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Our Lives, Our Stories with Carl Chinn Podcast
Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Our Lives, Our Stories with Carl Chinn vor 4 Wochen

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57:59

Carl Chinn sits down in conversation with Paul Smith, a retired
Birmingham firefighter and one of the people who helped turn the
city's St Patrick's Parade into one of the largest in the world.
Born to a Dublin mom and dad and raised in a council flat in
Longbridge.

On 9/11, Paul and his watch stood in a fire station in Northfield
and watched 343 New York firefighters lost in a single day.
Feeling helpless three and a half thousand miles away, they
started with car washes and bucket collections, and the people of
the West Midlands turned that into a quarter of a million pounds
for the widows and children of the fallen. Then Paul set out to
bring the New York Fire Department to Birmingham, so they could
see that love for themselves and march in the parade. He also
tells Carl about the family history he has only recently
uncovered, a grandmother from Kerry whose story was never spoken
of at home.

This is a conversation about brotherhood, grief and hope, about
the deep roots of the Irish community in Birmingham, and about
how one act of kindness can build a bridge across an ocean that
lasts a lifetime.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of the
September 11th attacks and the loss of life, bereavement,
references to Ireland's mother and baby institutions, the 1974
Birmingham pub bombings and some strong language.

Please do take care whilst listening or skip this episode if this
could be distressing for you.

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