Irish Examiner Podcasts

About Irish Examiner Podcasts

Looking for a deeper understanding of the stories that matter? The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast takes you inside the best Irish Examiner reporting — from Cork courts to global affairs and powerful personal stories. With award‑winning journalists and exclusive voices you won’t hear anywhere else. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Irish Examiner

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Feb 2020

Latest episode

16 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

235 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Oct 2026

   Author Louise O’Neill on the grief of her break-up, recovery and her 100 date experiment

   Author Louise O’Neill became a household name in the wake of her seminal novel Asking for It which opened up conversations around rape culture and misogyny in Ireland. A former Irish Examiner columnist and a prolific novelist, her life was thrown into disarray in 2023 by a high-profile breakup she describes as “humiliating”. In her new memoir, A Bigger Life, Louise describes being “set alight, and turned to ash” by the relationship breakdown, and charts her unorthodox return to dating – inspired by a conversation with her father. “I really felt like, I have been humiliated enough. I was like, I really don't feel in any way able or ready for this. And I did say to my dad, I was like, I just, I don't want to do this. “And, of course, what I meant by that was like, I'm afraid. You know, I'm afraid that if this happens again, I won't be able to survive it the second time. And then he said he said, Okay, Lou, you know, if you want a bigger life, you have to take bigger risks.” The experiment she conducted took in 100 dates in four countries, in which she met all sorts of men in pursuit of sexual chemistry and rediscovered her faith in human nature. In this episode Louise tells Deirdre about the grief she experienced at losing a version of her life; the unanswered questions that sundered her relationship; re-establishing her relationship with her own desire, and her unapologetic pursuit of sexual pleasure. As for her new singles’ travel agency – you heard it here first. Listen to the Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Houses raided after horrific Waterford arson attack kills four, with Neil Michael

   Gardai have raided two homes in the Waterford area as part of their investigation into the horrific arson attack on a family home in the Birchwood estate on Tuesday morning. Couple Philip and Kim English and their sons, 12 year old Callum and 8 year old Jayden, were killed in the fire, while their two other children remain in critical condition in hospital. The attack is believed to be part of a campaign of drug debt-related intimidation which began when Philip English reportedly undertook to pay the debt of an associate. Reporter Neil Michael is today’s guest on the podcast, with updates from Waterford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Ciara Reilly on her fears for her daughter’s future, the Government’s inability to plan and the public sector strikes

   ”We do wish that our children will go before us because we are so terrified at what they will face and how they will have to do it alone." As public sector strikes loom this week, it’s clear that many teachers and parents have lost faith in the government’s ability to tackle educational needs. Teacher Ciara Reilly’s daughter Doireann has special needs. Ciara and her husband Gav have spoken out about the lack of services available for Doireann on previous occasions – despite what Ciara describes as their privileged situation, Doireann has access to no public therapies. In today’s episode Ciara talks about the Government’s inability to plan for the real challenges in education, how money is thrown at problems that should have been planned for in advance, and how she knows there is no plan for her daughter and thousands like her when their parents are no longer able to care for them. “We live every day of our life now assuming Doireann will be with us until we cannot l care for her. And like this is a phrase you're hearing a lot of in media circles and I think I would I'm happy to say it about myself. “Like, as parents of children with need, we think about our longevity constantly. I am not a morose person, but I think about my mortality every single day.” “And you know, we say amongst ourselves, "let me live a day longer than the child will themselves". “And we do so we do contemplate, and this is very dark, but I think it's this is the way people need to hear this. And I'm only brave enough to say it because I hear people further down the road say this, and I can empathize and I relate and I commend them. ”We do wish that our children will go before us because we are so terrified at what they will face and how they will have to do it alone." Ciara Reilly: More money for education is good, but large classes impact everyone (https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41920600.html) The Deirdre O'Shaugnessy Podcast: Inside the fallout from the SNA allocation controversy (https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/spotlight/arid-41801309.html) Ciara Reilly: Definition of need has changed to save money on SNAs (https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41795120.html) Ciara Reilly: Budget makes private care slightly more affordable, temporarily (https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41487428.html) HSE will not publish report showing that 4,200 people need residential disability placement (https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41923342.html) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

29 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

33

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

31

Contact Irish Examiner Podcasts

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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