The Women's Podcast
Episodes
Women in Politics: Battling the rising tide of abuse
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The local and European elections are taking place in just over two weeks time, on Friday June 7th. Since the beginning of the campaign, there have bee...
Marian Keyes: My Favourite Mistake
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Author, podcaster and fond friend of the show, Marian Keyes is back with her sixteenth novel ‘My Favourite Mistake’. It follows Anna Walsh, as she...
Childfree by choice: The women who choose not to have kids
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, author Caroline Magennis talks to Róisín Ingle about her new book Harpy: A Manifesto for Childfree Women. It’s a look beyond the ...
Wallis Bird: 1000 years of female composers
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to believe the last time Wallis Bird was on the podcast was nearly five years ago in 2019. Since then, the Berlin-based musician has relea...
Fertility on Ice: why more women are choosing to freeze their eggs
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last November, Pastiche, a pop singer-songwriter from Malahide in Co Dublin was diagnosed with endometriosis, more than a decade after her first sympt...
Narcissistic mothers: How to handle one and how to heal
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What does narcissism in mothers look like? According to psychotherapists Helen Villiers and Katie McKenna, the narcissistic mother can be “extremely...
Rebecca Ivory: Free Therapy
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Róisín Ingle talks to debut author Rebecca Ivory about her new collection of short stories Free Therapy. The book takes its name fr...
Simone Gannon: Beauty through the ages
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Simone Gannon is a content creator, digital marketing expert and the new beauty writer at the Irish Times. Since the beginning of the new year, she’...
Living with Endometriosis
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, so in this episode, we want to highlight the experience of two women living with the condition. Dearbhail Ormo...
Jan Brierton: Everybody Is A Poem
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s World Poetry Day today, so what better way to celebrate it than with one of our favourite poets and friend of the show, Jan Brierton. In this e...
Leave Molly mAlone / Protecting maternity leave for cancer patients
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tilly Cripwell, a 22 year-old musician, who regularly performs beside the Molly Malone statue in Dublin, is on a mission to stop people from inappropr...
International Women’s Day: The war on women in Palestine
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This International Women’s Day, we are turning our attention to the plight of Palestinian women and children. So far, more than 30,000 people have b...
The Referendum Special: Women, Home, Duties, Common Good, Care & Family
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On International Women’s Day this year, March 8th, the Irish public will be asked to vote in two upcoming referendums. The first referendum concerns...
Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Kathy Sheridan is joined by British author and journalist Sarah Gristwood, who has just released her new book, Secret Voices: A Year ...
Overcoming perfectionism: Fiona Brennan and Edel Coffey
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Being a perfectionist may sound like a good thing, but don’t let the name fool you. A perfectionist’s life is far from perfect. If you are one, or...
Make Gaeilge Great Again: Áine Gallagher and Mollie Guidera
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re dusting off our ‘cúpla focal’ and talking about the joys of Gaeilge with two Irish language innovators, Mollie Guid...
Missing Persons: Clair Wills on the search for her secret cousin
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Kathy Sheridan is joined by British academic and author Clair Wills. In her new book Missing Persons, Or My Grandmother’s Sec...
Breakdown: Cathy Sweeney
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Breakdown is the debut novel from author and former English teacher Cathy Sweeney. It tells the story of a disillusioned mother, living in a leafy sub...
Breaking barriers: Inny Ekeolu and Aghogho Okpara
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are joined by two young black-Irish women who have excelled in their respective fields of law and medicine, despite plenty of obst...
Double Act: Millie Daniel-Dempsey and Amy Robyn Lyster
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All singing, all dancing duo Honey and Lemon are bringing their new show Double Act to the Project Arts Theatre on January 18th. It’s a whistle-stop...
Your favourite episodes of 2023
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, as we ease into the rhythm of a brand new year, we are taking the opportunity to bring you some highlights from your favourite episodes of ...
The Women's Podcast 2023 Review
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2023: It was a year that broke global temperature records, riots took over the streets of Dublin and the world looked on in horror as more than 20,000...
The Book Club: Christmas gift recommendations
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea, you can never go wrong with a good book. So that’s why we’ve gathered our book clubbers, Niamh To...
Remembering Rosemary Smith
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Irish motorsport legend Rosemary Smith died last week at the age of 86. To pay tribute to the trailblazing rally driver, we want to bring you this int...
Taking Back My Power: ‘Revenge porn’ campaigner Georgia Harrison
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, author and reality television star Georgia Harrison became a victim of so called ‘revenge porn’ when she was secretly recorded having sex...
