Brendan O'Connor
Episodes
Caring for your eyes as you age with Opthalmic surgeon, Kirk Stephenson
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do discount shop reading glasses harm your eyes? Does staring at screens really harm our eyesight? If you need glasses to eat a meal, is something wro...
"I filmed my mother, drunk and asleep on a public bench” - Myrid Carten, filmmaker
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donegal-born visual artist Myrid Carten has made her first feature-length film, ‘A Want In Her’, chronicling her mother Nuala’s mental illness a...
“When you hit rock bottom... there is only one way up” Una Leonard
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Baker, Author and Founder of 2210 Patisserie, Una Leonard talks to Dearbhail about how her own history of disordered eating and her mother’s cancer ...
Does a million-year-old skull change our understanding of evolution?
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Ruth Freeman, Director at Research Ireland tells Dearbhail about how the discovery of a million-year-old skull in China has upended our understandi...
The Watchlist
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Times Film Critic, Donald Clarke, and host of The Bellissimo Files podcast, Sarina Bellissimo, join Dearbhail to preview film and TV highlights ...
The Newspaper Panel
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Dearbhail to discuss the Sunday papers are: Kevin Doyle, Group Head of News at Mediahuis Ireland; Lucinda Creighton, Founder and CEO of Vulcan...
Zlata Filipovic - From war to MTV to 30 years in Ireland
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Writer and filmmaker, Zlata Filipovic, shot to international fame when her childhood diary, during the Bosnian War saw her dubbed ‘The Anne Frank of...
“There's no one way to build a house in Ireland” - Harrison Gardner
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcaster and self-build enthusiast, Harrison Gardner chatted to Dearbhail about the construction jobs most of us can do ourselves, from pouring con...
Are competitive people born or made? Performance coach Enda McNulty gives his verdict
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Traitors comes to an end and the presidential election heats up, performance coach Enda McNulty talks to Dearbhail about what makes a competitive p...
“My life stopped, his didn’t”- Blathnaid Raleigh, rape survivor
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Activist and survivor of rape, Blathnaid Raleigh joins Dearbhail to talk about her new memoir Aftermath. She talks about how she coped in the years fo...
Your guide to vaccine season
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As flu season rolls around, do you still need to get a Covid booster? Does the shingles vaccine have an impact on dementia? And how does disinformatio...
How to batch cook your way to a stress-free week with chef Alannah Sheehan
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chef Alannah Sheehan joins Dearbhail to give us all the tasty tips on how to batch cook delicious dinners without sacrificing your Sunday to the kitch...
Newspaper Panel
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Brendan to discuss the Sunday papers are: Siobhán Fenton, writer and former deputy head of press for Sinn Féin; Dan O'Brien, Chief Economist...
The Watchlist
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Film critic for the business post John Maguire, and writer Henrietta McKervey, join Brendan to talk through the week's best films and TV showsSee omny...
"An Cailín Ciúin made me a legitimate actor" - Carrie Crowley
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Actor and broadcaster Carrie Crowley joins Brendan to talk about her career, playing Mammy Walsh in the upcoming RTÉ TV series 'The Walsh Sisters', h...
"A pompous but likable buffoon" - Alan Partridge profiled
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A beloved figure will return to our screens: Alan Partridge - sports anchor, turned chat show host, turned radio DJ, turned stand-in BBC presenter. He...
Bob Geldof "I probably WOULD have run for Fianna Fáil as President"
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof on 50 years of the Rats, why the Ireland of his youth was a 'Banana Republic', moving to London, observing social ch...
Brenda Fricker at 80: "I can't remember not wanting to die."
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Academy award winner, Brenda Fricker, invited Brendan into her home to talk about the events that have shaped her life. Her memoir is called 'She Died...
How to Calm Down
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neuroscientist Brian Pennie has practical tips on how to calm yourself in the moment when the red mist descends.See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...
The Watchlist
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Irish Times Arts Journalist, Nadine O’Regan and host of the Screenland Podcast, Brian Lloyd join Brendan to talk through the week’s best films and...
Anti-depressant poems for darker days
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the evenings drawing in, poet Enda Wyley chose uplifting poems to read. Nourishing poems of Soul and Light and The Poetry Pharmacy Returns, ‘Th...
“Inclusive classrooms make all kids cleverer, more empathetic and happier” - Jamie Oliver on dyslexia
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Having turned 50 in May, Jamie Oliver is in a reflective mood when he speaks to Brendan. He talks about his dyslexia, and shares health hacks on getti...
The Newspaper Panel
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Brendan to discuss the Sunday papers are Pat Leahy, Political Editor of the Irish Times, Elaine Burke, Science and Technology journalist, Scot...
Ciara O’Brien: Charlie Kirk’s Shooting and Disturbing Online Video
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the assassination of American conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, many social media users were unwittingly exposed to graphic videos of his...
“I have no fear of death” - Manchán Magan
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Author and Broadcaster Manchán Magan joins Brendan to open-up about his widespread cancer, his disdain for pity, drinking his own urine in the Himala...
Leo Varadkar: "If I hadn't gone into politics, I'd be an angry man on Twitter"
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As he publishes his memoir ‘Speaking My Mind’ former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, joins Brendan in studio to talk about his personal and political lif...
"There are dead skin cells everywhere, and dust mites loves them!”
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Autumn is here, and so are our friends, the dust mites! But what are they, where do they live, and what can we do to avoid them? Christine Loscher, Pr...
Gráinne Mullins: The Joy of Chocolate
13 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pastry Chef and CEO of Grá Chocolates, Gráinne Mullins talks Brendan through her favourite chocolate recipes, and why it’s such an appealing and v...
The Watchlist
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Senita Appiakarong, Culture Commentator and Eoin Sweeney, TV and Radio Producer give Brendan their recommendations for the best TV and films to watch ...
“Dance with the Season Change!”
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Mark Rowe, GP and author of “Things your future self will thank you for” has ten ways to navigate the change in season such as avoiding ‘indo...
‘Touching grass’, Gen-Z's fight back against big tech
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tech entrepreneur and journalist, Mark Little, discusses the challenges Gen-Z are facing and – importantly – the resilience they are showing and w...
The Newspaper Panel
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joining Brendan to discuss the Sunday papers are Prof Niamh Hourigan, Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Mary Immaculate College; Jack Horgan Jones...