Our Man In Stockholm

In this week's episode we talk to Ben and Jerry from Castleknock Community College about their upcoming trip to Gothenburg to play in the world's largest youth handball tournament, the Partille Cup. The All-Ireland champions know that competition will be stiff, but they aim to represent the country with pride on the west coast, and they're hoping that our community can help them with their fund-raising efforts. If you can help, please donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-play-olympic-handball-at-the-partille-cup-in-swedenHandball is a hugely popular sport in Sweden, and this is a great opportunity for the Swedish-Irish community to take an interest in it - who knows, maybe in a generation our children or grandchildren will meet the Swedes at a major tournament!

The Nordic GAA season got off to a flying start in Stockholm over the weekend as Gävle won the men's tournament with Copenhagen triumphant among the women, but it was Gävle's new ladies team who brought the sunshine on a rainy day in the capital. We also hear form Seán Collins directly after his brilliant gig at Wirströms City on Sunday May 18 where he wowed the crowd with his own songs and a few well-chosen ballads. Remember - the podcast needs the financial support of businesses and individuals to survive. If you can, please consider purchasing a sponsorship package from our web shop - there's one for every budget: https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

With his debut single having finally seen the light of day, the incredibly talented Seán Collins is coming back to Sweden for a gig in Wirströms City on May 18. Nephew of community powerhouse and long-time Stockholm resident Theresa O'Shea Ogenstad, Seán started playing guitar at age 10 and has recently graduated with a degree in music, but perhaps his best education has come in the school of hard knocks that is the Irish pub music scene. A superb singer and guitar-player, he talked to me about his love of music, his songwriting process and how to survive the stag party inferno of Temple Bar, where he cut his teeth! Follow Seán on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seancollins_music/Hear his new single: https://open.spotify.com/track/5WFAGYWdiwU3Pj1juCdVK7?si=f51dd4f0a1514993Support the podcast: https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

The Easter holidays saw an exodus back to the Green Isle for many in the Swedish-Irish community, and the podcast was no different! I caught up with Zack Elbouzedi and Axel Sjöberg in Dublin where the pair are currently playing on the right wing for St. Patrick's Atheltic. Zack's sojourn at AIK made him a much-loved player with the fans there, but a desire for playing time saw him head home, where he hooked up with Axel from Helsingborg under former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny. There's also news of a new way to support the podcast - by buying a sponsorship package in the new online store! Please spread the word so we can keep the podcast going! https://irishinsweden.myshopify.com/

This one took a little longer to get out than expected due to a visit to Rory McGrath at Northvolt in Västerås, but no it's finally here! Jen O'Sullivan is back to talk about her adventures in the wonderful world of Italian food, how coming from a big family made her seek the solace of individual sport, and how an active childhood is her recipe for success for her young son!

Spring is here and that means Alannah Robins is back in town taking part in the Supermarket Art Fair, together with a host of hugely talented Irish artists!Former Sweden resident Alannah moved back to Ireland and the west coast, but she's no stranger to these shores, promoting strong links between the Irish and Swedish art scenes and doing her best to encourage others to come and exhibit their works here. The Supermarket Art Fair takes place in Skärholmens Centrum from April 3 to April 6 (NOT April 10 as I said in the episode), so you have from the day of publication of this episode until Sunday to get out there and see the fantastic range of work that is on display from Ireland and all over the world! Remember too that our own Arrivals exhibition has an open call out at the moment, so let inspiration take you away and submit something there too if the mood takes you! More details here: https://supermarketartfair.com/

Saturday March 15 will go down in history for the west-coast Swedish-Irish community as the city of Gothenburg held its first official St. Patrick's Day parade. The "Irish in Sweden" podcast was privileged to be on hand to document a great day for those in the west, and you can hear all the voices from the day in this very special episode!

This week Ian Moloney joins med from Gothenburg to talk about his new pub venture with the Flying Barrel, the first celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the city and how the local community is working hard to re-instate a direct flight to Ireland that is sorely missed. There's also news of the St. Patrick's Day concert on Stockholm on March 11 - you can get tickets for it here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/st-patricks-day-concert-tickets-1254356557229?aff=oddtdtcreator

There is no end of talent in the Swedish-Irish community, and out in front right now is drag queen Dee Bugg, who is likely to get us all deported with her new single "Queen Of Sweden", in which she expresses her undying love for Prince Carl-Philip. Dee joins me to talk about the inspiration of Melodifestivalen, the process of making a smash hit, and why she wants a TV show to poke fun at Sweden - all in the best possible taste (bonus points for anyone who gets that reference!).

This week's guest is the incredibly talented Lorcan O'Neill, whose remarkable career in dance, particularly contemporary and ballet, eventually brought him to Stockholm, where he now resides among us. We talk at great length about going against the grain in his native Cork and how dancing took him around the world before landing him here in Sweden. An unmissable conversation with one of the most interesting characters in our community.