Welcome to Episode 1 of No Pressure English — an Irish political scandal that turned the presidential election upside down.
This English podcast episode is perfect for B2 and C1 learners looking to improve their listening skills through natural, engaging content.
About This Episode: The Irish political scandal that took place during the most recent presidential campaign, 2025, is described in this episode of our English language learning podcast.
Transcript:
Hello guys, how are we today?
So, to start off, I just want to set out the purpose of this short podcast. It’s for my intermediate and advanced students — something quick and easy you can listen to every week. Each episode will probably be around ten minutes or so in length. The main idea is that you can get familiar with my voice and, more importantly, you get some extra listening practice.
I’ll be choosing stories that I find interesting. Hopefully, there will be things that make you think or just make you laugh. With this episode, you’ll be able to download the transcript, which will have some of the more challenging vocabulary highlighted, so you can check those words afterwards.
One thing I always recommend — and this applies to any language you’re learning — is to listen more than once to the content that you consume, view, or listen to. The first time you listen to anything, your brain is just getting used to the speaker, the accent, and the general flow and concept, but the second time, you’ll pick up more details, such as idiomatic expressions or phrasal verbs – if that’s what you’re listening out for. You might even just notice grammar structures that didn’t stand out as much on the first listen.
Sometimes, I personally choose one video in my target language, and I listen to it every day for a week. By the end of the week, I can nearly repeat the video word for word. This practice is incredibly effective. I recommend doing this with any content that you consume – it’s just a really good idea for language learning and language acquisition.
So, why am I doing this? Well, I’m a bit obsessed — in a good way — with finding short, authentic audio in other languages for myself – something that’s at my level, interesting, and not too long. So, I thought, why not create that same thing in English? Maybe you are looking to fit a manageable amount of English into your day with no stress, and I hope that this kind of natural podcast can bridge the gap for you. Even if you decide – No, this podcast is not for me, I hope that it encourages you to find something else that can help you build your English routine.
Right, let’s get into today’s story. There’s been a bit of a mad scandal in Ireland — one that involves politics, sport, and even renting – not so much the rental market, but the relationship between landlord and tenant.
So, at the moment, Ireland is gearing up for a presidential election, and there are three candidates in the running. The first is Heather Humphreys from Fine Gael, one of the main political parties. Fine Gael is currently in a coalition government with another big party, Fianna Fáil. Historically, those two have taken turns running the country.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are both centre-right parties. We don’t really have a fully right-wing party, nor a fully left-wing party in Ireland.
The second candidate is Catherine Connolly, an independent politician who’s supported by some of the left-leaning parties like Sinn Féin and Labour.
And then we have the third candidate — and this is where things get interesting. His name is Jim Gavin, and he’s not your typical politician. He’s actually a former Gaelic football manager, a bit of a hero in Dublin. For those of you who don’t know what Gaelic football is – it’s kind of a mix of soccer and basketball – I recommend checking it out on YouTube!
Anyway, under his management, the Dublin team won five championships in a row, something that had never been done before. He’s hugely popular – in the capital anyway: maybe not in the west!
But when sports and politics mix, things can get a bit tricky.
This brings me to the scandal itself: the controversy!
So, let’s rewind to around 2007 to 2009, mid-financial crash. Jim Gavin owned a house, which he was renting to a man named Niall Donald. Donald lived there for a while, paid his rent – no problem. I think it was reported that he then moved out to save for his wedding or something to that effect. All good so far.
Fast-forward two years, and Donald suddenly realises something — he’s been paying rent for the house he left. Somehow, a standing order from his savings account was still sending money to Jim Gavin every month — it accumulated and was around €3,300 in total.
It seems that he was paying the rent from two different accounts, his current account and his savings account. When he moved out, he stopped the standing order from his current account but completely forgot about his savings account, and this is before internet banking, so maybe you can forgive him – but still, a silly move.
Naturally, he gets in touch with Mr Gavin, and Gavin allegedly promises to repay the money, but… it never happens. Donald apparently tries again and again, but no luck.
