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Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning - High Noon: How one man retreated from the world and found his way back again

High Noon: How one man retreated from the world and found his way back again

04/22/25 • 65 min

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Eamonn Sweeney’s life changed on a June day in the year 2000.

He was a sportswriter enjoying the traditional rhythm of the GAA summer as he arrived at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

Suddenly he was hit by a bomb and couldn’t put one foot in front of the other.

It was the beginning of a descent into isolation and fear.

On Free State today, Eamonn Sweeney talks about the terror of those days when travelling became a nightmare and he retreated into a cocoon.

He speaks about his new book and how writing it helped to restore him as he found purpose again. It is a story about the community and the power of the GAA


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Eamonn Sweeney’s life changed on a June day in the year 2000.

He was a sportswriter enjoying the traditional rhythm of the GAA summer as he arrived at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

Suddenly he was hit by a bomb and couldn’t put one foot in front of the other.

It was the beginning of a descent into isolation and fear.

On Free State today, Eamonn Sweeney talks about the terror of those days when travelling became a nightmare and he retreated into a cocoon.

He speaks about his new book and how writing it helped to restore him as he found purpose again. It is a story about the community and the power of the GAA


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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undefined - This Machine Kills Fascists - Historian Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc on the return of the far right

This Machine Kills Fascists - Historian Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc on the return of the far right

The history of the far right in Ireland is long and dark. From the Blueshirts and Eoin O’Duffy to the Nazi collaborator Sean Russell and the return in modern times.

On today’s Free State, historian Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc talks about his new book on the far right and how he entered into the world of conspiracy to learn more about the movement.

He talks about the Blueshirts and how close Ireland came to a coup and why even when the far right seem absurd they can’t be underestimated.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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