Real stories of loss, love and resilience - told with honesty and heart. From Dublin's inner city to personal transformation, Lisa Byrne shares conversations that break silence and build hope.
Tear Down These Walls
Claim This Podcastby Lisa Byrne
24 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇮🇪
Podcast Overview
Real stories of loss, love and resilience - told with honesty and heart. From Dublin's inner city to personal transformation, Lisa Byrne shares conversations that break silence and build hope.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/16/2025
1 verified contact email on file for Tear Down These Walls
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Recent Episodes
July 17, 2026
What People Get Wrong About Dyspraxia with Niamh
<p>In this episode of Tear Down These Walls, I sit down with 23-year-old Niamh from Santry to talk openly about living with dyspraxia.</p><p><br></p><p>Before this conversation, I’ll admit that my understanding of dyspraxia was limited. Like many people, I thought it was simply a coordination disorder that made people a little clumsy. Niamh completely changed that perception.</p><p><br></p><p>She explains how dyspraxia can affect much more than physical coordination. We discuss information processing, the emotional impact of constantly feeling like you’re trying to catch up, and how everyday tasks that others take for granted can become overwhelming.</p><p><br></p><p>Niamh shares her experience of school, when teachers first recognised that something wasn’t quite right. Although the HSE assessment didn’t provide a diagnosis, her family sought a private assessment where she was eventually diagnosed with dyspraxia.</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation also explores her struggles with anxiety, her admission to St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, and how therapy, medication and learning coping strategies helped her begin to manage her mental health.</p><p><br></p><p>We talk about the impact dyspraxia can have on friendships, romantic relationships, confidence and self-esteem, as well as the hurt that can come from thoughtless comments made by people who simply don’t understand.</p><p><br></p><p>One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is Niamh’s description of processing information. She compares it to a filing cabinet filling up faster than she can organise it, leaving her feeling overwhelmed as everyone else has already moved on.</p><p><br></p><p>We also ask an important question: Why do we hear so much about ADHD and autism, yet so little about dyspraxia?</p><p><br></p><p>Whether you’re living with dyspraxia, supporting someone who is, or simply want to understand it better, this episode is full of insight, honesty and hope.</p><p><br></p><p>If this conversation helps you or someone you know, please consider sharing it. Greater awareness begins with conversations like this one.</p>
June 19, 2026
Episode 23: An Interview with Debbie O' Neill
<p>Episode 23 – Debbie O’Neill: The Children We See, The Children We Miss</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of Tear Down These Walls, I sit down with Debbie O’Neill, principal of Scoil Eoin in Crumlin, a school supporting children with mild learning difficulties, many of whom come from disadvantaged and marginalised communities.</p><p><br></p><p>What followed was one of the most powerful conversations I’ve had on the podcast.</p><p><br></p><p>Debbie has spent 25 years advocating for children whose needs often extend far beyond the classroom. Her belief is simple: education cannot happen until a child’s basic needs are met. Safety, warmth, food, connection, belonging, and emotional wellbeing must come before learning.</p><p><br></p><p>Throughout our conversation, we explore how childhood experiences shape lives, the impact of disadvantage, and the role schools can play in changing a child’s future.</p><p><br></p><p>One quote displayed on the wall of Scoil Eoin, attributed to a former principal, stayed with me long after our conversation ended:</p><p><br></p><p>“I want to acknowledge luck, the benevolence of it in my own life and the absolute brutality of it in others.”</p><p><br></p><p>For me, that quote captures so much of what this episode is about. None of us choose where we are born, the communities we grow up in, the opportunities available to us, or the struggles we inherit. Yet those early circumstances can shape everything that follows.</p><p><br></p><p>Debbie speaks openly about her own upbringing, one filled with stability, education, and opportunity. During our conversation, I described it as “generational wellness” — where positive values, education, confidence, and support are passed from one generation to the next. For many children growing up in disadvantaged communities, the inheritance can instead be trauma, addiction, poverty, violence, or exclusion.</p><p><br></p><p>What struck me most about Debbie is her ability to understand this reality without judgement. She sees beyond behaviour and asks what happened to the child behind it. She understands that anger, withdrawal, acting out, and struggle often have deeper roots.</p><p><br></p><p>We also discuss the proposed changes that could see children moved from specialist educational settings into mainstream schools, and why Debbie believes many vulnerable children need smaller class sizes, specialist support, and environments that truly understand their needs if they are to flourish.</p><p><br></p><p>On a personal level, this conversation brought me back to my own childhood and school experiences. It reminded me how life-changing it can be when one adult truly sees, hears, and believes in a child.</p><p><br></p><p>If we could clone people like Debbie and place one in every disadvantaged school across Ireland, I genuinely believe it would transform lives.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode is about education, trauma, resilience, advocacy, and the extraordinary difference one person can make when they refuse to give up on a child.</p>
May 22, 2026
Episode 22: An Interview with Dara Gray
<p>Episode 22 of Tear Down These Walls, Breaking Through Silence features Dara Gray.</p><p><br></p><p>Dara speaks openly and honestly about growing up alongside his older brother Donal, who is autistic and has severe intellectual disabilities. Unlike his mother, who experienced life before Donal, Dara never knew anything different. From childhood, his world revolved around routines, unpredictability, care plans, emotional tension, and trying to keep the peace within the family home.</p><p><br></p><p>In this deeply reflective conversation, Dara shares the impact this had on his mental health, relationships, outlook on life, and sense of self. He speaks candidly about depression, negativity, asking for help, going to counselling, and overcoming the belief that taking medication was somehow a defeat. He also reflects on the love he has for his family, particularly his parents, who despite the immense pressures they were under, still made space for him and his sister to feel loved and supported.</p><p><br></p><p>Dara talks about how his experiences shaped his path, including initially wanting to become an occupational therapist because of Donal, before realising working in an environment so close to his upbringing was simply too triggering.</p><p><br></p><p>What emerges throughout this episode is Dara’s honesty, self-awareness, resilience, and hope. This is a conversation about the unseen impact caring dynamics can have on siblings, about healing from chaos, and about learning that even in the darkest moments, life can change, people can heal, and peace is possible.</p><p><br></p><p>A powerful and deeply human episode.</p>
24 total episodes available
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