How's Your Ma Podcast

In this powerful episode of How's Your Ma , we sit down with Callie and her mum Bella as they openly share their experiences with addiction, alcohol, drugs, homelessness, toxic relationships and recovery. Their stories are deeply connected, but both women had to find their own way out of addiction. Bella speaks about years of alcohol addiction, how it affected her family and the moment she finally...

In Episode 23 of How's Your Ma?, we’re joined by Emma and Bala, two social workers originally from India who now live and work in Dublin. They share their experiences of moving to Ireland, finding their feet in a completely different country, building friendships, dealing with the cost of living and working in social care. We also get into their lives back in India, growing up in close-knit famili...

This week on the How’s Your Ma Podcast , Leanne and Orla are joined by Jack Swift for a very open and honest chat about growing up, finding confidence, social media, self-expression, friendships and learning to be comfortable with who you are. Jack talks about his experience growing up in Dublin, dealing with bullying, coming out, becoming known on TikTok and the reality of putting your life onlin...

This week, Orla and Leanne sit down for a very personal conversation about women, family, motherhood, resilience and the people who shape us throughout our lives. From reflecting on the incredible achievements of Katie Taylor and what it means to be a strong female role model, to recognising the everyday women quietly holding families together, they talk about strength in all its different forms....

This week, Orla and Leanne are joined by two women from the Handmaids of Ireland for a powerful conversation about domestic abuse, child protection and their experiences of the Irish family court system. Remaining anonymous as Handmaid One and Handmaid Two, they share their experiences of leaving abusive relationships, trying to protect their children, navigating Gardaí, Tusla and the courts, and...

This week, Orla and Leanne sit down for an honest conversation about friendship, childhood, parenting and how much life has changed. After reconnecting with childhood friend Jill, they reflect on old friendships, growing up, the loss of community, and how childhood today compares with their own. From funny memories to heavier conversations around the Magdalene laundries, social media, parenting pr...

In this episode of How's Your Ma , hosts Orla and Leanne welcome Gillian , one of Leanne's childhood best friends, for an honest and often emotional conversation spanning growing up in Dublin's inner city, class and community, resilience, love, and loss. Gillian reflects on being raised on Sean McDermott Street — a historic, tight-knit but disadvantaged community — and shares difficult experiences...

This week Orla and Leanne sit down with Claire Malone — singer, actress and frontwoman of hit wedding band Gossip (Wedding Band of the Year 2023, Wedding Singer of the Year 2024). Claire takes us from her earliest days in Dublin's National Performing Arts School and the Gaiety Theatre box office, through Kenny Live, Abba Gold, the Spice Girls tribute circuit, and nine wild years touring the world...

In this episode of How's Your Ma? , Arla and Leanne sit down with Brendan Power, a man with over 40 years off drink and 20 years off drugs, who now dedicates his life to helping others through AA. Brendan opens up about a childhood marked by early exposure to alcohol, trouble with the courts at just 13, corporal punishment and abuse in school, and a "double life" battling addiction while raising a...

In this episode of How's Your Ma? , hosts Orla and Leanne sit down with engaged couple Cathal and Rebecca, founders of the awareness project Different Minds, Same Heart (Project DMs). Based in County Westmeath and set to marry in February 2028, Cathal and Rebecca open up about discovering they were both neurodivergent, and how they're using their wedding journey to spark conversations around autis...

This week, Orla and Leanne are joined by Ciara Jones — mother, full-time carer, and one of Ireland's most tireless autism advocates. Ciara is mam to three and a half children (as she puts it) including Gavin, who is autistic, intellectually disabled and preverbal. In 2018 she left a 20-year career to become his full-time carer. Ciara opens up about her happy childhood in Cabra, her parents' quiet...

In this episode, hosts Leanne and Orla sit down with Courtney — a PhD scientist who walked away from academia to become a Pilates instructor and digital entrepreneur. As the eldest of five, Courtney opens up about the pressure to prove herself, the quiet burnout that came with "achieving and achieving," and the moment she handed in her notice to build a business instead. The conversation moves thr...

