Listen Now

You know that thing you hate where you go home at Christmas and meet someone from your old school? Well that’s not so bad when the guy from your school just happens to be one of the funniest people working in comedy today as joining Andy for a Christmas pint is comedian and fellow Arklow Christian Brothers alumni Peter McGann.  You’ll know Peter from his incredible videos such as Filter Dad, Woody at a House Party and the dawn chorus of a Stephen’s Day “I’d say there’s a few sore heads this morning!”. No one can capture the absolute hilarity of a grim situation like Peter.  Peter chats to Andy about the roles of Zig, Zag and Alan Partridge played in making him the comic he is today, battling imposter syndrome and the importance of your own voice when creating work.  Plus as both Peter and Andy went to the same school there is an awful of CBS based chat including the fear of hearing “so what are you at?” And Peter’s long search for a nickname.  Also Andy throw’s a very loosely themed Christmas tape test at Peter as tis’ the season.  So enjoy this episode and also from all at Be Grand towers, have a wonderful and happy Christmas. 

This week’s guest on Be Grand is the author and journalist Roisin Kiberd. Roisin is the author of the incredible book The Disconnect : A Personal Journey Through The Internet which is a wonderfully honest, funny and brave book dealing with mental health, dating, energy drinks and of course, the internet.  Roisin joins Andy to chat about The Disconnect including how putting a spotlight on your problems can allow you to move on, struggles with sleep and how no matter how bad things get there is always hope.  Plus Roisin chats jam, how being curious lead to a love of horror movies and joins Andy is a trip down memory to discuss his favourite topic..Antics Indie Nightclub.  Also this being Be Grand means Roisin chats all things school including the amazing true fact about her Junior Cert, fitting in at Cambridge and being the badass that she is Roisin takes on the latin leaving cert paper.  JJ72 Sunt Refrigerant…that’s latin for “JJ72 are cool” apparently 

Joining Andy on this episode is the mighty Andrea Cleary. Andrea is a journalist, broadcaster and podcaster who will know from her incredible music reviews, articles and brilliant podcast My Favorite Album. Andrea chats to Andy about how it took a few self reboots, indie music and The OC to find her true identity.  Plus Andy and Andrea bond over never feeling like school was for them.  All this plus Andrea chats all things music including her tips to find new music and she takes on the dreaded tape test.

Joining Andy on Be Grand this week is one of the most influential (and soundest) podcasters in the business, Cassie Delaney,. You’ll know Cassie from hosting amazing podcasts like Before Brunch, The Creep Dive as well as being the founder of the TaleTales Podcast Network. Cassie chats to Andy about the incredibly unusual job she wanted as a child before she turned her attention to a career creating art until college life and terrible taxis changed her mind - for a while.  Cassie also talks about her incredibly ambitious and brilliant to change how content is monetised in Ireland with her new venture -  Outcaster. All this and of course all the usual Be Grand Leaving Cert messing including a trip down Gothic Architecture  memory lane and an incredibly lovely answer about friendship in the traditional English Paper Essay Round. Follow Cassie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CassieLorraine  And find out all about Outcaster at https://outcaster.io/

The nights are getting a little bit darker so it seems only fitting to start talking all things that go bump in the night so who better to do that than a modern master of Horror so joining Andy this week on Be Grand is writer, producer and director Jed Shepherd.  Jed was the producer and writer of the found footage surprise smash hit of lockdown “Host” as well as this year’s insanely good fun “Dashcam”. Jed chats to Andy (and puts up with Andy’s fan boy-ing) about how this ghostly Zoom tale came to be and how it felt to have taken the horror world by force.  Jed also chats about how his culture and school days played an important role in instilling a love of horror as if he wasn’t being told stories of creatures by his mother he would most likely be found reading ghost stories in the school library.  Also Jed talks about his ambitious and important plans in other to change the very business of horror in England in the hope of more a accessible entry point to aspiring young horror film makers.  All this plus…the dreaded Tape Test returns…

Joining Andy on this edition of Be Grand is author and podcaster Sophie White. Sophie is the author of incredible books such as The Snag List and the honest, brilliant and funny Corpsing: My Body and Other Horror Stories.  Sophie joins Andy to chat how a Bi Polar Incident in her early twenties derailed her plan for life which saw her leave her artistic ambitions and among other things end up as a chef in New Zealand. Sophie also talks about her journey to becoming a writer, what makes a perfect story and the advice she would give to anyone wanting to take a chance.  Andy and Sophie also chat about their shared battles with alcoholism and of course answer some leaving cert questions including the mighty - tell me about the Spire in Dublin there.  Sophie’s new book Where I End is released in October. 

