First Thought

Fintan O'Toole: Brexit

Perhaps Ireland’s best known journalist, Fintan O’Toole is well known for piercing political commentary and in this episode he ruthlessly dissects the psychology and politics of Brexit. His First Thought Talk Listen, recorded in 2018, is both pointed and prescient. Listen to learn how trivial journalistic lies became far-from-trivial national obsessions; how the pose of camp indifference to truth and historical fact has come to define the style of an entire political elite; the redefinition of a country that once had colonies as an oppressed nation requiring liberation; the strange gastronomic and political significance of prawn-flavoured crisps, and their role in the rise of Boris Johnson.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at NUI Galway at the Winter 2018 First Thought Talks programme presented by Galway International Arts Festival. To watch the Q&A which followed the talk, visit the talks section on Galway International Arts Festival’s website on giaf.ie: https://www.giaf.ie/talks/first-thought-talk-with-fintan-otoole

Kate Mulgrew: How to Forget

Kate Mulgrew is an actor and author best known for starring roles in Star Trek (Captain Janeway) and Orange is the New Black (Red). In this episode, Kate discusses her memoir How to Forget, which chronicles the time she spent caring for her parents at the end of their lives. Her moving, funny talk explores the universal themes of life, death, and family as well as the riotous stories and career highlights that could only come from Kate herself. Kate is joined in conversation by Eithne Verling, Director of the Galway City Museum.

Kate Mulgrew’s First Thought Talk took place on the NUI Galway campus and was recorded in front of a live audience as part of Galway International Arts Festival in July 2019. You can watch the video from this event here (Star Trek fans especially will want to tune into the audience Q&A at the end): https://www.giaf.ie/talks/first-thought-talk-with-kate-mulgrew

Michael D Higgins: The Meaning of Home

A meditation on the theme of ‘Home’ exploring what it means to share a community, a future, and a planet, presented by President of Ireland Michael D Higgins at Galway International Arts Festival in July 2018. 

You can also watch the video from this event here https://www.giaf.ie/talks/first-thought-talk-with-president-michael-d-higgins

John Crumlish and Paul Fahy Introduce First Thought

Welcome to First Thought, a new podcast from Galway International Arts Festival. In this episode, Festival CEO and Artistic Director John Crumlish and Paul Fahy share what listeners can look forward to. 

Visit https://www.giaf.ie/ for more.