An Irishman Abroad

Rocky is a very boring movie if he never gets knocked down. You may not know it but our guest this week hit the canvas harder than most. Comedian, writer and broadcaster Oliver Callan joins Jarlath for rare conversation about his early life, new series and that fall from grace. Oliver opens up to Jarlath about finding his niche in a busy impressionist market, how his talent protected him from bein...

How did America’s richest people become its most murdered? Today on Irishman In America, Marion McKeone takes us through the most forgotten series of serial killings in American history, the first case for and the reason why the FBI was created. “The Osage Murders” involved mass conspiracy, corruption and violence that extended all the way to Washington. The subject of David Granny’s award winning...

This week we open the mailbag. It’s been bulging for months with a backlog of your questions for Sonia on training, nutrition, injuries and more. Not only does Jarlath get the chance to ask all your questions for the GOAT but he also gets to dip into the raft of questions he has never had the chance to ask. In classic no-nonsense Sonia style, we get the whole truth on each subject and an account o...

When Brian O’Donovan was offered the plum role of RTÉ News' Washington Correspondent he knew he was taking his family on an adventure. After 2 years of fake news, scandals and turmoil, he had no clue he had only seen the beginnings of the craziness that would follow. With the clarity that Brian’s on site reports are known for, he speaks about what it was like reporting from the front lines of a Wh...

Does the media have a role to play in the rise of vaccine scepticism in America? Marion McKeone examines the impact of Joe Rogan and other alternative news sources in a week when his interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta drew massive attention. Who is Joe Rogan and why do so many people look up to him? Marion looks at his origins and the choir he appears to preach to. What does the attempt by Texa...

The experts at Profeet in London welcome Jar (the rookie) and Sonia (the Olympic legend) to their 3D imaging lab and state of the art facility to examine, compare and contrast their running mechanics. In this bumper episode the listener gets to come inside Profeet's incredible Fulham Road facility for Jar and Sonia's first ever road trip adventure episode. Tom Scales from Profeet talks us through...

Few can have failed to see the Tuam Mother And Baby home scandal as it unfolded across the world’s media. It remains one of the most shocking cases in the history of the state. Today Jarlath meets the fearless woman who uncovered this secret and continues to fight to this day for justice for all the victims of the home. Catherine Corless is not a journalist or a trained investigator. As she explai...

Marion sifts through the ashes of another ridiculous week in American politics and current affairs. She starts with her bizarre visit to the NRA’s AGM in Texas. The focus then turns to Facebook’s hearings where whistleblower Frances Haugen landed a deep blow to the social media giant. Jarlath asks Marion if the slippery Mark Zuckerberg can talk his way out of this one. We take a look back at his p...

Trainers, kicks, runners or whatever you like to call them are the subject of today’s conversation with two Irish sporting icons. The big business of athletic shoes has boomed in the last 30 years beyond all recognition. Today’s runner is expected and recommended to have not one but several pairs to wear on rotation throughout their training week. Jarlath asks Sonia if this is really necessary. Or...

What is the X factor? When everyone competing in an activity has talent, what is the extra bit that takes one person above and beyond? Irish athletics legend Marcus O'Sullivan might be one of the best qualified people in the world to unravel this. For almost a quarter of a century he has been the head track and field coach at Villanova University and in charge of spotting talented kids who might j...

This week, Marion trawls through a bizarre week in America. R Kelly was finally convicted and Jarlath wants to know why it took this long. Marion explains how the legal establishment has facilitated hush money and NDAs. Will the conviction force the hand of legislators to prevent situations like Kelly’s from occurring again? It looks unlikely if Britney Spears’ toxic conservatorship is anything to...

The connection of running to emotion is so direct that it deserves its own episode. Today the greatest Irish track and field athlete of all time examines the mastery of emotional running as a method of self-soothing. Jarlath takes a different approach and examines how running can often bring up dormant emotions resulting in floods of tears while logging miles. He looks at different opinions on why...

