Inspired by the classic BBC radio programme broadcast, Desert Island Discs, our new podcast Desert Island Dress follows a similar arrangement and asks guests to choose four items of dress, items which likewise have shaped guests’ lives, that they could not bear to leave behind on the mainland. Items that cannot be replaced.
Postanalysis episode inspired by conversations with Caoilfhionn Gallagher
Welcome back to our post-analysis episode of Desert Island Dress.
Every other week, we take a moment to reflect on the stories and choices shared in the main conversation and pull on one of the threads that caught our attention.
✨ Stay connected with Desert Island Dress:
📸 Instagram: @desert_island_dress (https://www.instagram.com/desertislanddress)
🌐 Website: www.desert-island-dress.com (https://www.desert-island-dress.com/)
💌 : Share your favourite episode of Desert Island Dress with a friend
For more stories, news and updates — including our first live show in Copenhagen with the Embassy of Ireland and recently published articles in RTÉ Brainstorm, visit: www.desert-island-dress.com
29 Sept 2026
Caoilfhionn Gallagher: Wearing Truth to Power
Today, we are honoured to welcome Caoilfhionn Gallagher to Desert Island Dress.
Caoilfhionn is a barrister and has worked in London at the renowned Doughty Street Chambers for over 20 years, alongside similarly excellent human rights barristers such as Amal Clooney, fighting for justice — particularly for those who do not have the voice or reach to advocate for themselves.
Even after talking with Caoilfhionn for just an hour, we came away humbled by what was on our own plates, as she casually shared just some of the items on her calendar for that week alone! She is a force of nature: so articulate, insightful and hugely knowledgeable, while also being incredibly self-aware and introspective.
As Katriona rightly points out, to hear ‘Imposter Syndrome’ come up is not where you’d expect this conversation to go. Yet Caoilfhionn brilliantly illustrates how legacy systems and organisations can create worlds that signal to you that you do not belong.
She describes an encounter at a stuffy legal outfitter while hiring the ceremonial attire she needed to become a senior barrister — a highly prestigious appointment. When she asked for the prescribed patent-buckled shoes in her petite shoe size, the outfitter sniffed that they only stocked them from size 6 upwards. I thought this was a simple yet highly illustrative example of the social cues we might interpret as telling us that we don’t belong in certain spaces. We literally don’t fit in their shoes.
Each of Caoilfhionn’s four items leads to beautiful conversations that stretch from the personal — including teenage memories, family love and loss — through to accents and the Irish and British social class systems, and the power of a T-shirt to advocate for human rights.
It’s all here, told through the wonderfully worded stories of our second guest of the series, Caoilfhionn Gallagher.
✨ Stay connected with Desert Island Dress:
📸 Instagram: @desert_island_dress (https://www.instagram.com/desertislanddress)
🌐 Website: www.desert-island-dress.com (https://www.desert-island-dress.com/)
💌 Share your favourite episode of Desert Island Dress with a friend
For more stories, news and updates — including our first live show in Copenhagen with the Embassy of Ireland and recently published articles in RTÉ Brainstorm, visit: www.desert-island-dress.com
22 Sept 2026
Post-analysis inspired by conversations with Richard Malone
Welcome back to our post-analysis episode of Desert Island Dress.
Every other week, we take a moment to reflect on the stories and choices shared in the main conversation and pull on one of the threads that caught our attention.
✨ Stay connected with Desert Island Dress:
📸 Instagram: @desert_island_dress (https://www.instagram.com/desertislanddress)
🌐 Website: www.desert-island-dress.com (https://www.desert-island-dress.com/)
💌 Share your favourite episode of Desert Island Dress with a friend
For more stories, news and updates — including our first live show in Copenhagen with the Embassy of Ireland and recently published articles in RTÉ Brainstorm, visit: www.desert-island-dress.com
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
4.8 / 5
16 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
83
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
Contact Desert Island Dress
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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