The Clare Echo has teamed up with podcast host Fergal O’Keeffe to bring you his new series, Travel Tales with Fergal.
The Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast has a fascinating interview this week with Richard Fitzpatrick, a Barcelona-based journalist, originally from Ennis, about his life as an expat in Barcelona with his Venezuelan wife, Michelle and two children.
He talks on the podcast about how difficult it is not being able to go back to Clare this Christmas. Richard’s story is the story of many Irish emigrants living abroad this Christmas. It is particularly hard not being able to go home to Clare after such a long, difficult year in Spain which was severely affected by Covid.
Richard does see hope on the horizon though with the vaccine being made available in Spain early in the new year. And he expresses his hope to return in 2021 as soon as possible to visit relatives in Clare.
Richard shares great memories of past Christmas’ in Clare which he says are like no other place in the world. He reminisces about the joy of meeting old friends in a pub on Christmas Eve after a long day of shopping in Ennis.
He feels there is nothing comparable to the comradery of an Irish pub at Christmas where families of all ages mingle. “You would want a heart of stone not to be moved when Fairytale of New York is played in a packed Irish pub at Christmastime. A scene that will sadly be mostly missing from Ireland this festive season.”
Richard is a brother of Dr Finbarr Fitzpatrick in Ennis, and he will dearly miss the family tradition of the annual Lahinch swim on Christmas morning.
Richard is a print and radio journalist with a focus on sport, in particular La Liga. Richard works for news organisations around the world, including BBC, Bleacher Report, Irish Times and talkSPORT, as well as making radio documentaries for RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster and The Stand Podcast.
Richard shares stories on the podcast from his brilliant book El Clásico: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Football’s Greatest Rivalry including trips to Messi’s home-town in Argentina and Ronaldo’s home town in Madeira, Portugal. For the full interview, click play below.
The Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast has its final episode this week and since its beginning in October it has since become the No.1 Travel Podcast in Ireland and has listeners in over 30 countries around the world. Season 2 will be coming out in January.
The Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast comes out every Tuesday on all podcasting platforms and full details on Instagram @traveletaleswithfergal and his website https://shows.acast.com/travel-tales-with-fergal.
