Phenomná

This week, guest Mairead Kiernan shares the tale of Maeve Brennan.  Maeve was a glamourous and troubled writer who wrote for the New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. A combination of Carrie Bradshaw, Nora Ephron and Grey Gardens, Maeve has seen a recent resurgence of popularity in Irish literary circles.  Listen to this week's episode to find out more.

Notes/ References

Maeve Brennan: Homesick at the New Yorker; Angela Bourke, 2016;

The Visitor; Maeve Brennan, 2001 published by New Island Press;

We're starting Season Two with a bang as we tell the story of Bridget Cleary who was burned as a fairy changeling in 1895. Turns out we weren't too fond of fairies back in the day. Listen in to hear what led to Bridget's unfortunate demise.

Guest co-presenter: Mairead Kiernan

Music: 

Kit Cavanagh was a bar owner in Dublin whose husband went out to pay a bill and never came home. A year later, she learned that he had been enlisted in the army so she did what any self respecting wife and mother of three would do.... she dressed up as a man, joined the army and went to try bring him home. Listen to this weeks episode for the rest of her adventure.

Notes/ References

Teresa Deevy was a prolific playwright for the Abbey in the 1930s before going on to write for radio and television in Ireland and the UK. She also happened to turn deaf a decade before radio appeared in Ireland meaning she never heard any of her works performed. Listen to this week's episode to find out more about her "deevious" ways.  I accept that is a terrible pun but it's here now and there's nothing you can do about it....

Notes/ References:

“The Abbey Dramatists: 1926–1945.” After the Irish Renaissance: A Critical History of the Irish Drama since The Plough and The Stars, by Robert Hogan, NED - New edition ed., University of Minnesota Press, 1967, pp. 21–51. 

Murray, Christopher. “THE FOUNDATION OF THE MODERN IRISH THEATRE: A CENTENARY ASSESSMENT.” Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), vol. 4, no. 1/2, 1998, pp. 39–56. 

Jordan, John. “Teresa Deevy: An Introduction.” University Review, vol. 1, no. 8, 1956, pp. 13–26. 

After tragically losing all of her children to yellow fever, Cork woman Mary Harris became the mother of a movement. She mobilized tens of thousands of workers all over the US to strike, unionize and fight against harsh working conditions, labor exploitation, inequality and class warfare.

Persistent in her mission to unite workers of all races, men, women and children, her home became "anywhere there is a fight".  The name 'Mother Jones' brought fear and dread to the wealthy land owners as she became known as 'the most dangerous woman in America'. Hear the full story of this hell-raiser now. 

References/Notes: 

Zandra Mitchell led the type of life that doesn't seem real. She left Ireland at a young age and toured all around the globe as a jazz musician. She shared the stage with jazz legends and lived the interwar jazz lifestyle. She was also one of only forty Irish citizens in Germany for World War Two.   Life is a cabaret old chum, so put on your pearls, pour your whiskey and come learn about Zandra's extraordinary life.

Notes/ References

This week Shaunna tells us all about Lizzie LeBlond who left a luxurious life in Greystones to become one of the world's first female mountaineers. She traveled to great heights especially considering that she didn't even know how to put on her own boots when she set out. Reese Witherspoon eat your heart out

Notes/ Further Reading:

This week we uncover the story of "Typhoid Mary" the unfortunate Irish cook whose name has become synonymous with disease and pestilence. More than just a pop culture reference, listen now to hear her full story.

Notes/ References

To Hell, to Connacht or to the high seas.  This week we dissect the folklore from fiction as we discuss the life of legendary pirate Queen of Connacht, Granuaile in part two of our pirate special. *Correction: In this episode Shaunna mistakenly says Grace O'Malley lives until the age of 93 when in fact she lived to 73, (which is still pretty astonishing considering the life she lived). 

Notes/ references

Grace O Malley, The Biography of Ireland’s Pirate Queen 1520-1603- Anne Chambers, Gill Books