Episode 5-From Legacy to Revival: What Ireland’s Past Means for Today

In this episode of The Irish Legacy Podcast, UCB Ireland CEO Robbie Frawley explores Ireland’s rich Christian heritage—and what it still has to say today.

With co-host Hannah away, Robbie is joined by special guest Dave Durbin, UCB Ireland’s USA Manager. Together, they take a deeper look at the history of the Christian faith in Ireland, how it has evolved over time, and how God is still at work across the nation today. It’s a meaningful conversation about why Ireland’s past still matters—and what it means for the present.

Links:

• UCB Ireland - Irish Christian Heritage Tour
• UCB United Christian Broadcasters
• UCB Ireland
• UCB Ireland Donate
• UCB Ireland Facebook

Hashtags: #UCBIreland #UCB #Ireland #RobbieFrawley #ChristianRadio #Testimonies #IrishHistory #IrishHeritageTour #Giving #FinancialSupport #Donate #Podcast #Podcasting #PodcastCommunity #PFCAudioVideo

Sponsorship:

The Irish Legacy Podcast is proudly sponsored by Zeta Saddles-— engineered for comfort, performance, and the ride ahead. Learn more at zetasaddles.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to the Irish Legacy Podcast, presented by UCB Ireland. Honoring the past, investing in Ireland's future. Whether your family name traces back to the hills of Kelly, the streets of Dublin, or the rugged coastlines of Donegal, this podcast is for everyone who carries a piece of Ireland in their heart. Here on the Irish Legacy Podcast, we'll explore the stories, traditions, and Christian faith that have shaped generations of Irish families around the world. So, whether you're listening from Ireland, America, or anywhere else across the globe, welcome home.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Ireland once sent missionaries to the ends of the earth. But today, many would call Ireland a post-Christian nation. So what changed? And maybe more importantly, what if the story isn't over? Welcome back to the Irish Legacy Podcast presented by UCB Ireland. I'm Robbie Frolley. In our last episode, my guest Dave Durbin was with us, and we walked through the sacred places, the stories, the people that shaped Ireland's Christian heritage. And from the bold faith of St. Patrick to the quiet devotion of the monastic communities that carried the gospel across the nations. But today, we're asking a deeper question. What does that legacy mean now? Because history isn't about something that we look back on, it's about something that we're invited to step into. Across Ireland today, there are signs that the church is still active in Ireland. Some might say they're small, maybe even hidden, but they're real signs. There's a hunger for meaning, a search for truth, a generation asking questions that the church once answered with confidence, and that from time to time we see being answered again. So could it be that the same God who moved powerfully back in Ireland's past is beginning, working, and stirring in Ireland now? In this episode, we're connecting the past to the present and looking ahead to what revival could look like in Ireland today. This is From Legacy to Revival. Joining me again today on the show is my guest host, Dave Durbin. Dave has been part of UCB Ireland since 2023 and serves as our UCB Ireland USA manager. He has come from a great background in program management, music industry leadership, and he is the primary contact for UCB Ireland in the United States. Dave, it's always great to see you. Great to be part of uh this podcast again with you. How are you? You all right?

SPEAKER_02 3:07

I'm doing all right, Robbie. It's great to be uh back with you again.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

How's the jet lag?

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Well, uh, we're still uh dealing with it a little bit, but I always like uh coming this way, traveling west more than going to Ireland. I always a little shattered going uh your way. By coming back, I get up very early in the morning and then around three in the afternoon I start to crash. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Now, if you were listening to us last time, you will realize that we were just wrapping up the Christian heritage tour here in Ireland. That's why I asked him how his jet lag was, because our guests all went home last week, and Dave was one of them, of course. And uh it was a fantastic time, absolutely brilliant time. You know, Dave, Ireland once sent missionaries to the world. Could it be that it does it again? Today we're asking what the past reveals about the future of faith.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Yeah. Well, let's get into it, Robbie, shall we? Okay. We had a fantastic tour. So, as we begin, last time we talked about the Christian heritage tour.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

