The Savannah Irish Podcast, brought to you by The Savannah Irish Festival, host Tara Reese welcomes Ireland’s Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, to discuss Ireland’s national cultural strategy and how culture, arts, media, heritage, sport, and diaspora engagement strengthen Ireland’s international presence.

Speaking from Savannah during the city’s extended “green season,” O’Donovan highlights the deep Irish roots in Georgia, the global St. Patrick’s Week outreach by Irish ministers, and the role of the GAA worldwide. He shares his background from County Limerick, work in industry, teaching, and long public service, and outlines responsibilities spanning tech and broadband, online child safety, and Ireland’s upcoming EU Council presidency in telecom.

The conversation covers famine-driven emigration, modern two-way migration, tourism, trade links, the 1926 census release, USA 250 commemorations and stamps, sports diplomacy, misinformation and civic youth engagement, and future collaboration between Ireland and Savannah.

The Savannah Irish Festival isn’t just an event—it’s the heartbeat of Green Season, a vibrant, educational, and family-friendly celebration that honors Irish culture while uniting the community. It lights the path leading to Savannah’s iconic St. Patrick’s Day parade—a beloved tradition that transforms the city into a sea of green and welcomes thousands upon thousands each year. This unique blend of history, culture, and communal joy is what keeps Savannah’s Irish spirit thriving.

The Savannah Irish Podcast is proudly supported by The Irish Pub Company - the ‘Official Partner of the Guinness Irish Pub Concept’ which means that they are rated as the best in the world at creating the most profitable and authentic Irish Hospitality Concepts. They design, manufacture and fit out your venue from start to finish.

Learn all about the Savannah Irish Festival

MEET our SHOW SPONSOR - The Irish Pub Company

MEET our PRODUCTION CREW: Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Season Three Welcome

01:23 Savannah Diaspora Spotlight

02:52 Green Season In Savannah

03:48 Minister Background And Portfolio

07:41 GAA Worldwide And Hurling

11:01 Casual Banter And Setting

12:52 Diaspora History And Famine Roots

18:42 Visitors Trade And 1926 Census

22:43 USA 250 Plans And Irish Links

27:24 Sport Diplomacy And Soft Power

28:39 Ireland and Peace

30:45 Pope and Identity

31:24 Youth and Democracy

34:53 Misinformation and AI

37:06 Racism and Intolerance

42:13 Savannah First Impressions

43:10 St Patricks Day Diplomacy

44:33 Diaspora and Sacrifice

46:38 Future Collaboration

48:42 Closing Invite to Ireland

In this episode of the Savannah Irish Podcast, brought to you by The Savannah Irish Festival, host Tara Reese sits down with members of the historic Hibernian Society of Savannah to explore the organization’s deep Irish roots and its lasting impact on Savannah’s cultural heritage.

For more than two centuries, the Hibernian Society of Savannah has been at the heart of Irish life in the city. Founded in 1812 by 44 Irish immigrants, the society was created to assist Irish newcomers in need and help them build new lives in Savannah.

The organization would go on to play a major role in shaping the city’s Irish identity, including organizing the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah in 1824—a tradition that has grown into one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States.

Recorded on Saturday, March 8, just one day before the annual Celtic Cross Ceremony, this discussion also touches on the deeper traditions behind Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day observances and why the ceremony is considered by many to be the true beginning of the city’s Irish celebrations.

FEATURED GUESTS:

John (Jack) E. Jaugstetter, PhD – Honorary Member and Past President

John W. Jurgensen – Chairman, Historical Committee; Archivist

Charles Harvey Ferrelle III – Current President of the Hibernian Society; Chairman, Communications Committee; Newsletter Editor; Member, Historical Committee

The Savannah Irish Podcast is proudly supported by The Irish Pub Company - the ‘Official Partner of the Guinness Irish Pub Concept’ which means that they are rated as the best in the world at creating the most profitable and authentic Irish Hospitality Concepts. They design, manufacture and fit out your venue from start to finish.

Learn all about the Savannah Irish Festival

MEET our SHOW SPONSOR - The Irish Pub Company

MEET our PRODUCTION CREW: Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media

Welcome to the Savannah Irish Podcast brought to you by The Savannah Irish Festival. Host Tara Reese is unlocking a POWER-PACKED episode with TWO AMAZING segments.

Segment One: Tara is interviewing Georgia Southern’s Dr. Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan and undergraduate researcher Tiffany Le about “Trans-Atlantic Voices of Freedom,” a public history project on overlooked 19th-century Black American abolitionists who lectured and performed in County Wexford, Ireland.

Using newspapers and archives, Le traces figures including Moses Roper, Charles Lennox Redmond, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, Benjamin Benson, William G. Allen, and Frederick Douglass, highlighting shifting Irish public reception shaped by sectarian tensions, Daniel O’Connell’s activism, and the Famine era. The project aims to create a digital heritage trail with QR markers and classroom curricula.

Segment Two: The episode then shifts to an interview with Latrell Reed, crowned the first African American Ms. St. Patrick’s Day 2026 in Savannah after competing twice; she describes shock and pride as she won in a venue her grandmother and great-grandmother could not visit because of segregation, and shares her mother’s emotional reaction. Reed addresses racist online backlash, explains how pageantry builds sisterhood and confidence, recounts starting pageants at age six and walking New York Fashion Week, and says her goal is to use the title to educate on St. Patrick’s history and the diversity of Irish identity while encouraging others to participate.

The Savannah Irish Podcast is proudly supported by The Irish Pub Company - the ‘Official Partner of the Guinness Irish Pub Concept’ which means that they are rated as the best in the world at creating the most profitable and authentic Irish Hospitality Concepts. They design, manufacture and fit out your venue from start to finish.

Learn all about the Savannah Irish Festival

MEET our SHOW SPONSOR - The Irish Pub Company

MEET our PRODUCTION CREW: Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Season Three Welcome

01:07 Episode Topic Overview

02:13 Meet The Guests

03:07 Why Wexford Matters

05:20 Digging The Archives

07:32 Sponsor Irish Pub Company

09:17 Abolitionists In Ireland

10:58 Moses Roper In Wexford

13:35 Greenfield Benson Allen

17:40 Networks And Reception

25:08 Why This History Matters

29:12 Favorite Finds And Crowds

34:00 Project Goals Digital Trail

34:39 Curriculum and PhD Plans

35:43 African American Irish Roots

37:07 Students Abroad and Irish America 250

39:53 Next Research Focus Women

41:22 Project Strands and Wrap Up

42:51 Parade Notes and Thanks

43:46 Meet Ms St Patrick's Day 2026

46:22 Winning the Crown

50:57 Family Legacy and Kids

51:41 Pageantry Purpose and Racism

01:01:19 Learning St Patrick History

01:05:38 Legacy Message and Sign Off