February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Last Friday saw the first broadcast of “The Craic,” a new weekly Irish radio podcast aimed specifically at Irish people living abroad.The 30-minute program offers a lighthearted take on what’s happening in Irish news, current affairs and entertainment every week. The first show, which went live last Friday, included a look at Van Morrison’s pre-Oscars party in L.A., an analysis of the job scene for Irish people thinking of returning home and a feature on “Tedfeast,” a weeklong festival on the Aran Islands organized by fans of popular Irish television show “Father Ted.”
Regular features will include a roundup of the top singles, albums, movie releases, DVD and gigs in Ireland, a short news bulletin in the Irish language and the “Craic Squad,” a vox pop with people on the streets of Dublin.
“I have family living abroad in Connecticut, Perth and Spain, and they always want to know what’s going on at home,” explained producer Dusty Rhodes, speaking to the Echo last Friday after wrapping up recording on the first show.
“They can look at newspapers and websites like RTE, but there’s a kind of human connection missing. A lot of the podcasts currently out there are just recordings of what’s already been broadcast.”
A veteran of almost 20 years in Irish radio broadcasting and production, Rhodes presented the record-breaking evening show “Hotline/Most Wanted” on RTE 2fm before leaving to start up his own company, Digital Audio Productions, which creates syndicated shows and commercials for radio stations all around Ireland.
Ian Dempsey, another veteran of Irish broadcasting and former presenter of RTE children’s TV show “The Den,” will anchor the program.
“I thought Ian would make a great presenter,” Rhodes said.
“It’s not a hard news program, we want people to have a laugh and he’s very relaxed, very easy going. He’s also very well-known in Irish broadcasting.”
The show will also include Irish news from around the globe — with a little co-operating Irish radio stations around the world, including eight stations throughout the U.S.
Irish in New York Irish can listen to snippets from the show every Sunday on the “Ceol na nGael,” show on WFUV 90.7FM.
“Just because you’re Irish living in New York, doesn’t mean you’re not going to be interested in what Irish people in Sydney are doing,” Rhodes said.
“We’re building up a network of radio stations worldwide. They let us know what’s going on in their part of the world, and in return we give them sample five minute clips of the show.”
The show is available as an mp3 download at a cost of