Emma Dabiri: Claiming your unruly beauty
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Irish-Nigerian author and broadcaster Emma Dabiri is giving the middle finger to modern beauty standards. Growing up, Dabiri felt pressured to conform...
Justine McCarthy: An Eye on Ireland
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book, An Eye on Ireland, award-winning journalist and Irish Times columnist Justine McCarthy shares new and selected pieces of work from he...
Cat Bohannon: How the female body drove evolution
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, author Cat Bohannon explores the history and science behind the d...
The Book Club: So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At just 64-pages long, you could get through So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan in just one sitting. So if you haven’t read it yet, you’ve no exc...
Invisible woman syndrome: Why does it happen and what to do about it
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Six years ago, when writer and psychotherapist Lucy Cavendish turned 50 , she began to feel like she didn’t fit in anymore. With her four children r...
Catherine Cleary: How to grow your own forest
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three years ago, Irish Times contributor Catherine Cleary decided to buy the cheapest land she could find in Ireland, with the dream of planting her o...
Best of The Women's Podcast: Elizabeth Day
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Romantic love, widely elevated as a subject worth interrogating, tends to get a lot of attention while platonic friendship is woefully neglected in th...
Menopause: Claire Dinsmore on ‘the power years’
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, marked World Menopause Day, a day to raise awareness and break the stigma around perimenopause and menopause. To celebrate this transitiona...
Agnes O’Casey: Lies We Tell
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A graduate of Dublin’s Lir Academy, English actress Agnes O’Casey made her big break in the highly acclaimed BBC series Ridley Road in 2021. Now t...
Máiría Cahill: Rough Beast
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rough Beast: My Story and the Reality of Sinn Féin is the highly anticipated memoir from former Irish Senator Máiría Cahill. Growing up in west Bel...
Marian Keyes at 60: what the beloved, best-selling author has learned about life
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we’re delighted to be joined by best-selling author and friend of the podcast Marian Keyes, who celebrated her 60th birthday earlier this mont...
Sinéad Kennedy on the joys of solo travel
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, author, travel writer and wellbeing coach Sinéad Kennedy joins Róisín Ingle to discuss her new book Life is a Cycle. It’s an hon...
There’s something about Mary McKenna / The Coil’s Lament
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mary McKenna is the CEO & Founder of Tour America & Cruise Holidays / The Travel Suite, one of Ireland’s most successful travel agencies. Fo...
Anne Enright: The Wren, The Wren
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Following on from the success of her 2020 novel Actress, Anne Enright is back with her latest book The Wren, The Wren. It’s a multi-generational sto...
Dublin Fringe Festival Friends: Sadhbh Malin and Sinéad Gallagher
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Dublin Fringe Festival kicks off next month on Saturday, the 9th of September. Once again, the festival features a stellar line up of women-led pr...
The Book Club: Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month our booker clubbers have been reading Old Babes in the Wood, a collection of short stories from award-winning author Margaret Atwood. The b...
Rosemary Murphy: The 40 year-old medical student (and mother of 12)
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rosemary Murphy, a dynamic 40-year-old woman from Dolphin’s Barn in Dublin, had two major goals from childhood. The first was to have a large family...
Elaine Feeney: Booker Prize Nominee
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Irish author Elaine Feeney is nominated for the 2023 Booker Prize for her novel How to Build a Boat. The writer from Galway is one of four Irish autho...
Clit Bait: Everything you need to know about your clitoris
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we have two experts on hand to share their extensive knowledge of the clitoris, a much ignored and often overlooked part of the femal...
Ejaculate Responsibly: A whole new way to think about abortion
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American blogger and author Gabrielle Stanley Blair is on a mission to change the conversation around abortion. Rather than centering the debate aroun...
Remembering Sinéad O’Connor
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor died this week at the age of 56. A trailblazer, feminist and advocate for social change, O’Connor will be remembered...
Caitlin Moran: What About Men?
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A regular on The Women's Podcast, journalist and author Caitlin Moran was in Dublin recently as part of her latest book tour. As someone who regu...
Dina Kraft: My Friend Anne Frank
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, writer and journalist Dina Kraft tells the story of Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick-Goslar and her childhood best friend, Anne Frank. ...
I Will Be Good: Peig McManus
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I Will Be Good is the new memoir from Peig McManus, an unforgettable Dublin character, who grew up in 1940s Ireland, under the shadow of the Second Wo...
The Book Club: Holiday reads
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, book clubbers Niamh Towey, Bernice Harrison, Róisín and Ann Ingle share their summer reading recommendations. Amongst their favouri...
