'Dear Derry' podcast - love letter to the people of the city

Returning to Derry after a decade in England has given Ami Nash the impetus to launch her ‘Dear Derry’ podcast.

Originally from Ballymagroarty in the city, Ami described her podcast as “a love letter to the Derry people”.

“I have kept a diary since I was nine,” Amy told The Derry News. “I am 32 now and I still write in it almost every day. During lockdown I thought ‘I could really do something with this’ so, in 2022, I published my first diary as a book called ‘Dear Derry’. It is actually sold out at the moment but we are working on a second edition print.

“‘Dear Derry’ was published by Team Trident Press - an independent publisher in England. I got really lucky because I hadn’t got the resources to do a book but I knew a woman called Lisa Lorenz and, I always say, she is my Guardian Angel. She took an interest in my book and printed and published it for me - a gorgeous, handmade, beautifully bound book.

“On the back of doing the book launch and readings, I started to connect with live audiences and people were really moved. They would come up to me and say they had had the same experiences when they were growing up.

“That’s when I realised it wasn’t me just writing a wee diary; it started to feel so much bigger and that’s really when the idea for the podcast solidified,” said Ami.

Ami’s podcast is produced and edited by another very good friend, Johnny Phethean.

It was in the works for two years and Ami said while she was living in Manchester, she was “struggling to get it going”.
And then things changed.

“This time last year, I made the decision to move back to Derry. It was abrupt and unexpected but the move was very serendipitous,” smiled Ami. “Once I moved back home, the work was flowing from me,” recalled Ami.

“I also started working at the Museum of Free Derry. I am part of the Bloody Sunday families. My uncle, William Nash, was murdered on Bloody Sunday and my granda, Alex Nash, was wounded,” she said.

“That was when I started getting really in touch with my roots. It was Derry that inspired me to do this podcast. I am also an aspiring journalist now; I want to do journalistic pieces on Derry.

“I am writing my first novel, which is going to be written in heavy dialect, and it is about the beautiful culture in Derry. I’ve got all of these ideas about Derry and that is why I feel so passionate. I am so grateful fate brought me back to Derry. Derry is such a special place,” said Ami.

Ami’s book ‘Dear Derry’ is about growing up in the city. The author describes herself as a ‘ceasefire baby’ - born after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

I touched on being a teenager in Derry and the themes of alcoholism, addiction, and eating disorders.
To date, the guests on her podcast so far have been family and friends who have featured in her book.

“They touch upon huge themes including multi-generational trauma,” said Ami. “I talk to each guest who comes on about my diary and they tell their side of the story.

“They talk about their class - what it means to be a working class person in Derry - and their childhood. We talk about addiction. We talk about all of that. My mammy talked about the Troubles.

“You know every woman wants to sit down with their mammy and have a beautiful, transformational conversation and that’s exactly what took place.

“I think the focal point of my podcast is the generational trauma that us Derry people have experienced. I am only 32. I haven’t lived through the Troubles but there is a big conversation taking place at the moment with this generation which is saying, ‘Hold on a minute, we might not have lived through the Troubles but we have an anger and a guilt and a shame within us’. I am very interested in breaking through that conversation.

“The podcast is fortnightly and every other week I do a podcast blog as well which is about insight and reflections on the episode,” said Ami.

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The sold out event saw make-up demonstrations taking place throughout the evening

The ‘Dear Derry Podcast’ available in all usual podcast sites and Ami is delighted at how well received it has been.

“There are listeners all over the world,” she said. “The feedback I am getting is that it is transformative and there are big conversations taking place amongst me and my community about the themes within the diary,” she said.

“I now want to reach out to the people of Derry. For the next chapter of the podcast, I am looking for guests who basically carry the soul of Derry within them. I want to hear from working class voices, survivors, storytellers, women who carry the grief of Ireland on their shoulders because let’s be honest we do, and the ceasefire babies as well.

“This generation who grew up in the shadow of it all. If anyone out there has something to say about trauma, addiction, the Troubles and men’s mental health or really what it means to be from Derry, I’d be honoured to share their story.”