Norwegian pop icons A-ha once said “The Sun Always Shines on TV” and who better to investigate this claim than a man who knows more about TV than anyone you’re likely to meet - Boyd Hilton.  Boyd is the TV editor for Heat magazine and one of the hosts of the mighty Pilot TV Podcast so if Boyd recommends a show to you, chances are it’s probably great. Boyd has been championing great TV since the foundation of Heat Magazine and chats to Andy about standing up for Queer as Folk, Lost beaches and getting actually lost in the woods for the OA.  Also Boyd talks his extremely different school play, breaking into writing and then tells, very possibly..the most rock and roll story ever in Be Grand.  So enjoy this episode of Be Grand featuring the mighty Boyd Hilton. 

After more than a year away it’s finally time to go back to school as Be Grand returns and lads, do we have an absolute banger to come back with it. Joining Andy on the first episode of season four is Darragh Ennis who is also known to many as The Menace on the greatest quiz show on TV, The Chase.  Darragh chats about his unusual path to becoming a chaser which famously started with him appearing as a contestant before a Twitter storm erupted over his then teammates. Plus Darragh takes us behind the scenes of the show including the aspect of the show he hates most… Also Darragh and Andy chat their shared experience of feeling lost in school and not really caring about what happens next and how like the best things in life, a little bit of luck is needed to find your path. Plus the leaving cert quiz which …emmm, Darragh does very well in obviously.

On this very special episode of Be Grand, it’s time to go way back.  Back to a wild, strange and alien time and place that we call the year 2005.  A time of NME, floppy fringes, skinny jeans, retro stylings, eyeliner and something called indie.  Oh, and the small matter of a groundbreaking, life-affirming club night that brought indie music to Dublin in a way that just hadn’t been witnessed before and made the place feel like the centre of a musical universe.  This is the story of Antics. Hitting the much-missed Harcourt Street venue of Crawdaddy in November 2005 like a meteorite that had first crashed through a Top Shop warehouse and a guitar factory, Antics was the brainchild of three friends named Craig Harper, John Goucher and Dave Parle.  Tired of the stale scene surrounding them and with nowhere that played the kind of music they or their mates were into, the DJs took their growing love of the indie rock boom of the early 21st Century and gave it a home in the heart of the city; a home that Andy would soon call his own, like Roger in Sister Sister. Craig joins Andy to talk about Antics’ incredible legacy and the special place it holds in the hearts of anyone who attended.  From the early days of half-empty dance floors to the soaring heights that saw the likes of James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem behind the decks, Craig gives us a firsthand account of what it was like to pour your heart into something and have it succeed.  Also joining Andy to talk style, tunes and VK Ice is his beloved Antics crew of Colm O’Brien, Tony McDermott, Niamh Farrell, Cat Bradley and Meg Dunne.  Plus there’s a brilliant contribution from ace journalist Andrea Cleary, who charts the rise and fall of the indie scene from 2005 to the strange half-life it now inhabits. An epic episode of Be Grand that we loved making, this celebrated a wee Wednesday night in happier times when fashions changed, songs were sung and lifelong friendships were forged. Don’t forget to review and subscribe!  Stay safe and enjoy! https://twitter.com/gottheshift https://twitter.com/BeGrandAndy https://twitter.com/emordino https://twitter.com/TonyMcDermot https://twitter.com/Ham_Sandwich https://twitter.com/AndreaCleary_

TW: This episode features discussions of abuse. Joining Andy this week on Be Grand is Dalal Alshohaib, whose story of escaping a forced marriage is both a harrowing and inspiring tale, which took Dalal from Saudi Arabia to the States, before finding a happy ending in Ireland.  After growing up in Saudi Arabia, Dalal’s life changed completely when at the age of eight her family moved to the United States. Here Dalal fell in love with the culture and enjoyed incredibly happy schooldays. However a move back Saudi Arabia saw Dalal struggle with an oppressive culture she was no longer used to. This was followed by an increasingly abusive situation at home and at the age of 18, she was given the news that she would be forced to marry a man she had never met.     Dalal chats to Andy about the dark times that followed, as this marriage obliterated all feelings of hope as she felt she life was no longer her own, and the measures she took in order to survive.     The story does however have a happy ending as Dalal eventually escaped this marriage, and fled the country to start a new life in Ireland with a man she truly loved. Dalal talks to Andy about how even now she will never take for granted the simple joy of sitting on the sofa, watching tv, with someone you truly feel safe with.  Dalal’s story is a truly astonishing one and she hopes it is proof to people in similar situations that there is hope, no matter how dark things can be. 

