Fire Draw Near Podcast Review

The Pitch:

A podcast about Irish traditional music.

The Product:

Fire Draw Near bills is a podcast of two formats. Once a month, host Ian Lynch play a selection of songs, and discuss them and their place in the world of traditional music, all through an Irish lens. Then, once a month, at another, somewhat abitrary date, comes a bonus episode, usually taking a deep dive on a specific traditional song. The bonus episodes may actually be our favourite, but more on that later.

Finding this podcast came through a confluence of events: missing Ireland, hearing the sad new of Sinéad O’Connor’s passing, and Irish trad band Lankum receiving a nomination for the Mercury Music Award. Falling down a rabbit hole of both podcasts about Sinead, and interviews with Lankum, led me to Fire Draw Near, hosted by Lankum’s Lynch.

There are a decent amount of Irish podcasts out there, many of which cover music or history, some of them cover a bit of both. But, unfortunately, a lot of Irish podcast aren’t great. Poor production, below average jokes, and an over-saturation of radio hosts and celebrities have dogged the medium. (Granted I’ve been out of the country for a few years and I’m sure I’m missing plenty of good stuff.)

No such issues here. FDN is an authentic passion project.

It’s nice to see Irish people going for it and producing greatness in the process. We’re good at caring about things. We’re very musical. We have a rich, layered, often traumatic history that should be explored, examined, and celebrated.

Can You Sleep To It?

If you grew up listening to Irish trad, and nothing but Irish trad, maybe.

Recommended Episode:

Pick any episode and give it a lash.

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