Life After Stalin - A Dubliners Diary

Episode 20 – The gin didn’t agree with me

The gin didn’t agree with me. Teenage drinking in the late 1960s and one particular night at the dance in the school hall. About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series written and presented by Paul Harrison.…

Episode 19 – Leave no trace

Leave no trace. I’m not a fan of bucket lists but, the older I get, the more I wonder about legacy. ‘Leave no trace’ is the hikers’s motto – but it would be a sad life that didn’t leave even the faintest…

Episode 18 – Who is my neighbour?

Who is my neighbour? In the early 1970s I volunteered one night a week in a Simon Community night shelter to work with Dublin’s street drinkers and rough sleepers. Later on Simon started to buy suburban houses to provide long term accommodation for…

Episode 16 – The Troubles

Episode 16 – The Troubles. Recalling the start of the Troubles when, on a shopping trip to Newry with my parents in 1968, we came across a civil rights march. They were calling for ‘One man, one vote’. My experience of studying…

Episode 15 – Something in the water

When fluoride was added to the water supply in Dublin in 1964 our next door neighbour refused to use it. Another householder went further, bringing an action against the State. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where she…

Episode 14 – Clearing out the attic

Episode 14 – Clearing out the attic. To make way for new insulation and flooring in the attic we had to do a long overdue clear out. It was a nostalgic process. But nothing prepared me for my reunion with my L.P.…

Episode 13 – Reds under the Bed

Episode 13 – Reds under the Bed. Reflecting on the perceived Soviet threat in the 1960s when every household got a leaflet on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Then, in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the…

Episode 11 – A Poor Player

Episode 11 – A Poor Player. Learning to play the guitar, forming a band, and our first gig in the school hall which could have gone better. About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series written…

Episode 10 – Cardboard Money Boxes

Episode 10 – Cardboard Money Boxes. The foreign missions, collecting money in school for the ‘black babies’, famine and my personal encounter with malnourished children. About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series written and presented…

Episode 9 – The Dark Chocolate Box

Episode 9 – The Dark Chocolate Box. Giving up sweets for Lent and the annual box of chocolates from my grandmother in Limerick every Easter. Repurposing the box as a treasure chest for prized possessions, including a piece of Nelson’s Pillar and…