The Women's Podcast

Róisín talks to theatre maker Louise White about her show, This is the Funeral of Your Life – a production she made in response to the death of her father five years ago and an attempt to cope with her grief. She says it’s not morose, it’s about talking about death in a healthy way. Louise is performing the show as part of a fundraising exercise for a new musical she is working on called Poor Little Rich Girl. That show is about privilege and inequality, in which Louise will explore invisible systems of privilege in Ireland by examining the implications of her own.https://www.louisewhiteperformance.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anne Maher, director and co-founder of The National Ballet of Ireland – Ballet Ireland, talks to Kathy about her career as a professional dancer, ballet's snooty image and her commitment to making her company less reliant on traditional ballet. She also talks about ballet's #MeToo moment, why there's no misogyny in her studio and Ballet Ireland's upcoming double-bill at the O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin - Bold Moves & Lost.Later: Hedy Fry has been an MP in Canada since 1994, making her the longest-sitting woman in the country’s parliament. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, the Liberal Party politician was in Dublin recently to visit her old stomping ground at the Royal College of Surgeons, where she studied in the 1960s. She talks to our co-producer Jennifer Ryan about Ireland in the 1960s, Canada under Justin Trudeau and why she went from medicine into the "scuzzy business" of politics.Plus: Róisín and Kathy on the true meaning of Valentine's Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

St Brigid is having a 'moment'. For too long the iconic patron saint of Ireland has been overshadowed by St Patrick, but now Lá Fhéile Bríde has become an annual celebration of Irish Women. It began in the Irish Embassy in London and now takes place across the world at various Irish embassies, consulates and other venues. This year Róisín Ingle took part in the festivities when she joined RTÉ's Aine Lawlor, Marie Claire editor-in-chief Trish Halpin, former Irish rugby international Sophie Spence and actor Olwen Fouréré for a discussion about challenge and change in women's lives at the Irish Embassy in London. Today's podcast is an edited version of that conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intensive Care doctor Aoife Abbey went to work on Christmas Day and four of her patients died. That's normal. It's just part of the job. Every day at University Hospital Coventry she experiences feelings of fear, grief, anger, joy, distraction, disgust and hope. The former 'Secret Doctor' blogger has written about those feelings in her first book, Seven Signs of Life: Stories from an Intensive Care Doctor, which describes what it means to be alive and how it feels to care for the living and the dying. She talks to Kathy about the book, about empathy and why there are no 'fighters' when it comes to medicine.Plus: Kathy and Róisín talk about Derek Scally's call-out to the 'Magdalene men', the women in white at President Trump's State of the Union address and the insanity of suggesting that women should avoid going jogging alone to combat abuse and catcalling from men. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ellie Kisyombe and Carol Deans will contest the local elections in May for the Social Democrats in Dublin’s North Inner City ward. They speak to Kathy about why they chose to run, what drew them to the Social Democrats and what they'll do if they succeed in becoming Dublin City Councillors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christmas day 2018, 24-year-old mother of three Karen McEvoy died as a result of sepsis at Naas General Hospital, one week after giving birth to her daughter at the Coombe Hospital in Dublin. Karen's partner Barry Kelly has told The Irish Times social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland that he wants an independent investigation into Karen's death. On today's podcast, Kitty and Dr Jo Murphy-Lawless from the school of midwifery in Trinity College Dublin, speak to Kathy about Karen McEvoy's death following the release of preliminary postmortem results indicating she died of sepsis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Theatre maker Doireann Coady talks to Kathy about her show, I’m Not Here, running at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin next weekend. The piece is a duet with her brother Donal, but he is, in fact, not here. Donal died by suicide almost ten years ago, but we hear his voice in the show through recordings that Doireann's father discovered years after his death. She talks to Kathy about the show, about how we talk about suicide in Ireland, and why her audience has nothing to fear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed captured the world’s attention recently when she barricaded herself in a Thai hotel room after fleeing abuse in her own country. Using social media, she communicated with the outside world from her hotel room, she is now safe in Canada. Egyptian-American journalist and activist Mona Eltahawy played no small part in her escape, translating her Arabic tweets into English and using her contacts to bring attention to Rahaf's plight. On today's show Eltahawy speaks to Kathy from Canada about Rahaf and the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia's guardianship system.Later, co-producer Jennifer Ryan talks to Kathy about Eileen Twomey, the 84-year-old Donnybrook resident who is fulfilling a lifelong ambition holding her first ever art exhibition at her Dublin home this weekend.Plus: Róisín tells Kathy why she has gotten into Opera later and they talk about the Gillette ad that caused a stir this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Jo Murphy-Lawless, a sociologist at the school of nursing and midwifery at Trinity College Dublin, speaks to Róisín about what's wrong with Ireland's maternity services. She talks about her experience teaching trainee midwives and the challenges they face, and also about strengthened legislation around the reporting of maternal deaths, which it's hoped will become law by March 2019. Dr Murphy-Lawless is part of the Elephant Collective, a group which has campaigned for the new laws and which has brought a travelling exhibition to the Wexford Arts Centre commemorating women including Savita Halappanavar, Sally Rowlette and Bimbo Onanuga - it runs until February 12th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abortion became legal in Ireland on New Year's day. On today's show, Róisín finds out everything a person facing an unplanned pregnancy needs to know about accessing abortion services in Ireland. She talks to Helen Deely, Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme Lead at the HSE, about its information and support service MyOptions.Plus: Jennifer Ryan visits the 'Blazing a Trail' exhibition at EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum, celebrating 21 Irish diaspora women who blazed a trail in sport, science, the arts and more. She speaks to the exhibition's curator, historian in residence at EPIC, Dr Angela Byrne.Online: www.myoptions.ieFreephone: 1800 828 010 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.