Being interviewed on national radio can be a daunting affair, particularly if the host is Cormac Ó hEadhra of Drivetime (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays), an interrogator who revels in his exultant combativeness. So it’s a surprise to hear the apparently warm reception afforded to Denis Drennan of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, which represents farmers. He’s on the show to decry the presence of Dutch dairy products in the State-funded hot-school-meals programme. But while Ó hEadhra adopts an affable manner towards Drennan, he’s less indulgent towards his guest’s complaints: good host that he is, he isn’t keen on a whine and cheese party.
Drennan is unhappy about Dutch cheese being included in school lunches, primarily because he thinks it lacks the “creamier and richer” flavour of its Irish equivalent: “The taste has to be hugely important.” Ó hEadhra responds by pointing out that under EU law the meals programme cannot specify that the food comes from a single country, and suggests there are other reasons behind the association’s objections: “Let’s be upfront, you’re concerned about the lack of business.”
A ding-dong ensues, with Drennan bemoaning the fact that Irish children are deprived of the superior taste of Irish dairy products enjoyed across Europe, while the presenter mischievously pushes back. “You want it both ways,” he says. “You want the Irish market and the EU market.”
It’s a mildly diverting if slightly pointless discussion, beyond highlighting Ó hEadhra’s good-natured determination to get the best of an argument: my whey or the highway, as it were.
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Even if Ó hEadhra were minded to serve his guests cheese, it shouldn’t be accompanied by a boozy beverage, according to Dr Sheila Gilheany of Alcohol Action Ireland, who’s worried about “wine mom” culture. Far from being a harmless outlet from the pressures of parenting, Gilheany says, increasing wine consumption among women is the result of targeted advertising campaign by the drinks industry, which hides the negative health impact of alcohol.
Ó hEadhra acknowledges the health risks but says he’s uncomfortable with the conversation. “Some women might feel they’re being vilified unfairly here,” he says, wondering if the focus shouldn’t instead be on “beer dads”. Gilheany concedes that men drink far more but still insists that the relentless promotion of alcohol towards women “doesn’t convey the risk level”.
Without downplaying Gilheany’s health messaging, there are times the item also sounds like a caution from the fun police, at least for those considering a glass of Chardonnay at the end of the day. But the upshot of Ó hEadhra’s discussion is that wine drinkers may soon find themselves going Dutch at social occasions.
The dangers of social isolation among young men are highlighted in Documentary on One: Invisible Men – Ireland’s Incels (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday), which looks at the misogynistic world of self-styled “involuntary celibates”. Coproduced by Nicoline Greer and its narrator, Alan Bradley, the documentary aims to lift the veil on the shadowy group of men, low on confidence about their physical appearance, who blame their lack of sexual activity on women. Incels, mostly based online, can hold festering resentments that occasionally explode into violence, such as mass shootings in the United States and England.
Bradley infiltrates forums where some members advocate disturbing beliefs, such as legalising rape. He also speaks to “Paul”, a pseudonymous Irish thirtysomething, who describes how his celibacy fed a sense of exclusion and bitterness, and even suicidal ideation: “It’s a source of shame. You’re not a real man.”
Although listeners may empathise with Paul’s situation, the self-pity of similarly alienated men can metastasise into malignant hatred. While incels rage about shallow himbos dubbed “Chads”, their real venom is reserved for “Staceys”, the supposedly vapid women who spurn them. Emma, a journalist who, tellingly, doesn’t give her real name, describes the chilling online abuse she has endured for writing about violence against women, as well as her constant fears of physical attack. Unsurprisingly, she has limited sympathy for the emotional inadequacies that may drive men to such extremes: “What I don’t hear about is the epidemic of rape and violence against women.”
The documentary isn’t quite as revelatory as it pitches itself. Paul aside, the first-hand testimony of incels seems somewhat cursory – always an issue with would-be seditionary movements – while there’s much necessary but familiar context about the seismic effect of the online sphere on society. And one suspects that sexually active, ostensibly normal men perpetrate far more violence against women than incels do.
But such wider considerations are beyond the documentary’s purview. Ultimately, it’s an absorbing listen, portraying a symptomatically male subculture that would be sad – incels who are still virgins at 30 apparently attain “wizard” status – if it weren’t so destructive, in terms of mental-health problems, self-harm and vicious consequences.
The theme of masculinity runs through the reminiscences of Gavin Friday when he talks to Brendan O’Connor (RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday and Sunday) about the songs that have defined his life. The Dublin-born singer is by turns funny and frank as he recalls his difficult relationship with his father – “he gallivanted a lot; he wasn’t there” – and his lifelong friendship with Bono, who lived on the same street, though Friday’s family home was in a cul-de-sac. “Oddly enough, all the Catholics lived at the bottom of the bag,” he says, chuckling.
He draws a similarly thoughtful line between his experiences and his music choices, such as how David Bowie opened up new worlds for him as a confused teen (“From Jean Genie to Jean Genet”) and why John McCormack’s music evokes a bygone era when men like his father were cultured, “even though they couldn’t tell their sons they loved them”.
Friday is also candid about his sexuality. When O’Connor, a self-declared fan, gently raises the matter, his guest recalls being so bullied for effeminacy at school that he repressed his feelings, marrying a woman before later finding love with a man. “I’ve been in a happy homosexual relationship for 24 years,” Friday declares, though for him the sexual orientation of any relationship isn’t what’s important: “Just great people or not great people.” Cheesy? Maybe. Uplifting? Definitely.
Moment of the Week
Listeners tuning in for Tuesday night’s broadcast of the topical series Drivetime in Depth: The War in Gaza (RTÉ Radio 1) might be surprised to instead hear an unexpectedly smooth soundtrack of oldies by Abba, 10cc and Al Green. The mystery deepens as one-hit wonders such as the rhymingly challenged Adrian Gurvitz (“Got to write a classic/ Got to write it in an attic”) are punctuated by jingles for the digital station RTÉ Gold. Finally, after half an hour, a continuity announcer makes a sheepish apology. “Due to technical difficulties we were unable to bring you both episodes on the war in Gaza, so now here is part two.” Anyone wanting to hear part one is directed to the RTÉ Radio app. It’s as if they don’t want listeners to live radio.
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