An Irishman Abroad

Sonia walks us through the four keys to helping your body feel better after heavy exertion. And this weekend we really exerted ourselves for the Jigsaw.ie PB Loop Challenge. Hundreds of you took part so what better time to address all your questions about the myths, tricks, supplements and gadgets aimed at aiding the body’s natural healing ability. From inflatable pants to thigh high compression s...

This week, Caimh McDonnell, author of the best-selling Dublin Trilogy, the McGarry Stateside books and Stranger Times joined Jarlath for a conversation about how rejection paced the way for his success. Caimh opens up about his journey to self-publishing success including the doors that were slammed for the most ridiculous of reasons. We hear how the motivation to move to London struck him when he...

For our January food episode Dave and Stephen Flynn join Sonia and Jarlath to talk about soup, running and all things plant based. The Happy Pear have created an Irish culinary empire around eating right and making wholesome food fun. Their new book Vegan Cooking For Everyone has ten chapters covering everything you’ve ever wanted to know about vegan food but were afraid to ask, adaptable recipes...

It is now one year since the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash on their way to a youth basketball game. In this episode Kobe’s friend and author of 'Kobe Bryant: Showboat', Roland Lazenby, makes his return to speak to Jarlath and pay tribute to the NBA legend. Roland speaks about the role of one particular man at Adidas in his early life, the organic spiri...

This week we see the much-anticipated return of Men Behaving Better and for this series, we're putting racism in the spotlight.  In this first episode of our third series, Jarlath speaks to one of Ireland's only black Irish teachers, Emer O'Neill. Emer speaks to Jarlath about the phenomenon of micro-aggression, the exceptional challenges that she faced growing up as a person of colour in Ireland a...

Can all repetitive strain injuries be traced back to modern running shoes? Jarlath asks Sonia about this and other claims of the barefoot running movement. It makes sense on paper. We have conditioned our feet to expect a type of cushioning that encourages heal striking rather than the flat strike that lets the miracle of engineering that is human foot so its job. Sonia looks back at her days runn...

This week businessman, broadcast and motorsports legend Eddie Jordan joined Jarlath for a one of a kind conversation about his life, career and charity The Amber Foundation.  Eddie discusses the art of motivation, the key to spotting talent like Ayrton Senna and how he takes care of his mind and body these days. Eddie speaks about his dismay over this week’s report on mother and baby homes and his...

Whether you’re worrying about starting out or over stressed about your big running goal, there comes a point where running can feel like an unpaid part-time job. It can stress you out, occupy all your headspace, leave you grouchy with loved ones and unable to enjoy the process on any level. Sonia sits Jarlath down to remind him and you of a few methods she uses when she feels this way. Getting to...

Was the riot on Capitol Hill the articulation of a larger loss of faith in a political system driven by dark money? Peter Geoghegan is the author and journalist behind a book that everyone needs to read: Democracy For Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics. This week he joined Jarlath to talk about his book which looks at the current crisis-point and how a lack of accountability and untraceable fundi...

Jarlath has fallen off the health and fitness wagon so many times in the last 20 years it’s now his routine. Sonia thinks she knows why. She explains why setting the bar too high is the number one reason why New Year’s resolutions tend to fail. Although he’s not known as a running guru Francis Brennan provides one of the best tips on the size necessary for a resolution to work. Jarlath digs into t...

To start the New Year, we have a very special episode for you from our Irish Aviators series. In a year which has seen the world of aviation essentially come to a complete stand-still, these two conversations are full of the positivity that is needed at this time of year. Jarlath is joined by Dubai Duty Free CEO Colm McLoughlin who tells the fascinating journey from Galway to running a multi-billi...

Getting ahead of the January blue is essential. It doesn’t matter who you are, January can be a tough month. Sonia opens up about her difficult times during this period and shares the secrets she’s discovered in refocusing her targets to make the end goal “near” rather than “far away”. If the first few months of this series were about establishing a solid foundation, Sonia walks Jarlath through he...