Joining Andy this week on Be Grand is Senator Eileen Flynn. Eileen made history recently as the first person from the travelling community to be elected to the Oireachtas.  Eileen talks to Andy about growing up and how the legacies and lessons of her parents would stay with her throughout her life. These include how her father’s love of the news would provide Eileen’s first taste of politics and what she thinks he would have said when she made the airwaves plus how her mother’s kind way of dealing with the racism shown towards her and her sister always made them feel okay.     Plus as suicide rates among the travelling community remain shockingly high Eileen talks about what urgently needs to be done to try and combat this and the struggle with trusting a system that has constantly let you down.  All this plus Eileen’s first sparks with activism which lead to sparks of a… different kind and keeping your twin out of trouble.     A genuine inspiration, Eileen’s story proves that you might just get to where you want in life despite what people think you can do.  @Love1solidarity 

We love and admire all of the wonderful guests who’ve visited the Be Grand principal’s office over the last couple of years, but for purely personal reasons this week’s guest occupies a very special place in Andy’s heart.  A game-changer in both the figurative and literal senses, we are overjoyed to welcome the legendary John Romero. As the creative visionary behind the classic titles Wolfenstein 3D, Quake and the immortal Doom series, John’s work had a transformative effect on the computer game industry, popularising the first-person shooter and bringing an ultra-violent, adrenaline-fuelled intensity to gaming that anyone who played the games at an impressionable age has never forgotten.  These were games that you didn’t just play - you lived.  John takes Andy back to where his story began, recounting how playing Pac Man in an arcade as a kid inculcated in him a lifelong love of the medium and drove him to delve into not just how games functioned but what they could be.  He also discusses how it feels when you realise you’ve created something that has never been seen before, the pride he feels in his legacy and in the community that has evolved around his games, which has led to countless friendships and relationships that wouldn’t have existed otherwise. Just in case you didn’t think he was cool to begin with, John also talks about going to school on an army base and what it was like to have a step-dad who may or may not have been a spy.  There’s also discussion on John and Andy’s mutual love of horror cinema, seeing Star Wars for the first time, and what question he’d set should Doom ever make the Leaving Cert syllabus. This episode is the story of a man whose work will live forever and what is possible with hard graft, talent and abundant love for the medium. Remember to subscribe, like and review where possible.  Stay safe! https://twitter.com/romero https://www.instagram.com/begrandpod/ https://twitter.com/HiAndyGaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift

Han and Chewie, Morecambe and Wise, drunk texting and guilt - all famous double acts. Today’s guest in the Be Grand playground knows all about this topic as he is half of one of the most popular double acts in Irish radio history - Dermot and Dave. Yes, Be Grand is very lucky to be joined by the wonderful Dave Moore! Dave joins Andy to chat about his truly brilliant and adventurous road to radio, which features so many twist and turns, it feels like the man has lived ten lives. Stories include his childhood love of heavy metal leading him to pursue a career in a band, only to put that on hold to live (and get shot) in Russia, before being called home again by his love for music...and all before he had sent off his first demo to a radio station! Speaking of life turns and taking chances, Dave tells Andy the genuinely lovely story of how a letter to two aliens from the Planet Zog about a certain Velcro Girl would be the start of a romance fit for the big screen. Plus of course, he tells the story of how he met the other love of his life (Dermot) and the days on the radio show that will live with him forever. Andy and Dave also chat about their love of boybands, the importance of bag stains in a chippers, and Be Grand breaks out the dreaded French tape test.  A lovely nice warm episode which features two old mates having a chat, which is made all the easier when your mate is Dave Moore, one of the nicest and most talented men you could meet. @DaveTodayFM   

