RTÉ
One-to-one conversations between Sean O'Rourke and well-known individuals. Featured guests are prominent in public service, culture, sport and business and these long-form conversations explore their motivations, achievements and regrets; in short, what made them the people they are.
Former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan tells Sean about her rise through the Garda ranks, the sexism she encountered along the way, her stormy tenure at the top of the organization, and the impact that the furor surrounding the Garda whistleblower controversy had on her and her family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers joins Sean to discuss all things infrastructure, becoming the country’s youngest Minister for Finance since Michael Collins, his changing views on abortion, and the response he has had since he came out publicly as a gay man. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former CEO of Special Olympics International Mary Davis speaks to Sean about bringing the Special Olympics to Ireland in 2003, running for Presidency, working with the Kennedys and meeting US President Donald Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chairman of one of the world's largest communications agencies FleishmanHillard John Saunders shares with Sean his experiences growing up in Artane, working in RTÉ as a sports journalist and his life in public relations. He speaks publicly for the first time about his daughters abuse at the hands of someone close to the family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Curate for Cresslough Fr John Joe Duffy joins Sean to discuss the tragedy that happened in the small village in Donegal on October 7th in 2022. Father Duffy arrived at the scene a short time after an explosion at the Applegreen Service Station which killed ten people. He shares his journey and how the community have been coping since. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chief Presenter with BBC News and former presenter and Washington Correspondent with RTÉ Caitríona Perry shares with Sean what life is like in Washington second time round and how her experience in Newstalk, Today FM and RTÉ has led her to anchoring in front of millions of viewers both in the US and globally. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Consultant Psychiatrist, Head of Addiction Services at St John Of God University Hospital and Clinical Professor at UCD’s School of Medicine Professor Colin O’Gara speaks to Sean about growing up in Cork in a family steeped in rugby and although he did play the sport like his famous brother Ronan he was more of a windsurfing enthusiast. He shares how he spends his time now advocating for those in the fight against addiction, highlighting the increasing numbers of people presenting with gambling and sex addiction as mobile phone possession and usage grows. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Director of Radio Programming and Public Affairs in RTÉ Kevin Healy joins Sean to share his journey as a journalist for the Cork Examiner and RTÉ and his decision to change careers in his fifties to retrain as a barrister. He opens up about the end of Scrap Saturday, his time involved in the Confidential Committee of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation and dealing with tragedy over the past number of years with the passing of his wife author Deirdre Purcell and his step-son Simon’s death and inquest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chartered Counselling Psychologist and lecturer in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in TU Dublin Leslie Shoemaker shares her journey with Sean from Pittsburgh to Ireland and how her dad’s side are one of the founding families of Pennsylvania. As co-founder of OCD Ireland, she explains what the disorder is and how she treats it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Manager of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, chief commercial officer at Bohemians Football Club and former owner of Bang Bang cafe in Phibsboro Daniel Lambert joins Sean to share his journey from working in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to managing Kneecap who have had a number of legal challenges against them. He opens up about growing up in Finglas and how his parents were influential in his life in relation to education, football and business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Star of ‘The Chase’ and ‘Beat The Chasers’ professional quizzer Darragh Ennis speaks to Sean about his journey from Rathcoole in Dublin, where he was suspended twice in primary school, to graduating from Maynooth University with a PhD before swapping it all for life in Canada and Oxford. He opens up about his breakdown on The Chase following his father’s death from Dementia in 2024 and how he’s writing a new book on memory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Irish ambassador Dáithí O’Ceallaigh joins Sean and explains what life was like serving in places like London and Belfast during the Troubles. He also opens up about his wife’s dementia, his Sheriff Street roots in Dublin’s inner city and how he was the first in his family to go to secondary school. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cyber Safe Kids Alex Cooney speaks to Sean about her journey from working in the international development and non-profit sector in East Timor, Jamaica and London to empowering children, parents, schools and businesses in what can be a very challenging online world. She discusses what can be done to protect children with the fast-paced development of AI and if social media bans for under-16s are a good idea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Minister for Housing and Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy joins Sean to share what life is now like for him following his turbulent time in politics in Ireland and the severe impact it had on his mental health. As his second edition of his book ‘Running from Office: How to Fail at Politics’ is published, he opens up about his relationships with former Taoisigh Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar, and how he’s much happier living in London and monitoring elections in countries such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Journalist, author and migration activist Fintan Drury joins Sean to discuss trials and tribulations over his career in the RTÉ newsroom and Northern Ireland, public relations and serving on the board of Paddy Power and Anglo Irish Bank, leaving not long before it failed. He also opens up about his friendships with former Taoiseach Brian Cowen and former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank Sean FitzPatrick and why he chose to write his latest book ‘Catastrophe: Nakba II’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Chief Operating Officer at Warner Music UK Isabel Garvey speaks to Sean about leaving investment banking for a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the music industry meeting stars such as Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Paul McCartney and Ed Sheeran. From EMI to Warner Music and Universal’s Abbey Road Studios, she shares how the music industry is changing with AI, the rise in female artists and leadership, and the way Irish artists are seen in the UK landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chief Executive Officer of An Post David McRedmond joins Sean to share his journey from working on the shop floor of Waterstones to his time at Eircom and TV3. He opens up about the opportunities and challenges of the last ten years heading Ireland’s commercial state body An Post overseeing big changes to its parcel and financial services with the price of a stamp continuing to rise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Former Chief Operating Officer at Warner Music UK Isabel Garvey speaks to Sean about leaving investment banking for a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the music industry meeting stars such as Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Paul McCartney and Ed Sheeran. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the final episode of the series, skincare expert Jennifer Rock joins Seán to share how she built a successful business while facing life’s toughest challenges and most uplifting moments. She opens up about motherhood, illness, loss, resilience, and finding joy through it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Author and advocate Jody Plauché speaks to Seán about surviving child abuse, the aftermath of his abuser’s killing by his father, and his journey toward healing. Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of child sexual abuse and trauma. Support resources are available at https://about.rte.ie/ie/helplines/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.