This week, Irish music legend Jack Lukeman ('Jack L') joined Jarlath for a fascinating conversation about his life, career and how 2020 has treated him. Jack speaks about leaving school at the tender age of 15 and the importance of learning how to work. Jack also tells the story of his move to Holland, how his performance style developed and how he plays every show as if it were his last performan...

It’s the most exhausting time of year. Jarlath and Sonia take a look at how residual fatigue from both running and life can swallow our best laid plans at the end of a testing year. We got top tips and tricks on how to allow yourself to rest and not lose focus and a few timely reminders of what should remain our priorities as runners and people. Sonia opens up about her struggle at last Saturday’s...

Writer and director John Connell is the bestselling author behind The Cow Book and The Running Book. With a life of multiple peaks and devastating troughs, John’s incredible life story and philosophy of making each day ‘your masterpiece’ simply must be heard. John details his journey to figuring out this thing called ‘life’, the after-effects of colonialism, and his battle with depression. In a ve...

The language of running comes under the microscope this week as Sonia and Jarlath untangle some of the more complicated concepts, terms and phrases doing the rounds today. In typical no nonsense fashion the Irish athletics legend explains how simple terms such as splits, intervals and strides have very different meanings. There’s a few laughs to be had at Jarlath’s expense as explains his brief re...

This month, the Irishman Abroad's recommendations podcast The Selection Box is back by popular demand! If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of content out there, if you’ve ever felt like you’re forever scrolling but never finding what you should be listening to, watching or reading, The Section Box is the podcast for you.   First up, the one and only Tom Dunne selects the defining tracks...

This week’s slightly delayed episode looks at the most deceptively important aspect of running. Subtle problems and changes to a runner’s form can mean the difference between long term injury and PBs. Sonia introduces Jarlath TJ the concept of “chi-running”. Created by Danny Dreyer after suffering a long term injury, Sonia explains that her introduction to the concepts came from another Irish runn...

Daryl McCormack joins Jarlath this week to talk about his fascinating life and career. Daryl opens up about growing up different in Nenagh, how the challenges moulded him and the impact that the community had on his life. Daryl speaks about working alongside Alec Baldwin in his latest movie Pixie and how he struggled to keep a straight face with Dylan Moran on set. Jarlath digs into his experience...

Sonia guides Jarlath through the maze of pitfalls when buying a stocking filler for the runner in your life. With so many running products swamping our timelines, what’s good and what’s not, what’s the safe bet and what’s too personal to bother even trying to guess. Jarlath finds a few odds and ends that he found online and a few bits and pieces that he says will go down a treat. There’s also news...

This week, Irish Times writer, essayist and musician Patrick Freyne joined Jarlath for a fascinating conversation about his life and career. His new book 'OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea’ is perfect for any Irish person abroad.  Patrick gives an in-depth look into his approach to writing funny, growing up in a town of 'lunatics' and the art of interviewing. Jarlath digs into his notorious relationsh...

Sonia and Jarlath talk about legal performance enhancers and discuss you suggestions for ways to improve your running times. Everything from changing shoes to coffee comes under the microscope. After last week’s injury Sonia advises Jar on the importance of a gradual return and together they mull over what the next Irishman Running Abroad event should be. Why not get in touch with your suggestion?...

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of content out there, if you’ve ever felt like you’re forever scrolling but never finding what you should be listening to, watching or reading, The Section Box is the podcast for you. In our brand new monthly recommendations podcast our experts sift through it all so you don’t have to.  The one and only Tom Dunne points you to the music you might have...

Some days you just don’t feel like it. That’s true of every activity including running but how can we overcome it. In this bumper episode Jarlath presents Sonia with a few of top reasons why people give up on running and asks how avoid falling into the same traps. Regardless of whether you run Sonia’s tips on goals, planning, identity and self-care will help you. She freely admits to losing her mo...

Critically acclaimed Irish author Colum McCann gives us a rare insight into his latest novel and the power of storytelling. When you listen to this powerful conversation, you will not be surprised to hear that Colum has won the Rooney Prize, the Novel of the Year Award, the National Book Award and International Dublin Literary Award. His Man Booker Prize longlisted book Apeirogon has lead critics...