Ellamay Faith Doyle Doherty
My podcast Know No Shame combined interviews, sound design, archival material, and narrative storytelling to create a four-episode series exploring the relationship between Irish identity, gender, protest, and contemporary culture. Beginning in the early 1970s, the series examined how Ireland’s punk and alternative music scenes created spaces for women such as Sinéad O'Connor to emerge, positioning Irish music culture as a political and creative space where freedom of expression was at the forefront. Throughout the project, I explored the cultural and historical conditions that shaped artists such as Sinéad O'Connor and CMAT, while reflecting on how their work continues to resonate with younger generations in Ireland today.
This documentary explores an unlikely friendship between two people whose connection defies easy explanation. Through observational filming I wanted the audience to experience the same sense of openness and reflection that Simone described from her walks with John, showing how meaningful relationships can emerge during periods of uncertainty and change and how friendship does not always look the way we expect it to
Through my journalism piece,The Last Laugh, I wanted to go beyond policy and examine the real cultural impact that this exclusion of Comedy from Arts funding had not only on comedians themselves but also on Dublin’s nightlife and arts scene as a whole.
At the time the article was written, we had gathered at the Dáil for the proposal to recognise comedy as an art form under the Arts Act, which would allow comedians to become eligible for government funding.
Click here to read the article.
Rather than treating these artists in isolation, the podcast situated them within larger historical and social frameworks, exploring how Ireland's younger generation continues to navigate the tension between the Ireland projected internationally and the reality experienced by those living within it today. The project also sought to translate academic research into an accessible public format through creative audio storytelling and cultural commentary.
Through the production process I developed practical skills in research, scriptwriting, interviewing, audio editing, sound design and narrative construction, while deepening my understanding of how podcasting can function as a platform for cultural commentary and public discourse. The project allowed me to bring academic research and creative media production together in a way that reflects my broader interests in journalism, documentary storytelling and socially engaged media.
It also sharpened my ability to critically engage with contemporary Irish issues, using storytelling to amplify under-represented voices and open up meaningful cultural conversations. Ultimately the project reinforced my belief in media as a tool for challenging dominant narratives and creating space for younger generations in Ireland to reflect on identity, frustration and the future of contemporary Irish culture.
Drawing on Irish cultural history, poststructuralist feminism and performance studies, my thesis examined how the cultural performances of Sinéad O'Connor and CMAT can be understood as sites through which identity has been contested and redefined across two distinct but structurally connected eras in Ireland. Rather than treating these as isolated case studies, the research sought to understand the cultural implications of uneven modernities in Ireland that continue to shape the lives of young adults today, particularly through issues of emigration, identity and housing. This research laid the groundwork for my four-episode podcast series Know No Shame, through which I translated those academic findings into an accessible public format.
My name is Ellamay Doyle Doherty; I am 22 and have completed my BA in New Media Studies at IADT. Over the past four years, I have explored storytelling through a range of creative and academic approaches, with media theory playing a particularly important role in shaping my understanding of texts, audiences, and media formats.
The aim of my work was to reflect on the issues of modern Ireland that are directly affecting my age demographic, adults in their 20s, particularly those planning to emigrate, and the impact that this has on the lifestyle and culture in Dublin for young adults as well as the impact on arts communities.