As a recap, what is this tour all about? You know, this tour is is a real desire from UCB Ireland to have people connect, people in America connect with their Irish roots. People in America to come to a land where their forefathers came from, their grandparents, their great-grandparents. People come here, they've heard about County Cork or County Waterford or Belfast, and now they get to experience it.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

And the tour is also an opportunity to understand the Christian heritage of this small island. Now, those two words, Christian heritage, they can roll off the tongue and not mean anything. But the reality is that for Ireland, our Christian roots, our Christian heritage changed this nation. It took it from the dark ages and a dark, dark, dark time of druids and kings to a risen savior. It didn't happen overnight, but it happened powerfully, and it changed the nation. And that's what this tour is all about. When we bring people over here to uh Ireland from America, we say, Welcome home. Yeah, welcome to where you came from. Your DNA comes from this land. Now let's tell you a bit about this land and what happened here and how it happened here, and take you and show you the beauty of this small little island in the Atlantic Ocean.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

Absolutely, Robbie. And you know, that reminds me. So when you think about Ireland's Christian past, what stands out to you personally, you being Irish?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Sacrifice. That again, people might say that's it, that's a strange word. You know, the people who brought Christianity to Ireland didn't know what they were doing in terms of where they were going. They knew what they had in their heart and what they wanted to do with the gospel. They used every means possible to show and tell of the love of Jesus. To a people who weren't educated, to a people who didn't understand it, to a people who were primitive, but they did it anyway. But let's go a little bit deeper than that. Let's maybe come a little bit closer to our time. You know, incredible people have done incredible things in this nation, sacrificing what they believe or what that what they've worked for, so a nation and a community can be changed. They have put themselves in front of a difficult circumstance or a wall or a problem, and they've said, I believe God is bigger than this. That's what I mean by sacrifice. They put themselves on the line because of the passion and the conviction of Christ in their heart. And that's not only the days of Patrick or Bridget or uh Brendan, the navigator or the voyager as he's called. That's not only back then, that's now. Amen. That's right. That's today. You know, I there's there's some wonderful, wonderful men and women of God that I know who put themselves on the line for the gospel every day. Every day, by reaching out to a troubled community or getting involved with a drugged community, that's sacrifice. Yeah. So when I think about Christian, Ireland's Christian past, I think that was the sacrifice they did all those years ago. But you know what? Today, 2026, people here in Ireland are still doing that for the sake of the gospel and the sake of the lost.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Amen. Yeah, I I so agree with you. And I I think, you know, we talk about we remember our history in Ireland, but do we do we learn from it? And I'm certainly not getting into uh you know political aspects of that whatsoever, but from a Christian heritage perspective, you know, they say if you don't remember your history, you're doomed to repeat it. And I'm talking now from a uh strictly spiritual perspective, right? So we stand on such a great legacy, big shoulders of Patrick and Bridget and Kevin and Brendan the Voyager, all these people that sort of set that standard and the the export of Christianity from Ireland. But what are we doing today about it? You know, how does UCB Ireland fit into that? I believe through our airwaves, they are hearing the gospel and we reach out, reaching the church and saving the nation. I think it's very important to remember our history.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Yeah, it is. You're right. It is, you know what? Uh like you, Dave, I've I've been blessed to have had the the leading, the guiding, the impartation of mighty men and women of God who've gone home to be with the Lord now. Who've you and I know that my life has been radically changed because of their sacrifice and because of what they wanted to impart in a generation. And every one of us is here because somebody told us about Jesus. Amen. Somebody took an opportunity to be a Patrick in a moment, a Bridget in a moment. Somebody in our day, you know, I gave my life to Jesus when I was 15 years of age, 1979. People do the maths, you'll now know how how old I am. But I gave my life to Jesus because somebody took a step of courage to tell me about it. Amen. And that was 1979, it wasn't you know, hundreds of years ago.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

