First Thought

A Conversation with Enda Walsh and Paul Fahy

In this 15-minute interview, playwright Enda Walsh and Galway International Arts Festival Artistic Director Paul Fahy discuss their ongoing collaboration on the Rooms series of immersive theatre installations.  ​

Changing Room, which premiered as part of GIAF's Autumn Edition, is the latest in the series and follows on from Room 303, A Girl’s Bedroom, Kitchen, Bathroom, Office 33A and Waiting Room, collectively known as Rooms. The series has toured to Washington and New York, and most recently the entire series was presented at the Barbican, London in 2019.

Find out more: https://www.giaf.ie/tours/rooms

Vinyl Hours with David Brophy Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our Vinyl Hours conversation with Ireland’s renowned concert orchestra conductor and choirmaster David Brophy, hosted by Tiernan Henry. To listen to David Brophy's full playlist, visit GIAF's Spotify page here http://bit.ly/DavidBrophyPlaylist.

This episode was recorded as part of Galway International Arts Festival's September 2020 Autumn Edition, in front of a socially distanced live audience at Galway's Róisín Dubh.

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Vinyl Hours with David Brophy Part 1

For the first time, Galway International Arts Festival's popular Vinyl Hours music discussion series is available as a podcast.

In this episode, Vinyl Hours host Tiernan Henry chats to Ireland’s world renowned concert orchestra conductor and choirmaster David Brophy about the music he loves. Please note that song excerpts have been edited out of the conversation for copyright reasons. To listen to David Brophy's full playlist, visit GIAF's Spotify page here http://bit.ly/DavidBrophyPlaylist.

Tune in next Wednesday for Part 2 of Tiernan's conversation with David! 

This episode was recorded in September 2020 in front of a socially distanced live audience at Galway's Róisín Dubh.

Climate: What Can Change? Minister Eamon Ryan, Tara O’Neill and Mai Sheehan and Dr. Rory Monaghan

The global pandemic has distracted everyone from another problem facing the planet, for which there is no vaccine: climate change and its predictable disastrous effects on our lives. In 2019, First Thought Talks hosted a fascinating and inspiring talk with four of the young people involved in the schools’ protests for action on climate change, in conversation with Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan.

In this episode, Tara O’Neill and Mai Sheehan, two young Galway climate activists, are joined again by Eamon Ryan, now Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport. Dr. Rory Monaghan, Lecturer of Energy Systems Engineering at NUI Galway, moderates the event.

This First Thought Talk was recorded in front of a live audience in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition. 

Does Culture Drive Human Evolution? with Gaia Vince and Maureen Kennelly

Does Culture Drive Human Evolution? Gaia Vince thinks it does. She claims that four evolutionary drivers – Fire, Language, Beauty and Time – are further transforming our species into a superorganism, a hyper–cooperative mass of humanity that she calls Homo omnis, or ’Homni’.

Drawing on cutting–edge advances in population genetics, archaeology, palaeontology and neuroscience, her book Transcendence compels us to reimagine ourselves, showing us to be on the brink of something grander – and potentially more destructive.

In this fascinating episode, recorded in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition, we hear from Gaia Vince and Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council of Ireland.

What May the Post-Pandemic Future Hold? Fintan O'Toole in conversation with Catriona Crowe

The COVID–19 pandemic has exposed deep fractures in many countries in how we organise our societies, in our capacity to care for our most vulnerable citizens and in the systems that govern our lives.

Some of us hope for change in these systems when we finally escape COVID’s clutches. Will the dreadful death toll, the economic devastation and the obvious deficiencies in our public services encourage or force us to explore other options? How will Ireland react to the potential lessons to be learned from what we have been through?

In this episode of First Thought, Fintan O’Toole, who has written for a long time about fractured structures and potential change, is joined in conversation with Catriona Crowe, Curator of First Thought Talks.

This episode was recorded in September 2020 as part of Galway Internatioinal Arts Festival's Autumn Edition. 

The State of the UK: Fintan O'Toole, John Lanchester & Martina Fitzgerald

Our nearest neighbour seems to be in an ongoing state of division and uncertainty for the last number of years, a situation which has been further exacerbated by the COVID–19 pandemic. With the arrival of Brexit, where to next for an increasingly disunited kingdom?

John Lanchester, novelist and journalist, known for explaining the 2007 financial crisis to us all and Fintan O’Toole, one of Ireland’s best–known journalists, known for explaining Brexit and its roots to us all, are joined in conversation by Martina Fitzgerald, author of Madame Politician, a study of Irish female politicians.

This First Thought Talk was recorded in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition. First Thought Talks are presented in association with Festival Education Partner NUI Galway. 

The Spanish Flu: Dr Ida Milne, Fergal Bowers and Dr Caitriona Clear

What happened in Ireland during the Spanish Flu pandemic just over 100 years ago? Who died, how, and what did the authorities do to manage the disease? Did we learn from that experience? Will we learn from this one?

Dr. Ida Milne, historian and author of Stacking the Coffins: Influenza, War and Revolution in Ireland, and Fergal Bowers, RTÉ Health Correspondent, are joined in conversation with Dr. Caitriona Clear of NUI Galway, a pioneering social historian of ordinary Irish people.

This First Thought Talk was recorded in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition. First Thought Talks are presented in association with Festival Education Partner NUI Galway. 

Italia 90: Colm Tóibín, Eamon Dunphy and Mark Duncan

Ireland’s participation in the soccer World Cup in Italy in 1990, 30 years ago, was a defining time for the country, leading to community bonding, national pride and general elation.

Jack Charlton, alas no longer with us, became an object of national veneration for getting us so far in the competition before Italy put a stop to our gallop. The Irish fans distinguished themselves as fans and revellers; even when we lost, we won.

Colm Tóibín and Eamon Dunphy were there as journalists, and they had an interesting time!

In this episode, Colm and Eamon are interviewed via video by Mark Duncan, Director of Century Ireland and co–curator of the forthcoming exhibition on Italia 90 at the Little Museum of Dublin. 

This First Thought Talk was presented in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's once-off Autumn Edition. 

Black Lives Matter: Experiences of Racism in Ireland: Tobi Lawal, Felicia Olusanya and Amanda Adewole in conversation with Róisín Ingle

The grotesque murder of George Floyd, filmed by a brave 17–year–old girl, shocked the world into a fresh realisation of racism and its consequences in the United States. We also need to look nearer to home and to articulate and hear what people of colour have experienced here in Ireland.

In this episode, Tobi Lawal, Felicia Olusanya and Amanda Adewole discuss how they have experienced racism in Ireland. The panel is joined in conversation by Róisín Ingle, Irish Times journalist and founder and producer of the brilliant Women’s Podcast.

Find out more about Doras and MASI by visiting doras.org and masi.ie. 

This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition. Find out more: https://www.giaf.ie/festival/event/black-lives-matter-experiences-of-racism-in-ireland