The Women's Podcast

In 2009, at the height of the recession, Geraldine Swarbrigg and her daughter Jane decided to start a new business. Together they brought the cosmetics brand Inglot to Ireland and ten years on - with Jane's brother Peter also part of the family business - the company employs 300 people, is expanding at breakneck speed and has just announced an exciting new partnership with Next in the UK.On today's show, Geraldine and Jane speak to Kathy about all of this, they also explain what the “lipstick factor” means in economic terms, Jane recalls her attempt at upstaging Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas and they talk about Geraldine's husband Tommy Swarbrigg, the former Eurovision star.Plus: Róisín reports on her first week using a standy-uppy desk at work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mairead Buicke reckons she has been lucky in her career as a singer, from stepping in at the last minute for her first every professional performance at the National Concert Hall, to the teachers she has had the privilege of studying under. Ahead of her one-night-only performance in the Puccini Scandal at the NCH on April 24th, she talks to Kathy about her trad music roots, her big break and why it's all about the core for opera singers these days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show, Róisín speaks to Éanna Ni Lamhna, renowned environmentalist, broadcaster and author – who many of you will recognise as a long-standing member of the panel of experts on RTÉ’s wildlife programme ‘Mooney goes Wild’. Éanna is the author of several books including: Talking Wild, Wild and Wonderful and Straight Talking Wild – and she was in the middle of promoting National Tree week when she came into studio to talk to Róisín about her life and career.Plus: Kathy and Róisín discuss controversial comments by a UK judge about marital sex, and they don't quite see eye to eye on the important debate over leggings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aimée Johnston has swapped Ireland for the white sands and sunshine of the Maldives, after beating thousands of applicants to become the Barefoot Bookseller. The 'Best Job in the World' is in the luxury eco resort of Soneva Fushi in the exotic Indian Ocean destination and was advertised online last year by hotel library curator company Ultimate Library. Aimée has been shoeless on the island for a month now and she speaks to Jennifer Ryan on today's podcast about how it’s all going.Later: Róisín Ingle talks to psychologist and mindfulness meditationteacher Susannah Healy about her book The Seven-Day Soul, which aims to provide a clear path to finding deeper meaning and joy in life through a blend of science and spirituality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Máirín de Búrca has been a tireless social justice activist for women's rights, housing, prisoner rights, anti-apartheid, and many other issues throughout her life. She has, at times, been a committed member of Sinn Féin and, as a founder of the Women’s Liberation Movement, played a key role in that organisation's infamous Contraceptive Train. Máirín was also a prime mover in a legal case which secured for women the right to sit on juries, has been jailed for her anti-Vietnam War activities and fined for attacking Richard Nixon’s car during his 1970 Irish visit.Now, the octogenarian is the subject of a new documentary by filmmaker Cathal Black. A Loner's Instinct traces Máirín's life, taking us from her childhood in Chicago, to her membership of Sinn Féin, to her role as a founder of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement.On today's podcast she talks to Kathy Sheridan about her extraordinary life.A Loner's Instinct will screen at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin April 8th 2019 at 18:30, followed by a Q&A. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The gap between what it's really like to be a woman and what people expect women to be is the primary cause of burnout. Why? Because we exhaust ourselves trying to close the space. On today's show we speak to identical twin sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors of a groundbreaking new book about women and stress. It is called Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle and it is a science-based book also drawing on the writers' personal experiences and those of the hundreds of women the spoke to for this eye-opening and entertaining account of burnout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's show Kathy meets Maria Ní Fhlartharta and Róisín Ní Hacéid – two disabled women under the age of 30 and members of Disabled Women Ireland. The organisation was founded in May 2018, partly out of a frustration with the voices of disabled people not being heard in the debate around the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment. Maria and Róisín tell Kathy what Disable Women Ireland are about, what they hope to achieve and getting down to the "nitty gritty", one year into their campaignLater: Irish Times tech journalist Ciara O’Brien speaks to feminist activist and author Caroline Criado Perez about her book Invisible Women. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show Kathy talks to theatre legends Ger Ryan and Marie Mullen about their play at the Gate Theatre, The Children, directed by Oonagh Murphy. Written by Lucy Kirkwood and also starring Seán McGinley, the play is about three retired nuclear scientists staying at a crumbling cottage by the sea, as the world grapples with the aftermath of a catastrophe at a nuclear power station.Marie and Ger talk to Kathy about the production, about Waking the Feminists, about the reality of life as a jobbing actor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show Róisín meets one of fashion’s original supermodels Yasmin Le Bon to talk about beauty icons, menopause, ageing and her 30+ year marriage to Duran Duran star Simon Le Bon. In a frank and funny interview, Yasmin speaks about the difficulties of parenting, hot flushes and why #MeToo wasn’t an issue for her and her fellow 90s ‘supers’ including Kate Moss.Plus: Kathy and Róisín talk about period poverty and positive moves by the Oireachtas Women’s Causcus in putting the cause on the government agenda.And, Róisín waxes lyrical about the perfect pair of tights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On International Women's Day, we joined the 15th annual #IWD Accenture Ireland breakfast at the Convention Centre in Dublin. In front of a crowd of 1,700 (gulp!) in the main auditorium, Kathy hosted a panel on technology, Changing the Game in Tomorrow’s World, examining the future for inclusion and equality, and how the technologies we live and work with can set us up for success in tomorrow’s world.Joining her on stage were Brenda Romero, Bafta award-winning game designer; Zahra Bahrololoumi, Accenture’s UKI technology lead; and Gavin Kelly, chief executive, Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland. The panel spoke about inclusivity, the historical absence of the female lens in design, machine learning, the importance of ensuring there’s a lack of bias in data, and lots more. Plus: Brenda Romero gave an entertaining and inspiring speech on the importance of getting more women into the tech industry at all levels.Thanks to Accenture Ireland for a great event. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.