Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

413 episodes

Death, taxes and Mayo’s sorrowful mysteries
23/07/2026 | 37 mins.
Mayo have been denied in All Irelands in every way possible - balls bouncing over the bar, the referee blowing up early, own goals... they've also taken a few pastings along the way, but what will they do with the freedom they will have on Sunday?
Somehow Mayo have reached an All Ireland final this year against all odds, but does that make this year different? Does everything change because it would be one of the most stunning shocks in history if Kerry lost? Does that give Mayo a freedom they’ve never had before or will it make no difference?
On Free State today, we look at the lengths some teams go to win and the ways some find to lose. Does luck play a part when you lose by a point or is it about something more.
Joe explains too why he will have a Mayo jersey with him on Sunday and why he hopes that finally the curse is ended.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why the World Cup has nothing to do with sport
21/07/2026 | 58 mins.
Did the World Cup final hit different from the million dollar seats or was the best thing about them the helicopter that flew you back to New York City?
On Free State, today we ask who mourns the end of Gianni Infantino’s dance with Donald Trump and the depraved nature of football today?
Dion does and he explains why football still matters despite the decadence at the top of the game. Things get heated as they discuss it and Dion wonders if he’s talking to Joe or Fr Dougal.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Eamon Dunphy on the World Cup panel, the truth about Saipan and a united ireland
18/07/2026 | 58 mins.
On the weekend of the World Cup final, Eamon Dunphy is our weekend guest. Dunphy reflects on his astonishing career in journalism, the price he paid for being an outsider and why he didn't care when he left the RTE panel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why England Lose: the true cost of professional sport
16/07/2026 | 43 mins.
England lost at the semi final stage again but what does how players are shaped for professional football tell us about how they perform?
England lose when they play a team more cunning than them but they have a system designed for obedience.
Kids will be dreaming of playing in a World Cup but what is the reality of professional sport.
On Free State today we look at how the attritional nature of succeeding in sport can break so many who try to make it. And we ask what it does to those who succeed.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How Mayo can win the All Ireland (don’t walk under any grand pianos)
14/07/2026 | 33 mins.
And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make. It made sense for Paul McCartney and it makes sense when we consider why we engage with whatever gives us pleasure in life.
On Free State today we look at the meaning of sport. Why winning doesn’t matter as much as how sport makes you feel. Does this mean Mayo can win the All Ireland? Does it matter?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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