This week’s Be Grand has been 65 million years in the making as joining us is palaeontologist Dr. Caitlin Colleary for a dino filled chat.     Caitlin is a molecular palaeontologist and curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and she joins Andy this week to discuss why kids (and adults) have always fallen in love with the magic of dinosaurs.    Caitlin answers the dinosaur themed questions that Andy has always wanted to ask, such as what happened to the dinosaurs, could we bring them back and what do the movies get wrong. The answer to that last question may genuinely shock you. She also discusses how the mistakes of the past could help us in the future.     All this and the normal Be Grand fare, including possibly the coolest answer to our opening TV question we’ve ever had. A genuinely fun and interesting episode with Dr Caitlin delightfully putting up with Andy’s excited childlike questions.     Be Grand - the podcast that is so preoccupied with whether it could, it never stops to think about if it should.  https://twitter.com/hypothecait https://www.cmnh.org/  

CW: This episode of Be Grand features descriptions of racist attitudes and their impacts, which may cause distress. Joining Andy in the Be Grand schoolyard this week is Boni Odoemene, co-founder of the Black And Irish Instagram account, which aims to highlight and celebrate the struggles and successes of Ireland’s black community.  At a time when the brutal injustices and cruel prejudices inflicted on black people have rarely been more apparent, Boni explains why the perception of black culture and history in Ireland needs to be fundamentally reassessed, starting with how changing the narrative in the Irish education system can help our society evolve and eradicate anti-black attitudes.  Boni also describes some of the truly vile and disgusting acts of racism he and his siblings have suffered, the trauma of which once led him to contemplate bleaching his own skin. This will understandably be a difficult listen for some and Boni deserves enormous admiration and respect for his openness and willingness to discuss what he’s endured.  But the chat also features some of Boni’s most joyous school experiences, such as the intricacies of schoolboy football and the importance of the perennial schoolyard currency that is Football Sticker collection.  To top it all off there is the usual Be Grand silliness taking in Friday night excursions to Xtra Vision (sadly missed) and an absolute masterclass in how to do a Leaving Cert resit based on those two cornerstones of education - 1920’s cinema and, the sound of this and every other summer, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. This was one of the most important episodes we think we’ve produced.  It was an honour to chat to a gent like Boni and maybe with the work and advocacy exhibited by groups like Black And Irish, the world may one day become a better place. Please remember to like, review, subscribe and share.  Stay safe! https://www.instagram.com/black_andirish/ https://www.facebook.com/BlackandIrish https://twitter.com/bonbonod https://www.instagram.com/begrandpod/ https://twitter.com/HiAndyGaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift

Probably best to have the number for Liveline on speed dial for this one as this week’s guest on Be Grand is Doctor Caroline West.  A writer and lecturer who holds a PhD and MA in Sexuality Studies, Caroline is the host of the excellent Glow West podcast as well as a sex columnist for Evoke and she swings by the studio to discuss Ireland’s troubled relationship with sex, its history as a taboo subject in Irish society and the disastrous consequences of this suppression that has left the country playing catch-up in terms of sex positivity. There’s also a discussion on how sex is often portrayed on TV, ranging from the cringe-inducing mistakes that blight the depiction, to the impact of Eurotrash on a younger Caroline’s worldview, and the trouble with Normal People*. And we ain’t talking about Paul Mescal’s shorts, here. Finally, there’s the story of how Caroline and another former guest on Be Grand once got into a heated debate with an Irish TV personality on The Sugarhill Gang.  Look, this is Be Grand - you want sophisticated discussion, you listen to the London Review of Books podcast, okay? Remember to like, review and subscribe or even recommend us to a friend. Stay safe and take care! https://iamcarolinewest.com https://twitter.com/CarolineWest_IE https://twitter.com/glow_west_ https://twitter.com/HiAndyGaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift https://www.instagram.com/begrandpod/

This week, Be Grand becomes Bflat Grand as our guest is the composer Sarah Lynch, who has composed for film, television, and gaming.    One of the most powerful tools a movie has to tell its story is music. From the excitement of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to the sadness of “Schindler’s List”, a good score can elevate a scene into greatness. Sarah joins Andy to chat about the process of creating a score for film and computer games, and what it feels like to go from playing the fiddle to get into pubs as a teenager, to hearing the John Williams orchestra play your score. She also chats about being mistaken for Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” and playing music for the TV phenomenon “Normal People”, having lived the “Normal People” life in Trinity College herself.  Sarah currently features as part of Women in Harmony whose cover of “Dreams” is raising money for Safe Ireland. This wonderful project also features Be Grand’s good pal Niamh Farrell, plus tonnes of other incredible artists whilst raising money for an incredible worthy cause. You can find more info on Sarah’s Twitter page linked below and you can donate to Safe Ireland by texting SAFE to 50300 to donate 4euro. https://twitter.com/lynchsc

