The Mario Rosenstock Podcast

In the 12 months since Tony Kelly was on this podcast, his life has completely transformed. The comedy character that he created at a house party over ten years ago, is now the central character in a feature film that has gone global, streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. So Tony is back on the pod to tell me all about how it all happened and where to next. We also talk about his personal struggles with alcohol and drugs and how that side of his life has been going for him since the very dark times he went through not so long ago. COMEDY – Tony gets voicemails from Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Brendan O’Connor, and the great John Mullane!!

I am a tennis nut. I have been playing and loving the sport since I was ten years old and continue to love it to this day. So I’m delighted to be joined on this episode by the best tennis player ever to come out of Ireland. Conor Niland played for many years at a professional level, he was coached at the tennis academy run by legendary coach Nick Bollettieri, and he even qualified for Wimbledon, one of the only Irish players ever to do so.He has also met and played some of the tennis greats and on this episode he takes me behind the scenes of this fascinating world. Conor has just published a fascinating book called ‘The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%’, and he tells me all about it in this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast.COMEDY – Taylor Swift is in Ireland and her phone is hopping! We got exclusive access to her voicemailsProduced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

Professor John Crown is one of Ireland’s best-known and accomplished cancer experts. He has spent his entire career trying to improve outcomes for patients and fighting to improve the way Ireland’s health system works, so it was no surprise that, recently, John was crowned with the Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Medicine and Research Award from the Irish Association for Cancer Research.In this episode of The Mario Rosenstock Podcast we talk about John’s fascinating background, what inspired him to become a cancer specialist, what we all need to do (and stop doing) to live longer, healthier lives, where the health system has gone wrong and how John believes it can be fixed.COMEDY – we throw back to one of my favourites: RTE boss Kevin Bakhurst has just introduced a salary cap for RTE presenters – his voicemail box is hopping!Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Brendan Ogle is one of Ireland’s best-known activists and trade unionists. Having fought Margaret Thatcher and her plans to privatise the railways in the UK, Brendan returned home to Ireland in the early 90s and has been fighting for workers’ rights and social justice ever since.He has now decided that its time to move from protest to politics, and to try to effect change as a member of the European Parliament. Brendan is always a compelling podcast guest – he’s a real character, he’s got loads of war stories from the decades he has spent in the trade union movement, and its clear that he has plenty of fight left in him yet.COMEDY – Donald Trump’s phone has been hopping ever since he was found guilty of falsifying his business records. Check out the messages he has been getting from some well-known Irish peopleProduced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Laura and Rob are from very different worlds. Laura is a stand-up comedian and actress, best known The School and Bridget and Eamon on RTE. Rob is one of Ireland’s most successful Olympians, competing in five different Olympic games, and winning a gold medal at the Moscow World Championships.But together they present a very successful podcast called Red Raw where they talk very openly about their lives and share stories about body image, trying to conceive, Rob not hitting puberty until he was 17, and Laura being a virgin into her mid 20sNothing is off the table when it comes to their podcast – and nothing was off the table when it came to our chat too.COMEDY – with 2fm losing some of its biggest stars, some of Ireland’s favourite podcasters audition for their roles…Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

When Niall Boylan joined me here a couple of years ago we had a fascinating conversation about his 30-yearr career in radio, his reputation as a so-called ‘shock jock’, and his incredible life story. But recently Niall decided to put his lifelong radio career on hold so that he can run as a candidate in the Dublin constituency in the upcoming European elections.  Having spent so many years as a phone-in radio presenter Niall believes that he has a unique  understanding of Irish voters and the kind of representation they need at a European political level. In this very open and honest conversation about some of the big issues facing this country right now, Niall explains why he’s the man for the job and what he plans to do.COMEDY – Niall’s hosting a phone-in about OnlyFans, and some very familiar voices call in to express their opinions..The Mario Rosenstock Podcast is produced by Patrick Haughey of AudioBrand

A story like Israel’s war on Gaza naturally gets wall to wall news coverage. But sometimes blanket coverage over a prolonged period of time can start to lose its power, we start to get inured to it and its impact decreases. So in order to keep getting the message out there, you need a new angle - and comedian and writer Tadhg Hickey certainly has that angle. Tadhg has become very well-known over the last few years for unique brand of comedy, which highlights  global political issues in a very fresh and accessible way. He has always covered the Israel / Gaza conflict but over the last few months he has doubled down on it. Tadhg joined me earlier this week for a very interesting conversation about this terrible conflict, how and why it all started, why it might sound the death knell for Zionism, and how he’s trying to do some good through comedy.Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

We hadn’t planned to talk about it, but the tragic situation in Gaza and the failure of well-known people in the wellness industry to speak out about it, was one of the highlights of my chat with broadcaster and podcaster Sile Seoige. It’s a subject about which Sile feels incredibly passionate right now and she explains why in this episode.But of course we talked about all sorts of other things in the hour we spent together, like Sile’s hugely successful podcast Ready to be Real, some of the tough personal episodes she has been through , and what she has learned from them , and that recent controversy about the Irish language, stirred up by Sile’s former Newstalk colleague Ivan Yates! Comedy – Daithi O’Se, Ivan and Matt, and Blindboy leave voicemails for Sile on the Mario Rosenstock Podcast Hotline. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.NEWS: GIft Grub Live 25 (Brand new show celebrating 25 years of Gift Grub on the radio) @3ARENADUBLIN - ON SALE HEREhttps://www.ticketmaster.ie/mario-rosenstock-tickets/artist/2188743

Something that has always fascinated me about former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy  is how she could have one of the toughest, most serious and emotionally impactful jobs in the country and yet be so upbeat and positive outside of the job. In a way maybe that’s the only way one can successfully do it. Marie and I get in to all of that in our chat, as well as what its like being a pathologist, why she wanted to become one, the famous case that made her decide it was time to go, and lots more.Check out Marie's GoLoud Podcast HEREThe Mario Rosenstock Podcast is produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrandNEWS: GIft Grub Live 25 (Brand new show celebrating 25 years of Gift Grub on the radio) @3ARENADUBLIN - ON SALE HEREhttps://www.ticketmaster.ie/mario-rosenstock-tickets/artist/2188743

Lots of people THINK about running for election, lots of people TALK about it, but very few actually do it. Having spent many years loosely involved in politics, Cormac Lucey has now decided to go all the way, and he has just thrown his hat into the ring of the local elections in June.Cormac is a Sunday Times columnist, a lecturer in Finance in Trinity College, and a very familiar face and voice on media. I wanted to know what makes somebody like him, after years on the fringes of politics, decide to enter the fray – and he had a lot to say about it.Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrandNEWS: GIft Grub Live 25 (Brand new show celebrating 25 years of Gift Grub on the radio) @3ARENADUBLIN - ON SALE HEREhttps://www.ticketmaster.ie/mario-rosenstock-tickets/artist/2188743