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.)