400 AD. Yeah, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

It was 1979.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Now listen, we don't have to go to 400 or 1979. We can go back to the days of the disciples, the apostles, after Jesus, the after the day of Pentecost. Okay, now this has nothing to do with Ireland, or does it? Because it's not Irish, it is Christian. It is Peter standing up in a square and going, listen to me. That's sacrifice, that's boldness. That's that's doing something that he's never done before. And right through the ages we've seen that. And Ireland is no different. We've seen it with modern leaders in the church today. We've seen it with past leaders in the church, historic leaders in the church. We've seen it on this little island where it was conflict against conflict against conflict, and yet people stood for the gospel.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Sacrifice, making a difference. And that's the most incredible thing. You know, when we're on the tour, we see all the cool historical places. We remember the history. This this little land is steeped in so much history. Yes. If we can learn anything from it, we learn that actually it is worth it.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

Amen. It is. Yeah, Robbie, um, I also came to know the saving grace of Christ in 1979, so you can guess my age as well. I was raised in a Roman Catholic church. I won't go into it right now uh in depth, but uh I got involved in something called the charismatic renewal within the church in the late 70s, and it just smacked me right over the head. Uh, of course, going to mass my whole life, baptized, uh, confirmation, everything, but I didn't know Jesus really until through the charismatic renewal in the church, I became a born-again Christian.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Right.

SPEAKER_02 12:17

And so I had the Irish legacy in my family, heard all the stories, heard all the songs growing up. But in 1979, Jesus hit me quite powerfully. So, yeah, it's so important.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

It is, and I think, you know, as we journey like that, Dave, those sacrificial moments come more and more as we walk with God because he requires us or asks us to do things. And we we see that stepping out in faith, trusting God for something like UCB Ireland.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah. I was only talking to somebody recently about this, and they said, You've been you know a radio broadcaster since you were 18 years of age. Yes, I have. And I've had the privilege of being part of the UCB family since 1999. And it's been the greatest honor of my life to do what I've done. And uh, I don't take any any of it uh lightly at all. But it also requires you to step out in faith. It requires you to go, I am going to believe what I'm doing, who I'm doing it with, and why I'm doing it, and I'm going to step out in faith. And when my wife and myself took over the running of UCB Ireland, that was an even bigger step of faith for what we needed to do and why we needed to do it. And somebody listening to this might be in their community somewhere across the world, wherever you are across the world, and God is requiring you to step out in faith for your community. Well, actually, if you're requiring you to step out in faith, guess what you have to do? Step out in faith. That's difficult.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

That's that's a sacrifice. No, it's not easy at all. It's a sacrifice, right? It's a it's scary, right? Uh to a lot of people. But Robbie, what do you think we've lost from that original expression of faith? Anything?

SPEAKER_01 14:14

I I think we've made it complicated, Dave. I agree. Yeah, the the gospel's not complicated. And those early days of the charismatic renewal, I remember them here in Ireland. It was wonderful. It was it was brilliant. I remember the days of of our um the first fellowship I ever went to here as a born-again Christian. It was a fellowship called Shalom, some incredibly wonderful people that I grew up with in Shalom. Exciting. And uh leader of Shalom, a guy called Chris Rowe, he's just celebrated his 90th birthday uh a few months ago. And myself and my older brother were there at the celebration, and even at 90, in a room full of Christians, he still preached the gospel. It was incredible to see him stand there and preach the word of God. It was quite incredible. Those simplistic days, Dave, were incredible because the fire, you you caught something, something authentic and real. And I wonder, and I'm not blaming anybody or pointing any fingers at any, but I wonder how we got to a stage where we've complicated the life of a Christian because we've put man-made rules in front of it.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