Our guest this week on Be Grand is the screenwriter Kevin Lehane. Kevin’s credits include his booze fuelled alien West of Ireland invasion movie ‘Grabbers’ and writing for Neil Gaiman’s ‘Likely Stories’.  Kevin joins Andy for a very honest chat, lifting the lid on the world of screenwriting as they chat about the highs and lows of trying to get your story told. Kevin chats about the amazing feeling of seeing your vision literally come together in front of your eyes, and how seeing a poster for your movie up in the local cinema might be best feeling ever, plus how sometimes you have to let go of the things you most loved about a project. Kevin also tells Andy the one thing he wish he knew about screenwriting when he first started.     Kevin chats about the difficulty of being the only kid with an English accent in an Irish class and of course this being Be Grand, Kevin and Andy chat about a mutual love of ‘Star Trek’.  This episode only features not one, but two genuinely amazing stories about Xtravision. Other podcasts might just drop one local VHS rental story in but Be Grand thinks you deserve better than that.    So join Kevin and Andy as they chat fighting aliens, arch rivals on results day and try to discover what hard water is.  As always if you like what you hear please rate, review and subscribe.  https://twitter.com/KevinLehane https://twitter.com/HiAndyGaffney https://www.instagram.com/begrandpod/ www.theshift.ie 

This week’s guest on Be Grand is a presenter, producer and something of an Oracle when it comes to electronic entertainment (or “video gaming” as your parents call it) - the mighty Lucy James of GameSpot who kindly joins Andy to chat about what made her the person she is today. Lucy hails from the industrial city of Newcastle in England’s northeast and she talks about her formative years there as a wannabe psychologist with a passion for criminology and Star Trek* before a chance encounter with a certain Rockstar Games title set in the Wild West shifted her perspective and a new found love of gaming soon took over. Lucy explains what it is about gaming she fell in love with and how, in an increasingly uncertain world where we need to maintain social distancing rules, gaming is something that can forge ties between people and provide a much-needed source of escapism in dark times. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and of the brilliant achievements of the Black Lives Matter protests in just a few weeks, Lucy also addresses how prejudice and unexamined white privilege manifest in the games industry as well as what challenges await if it’s to change for the better. Then there’s a novel theory on how your favourite character in Top Gun can be used as a barometer for your maturity (Andy does note fare well, you’ll no doubt be astonished to learn) before both contributors put their psychology qualifications to the test and try to determine how they can influence a room full of people. An absolute badass who understands both the fun and importance of games, Lucy is a joy of a guest. She’s deserving of special thanks because she somehow found time to chat to Andy in the same week as she was hard at work launching GameSpot’s charity streams throughout June to raise money for both Black Lives Matter and Covid-19 relief efforts. Details for all the streams can be found on Lucy’s Twitter at the link below. Remember to like, subscribe and leave a nice review!  Stay safe and take care. https://twitter.com/lucyjamesgames https://twitter.com/hiandygaffney https://twitter.com/gottheshift   * Look, it’s probably easier if you just assume that every future guest on Be Grand is a Trekkie. It will save us from having to type it all the time.

Joining Andy in this edition of Be Grand is singer songwriter Paddy Hanna. Paddy is one of the most exciting talents around, with a skill for writing a catchy ear-worm, a voice that sounds like Scott Walker and a charismatic wit, which makes him the perfect performer.    Born with an eye for the darker underbelly and the outsiders of life, Paddy’s childhood would come to greatly influence him, from his love of horror movies to his enduring predilection for the outlaws in life. Paddy learned it’s always more fun to do the thing that people are not expecting (such as befriending your school principal just because you want to). This attitude has guided him throughout his life, influencing decisions in his career and ultimately teaching him the most fun you can have in life is proving people wrong.  Paddy also chats to Andy about the times in life he thought he had lost it all, his experience of hanging out with a Star Trek captain and how he has learnt that the best things in life are worth waiting for.   Paddy Hanna’s third album ‘The Hill’ will be released on September 25 and is available to pre-order via https://www.strangebrew.ie/. Its lead single ‘Cannibals’ is available now on all digital platforms.  www.paddyhanna.bandcamp.com www.soundcloud.com/paddy-hanna www.breakingtunes.com/paddyhanna www.twitter.com/paddyhanna www.facebook.com/Paddyhannamusic www.strangebrew.ie