Podcast: A bizarre year in politics and awful in many ways

Historian Diarmaid Ferriter joins our own Hugh Linehan, Sarah Bardon and Harry McGee to look back on 2016 on today’s Inside Politics podcast.

It has been a frightening year in many ways, says Ferriter but the 1916 Centenary celebrations were an exception. They were dignified and engaging for the public with a feeling that they belonged to the people and not the state, he adds.

This time last year a strong general election performance was predicted for Fine Gael and a disastrous one for Fianna Fáil. How wrong those predictions were, says Sarah Bardon who cites Enda Kenny’s mantra of “keep the recovery going” and Fine Gael’s obsession with the “fiscal space” as two reasons why the party failed to perform as expected.

‘Brain freeze’

Fine Gael advisers were the victims of “brain freeze” when it came to the Taoiseach’s campaign strategy, says Harry McGee, and would have been better served by letting their leader loose on the public more.

Landlords need permission for Airbnb lets, Minister confirms

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Theresa May to visit Dublin in January for meeting on Brexit

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Charlie Flanagan plays down threat to status of Irish in Britain

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Mick Wallace over €235,000 in arrears on mortgages

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The panel also discuss Brexit, Trump’s election and the emergence of activism outside the political sphere internationally. They also talk about the demise of Labour despite being instrumental in the Marriage Referendum and analyse the policy shifts of the Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil parties over the past 12 months.