Una and Andrea's United Ireland

It's voting day in Dublin Bay South. We might have mentioned it once or twice! With so much riding on this election, everything has been thrown at getting the candidates noticed, and as such we've seen a new direction for election posters. We're talking to acclaimed artist and previous political muralist Maser about the seachange we've witnessed with the introduction of illustrated posters taking over the lamp posts. GO AND VOTE (if you can!) See you for some results bonanza chats on the flipside.

On our final candidate interview on 32 Questions, we talk to first-time candidate Brigid Purcell of People Before Profit, about how we can reinvigorate the docklands, her interactions with Lynn Boylan on the campaign trail, and pouring one out for Rosa Luxemburg.

Next up in our series of 32 Questions for candidates in the Dublin Bay South by-election is Green Party candidate, Claire Byrne.

It's the penultimate week before the big By-Election and things are heating up

The sage and wise Ivana Bacik & Labour candidate for DBS is in the 32Q's hotseat today talking about the art of compromise, clubbing in Powderbubble and dealing with Portobello Harbour.

Behold, a new era of election predictions. What does the tarot say about the Dublin Bay South by-election? Our very special guest this week is Sarah Maria Griffin who, armed with a lifetime of tarot reading skills, is bringing her talents and insight to the battle for the southside. As the candidates attempt to manifest a victory, what do the secrets of the tarot reveal about their chances? Settle in, for a very witchy episode and political analysis like no other.

On this episode of BYLINE, it's the brilliant Susan McKay. We talk about her fascinating new book Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground, which you can (and should!) buy here. We discuss her time in the Irish Press and its "downstairs office" (Mulligan's pub), her tenure at the Sunday Tribune and Vincent Browne's prowess as editor, her feminist politics and how that informs her work, and, of course, unionist politics.

Our LEGENDARY '32 Questions' with the main DBS candidates series continues, and in this ep we get to know Social Democrat Sarah Durcan and where she sees the opportunities and problems for DBS.

In this special series of 32 Questions, we're focussing on the candidates in the Dublin Bay South by-election. First up, Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan on seafood, CMAT, and fake pollsters.

Dublin Bay South special #1: The Battleground by Una & Andrea's United Ireland

Una heads to the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin for Sorcha Richardson and James Vincent McMorrow performing live in front of an audience of 500 people as part of the Irish government's pilot series trialling a return to live events.

Philosophy Queen Laura Kennedy joins us to discuss how existentialism is the mood of the moment, the force behind people making dramatic changes in their lives, and how it can guide us through the anti-climatic aspects of society “opening back up”.

With South William Street securing centre-of-the-universe status over the past week, we talk to Lord Mayor Hazel Chu about the lack of preparation for an outdoor summer, and how - if possible - a change of culture in Dublin City Council needs to occur so that the city thrives. Also, Una runs the Bechdel Test by Maid In Manhattan, James Geoghegan V Jane Jacobs, and Andrea is getting ready for BBQ season. We may mention in the ep that this is our 100th episode. This is in fact, a lie. Enjoy episode 99 and get ready for our centenary celebrations next week.

With Belarusian leadership going for a "piracy in the skies" plot even Olivia Pope couldn't make up, what is actually going on in Belarus? How has a generational shift cracked Europe's last dictator's grip on power, where does Russia come in, and what happens next? We're joined by Coda's editor-in-chief, Natalia Antelava, to dig into the future of the Belarusian regime and its opposition. Also, the Brown Thomas carpark is not for turning, Sinead O'Connor's memoir is published, and the Dublin Bay South by-election heats up.

Ahead of an event she is curating at the National Concert Hall with the International Literature Festival Dublin on Saturday May 29th called Breaking the Silence, we catch up with Republic of Shame author Caelainn Hogan to discuss how art responds to and channels the legacy of survivors of institutions in Ireland, the impact of her book, and how the intense reflection instigated by the pandemic will have a wide-ranging impact on social movements in Ireland.

BONUS: How to run a festival in a pandemic with Naoise Nunn of Brightening Air by Una & Andrea's United Ireland

On this month's 32 Questions, we hear from the Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield. What clubs is he dying to return to? Who is his favourite non-Sinn Féin TD? Why don't Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael understand the legacy of referendum activism? Is he really going to open a new nail bar on South William Street, and more!

Rising rents, falling wages, collapsing home ownership, increasing unemployment: hard data is finally backing up the experience of intergenerational inequality that is leaving millennials in Ireland worse off than their parents. This week, we're joined by Dr Barra Roantree, an economist from the ESRI, and one of the people behind a new report that lays bare the struggle young people in Ireland are facing to build their futures. It's not all bad though! Change is in the air, and the political system can make things better, if the will is there. Plus, Tropical Popical is back open, TikTok dance their way into the office block Google passed on in Dublin, Facebook moderators speak out, and a little thing called white water rafting makes its return.

This week, Soc Dems TD Cian O'Callaghan joins us to discuss the boiling point that peaked this week regarding Ireland's housing crisis. This is a fascinating conversation with a TD who breaks down what's wrong with Fine Gael's housing policy, the shared equity scheme in the government's bill, REITs and investment funds buying up estates, apartment blocks and gaffs in general, and why and how we got to this boiling point. Also we discuss the bizarre Eoghan Harris Twitter saga and online attacks against women journalists, Kate O'Connell's decision not to run in Dublin Bay South, the lacklustre "pedestrianisation" plans for Dublin city, clubbing as culture in Berlin, and Kathy Acker!

Half of Killarney National Park was burnt by devastating fires this week due to 'countryside burning', something that has become an annual ritual. The Mourne Mountains suffered a similar fate. And many, many other hills and mountainous areas. We talk to Pádraic Fogarty of the Irish Wildlife Trust about why these fires are started, what CAP payments have to do with it, why we need to stop it and how we can go about it. We also talk 'ideological' housing policies; Debenhams workers still on strike; Eoghan Murphy; Arlene; Jigsaw closing and the country opening back up again.