The Corrymeela Podcast

This Corrymeela podcast touched me deeply. I grabbed paper & pen while listening to make notes. Refugees don’t want “to be given voice” or “empowerment.” They want to have their space without restriction. They don’t want “experts” asking questions. They want to do for themselves not have others do it for them. When he said he could not write or speak on the Gaza situation because he couldn’t process it yet, it told me that the NGOs & Governments need to get out of the way and let the people who have lived in the area for centuries work together to work it out. I’ve prayed for refugees. I must read this man’s prize-winning poetry to understand Lebanon's Middle Eastern refugees better.

While The Corrymeela Podcast claims to explore issues of Irishness and Britishness, that seems to sell short the work it’s actually doing. Yes, through conversations with (mostly) Irish or British guests, Pádraig Ó Tuama does present many perspectives on the political history and sectarian divisions of Northern Ireland. Though he and his guests go deeper, diving into topics and personal stories that reveal great truths about our shared human experience. Ó Tauma asks thoughtful, engaging questions that draw his guests into authentic exchanges rich with emotion, intellect, humor, and insight. These discussions expose how so many of the ways we seek to identify ourselves - national, political, racial, religious - are constructs designed to oversimplify, to “other,” or to divide people, when in actuality we’re more united by our beautiful, yet complex, common humanity. I believe that is the true foundation needed for reconciliation, which is the main work of The Corrymeela Centre, and this podcast is an impactful extension of that work.

this is a show about irishness and britishness, but i’ve learned more from this podcast on how one might approach our divided moment in american politics more than any other. if you want to hear people talk about what transformation, communication and reconciliation really mean based on their own experience, i can’t recommend this show more highly.

Padraig is a very skilled and thoughtful interviewer, who attracts guests who move the complex and storied history of the Irish and UK relationship forward in smart and insightful ways.