This week, Orla and Leanne discuss domestic violence and abuse. Leanne is an Outreach, Prevention & Training Manager at a domestic violence service in South Dublin, and brings her frontline experience to a raw, wide-ranging conversation about what abuse actually looks like — physical, psychological, financial, digital — how it hides in plain sight, why survivors stay, and what it really takes...

 Leanne and Orla, taking stock. After a run of powerful conversations, they sit down to reflect on the guests who've been on the show, the feedback that's poured in from listeners, and the things those stories stirred up in themselves. They talk about the family who show up every day despite everything stacked against them, the healer who divides opinion, and the guest whose story left grown men r...

In this deeply moving episode, Orla and Leanne sit down with Mandy — known to many as "Cher Mandy" — a shamanic healer whose extraordinary life journey has taken her from the flats of Inchicore to the housing estates of Clondalkin, through grief, fear, addiction, and profound spiritual awakening. Mandy opens up about growing up as the middle child in a family of nine, feeling unseen and at war wit...

In this raw and deeply moving second part of Jackie's story, Orla, Leanne and Jackie pick up where they left off — and what follows is one of the most honest and courageous conversations the pod has had. Jackie takes us through the moment she discovered she was pregnant with Abby, and the immediate unravelling of Tony's mask — from "that's what we always wanted" to "I don't believe you're pregnant...

In this powerful episode of How's Your Ma? , Orla and Leanne welcome Jackie — and from the very first minute, it's clear this is a story unlike any other. Jackie opens up about a lifetime shaped by survival: growing up in poverty and domestic violence, being placed in an orphanage as a young child, caring for her siblings well before she was old enough to care for herself, and eventually finding s...

This week, Orla and Leanne are joined by two very special guests — Ashling, a mum from Clane, Kildare, and her incredible 11-year-old daughter Georgia. What unfolds is one of the most honest, heartfelt and joyful conversations the girls have had in the studio. Ashling opens up about navigating life with not one, but two children with medical diagnoses — Jake, who was diagnosed with juvenile arthri...

In this episode, Leanne and Orla sit down with Keith Dixon — personal trainer, coach, and friend for 16 years — for one of the most open and honest conversations yet. Born and raised in Blanchardstown, Keith has spent 25+ years in the fitness industry, but his story goes far deeper than the gym floor. Keith opens up about growing up as the eldest of five in a tight-knit Dublin community, the lesso...

In this deeply moving episode, Leanne and Orla are joined in the studio by Anita — a 57-year-old mother of five, grandmother of six, and domestic violence support worker who reached out to share her extraordinary story. Growing up as the eldest of five in a home marked by domestic abuse, neglect, and emotional trauma, Anita became a little mother at nine years old and carried the weight of her fam...

Orla and Leanne are back for a heartfelt and hilarious reflection episode. They check in on the anonymous listener who bravely shared her story, share the beautiful message she sent back, and dig into the theme of feeling like you're "betraying" your mam by telling your story. From there, the girls get wonderfully side-tracked — covering generational gaps, social media anxiety, dopamine hits from...

Leanne and Orla are joined by Katie for a heartfelt and honest conversation about friendship, motherhood, love, and loss. What starts as a light introduction quickly unfolds into a deeper chat about women’s connections, navigating life’s challenges, and the realities behind the conversations we don’t always have out loud. Katie shares her personal experiences with warmth and openness, offering ins...

This week, Leanne and Orla share a raw and deeply moving story sent in by a listener — a woman who grew up in a home shaped by infidelity, neglect, and addiction, who became the caretaker of her younger siblings from childhood, and who is now, as an adult, looking after the very mother who failed her. The girls talk about what it means to carry that kind of weight, the guilt and shame that comes w...

In this very first episode of How’s Your Ma? , hosts Leanne and Orla introduce the heart behind the podcast — real, honest conversations about female relationships in all their forms. From mothers and daughters to friendships, loss, growth, and everything in between, they explore what it really means when someone asks, “How’s your ma?” — a simple question that can carry very different meanings dep...

Our podcast explores women’s relationships—from mother-daughter to leadership—and how they shape lives, aiming to support and empower women across all relationship experiences.