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"The storytelling of history has become dry and brittle" - Sunday Paper Review

Pat Leahy was sitting in for Shane Coleman on the Sunday Show this week, and for a look at the pa...
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Newstalk

12.28 3 Jan 2016


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"The storytelling of h...

"The storytelling of history has become dry and brittle" - Sunday Paper Review

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.28 3 Jan 2016


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Pat Leahy was sitting in for Shane Coleman on the Sunday Show this week, and for a look at the papers he was joined in studio by Alison O'Connor of the Irish Examiner, former Justice Minister Nora Owen, and former government adviser Gerard Howlin.

The first story covered by today's panel was the leaking of a draft Labour poster, showing Gerry Adams and Micheál Martin as a gay couple.

Gerard observed, "it's dangerous politics in the sense that people feel very entitled to be quite cutting about their politicians. They don't necessarily thank political parties for attacking and being cutting and being negative".

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While he warned against the dangers of 'attack' ads, he added "it is a bit of humour, and it doesn't offend me in the slightest".

Meanwhile there's plenty in the papers about the 1916 Centenary - from a new musical to a group looking to 'Reclaim 1916' beyond the official State events.

Nora - who is the grandniece of Michael Collins - said, "I still haven't got my head around all things that are happening - I'd love someone to bring together the things I should be watching for.

"All over the country there are separate commemorative groups going on, and you'd be hard pressed to know which ones to go to, and which ones will be interesting and which ones won't," she added, suggesting she doesn't know why so much is being done in countries outside Ireland.

Gerard suggested a 'reimagining' of the storytelling of Irish history for younger generations is very valuable, since it has become 'dry and brittle'.

Alison agreed, saying "my older daughter was saying that on a given day every school is meant to raise the [Irish] flag - by doing that it has certainly piqued the interest of that age group".

For more on these stories and more, you can listen back to the full Paper Review below:


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