Mark Pollock returns on the eve of this year’s Run In The Dark. The global fund raising phenomenon has raised millions for his charity Collaborative Cures, The Pollock Trust and funded breakthroughs in the search for a cure for paralysis. Today Mark talks to Jarlath for the first time since their epic first conversation in 2017 about the new journey he has begun, his masterclasses inspired by his...

If you haven’t been keeping up this week Marion is here to give you all the latest from the Love Island relationship of America and France. We learn about their many strops of the past and how Biden might be forced to leave the Villa to get flowers and chocolates for Emmanuel. Apologies are off the menu when it comes to Rudi Giuliani and the lawyers who accused Dominion, the makers of the US votin...

Sonia’s international athletics season finished on a high last Friday and before she breaks down everything you need to know about race day prep, she fills us in on a record breaking night for her German athlete Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen. Sonia immediately returned to Cobh and has a chance to rest the only way she knows how, with a bit of active recovery cross training. Jarlath’s own attempts...

The beloved DJ Jenny Greene joins Jarlath for a wide-ranging discussion of her journey from a kid too sick to sit her state exams to filling arenas with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Plagued for years with a chronic cough, Jenny had no choice but to go on a course of aggressive steroids and miss crucial months and years in school. The story of how she found solace in music while sipping from a conver...

This week our US correspondent Marion McKeone takes us inside the emotional Senate Judiciary Committee hearings where gymnasts abused by Larry Nasser detailed the horrendous treatment they suffered at the hands of the FBI. The anger at the Department Of Justice’s failure to attend the hearings, the agents who failed to act on the information they obtained and the shocking mishandling of crucial ev...

Sonia gives Jarlath the raw and unfiltered truth on what most runners leave out from their running routine and why even the elite athlete rolls the dice not knowing exactly how much damage this can do. Currently travelling to the stadiums she used to dominate, Sonia explains to Jar how different it feels to be the coach this time around. We asked the club members for their running hacks and you're...

Actress and writer Jade Jordan sits down with Jarlath to discuss the inspiration behind her stunning new book “Nanny, Ma & Me”. Learning to cope with racism, discrimination and abuse is hard enough but a large portion of the population deny it’s very existence, that is something else entirely. Jade explains how the institutional racism the past three generations of her family have faced might have...

Marion McKeone was right there when the World Trade Centre crumbled and the world became a different place. On the 20th anniversary of this devastating event, she looks back on what she observed on that day. Together with Jarlath she traces the events and decisions that followed. The thirst for revenge and even torture began that night. Marion recalls the Irish survivor she encountered, the case f...

Is it possible to run without doing yourself harm? Sonia dials in from Belgium for a frank discussion about the pitfalls that scare many off getting involved. We also hear the first hand experiences of our listeners. In harrowing detail one listener gives us an account of a terrifying assault she suffered while running in Dublin. Sonia provides her usual no-nonsense advice for women and men who wa...

This week, we have a very special treat for our listeners in which we bring you the Author's Bumper Special. We have delved into the Irishman Abroad archives with over 8 years of interviews with some of Ireland's top writing talents working and living both at home and abroad. From Marian Keyes, Paul Howard and Blindboy to Cecelia Ahern, Roddy Doyle and Louise O'Neill, we hear the fascinating tales...

With Marion McKeone away this week we bring you an extra special bonus comedy Selection Box to start your weekend off with a laugh. You’ll probably know John Hastings from his barnstorming performance on America’s Got Talent but the life he lived prior to that big moment is even more extraordinary and hilarious. John sits down with Jarlath on the eve of his first album release to talk about the ra...

After a sensational weekend of athletics at home and abroad, Sonia sits down to talk to Jarlath about the latest events and the less talked about guidelines that make the running world go round. Every field of endeavour has its own code of conduct, accepted and understood best practice. Sonia offers her take on the most important ones including those pertaining to the track while Jarlath quizzes t...

This week, actress and writer Clare Dunne makes a welcomed return to An Irishman Abroad for a very special Selection Box episode. Clare speaks about the much-anticipated release of Herself, how COVID positively impacted upon her IFTA award win, the honour she felt to be named in Variety's Screenwriters to Watch 2020 list and much more. As a treat, we are also giving you a healthy chunk of exclusiv...