Category: Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary

Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series written and presented by Paul Harrison. In the series Paul reflects on how he was born in 1953, the day before Joseph Stalin died. Paul take’s a light-hearted look at what has happened in the world since his entry into it and Stalin’s exit from it. Paul being a North-sider born and bred, offers personal reflections on events and issues from the 1950s, 60s and 70s that all have a Dublin connection. Subscribe to the series on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get podcasts.

Episode 12 – Mad Men

Episode 12 – Mad Men. Attracted by TV images of advertising executives on Madison Avenue, New York; getting a job in advertising in Dublin and the humdrum that came with it; then happening upon Madison Avenue many years later. About the series…

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…

Episode 8 – Shan Mohangi

Episode 8 – Shan Mohangi. The gruesome story of a South African medical student who killed and dismembered a local girl in Dublin in 1963, made all the more shocking because Ireland had such a low crime rate at the time. Contains…

Episode 7 – Corporal Punishment

Episode 7 – Corporal Punishment. The widespread and acceptable use of corporal punishment in schools, the social acceptance of slapping in the home and one particular instance of corporal punishment I have never forgotten. About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s…

Episode 6 – Fever

Episode 6 – Fever – Being diagnosed with meningitis at the age of six; my long stay in a fever hospital and the institutional effects of being abruptly and completely isolated from my family. About the series Life after Stalin – A…

Episode 5 – Protestants

Episode 5 – Protestants – Reminiscing about our Protestant neighbours in Artane and Coolock, the ancient Protestant Church in Coolock compared to the makeshift Catholic one in Artane; and remembering my own Church of Ireland side of the family. About the series…

Episode 4 – ‘Note the Bullet Holes’

Episode 4 – ‘Note the Bullet Holes’ – My father’s tour of duty with an Irish Army battalion on a United Nations peace-keeping mission to the About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series written and…

Episode 3 – Chanel

Episode 3 – Chanel – Going to school in Chanel College in the 1960s, when Coolock was an actual village; the Marist community and the school’s sporting culture. About the series Life after Stalin – A Dubliner’s Diary is a podcast series…