The Women's Podcast

In our first book club of 2021, Róisín, Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Niamh Towey discuss Untamed, a memoir by American author Glennon Doyle. This is Doyle’s third memoir, which follows on from her two previous best sellers, Love Warrior and Carry On, Warrior. Untamed is the story of how Doyle left her troublesome marriage, fell head over heels in love with soccer star Abby Wambach, found her inner voice and eventually learned how to stop pleasing and start living. The book has garnered many famous fans all over the world, with the singer Adele announcing to her 39 million Instagram followers that “this book will shake your brain and make your soul scream. I am so ready for myself after reading this!” So, is this the perfect ‘New Year, New You’ guide to motivate you through January? Let’s see what our book clubbers have to say. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that the future is never certain. But with a number of vaccines against Covid-19 on the way, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Last year we learned how to live in a pandemic, somehow managing to keep the show on the road in ways we never thought were possible before. We learned that, for many of us, working from home is possible. We found ways to keep in touch with friends and family, even though we couldn’t physically be with them. We got used to wearing masks and keeping our distance. How much of this will we have to carry through this year? What does our ‘new normal’ look like in 2021? What can we look forward to? To discuss this, and more, Kathy Sheridan is joined once again by Irish Times journalists Jennifer O’Connell and Kitty Holland, and performance artist, poet and writer, Felicia Olusanya, to look ahead to what’s in store this year. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the start of 2020, as we began a new decade, we were caught up with news stories about the Australian bushfires, the seemingly never-ending Brexit talks, a then-looming Irish general election, and students from 72 schools around the country began opening time capsules sealed in 1996 containing their hopes and dreams for 2020. How many of them could have guessed what lay ahead?Bubbling away in the background, further down the news agenda here, the World Health Organisation was dealing with the emergence of a ‘novel coronavirus’ in Wuhan, China, a disease that would dramatically change our lives.Covid-19 is the prism through which 2020 will forever be viewed and while it has swept across the world devastating communities, killing millions and bringing the world’s economies to their knees, life has somehow carried on.In today’s podcast Kathy Sheridan is joined by Irish Times journalists Jennifer O’Connell and Kitty Holland, and performance artist, poet and writer, Felicia Olusanya to take a look back at the y

The time has finally come to say goodbye to 2020. But before we bid adieu to the longest year on record, we want to take you on a journey back through the last twelve months of The Women’s Podcast. The year 2020 will not just be remembered for the pandemic, it will also be remembered for the global Black Lives Matter movement, the historic US election result and the scandal around the sealing of the Irish Mother and Baby Home records. Róisín Ingle brings you a selection of these highlights including a conversation with Sinead O’Connor who spoke to us from her cabin in the garden, a touching interview with Dr Catherine Motherway, Intensive Care Consultant at University Hospital Limerick and a snippet from our lockdown inspired series, The Big Night In with playwright and actor Olwen Fouéré. And of course, amongst all of that, there’s not one, but two highlights from our Summer episodes on Normal People. Here’s a link to each episode mentioned in today’s podcast:Ep 387 Sinead O’Connor https://soundcloud.com/iri

In this special festive episode, we’re bringing you a story written by Maeve Binchy, first published in The Irish Times on Saturday, December 29th, 1984. Read by Róisín Ingle, the story captures the beautiful ordinariness of everyday life, the fuss and excitement of the holidays and the place of a woman at the head of her family. With true emotional tugs and important lessons to be learned, we hope this story offers you some solace this pandemic Christmas eve. So sit back, relax, wrap some presents or venture out for a walk, whatever you do, enjoy Season of Fuss by the brilliant Maeve Binchy. Merry Christmas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma Gannon is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster who is best known for her podcast Ctrl Alt Delete and Sunday Times Bestselling business book The Multi-Hyphen Method. In 2020 she published her debut novel, Olive, in which she explores the lives of four female friends whose paths diverge after a close-knit college experience. The book’s protagonist is the titular Olive, whose first-person narrative focuses on her decision to not have a baby, or to be childfree by choice. It’s a timely theme and Olive has garnered high praise from the likes of Marian Keyes, no stranger to tackling meaty themes in relatable ways in her own books. In this episode, Emma chats to Róisín about the book, how she researched the theme of women choosing to be childfree and what the reaction to it has been like.Also in this episode: Highlights from the final event in our second season of the Big Night In with the broadcaster Olivia O’Leary. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Over the past year, the sale of puppies in Ireland has increased by over 200%. It’s no surprise that during these difficult times with lockdown restrictions still in place, people have opened their hearts and homes to new four-legged friends. However, many do not realise that by buying dogs online, they could be unknowingly contributing to Ireland’s illegal puppy trade. In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by model, artist and DSPCA ambassador Thalia Heffernan for an eye opening and important discussion on the reality of Ireland’s puppy farms. In recent weeks, the model has begun using her Instagram platform to warn against the online purchase of dogs and to educate people on the horrible reality of life for a breeding dog, forced to churn out litter after litter. Now, as animal shelters brace themselves for the inevitable influx of unwanted dogs in the new year, Thalia is playing her part by donating proceeds of her artwork to the DSPCA. You can follow @ThaliaHeffernan on Instagram for more details. Bu

