EPISODE 12: MANUS CHARLETON AND NORA McGILLEN: OLD ISTANBUL & OTHER ESSAYS BY GERARD McCARTHY

THE IRISH PAGES PODCAST NUMBER TWELVE

Manus Charleton and Nora McGillen talk to Irish Pages editor Chris Agee about Old Istanbul & Other Essays, the first collection of essays by Gerard McCarthy, who died shortly before their publication in 2022. McCarthy’s dazzling philosophical writing occupies the region where philosophy merges into literature, drawing deeply on the influence of Nietzsche, Marcus Aurelius and Montaigne. Manus and Nora discuss their memories of Gerard and his life and work as a social worker and writer, and some of his philosophical preoccupations, including his quest for silence, the world beyond language and the human search for meaning.