447 
Having enjoyed sell-out shows with both as a rocker and an as what
We both noticed some quirks in the official history we had been given. The more I researched, the more it seemed the history of Ireland was an elaborate fiction that revealed as much in what was unsaid as what was emphasised. Whether deliberate or overlooked, the biases and clichés we were asked to believe just didn’t cut it.
Over 2022 and 2023, I toured all over the country, surprised at the amount of Protestants and Dissenters in the North were attending my 1798-themed shows. In Denvirs of Downpatrick, over 60%
Initially I wondered why everyone at the table was laughing. Then it hit me – all Irish people North and South have a perception of what Ireland is, these partitioned places that have personalities only a century old. When we have a united Ireland it won’t simply be six counties subsumed into the Republic where everything from the tricolor to the capital stays the same. You won’t get East Belfast to sing Amhrán na bhFiann. The south may have to give up long-held certainties and traditions for the sake of loser’s consent.
Greystones 2032. Possibly. Image: Bing AI
y his own admission, Paddy Cullivan is a Jack of all trades, and 
almost a master of one or two.
y his own admission, Paddy Cullivan is a Jack of all trades, and 
almost a master of one or two.Whether it’s fronting The Camembert Quartet, digging deep into Ireland’s history or having fun creating its AI-tinted parallel future, there’s a restless creativity to this former Church Road resident.
Having enjoyed sell-out shows with both as a rocker and an as what 
he calls a history entertainer, Cullivan is back with his latest solo offering, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Ireland.
he calls a history entertainer, Cullivan is back with his latest solo offering, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Ireland.Hitting The Whale stage on Friday, March 15th, we got the prolific Paddy to explain the method behind his mad new show…
I do one man, 2-part, 90-minute shows that tell an intriguing tale from Irish history using over 300 images, comedy, deep historical research and song. Part lecture, part farce, the formula has been a big hit for me with both The Murder of Michael Collins and The Murder of Wolfe Tone selling out theatres in Ireland and beyond.
Cullivan as Wolfe Tone
But, to quote a satirical song of mine, ‘We are where we are; but how did we get here?’.
Being a Jack-of-all-trades can be infuriating – all my life I’ve moved between a career in music, comedy, art or history. I studied graphics and art history in NCAD then moved straight into the music business with my band The Camembert Quartet. We became the house band on RTÉ’s Tubridy Tonight for 15 years, then the 2016 centenary came along and the opportunity to combine all my talents presented itself. The state’s attempt at commemoration was infamously dubbed ‘ahistorical bullshit’ by Diarmaid Ferriter – but this didn’t stop the explosion in public interest in Irish history. I started performing The 10 Dark Secrets of the Irish Revolution in March 2016 and people started to flock to my shows.
I got my love of history from my father, classical composer Tom Cullivan, who writes original traditional Irish melodies in an orchestral setting. His love of Irish harp music meant he was steeped in the tragic history of Ireland. He also did shows on the great Irish harpers, the 1798 rebellion and James Joyce’s father – all featuring the wonderful songs of the period.
We both noticed some quirks in the official history we had been given. The more I researched, the more it seemed the history of Ireland was an elaborate fiction that revealed as much in what was unsaid as what was emphasised. Whether deliberate or overlooked, the biases and clichés we were asked to believe just didn’t cut it. During Covid, I had time to really work on the Wolfe Tone and Michael Collins deaths from source to stone, and the alternative scenarios I uncovered were shocking. It immediately ruffled historical feathers from academia to amateur – that’s meant I was doing something right – but the public got it straight away.
Over 2022 and 2023, I toured all over the country, surprised at the amount of Protestants and Dissenters in the North were attending my 1798-themed shows. In Denvirs of Downpatrick, over 60% 
of the audience were Protestants of some denomination. Large groups would book into my shows, eager to see anything to do with the United Irishmen. It revealed something to me that wasn’t coming through media or politics north and south. The different communities in the north were coming together, not perhaps with the immediate aim of re-uniting Ireland, but to find common ground and areas of agreement. 
Through history, yes, but the combinations of people in those rooms were hopeful, special moments.
of the audience were Protestants of some denomination. Large groups would book into my shows, eager to see anything to do with the United Irishmen. It revealed something to me that wasn’t coming through media or politics north and south. The different communities in the north were coming together, not perhaps with the immediate aim of re-uniting Ireland, but to find common ground and areas of agreement. 
Through history, yes, but the combinations of people in those rooms were hopeful, special moments.As conversation turned towards an alternative future free of partition, so an idea formed in my head. What if, instead of another show about the past, I created a future history – 2032, to be exact – where Ireland is united? How did it happen? What’s it like?
Sitting in Antrim in June with Stephen McCracken, a United Irish historian and descendant of Henry Joy McCracken, I pondered what to call it. United Ireland? Too many negative connotations. New Ireland? There’s nothing worse than applying the label new to something – it gets old quickly. Agreed, or Shared Ireland? Too wishy washy.
Then Stephen said, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Ireland”.
Initially I wondered why everyone at the table was laughing. Then it hit me – all Irish people North and South have a perception of what Ireland is, these partitioned places that have personalities only a century old. When we have a united Ireland it won’t simply be six counties subsumed into the Republic where everything from the tricolor to the capital stays the same. You won’t get East Belfast to sing Amhrán na bhFiann. The south may have to give up long-held certainties and traditions for the sake of loser’s consent. 
Nothing will be the same – it won’t be the ‘butter’ we’re used to, but that’s what makes it enticing. We’d be creating a whole new country, keeping the best of the old and forging ahead with a new singular identity free of identity politics. Just as Wolfe Tone had hoped.
And so that show has arrived. Taking my cue from the brilliant Brendan O’Leary of the ARINS project and using AI to create incredible visions of the near future, I take an insightful but playful journey through the history of partition and the Ireland of the future…
Imagine this. It’s 2032. The people have spoken on both sides of the border and Ireland is a brand new 32-county country.
Dublin 2032. Maybe.
1 comment
Interesting observation by Paddy Cullivan on a Citizen’s Assembly on the West Coast of Ireland.
A First Class Transport System on West & North West coast, using the funds provided by the EU , donated by Tech, Fisheries & Energy companies.
The First Class Transport System with links to Ports, Airports and Citizens Assembly will transform the West & North West and the island of Ireland.