There are situations where an hour and a half isn’t enough.
Ninety minutes used to be the length of a decent supporting movie, perhaps even the main feature. It was more than adequate for a concept album in the 70s, maybe two. It remains the length of a football match, VAR notwithstanding.
But with Paddy O’Keeffe, it’s nowhere near the time you need to scratch beneath the surface.
Paddy’s not the kind of man to be pinned down. Consistent variety seems to be his mantra.
You have him pegged as a union man, it turns out he was also a Development Manager for Lombards.
You think of him as a playwright and artist, yet that logical mind also houses a scientist, a once would-be doctor.
He recites a section of the UN Charter of Human Rights in Irish Gaeilge and then tells you he thinks of Brighton as his home.
He rages against injustice but calls himself an optimist.
In many ways, this constant movement – this containment of multitudes – lies at the heart of these interviews and podcasts. Being part of the diaspora is just a starting point. It’s where we go from there that counts.
So if that ninety minutes is inadequate, as perhaps it must be, then all it means is that I’ll have to come back to Paddy – as I hope to with many of my guests – and find out a little more; to ask the questions our first conversation raised. Then pack his answers into half the time to share on The Plastic Podcasts.
Who knows, I may even uncover the secret of that fine, fine beard…
https://the-plastic-podcasts.castos.com/episodes/paddy-okeeffe-the-podcast