Cecelia Ahern on empathy, rage and menopause
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s almost twenty years since Cecelia Ahern released her debut book P.S I Love You. Now the author is back with her nineteenth novel, In a Thousand...
Grand: Noelle McCarthy
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcaster and writer Noelle McCarthy was born and raised in Cork, but now lives in New Zealand with her husband and young daughter Eve. Her new memo...
Naoise Dolan: The Happy Couple
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Best-selling author Naoise Dolan is here to talk about her highly-anticipated second novel The Happy Couple. It tells the story of Celine and Luke, th...
COYGIG: Vera Pauw on Ireland’s FIFA World Cup dreams
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The countdown is on for next month’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia. In this episode, Vera Pauw, manager of the Irish women’s national foot...
The magic of biodiversity: Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In May 2019, the Irish government declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. To guide us through everything we need to know about biodiversity los...
Poor: Dr Katriona O’Sullivan
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr Katriona O’Sullivan talks about her powerful, inspiring and affecting memoir Poor. O’Sullivan grew up in England with Irish pa...
Bonnie Garmus: Lessons in Chemistry
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we revisit a conversation we had last year with Bonnie Garmus, author of the best selling book Lessons in Chemistry. The novel follow...
Annie MacManus: Home, Irishness & Changes
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest this week is DJ, podcaster and author Annie MacManus - more widely known as Annie Mac - who came on to talk about her second book The Mess W...
Elizabeth Day: Confessions of a friendship addict
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Romantic love, widely elevated as a subject worth interrogating, tends to get a lot of attention while platonic friendship is woefully neglected in th...
The Book Club: Go as a River by Shelley Read
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month on the Women’s Podcast book club, we’ve been reading Go as a River, the debut novel from Shelley Read. Set in the beautiful wilderness ...
Abortion services review: Is the law failing women?
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the long awaited independent review of the Irish abortion system was published by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. The review exam...
Pray for Our Sinners: Sinéad O’Shea and Dr Mary Randles
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pray for Our Sinners, the new documentary from filmmaker and journalist Sinéad O’Shea, opens in Irish cinemas this week. It follows O’Shea a...
Caoilfhionn Gallagher on life, law and learning to fly
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Caoilfhionn Gallagher is a prominent human rights lawyer, who was recently appointed the Irish government’s Special Rapporteur on Child Protection. ...
Aoife Dooley: Me, myself and autism
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An award winning illustrator, author and comedian, Aoife Dooley is a woman of many talents. She has just released her sixth book, a graphic novel call...
Sherine Tadros on love, war and changing the world
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sherine Tadros is an Emmy nominated journalist turned human rights activist, who has just released her powerful new memoir Taking Sides. The book foll...
No Choke: The ‘sex misinformation crisis’
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Thompson is the author of ‘Rough: How violence has found its way into the bedroom and what we can do about it.’ It explores the phenomenon ...
Unraveling Motherhood with Geraldine Walsh
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, we’re exploring the wonderful, fraught and transformative experience of becoming a mother. When it comes...
International Women’s Day: Celebrating 50 years of Irish Feminism
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we are bringing you a special episode of The Women’s Podcast, recorded live from The Oak Room of the Mansion House, as part of our celebration...
The Dry: staying sober in a drinking world
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Dry is a new comedy-drama which has just landed on RTE One. It tells the story of Shiv Sheridan, who returns to Dublin after years spent partying ...
The Book Club: The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month on The Women’s Podcast book club, we’ve been reading The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama. It’s the second book from the former First...
Tinder Translator: An A - Z of Modern Misogyny
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re familiar with the world of online dating apps, you’ve likely come across profiles with phrases such as ‘swipe right for kinky’, ‘j...
Menopause: The Good, The Bad & The Summit
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The National Menopause Summit is taking place in the Mansion House in Dublin on March 23rd. This “masterclass” in menopause will feature a keynote...
Mother & Baby Home Redress Scheme: An insult to survivors?
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the coming weeks, the Government is expected to pass the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022. However, the proposed redress schem...
Bad Bridget: Exploring the hidden lives of Irish emigrant women
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bad Bridget is the new book from historians Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. It tells the unheard stories of Irish girls and women who emigrated t...
Bloody Hell: Mona Eltahawy on menopause myths and taboos
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Feminist author, Mona Eltahaway, joins host, Róisín Ingle, to discuss her fascinating journey through the menopause. The dynamic disruptor of the pa...
Endometriosis: 'We're treated like hysterical drama queens.'