That's right. And there's way too much noise out there, in my humble opinion. In the churches, we have tens of thousands, maybe not tens of thousands, but certainly thousands of different denominations. And our church is a broken body of Christ, really, around the world, especially here in America, in many ways. And I know I talked with Tim, a presenter, uh at UCB Ireland last year. Yeah, and we talked about the stillness of God and be still and hear his voice. Yeah, we got we got kind of deep right away. But uh it's so that to you, he'll take it. Yeah, Tim does that. He's sneaky like that. He'll just, you know, sneak up on you. But I I mean it, Robbie. In the early Church of Ireland, it was all about community.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah, what would it actually look like if we lived that out today? Wouldn't that be incredible? Deep, another deep question. That's a Tim question.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Yeah, we're deep this week, but wouldn't that be incredible if we if we lived that community? That yeah, I listen, I I get that there are big churches in every nation. Ireland doesn't have mega churches as you would in the states, but it does have some churches that would be a thousand people. And there are a few of those in and they come from all areas, and that's great. But I wonder what about the community? How do we see that working? Now, today we're looking at nations that are struggling with a cost of living, that are struggling to feed their families, and one of the most incredible ways of being community in a community is something like a food bank. And you know, we work with churches across the nation and across the island who are doing that, feeding North Dublin, feeding Cork, feeding in the Midlands, and they're just providing food banks. Now, somebody will say to you, Well, that's not the gospel. I would have to argue that. I beg to differ and say, What did Jesus say? Lord, when did we see you hungry? When did we see you naked and have to clothe you? When were you ill? When were you in prison? And the Lord's response was, When you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me. To me. Yeah. Our role as Christians is to show Christ, is to show the love of Jesus, is to be community for those who don't have community. There was a great interview we did uh only recently uh with uh Tammy and Jay from Co-Parenting International. They popped into the studios. It was great to have them in there. Uh, and I had the pleasure of doing the interview, and there was something Jay talked about. And it was about church that needs to understand blended families. And I thought this is interesting. Now it's not condemning, it's not accusatory, but it is saying community has changed. So how are we embracing that community? Right. And we don't change the message of the gospel, we don't change the foundation of Christ, we don't change that we are all needing to be saved by Jesus, but we do change how we reach people and we need to meet them where they're at. I would love to see more community, Dave, more reaching out, more understanding of what's happening in our streets day and day.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yeah. Well, Robbie, that's a good point. I mean, if you look back at Paul and Peter and some of the conflicts they had in Acts, you know, uh, we're saved by grace, and the Gentiles were brought in, sort of grafted into the vine of Jesus Christ. Peter and some of the apostles, they had a problem with that. You know, the community is changing and it changed for them rapidly. Being Orthodox Jews, that didn't sit well with them. And Paul had to admonish them and describe the the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Like you said, the message of the gospel never changes, but our communities do. And you know, it's it's not unlike it was back then, a little more complicated now, I would, I would think, with social media and and all of that, that didn't exist back then.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

So no, not at all. And you know, this is a great part of this conversation, and you know, we're we're we are going deep this week uh on uh the podcast. Uh let's let's talk for a moment if we if we can about present-day Ireland. Now, I'm Irish, born and raised here in Ireland. I know our history uh of my amount of years I've been alive, but from somebody from America, where do you, from the other side of the pond, see signs of spiritual hunger in Ireland today, or do you?

SPEAKER_02 20:09

I do, absolutely. So where would you see that? Well, we live in a world of political upheaval and discourse and and all of that, but I would say, Robbie, what I see in Ireland now, as we're seeing an explosion in America, is among our youth, right? I see the Gen Seers out there, and you and I are not part of that generation for sure. Not anymore. No, we can't really talk to them too much, but the gospel has really taken a hold of them and it's almost on fire here. Well, it is on fire here in the United States, and I see that happening in Ireland as well. You know, so coming from you know, America, being an American, born and raised in New Jersey with an Irish family. So I like I said before, I knew that the history and their views and the songs and all the things. But really, I think God is doing there is a hunger in Ireland, just like there is here, right? And in every country, but specifically in Ireland, I just think people want answers, right? I mean, every podcast in the world can Christian podcast can talk about this. We are looking for answers. We're all the same. It's true. We're all looking to fill that void, which is Jesus. He fills the void. And I see that in Ireland specifically.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

That's the answer. Uh you know, like we said earlier at the beginning, you know, we've complicated the gospel. You know, I want answers to this. Well, firstly, you'll find answers in the Word of God, but more importantly, you'll find answers in a personal relationship with Jesus. And we are seeing that here in Ireland with Gen Z ears. Uh, and people go, Oh, why do we have to label that? Well, because we get to a stage where people want to be identified as something.

