{"podcast":{"title":"The Ireland Podcast","slug":"the-ireland-podcast-6592574","podcast_index_feed_id":6592574,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/64e340adddadb00012365278","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ireland-podcast","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/64e340adddadb00012365278/1693559531557-a3e429011c16709063a495507115d15b.jpeg","author":"Salthill Media","episode_count":231,"summary":"About the Podcast The Ireland Podcast is a long-form interview series creating space for unhurried conversation about life on the island of Ireland and beyond. The Conversations Hosted by Fender Jackson and produced by Salthill Media, the podcast centres on listening rather than argument. Each episode features a single guest and allows time for reflection, context, and experience to emerge naturally. Guests include artists, musicians, writers, athletes, broadcasters, historians, and cultural figures whose work or perspective offers insight into place, memory, and lived experience. There is no political or religious agenda. The podcast does not seek to persuade, promote, or argue a position. Instead, it exists as a space for careful dialogue, where complexity is allowed and difference is approached with curiosity rather than confrontation. The Host Fender Jackson grew up in Ulster and later lived in England and China before returning to Ireland and settling in Galway, where most episodes are now recorded. These experiences inform a listening-led, exploratory approach shaped by distance as well as proximity, and by an awareness of how place, movement, and memory intersect. Approach…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-29T06:19:48.107666+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-podcast-6592574"},"episode":{"title":"195. Alastair Campbell: Good Friday Agreement","slug":"195-alastair-campbell-good-friday-agreement","published_at":"2025-10-08T04:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-podcast-6592574/195-alastair-campbell-good-friday-agreement","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-podcast-6592574","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ireland-podcast/episodes/195-alastair-campbell-good-friday-agreement","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/64e340adddadb00012365278/e/68e57c11f513ad2b81a91802/media.mp3","summary":"The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of conflict by establishing a power-sharing government and ensuring that any constitutional change would happen only by consent. Alastair Campbell, then Tony Blair’s Director of Communications and Strategy, played a key role in the negotiations, helping to shape the messaging, diplomacy, and relationships that made the agreement possible. He shared his reflections and behind-the-scenes stories with The Ireland Podcast when Fender Jackson visited him at his home in London on Thursday, 25 September 2025. Conversation includes: Scotty Parker and Burnley F.C.; Tony Blair & Jonathan Powell’s optimism; the moment of realisation that the Northern Ireland problem could actually be solved; David Trimble, John Taylor & Ken Maginnis; The Irish Diaries; Bill Clinton & George Mitchell; Martin McGuinness, John Hume, Mo Mowlem & David Ervine; Bríd Rogers; sleep; Dennis Murray; the alignment with John Hume; Seamus Mallon; the hand of history; feeling the encouragement from the streets; the growing media pack; Alastair’s day-to-day role; John Holmes; social media and today’s political landscape; Bertie Ahern; the main stumbling blocks before the GFA was signed; Blair’s skills of constructive ambiguity; ‘The Chuckle Brothers’ (McGuinness and Paisley); Máirtín Ó Muilleoir; the other side to Paisley; Greenifying vs. Trimblification; Martin Ferris & Gerry Kelly; the legacy bill; London Irish Centre; Orla McBreen; Hilary Benn; Gaza and the Middle East; Nick Matthews, the Garden Girls and other topics. Links https://alastaircampbell.org/book/the-irish-diaries/ www.theirelandpodcast.com https://linktr.ee/theirelandpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of conflict by establishing a power-sharing government and ensu…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3251,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ireland-podcast-6592574/episodes/195-alastair-campbell-good-friday-agreement/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-podcast-6592574/195-alastair-campbell-good-friday-agreement.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}