We’ve reassembled our book club one last time before we bid adieu to 2020, to have a chat about the books they got lost in this year. Ann Ingle, Niamh Towey and Bernice Harrison join Róisín to recommend some great reads that you might consider gifting to your nearest and dearest this Christmas and to drop a few not-so-subtle hints about the books they hope to find under the tree for themselves on December 25th. Ireland’s booksellers have played a blinder throughout this pandemic, going to great lengths to get books to their customers despite a really challenging trading environment. With that in mind, please do your best to shop locally this Christmas and help to make sure our independent bookshops survive Covid-19 too.Books mentioned today:1.Irish Country Furniture and Furnishings 1700-2000, by Claudia Kinmonth2.A Promised Land, by Barack Obama 3.The Searcher, by Tana French 4.Big Girl, Small Town, by Michelle Gallen5.The Lying Life of Adults, by Elena Ferrante6.Fat Cow, Fat Chance by Jenni Murray7.Queenie,

In 2020, Irish musician Sharon Shannon was due to travel the world celebrating her 30th anniversary in the music industry. However, Covid as we know, scuppered everyone's plans. Making the most of her time in lockdown, the Clare native, set about writing and recording a brand new album called The Reckoning. It features over a dozen remote collaborations from artists in locations across the globe. In this conversation, Shannon tells Róisín Ingle all about this new found creative energy, which as well as writing a brand new album, also inspired her to pick up the electric guitar and completely redecorate her house. Surrounded by her two dogs and a sleeping cat called Lucy, the pair discuss the healing power of music and the much anticipated return of spontaneity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Somali-Irish activist Ifrah Ahmed is one of the world's foremost campaigners against Female Genital Mutilation. Ahmed came to Ireland in 2006 after fleeing her war-torn home country and during a medical examination it was found that she had suffered terrible trauma as a result of FGM. A founding member of the United Youth of Ireland, she has been gender adviser to the prime minister of Somalia and has worked with Unicef, Amnesty International and the Irish Refugee Council.In today’s podcast she talks to Kathy Sheridan about her decision to channel the anger she felt about her experience of FGM and turn it into a force for change. “If I didn’t speak, how many more girls would be the victim of FGM today?” she says. Now her life story has been made into a film by director and producer Mary McGuckian. McGuckian joins Ahmed in this podcast to talk about that film, A Girl From Mogadishu.Before you go – A reminder that our sixth and final 'Big Night In' will happen this Saturday December 12th 2020, with the wonderfu

This year marks the fifth anniversary of a pivotal moment in Irish cultural history. In November 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement emerged in response to decades of underrepresentation for women in Irish theatre and performance practice. In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by Lian Bell and Sarah Durcan, the two powerhouses behind the campaign which began on social media, gained traction all over the world, and can count Meryl Streep amongst its many supporters. The pair reminisce on a seismic time for women’s equality, the progress made and the work still to be done. But first, we’re championing #ShopLocal on The Women’s Podcast and each week in the run up to Christmas, we’ll be showcasing an Irish business that we think deserves your attention. This week, Roisin caught up with Cara Dunne from Cara Luna Designs, a small, design studio with values of eco-friendliness, inclusivity and non-binary representation at its heart. Amongst her wares are greeting cards, calendars and personalised illustrati

In today’s episode, we’re bringing you the recording from our recent Women’s Podcast Live event. On Thursday evening, in front of a very festive Zoom audience, our crack squad of Irish Times columnists presented the ultimate Christmas 2020 survival guide. Joining us on the evening was beauty reporter Laura Kennedy, who came bearing the best gift ideas this side of Bethlehem, including a pandemic themed beer and a candle which smells like the Westbury bathrooms. Advice columnist Roe McDermott came bearing insightful counsel on how to deal with everything from tricky family situations to self-care. Food writer Lilly Higgins brought us gorgeous recipes that will help make your feast the finest around. And finally, Hilary Fannin, who writes a weekly lifestyle column, came grinning and bearing it, because whatever happens this Christmas, we have to laugh. It was a wonderful evening spent in the company of four very wise women, all thanks to our sponsor Green & Black’s. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt

Rhonda Byrne shot to worldwide fame in 2006 with her massively successful film and book, The Secret. With fans like Oprah Winfrey, the book went on to sell more than 30 million copies, making Byrne a multi-millionaire.The Secret claimed to show us the path to create anything we want to be, do or have. Now Byrne has written its follow-up, The Greatest Secret, through which she hopes to help people learn how to find true peace without having to spend hours meditating each day. She talks to Róisín Ingle about writing her phenomenally successful first book The Secret, the 14-year search for truth which led her to The Greatest Secret, why none of us has to suffer if we stay “aware” and how the pandemic can be an opportunity to change the course of your life for the better. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this book club podcast Róisín, Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Niamh Towey discuss our latest read, Nick Hornby’s ninth novel, Just Like You. The author, known for his portrayal of the interior lives of men in books including the much loved, High Fidelity, is back with a funny age-gap love story set to a backdrop of Brexit London. In it, Hornby attempts to inhabit the point of view of a black man in his 20s and a woman in her 40s, with excursions into football and music.Does he successfully embody the lives of the two protagonists? In the era of Black Lives Matter, has the author managed to handle the issue of race appropriately? And, how does Brexit work as a literary device? As usual there were some strong opinions among our book clubbers, minor disagreements and even a slightly uncomfortable exploration of a hypothetical age-gap love story involving two of our panelists. We’ll have details of our upcoming Christmas book club meeting in a later episode and on our social media channels. See acast.com/priv