SPEAKER_02 21:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Our Gen Z generation here are what we're finding here at UCB Ireland because we have, of course, Full Access, which is our Gen Z radio station. And it's for a generation, by a generation. And when we talk, when I talk to the guys who are the presenters or the hosts on Full Access, I say, How are you doing? I go, Yeah, fine. I said, What's most important to you about the message of the cross? That it's real, it's authentic, and it's accessible. That's what they say. Their generation, the Gen Z generation, is not after the fluff, it's after the realness. Give it to them, real. The rawness of the gospel. If Jesus said what he said, then I'm going to believe what he said, and you don't have to quote it for me. And that's what I think is quite incredible across across the world today.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

Well, Robbie, I'm going to turn this around a little bit. And I said, what challenges, or I should ask you, what challenges do the Church of Ireland or Church in Ireland face that people like myself outside of Ireland don't really see? I mean, we see news reports and whatnot, but what are we missing, if anything?

SPEAKER_01 23:15

That's a great question. You know, when I was 20 years of age, I left Ireland to go to the UK to for three years. I ended up staying 32. I met my my wife there. We married, we had had kids there, everything. And and I remember uh growing up in a wonderful church and being led by incredible people who I will always love. I call them my mom and dad. They've gone home to be with the Lord now, David and Haureen Church. And I remember standing, well, sitting there one Sunday morning, looking at a good friend of mine preach, and I I said to myself, I want to be like that. I want to be like him. And I remember God saying to me, I didn't make you like him, I made you Irish. Be Irish. Be who I created you to be. The world has always seen Ireland as a bit of a butt of a joke. Now we can take it the best of times, but I think sometimes people take that on board too much. So, what are the challenges in the church here in Ireland facing today? I think they're facing a people who don't believe they are worth it. I think they're facing uh people who go, but sure, I know whom God is, and I know who Mary is, and I know who Jesus is, and sure on grand, leave me alone. And they do know. And sometimes to actually get that conversation that moves from a knowledge of who God is to a relationship of who God is, moving from your head to your heart is a big, big, big challenge.

SPEAKER_03 24:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Now I know people will turn around and say, but what about the different movements and the different liberalism? God is bigger than all that. Yes, God is bigger than all of those things. And actually, if we focus on that, we miss out what he has. Biggest challenge that I see is a nation who are very capable, who a nation that is self-sustaining, but a nation who doesn't realize that it's lost. And we have to be able to tell them that.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Absolutely. Robbie, are you seeing signs of revival in Ireland? Any small but significant signs that God already be moving? I know we see it here.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

I see in churches. I I get the privilege of visiting churches and preaching in churches. Some of them are big churches, some of them are churches of 50. Some of them are churches right in the heart of Dublin, working with the lost, working with people who are drug addicts, working with people who will walk in high because they've been on the sauce all night. They've been, you know, they've been taking drugs, they've been, and I see pastors who love these people for who they are, where they are. I see big churches, and I've spoken at big churches, 450, 500 people, and God is moving, and there's a great revival in terms of praise and worship. But here's the thing, Dave. What is revival? What is it? We say, hey, is the revival? And we have this in our in our head that goes, Is that a big move of God, a big wave of God? Yeah, is that revival? Surely revival is when one person gives their life to Christ, they have been revived.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Amen. Yeah, we kind of just throw that around, don't we?

