About The Podcast
The Ireland Podcast is a long-form interview series dedicated to thoughtful conversations about Ireland - its culture, history, sport, media, and the ideas that shape how the island understands itself.
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It is produced by SALTHILL Media.​
The Purpose Of The Podcast
The Ireland Podcast was created as a space to slow things down. At a time when discussion is often compressed into headlines and short clips, these conversations take time, allowing context, memory, and experience to emerge naturally. The focus is not on argument or advocacy, but on understanding.
Each episode usually centres on a single guest. They may be an artist, musician, writer, athlete, broadcaster, historian, or cultural figure - someone whose work or perspective offers insight into life on the island of Ireland, in all its complexity, past and present. The conversations are guided by curiosity rather than agenda, and are intended as a welcoming space for multiple voices and experiences.
Celebrate The Island
The guiding idea behind the podcast is simple: to celebrate the island - not in a sentimental or promotional sense, but by paying attention to the people, stories, and experiences that give it shape. ​
Ireland is approached here as a shared, lived place: complex, layered, and evolving. The podcast is interested in how identity is formed, how culture is carried, and how history continues to inform contemporary life across communities and traditions.
No Agenda
No Alignment
The Ireland Podcast has no political or religious agenda. It does not seek to promote a position, persuade an audience, or argue a case. ​
Instead, it exists as a space for listening. ​
In a post-conflict society, conversation itself has value. The podcast recognises the role that respectful dialogue, storytelling, and careful questioning can play in fostering empathy and understanding. Listening here does not mean uncritical agreement. Questions are asked with attention and in context, allowing difference, reflection, and complexity to emerge without the need for confrontation.
The Conversations
Episodes are unhurried and exploratory in tone. Guests are encouraged to reflect, to revisit ideas, and to speak at length. There is room for nuance, uncertainty, and disagreement, approached with curiosity rather than assertion.
Rather than fitting people into fixed narratives, the aim is to document voices as they are - shaped by background, movement, memory, and change. Over time, the podcast becomes an informal archive of conversations about Ireland and its many expressions, offered quietly and without prescription.
Who Is It For?
The Ireland Podcast is for listeners who value depth, context, and careful conversation. It’s for people in Ireland, for those living abroad or part of the diaspora, and for anyone interested in Ireland beyond surface narratives.
It’s also for listeners who are tired of opinion-driven media and who value listening over argument - including those in other post-conflict societies who recognise the importance of memory, dialogue, and lived experience.
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You don’t need specialist knowledge to listen, only a willingness to spend time with ideas and with other people’s experiences.
A Note On Scope
The Ireland Podcast does not claim to be a definitive account of Ireland, nor does it attempt to represent the island in its entirety. It reflects a series of individual conversations, shaped by the perspectives of its guests and the curiosity of the person asking the questions.
The host is not a spokesperson for Ireland, and the podcast does not speak on behalf of any community, tradition, or viewpoint. In that sense, it might more accurately be described as 'An Ireland Podcast - one of many possible ways of listening to, and thinking about, the island'.
The intention is not to define Ireland, but to pay attention to it, one conversation at a time.
The Host
The Ireland Podcast is hosted by Fender Jackson, a musician and cultural practitioner whose work centres on listening, conversation, and cultural memory.
Fender was born in Ulster and is now based in Galway, from where the podcast is mostly recorded. His background in music, writing, and long-form cultural work informs the unhurried, exploratory approach taken in each conversation.
You can read more about Fender’s work and background here.