It's Food Month in The Irish Times but you might say it's been Food Month pretty much everywhere since last March when the pandemic took hold and we found ourselves spending a lot more time in our homes and particularly in our kitchens. We were delighted to welcome resident Irish Times Food Columnist Lilly Higgins back to the podcast to discuss the foods that have been keeping her and her family going over lockdown - did anybody say duck pancakes? She also made a compelling case for her one woman campaign to bring back the Vol-au-vent, the giant variety of course. Living in Cobh, Co Cork with her husband and small children, Higgins talks about the dishes that have been the crowd pleasers with her family and with readers over Lockdown including a Goan Fish Curry that takes only fifteen minutes to prepare. She's also been cooking up a storm on Instagram and she told Roisin Ingle all about building a new community of foodies on that platform.Here's the three recipes featured in this episode:Yee-Haw! Cowboy Bean

While many of us were rightly outraged by the Government's approach to rushing through the Mother and Baby Homes Bill, and relieved by the U-turn that followed the public campaigning of survivors and human rights experts, one aspect of that story got very little attention. For black or mixed-race people born or raised in mother and baby homes and industrial schools, the abuse they received was of a different nature than that meted out to their white-skinned inmates. Rosemary Adaser was one of those people and she came on the podcast to talk about her experience of systemic racism, physical and sexual abuse and the trauma of having a non-Irish heritage which meant she was, as she puts it, "at the bottom of the pecking order". Rosemary was dehumanised in these institutions, called a savage, demeaned and made to feel ashamed of her heritage, her Irish mother and Ghanaian father. It was only in her fifties and living in London that she began to look back at her past and at her Irish identity. In this powerful int

You might have seen a shocking and disturbing news story in The Irish Times this week by Kitty Holland who wrote about a cluster of suicides among young women in west Dublin last year which was linked to the housing crisis, domestic violence, social media and recreational drug use. Though the area has had a female suicide rate three times the national average since 2015, it was the deaths of eight women in their 20s and early 30s over a 10-week period that prompted a HSE report. Four of the women who died between April and July 2019 were from Ballyfermot and the others were from neighbouring Clondalkin, Tallaght and Palmerstown. Several were young mothers. One of the most striking things from the report into these suicides was fears by some of these young women that their children could be removed by Tusla and that was cited as a reason why some mothers in distress don’t seek help. On the podcast to discuss this were reporter Kitty Holland, People Before Profit Councillor Hazel Norton and S.W.A.A.T. Co-ordina

In this episode, we meet Ruth Medjber the talented young music photographer who, having lost all her work due to the pandemic, found a novel and engaging way to capture the story of Ireland in Lockdown. Medjber told Roisin Ingle about why she began taking photographs of people at their front windows, to show the rich and diverse tapestry that made up the universal details of our locked down lives. She traveled the country taking photos of people (and sometimes their dogs) and the result has been made into a beautiful book called Twilight Together: Portraits of Ireland At Home. Medjber spoke about growing up with photography in her DNA and about how this latest project has made her reevaluate her art in a positive sense. Also in the episode, we hear from Drogheda teenager Victoria Adeyinka who has 11.5m followers on Tik Tok where she entertains the masses with funny, heartwarming skits. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Four years ago this week, we called an Emergency Episode of this podcast to lament and analyse the ascent of racist, sexist Donald Trump to The White House. Four years later we assemble again in a slightly more hopeful mood against a backdrop of Biden possibly emerging victorious. We can't forget though that nearly 70 million voters choosing Trump again, despite or perhaps because of, his four year reign which has included white supremacist allegiances, children in cages, lies, sexism, narcissism, meltdowns and more lies. Joining our host Kathy Sheridan for this invigorating conversation which included an exploration of 'tenacious optimism' and 'fuck you feminism' was feminist giant Mona Eltahawy, human rights lawyer Simone George and Irish Times Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch. Cheerful is not an option, says Mona. Righteous anger and activism are what we need to dismantle the patriarchal structures that are still alive and well whether, when all the votes are finally counted, Biden/Harris or Trump/Pe

In today's episode, Kathy Sheridan talks to broadcaster Aine Lawlor as she marks the move from anchoring RTE Radio 1's News At One to a gig she has to set the alarm much earlier for as one of the co-presenters of the flagship programme Morning Ireland. She talked to Sheridan about her long career, her passion for current affairs, her thoughts on the US Election and the importance of speaking so openly about her cancer diagnosis in 2011. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.