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Yeah, we do. Yeah, it's not revival unless there's a thousand people respond to Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

Revival.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah. And I uh listen, if that happens, praise God.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

But if it doesn't happen, and there's one or two or three people who respond to a message of Christ, do we disregard them because it's not a thousand people? Or do we love them because Jesus said, I will go after the one? Jesus left 99 to go after the one. That's right. Now is that revival? It is for that person because that person suddenly becomes a Christian.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

So, yes, I I believe there is revival in Ireland.

unknown 27:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

And I think we need to look for it in the small places.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Yeah, because that's one point.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

I see so many people doing so many amazing things, and people are responding.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

No, I couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Dave, it's been great to have another chat with you on the Irish Legacy podcast. And as we wrap up this show, let me just narrow this down a bit. How important is the role of the younger generation shaping what is to come next?

SPEAKER_02 27:44

We touched a little bit about it just before. It's absolutely critical. I mean, the younger generation, they're up and coming. They will have the Christian heritage to perpetuate, right? They the the youth today are you know the more aged and wise Christians of tomorrow. Right. Uh, you know, I'm not inferring that you and I are wise. We certainly are older. But yeah, older is right, yeah. But there's such a dynamic thing going on with the youth today. Uh, we do see it here in our churches and and and from what I see in Ireland as well, that God, and it's only God, we talked about the simplicity of the gospel and what Jesus is, and there's a lot of noise out there, but God will grab you, just like he grabbed a young 18-year-old called Dave Durbin back in 1979. Yeah, he will come into the darkness, which he did, and he grabbed me. No one preached to me, no one gave me a track, no one said you have to say the sinner's prayer. On a night in my parents' basement, Jesus came to me powerfully and I was saved. I just knew it. It's it is amazing. I'm getting kind of getting goosebumps with that. So I was young with no preaching or any of that, really, but God was there and God touched me in a very special way. So, yeah, it's absolutely critical for our youth today. Well, Robbie, I think we're running out of time. Sadly. Always runs away with us. I I don't know. I maybe we just talk a lot. I don't know what's going on. But I just, I just enjoy talking to you, my friend. And uh, we just had such a great trip to Ireland. As we close today, maybe the question isn't just what's happened in Ireland's past, but what God is inviting us into now. Because legacy was never meant to be admired from a distance, it's meant to be carried. The same faith that took root in uncertain times, the same courage that sent ordinary people across the world, the same spirit that moved in quiet monasteries and wild landscapes, that story isn't finished. And maybe revival doesn't begin with crowds or headlines. Maybe it starts with a single yes, a prayer, a willingness to believe that God can move again in Ireland and in us. So wherever you're listening from today, please take a moment, pray for Ireland, pray for a fresh move of God, and ask what part you might play in the story he's still writing.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Dave, it's been great to have another podcast with you. Thank you so much. Uh, I want to take this moment, if I can, to say a very big thank you to Mike Segovia and to Serena Dillon, who are behind the scenes of the Irish Legacy podcast. Thank you so much, guys, and everybody uh to PFC, audio and video for all the work that you do. Thank you so much. Really do appreciate it. If you would like to help us and to help us to continue broadcasting a message of hope and the faith of Jesus Christ across Ireland, you can give today. Every gift, no matter how the size, makes a real difference. And you can do so through our partners in America, New Horizons Foundation. If you go to our website, ucbireland.com, then you will find the donate page there. And every gift given to us in America is tax deductible. The support that you give is helping us to go on mission. And as we partner together to bring God's word to more people across Ireland, you can do that securely on UCB Ireland.com. Thanks for joining us on the Irish Legacy Podcast presented by UCB Ireland. If this episode has encouraged you, be sure to subscribe and share it with somebody who needs to hear a message of hope today. Stay connected with UCB Ireland as we continue to bring a voice of faith across this nation. Until next time, God bless you and take care.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Thank you for joining us on the Irish Legacy Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to share it with friends and family who are proud of their Irish roots. And to learn more about the mission and ministry of UCB Ireland, visit UCB Ireland.com where you can discover more programs, resources, and ways to stay connected. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and may the legacy of Ireland continue to inspire faith for generations to come.