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Aimee Brown is the first known person in Ireland to be given a ministerial license for legal cannabis to treat the chronic pain she endures as a resul...
Sali Hughes: "I just think people need to get over themselves about botox"
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist, beauty editor and author Sali Hughes joins us on the podcast to talk about her new book, Everything is Washable. Having run away from home...
Sheila Liming on the benefits of hanging out
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode we’re talking all about the joys and benefits of hanging out. Whether it’s with your friends, strangers or acquaintances, the...
The Women’s Podcast 2022 Review
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022: It was the year that Russia launched their attack on Ukraine, the women of Iran and Afghanistan continued their fight for freedom and the entire...
The shite before Christmas
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The build up to Christmas can leave many of us feeling frazzled and fried. What should really be a time of festive cheer and fun, often turns into a w...
Harry and Meghan: ‘It’s like a Shakespearean drama for 2022’
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The final three episodes of Harry and Meghan’s tell-all documentary series on Netflix have finally been released. With new revelations about the cou...
Christmas Book Club: Gifts for Readers / Maggie O’Farrell
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To help you out with the books you’re going to buy as gifts this Christmas, we’ve asked our book clubbers Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Ann and R...
Have yourself a conscious little Christmas
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Having a thoughtful, sustainable and more mindful Christmas does not have to be a buzzkill. With that in mind, this episode is full of tips for a more...
Women’s struggle in Iran and Afghanistan: Mahya Ostovar and Mahbooba Faiz
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the courageous shows of defiance against the misogynistic Islamic Republic in Iran and the rights of women and girls continuing to be eroded by t...
Light on the Horizon: ‘No woman should spend her life hostage to an abusive partner’
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was a chance meeting in 1992 which brought Ennis women Colette Reddington and Mary Fitzgerald together. When their paths crossed, both were se...
Rosie Holt: Queen of social media satire
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When her career stalled during the Covid lockdown, actor and writer Roise Holt moved back to her parents house in Somerset and began creating comedy v...
In her own words: A tribute to Vicky Phelan
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
CervicalCheck campaigner Vicky Phelan died this week, at the age of 48. Over the years, Vicky has joined us on a number of occasions as a guest on the...
Teresa Deevy: The life and legacy of an extraordinary Irish playwright
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Teresa Deevy may not be a familiar name to most people, but it should be. Born in 1894, the Waterford woman, who was deaf from the age of nineteen, wa...
Aimée Foley: ‘I was never a daughter in his eyes, I was an object’
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, Aimée Foley emerged from the Central Criminal Courts of Justice with a smile on her face. The 21 year-old had been fighting to get her fa...
The Book Club: Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This month on The Women’s Podcast book club, we’ve been reading Lucy by the Sea by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout. Set in the earl...
Ep 580 Ten Years On: The legacy of Savita Halappanavar
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week marks ten years since the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died on the 28th October 2012. The young Indian woman was seventeen weeks pregna...
Ep 579 Storyland: Three winning dramas from women coming to RTE
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, as part of their ‘Storyland’ initiative, RTE invited budding writers and creative talent to submit their ideas for original and new loc...
Ep 578 Women of Iran: 'We just want to be free'
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Maryam Mohitmafi arrived in Ireland with her husband two years ago, she was seeking a better life. A life where she could be free to choose what ...
Ep 577 Rebecca Miller
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Total is the brand new book from author and filmmaker Rebecca Miller. It has just been released, but the wheels were set in motion for this collection...
Ep 576 Kate Ewart-Biggs on life, loss and the power of connection
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Ewart-Biggs was just eight years-old, when her father, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the former British Ambassador to Ireland was assassinated by the ...
Ep 575 Alice Ryan: There's Been A Little Incident
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Alice Ryan began writing her first novel There's Been A Little Incident, a debut about familial love and lifelong friendship, it was an "act...
Ep 574 Edwina Dunn: From the Tesco Clubcard to The Female Lead
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Edwina Dunn was a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a long distance truck driver and living a very glamorous life on the road. While she didn’...
Ep 573 Florence Given: Girlcrush
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Girlcrush is the brand new novel from writer and illustrator Florence Given. It follows the journey of Eartha, a young woman fresh out of a relationsh...
Ep 572 Women of Dublin Fringe: From Hot Brown Honey to Hive City Legacy
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Fringe time again and as usual, the Dublin Fringe Festival has a host of female-led art and showomanship to discover. In today’s episode we h...
Ep 571 The Book Club: Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen is the latest book up for discussion on the book club. Set in the summer of 1994, the story follows the lives of Maev...