside and recoded this conversation while a storm raged outside. During this episode we talk through the process of the creation of Síomha's maiden album 'Infinite Space'. The chat navigates through the unique process in which the album was …

This weeks episode is a solo run discussing strategies and routines to handle periods of high workload. I discuss the idea of checking in with ones-self when the going gets tough, actions that create maximal results in relation to the effort it takes to carry out the actions, the transience of stressful periods, and the importance of reminding ours…

We are back on the road! This is the first episode in a while after my 3 month spell living and working in the Aida refugee camp on @aclaipalestine Today’s guest on the show is Echlas Al-Azza, a Palestinian refugee with muscular atrophy living in the Alazza camp. Echlas is also my Arabic teacher whom I visited twice per week to start my Arabic lear…

Today we have an International Women's Day special with Caoimhe Butterly. I first met Caoimhe when we hosted a delegation of Zapatistas at ACLAÍ in 2021, and was really happy to get a chance to chat to her at length for this episode. Caoimhe is a human rights campaigner, educator, film-maker and therapist who has spent over twenty years working in …

This week's epsiode is with my long term friend Conor Hammersley, and in this episode we discusses the isssues of male violence towards women and men's health. Conor has extensive experience in the area of men’s health at a research, policy and advocacy level. He is a PhD Scholar with Teagasc and the National Center for Men’s Health and his work lo…

Fidelma O’Kane from the Save Our Sperrins anti-gold mining campaign is our guest on episode 106. This chat was a massive eye opener for me. What I thought was a big gold-mining company picking on a small rural community was way off. The success of the Save Our Sperrins campaign is critical to close the door on gold mining prospects popping up all o…

Tomás Mulligan is our guest for episode 105 of Rebel Matters. We discussed the supposed ‘development’ that was planned for the Cobblestone Bar last year, an institution of traditional music and a cultural hub in Dublin city. Tomás shares his family long standing and deep connection with the Cobblestone, talks about how they found out about the prop…

In this episode Ainle chats to screenwriter, radio presenter, and at time of writing president of Radio Skidrow in Sydney Australia. The chat ranged from the importance of acknowledging the original people and place names of land that is now. most commonly known as Australia, Huna's work at Radio Skidrow, the challenges faced by the station during …

This is our first proper episode back after the bit of. Break over the last few months. I recorded this chat with Timmy and James from the Two Norries Podcast about 4 months ago in the social space at ACLAÍ. This is such a special episode for me as I got to spend more time with Timmy and James who I first met when I was a guest on the 2 Norrries a …

It has been 15 weeks since the last episode and this one is a short catchup with Ainle to get the ball rolling again. The chat veers towards ACLAÍ, one year anniversaries, music, and the plan for RMP in the upcoming weeks. There is a howling wind to be heard during this episode and a bit of whinging from Neansaí, the latest addition to the Rebel Ma…

When I was in Belfast recently I put this special edition together featuring tracks from my mum's rather extensive and broad ranging CD collection. A nice way to spend an evening and something different than the regular Rebel Matters format!

For the 100th episode I sat down with long term pal and guest from episode #6 Darragh Graham and he interviewed me rather than the standard format of me asking the questions. This is an informal chat covering quite a bit of ground, and something a little different for the 100th episode. We talked about the backdrop of the Rebel Matters Podcast, how…

This weeks guest is builder Harrison Gardner, who I first got to know while attending his How To Build Everything Out Of Anything course in the summer of 2020. In this episode we chat about how Harrison got into the building game in the first place, his path to running his educational course at his home outside of Ennistymon County Clare where he l…

This weeks guest is Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, a founder of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at the Bethlehem University. Professor Qumsiyeh teaches and does research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities. He previously served on the faculties of the University of Tennesse…

This week's guest is Richard Howard, author of Space for Peace: Fragments of the Irish Troubles in the Science Fiction of Bob Shaw and James White. We discuss the Irish science fiction movement and the lives of Shaw and White. We take a look at the social and political climate in which they lived, worked and wrote, and its inextricable influence on…

This week is half solo-run and half conversation in memory of our dear friend and comrade Salah Ajarma who passed away suddenly at his home in the Aida refugee on the 14th of April 2020. The solo-run section contains some reflections on trips to Palestine and time with Salah as well as a bit of a chat about the parallels between the political histo…

Between the 9th and 11th of August 1971, the 1st Battalion of the British Army's Parachute Regiment murdered 11 innocent civilians on the streets of Ballymurphy, West Belfast. One of the victims was Briege's mother, 44 year old Joan Connolly. Briege talks about the events of the time, the recently concluded inquest into the massacre, and the decade…

The Useless Project was started by Geraldine Carton and Taz Kelleher in November 2018. Powered by energy, enthusiasm and positivity, the pair highlight the positive, accessible and pragmatic side to living a more sustainable lifestyle. Starting-off largely events-based, The Useless Project has expanded beyond the realms of swap shops and flea marke…

Ep 93: #SpyCops - the Undercover Policing scandal, with Tom Fowler Back in January, we got in touch with a member of the Cardiff Anarchist Network named Tom Fowler, who was spied upon by an undercover police officer back in the early 2000s. For decades, individuals across the UK have been targeted by secret police due to their involvement in politi…

Today’s episode, the 92nd in the series, coincides with International Women’s Day. To mark the occasion we are joined by life-long civil rights activist Bernadette McAliskey and her daughter Deirdre McAliskey. Bernadette discussed the work she is currently undertaking with the South Tyrone Empowerment Program (STEP), her tour of America in 1969, th…

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 Go…

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 America…

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. O…

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 unse…

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…