A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive.
We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns; Left publications and political documents they’ve been involved in; and the history and development of progressive politics in Ireland. We also look at the role of the Irish Left Archive and similar informal projects.
The podcast is hosted by Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey.
In this episode we talk to John Fay about Newshound. John set up Newshound in 1996, after moving from the U.S.A. to Ireland, as a daily curated source of news on the North and the development of the peace process. It later became part of Irish-American news site, Irish Central, and ran daily until 2018.
We discuss the founding of Newshound and its growth in the early days of the web; its reception in the media and political spheres; interactions with journalists and users; and the role of a project of its kind as the web developed over the years of its existence.
While no longer online, you can find the Newshound site on Archive.org’s Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20210126035705/http://www.nuzhound.com./).
31 Mar 2026
Eugene McCartan: Communist Party of Ireland
In this episode we talk to Eugene McCartan. Originally from Co. Down, Eugene has been an activist with the Communist Party of Ireland since joining in Dublin in 1974. He served as the party’s Chairperson from 1989 to 2001 and then General Secretary until his retirement from that role in 2023.
We discuss Eugene’s background and joining the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI); the short-lived Left Alliance between the CPI, Workers’ Party and Liaison Committee of the Labour Left around that time; the history of the Communist Party of Ireland and its development since the 1920s – through key periods of the conflict in the North, the tensions in organising North and South, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and subsequent organising; the CPI’s positions on Imperialism and Republicanism; and the contemporary international conflict and political position.
26 Feb 2026
INLA: Deadly Divisions, with Charles Tuba
In this episode we’re joined again by Charles Tuba for a discussion of Jack Holland and Henry McDonald’s book, INLA: Deadly Divisions, which tells the story of the origins and development of the INLA.
Charles has joined us previously to discuss Seán Swan’s Official Irish Republicanism in episode 25 (https://podcast.leftarchive.ie/@ILAPodcast/episodes/official-irish-republicanism-1962-to-1972-with-charles-tuba) and Robert White’s biography of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in episode 38 (https://podcast.leftarchive.ie/@ILAPodcast/episodes/ruairi-o-bra-daigh-the-life-and-politics-of-an-irish-revolutionary-with-charles-tuba).
The writing of Seamus Costello is available here (https://foreignlanguages.press/product/revolutionary-works-seamus-c%ce%bfstell%ce%bf/).
Who has been a guest on Irish Left Archive Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Madeleine Johansson
Stan Erraught
Maurice Casey
Gearóid Ó Faoleán
Helena Sheehan
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.5 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
14 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
70
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
Contact Irish Left Archive Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
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