Now here’s where it gets really interesting. In the years that followed, Donald started working his way up in the media industry, eventually becoming quite well-connected. So when Jim Gavin announced he was running for president, this old story suddenly resurfaced. The newspapers ran headlines calling him a bad landlord who kept money that wasn’t his.
As you can imagine, it caused an uproar, and public opinion turned against him almost overnight, and Gavin had no choice but to withdraw from the race.
Now, it raises an interesting question: Does being a bad landlord mean you’d be a bad president? Maybe yes, maybe no. But in politics, perception is everything.
Still, it’s not a simple story. On one hand, yes — Gavin didn’t return money that wasn’t his, which looks quite bad. But on the other hand, the tenant didn’t check his payments for two years! So who’s really at fault here?
It’s a story that touches on ethics, responsibility, and how one small mistake — or one old story — can derail a political career.
For me, I kinda love that there was a bit of justice. The thought of Donald seeing Gavin do so well for so many years in the sporting world, and then finally getting a bit of revenge. Times were probably tough financially for both men at that time during the recession, but there’s never an excuse when it comes to paying what is owed.
So that’s our first story — a bit of sport, a bit of politics, and a whole lot of scandal.
I’d love to know what you think. Do you believe Jim Gavin deserved to lose his chance at the presidency? Or do you think the media blew the story out of proportion?
Whatever your opinion, I hope this gave you something interesting to listen to — and maybe a few new words along the way.
A quick update regarding this story – our left-leaning candidate, Catherine Connolly, has been elected President of Ireland; Best of luck to you, Catherine!
Take care of yourselves, have a great week, and I’ll be back soon with another short story to help you sharpen your listening skills and expand your vocabulary.
Have a good day and a good week.
Comprehensive Glossary
authentic – real, genuine, not made for textbooks
set out – to explain or describe something clearly; to state your intentions
pick up – to notice or learn something, often without making a conscious effort
listening out for – actively trying to hear or notice something specific
stand out – to be very noticeable or easy to see/hear
word for word – exactly, using the same words; verbatim
at my level – suitable for my ability or skill level
fit – to find time or space for something in your schedule
bridge the gap – to connect two things; to provide what is missing between two points
build your English routine – to create and maintain a regular practice of English
get into – to start discussing or doing something
mad scandal – (informal) a shocking or chaotic event
gearing up for – preparing for something that is about to happen
in the running – competing; having a chance to win
coalition government – when two or more political parties share power
taken turns – to alternate; to do something one after another
left-leaning – supporting more liberal or progressive ideas
typical – normal; what you would usually expect
in a row – consecutively; one after another without interruption
a bit tricky – somewhat difficult or complicated
rewind – to go back in time (metaphorically); to return to an earlier point
something to that effect – something similar to what was mentioned; words with that general meaning
fast-forward – to move ahead in time (metaphorically); to skip to a later point
standing order – an automatic, regular bank payment
forgive him – to excuse someone’s mistake or wrongdoing
silly move – a foolish or unwise decision or action
gets in touch with – to contact someone; to communicate with someone
allegedly – supposedly; according to reports but not proven
no luck – unsuccessful; without achieving the desired result
working his way up – gradually advancing or progressing to a higher position
well-connected – having many useful contacts or relationships with important people
resurfaced – appeared again after being forgotten or hidden
uproar – strong public anger or protest
withdraw – to remove oneself from something (like an election)
perception is everything – how things appear or are viewed is what matters most
on the other hand – used to present a contrasting point of view
who’s really at fault here? – who is actually responsible or to blame?
derail – to stop something from progressing successfully; to disrupt
kinda – (informal) kind of; somewhat
a bit of revenge – some payback or retaliation for a past wrong
what is owed – the amount of money or obligation that should be paid or fulfilled
a whole lot of – a large amount of something
blew the story out of proportion – to make something seem more important or serious than it really is; to exaggerate
along the way – during the process; as you progress
sharpen – to improve or make better (in this context, skills)
Alternatively, you can watch the video below and turn on the subtitles by clicking the CC button in the top right corner:
If you liked this episode, you may enjoy the following:
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-2-halloween-and-an-old-irish-legend/
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-5-ronaldos-antics-and-the-dreams-of-the-irish-nation/
Additional reading on this topic: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7dlmnej1do
