An Irishman Abroad

Lockdown malaise can kill a run before it happens. Sonia chats to Jarlath about motivating ourselves when it feels like we can’t get out the door. Trying to encourage your friends, family or kids to join you on a run can seem like an impossible task. Jarlath asks Sonia if there’s an easier way to get your child interested in exercise. For the first time we hear about her challenges motivating both...

This week, Virgin Media News Reporter Richard Chambers makes a welcome return to the show after many requests from listeners in recent weeks for an episode just like this. Richard gives us the most up-to-date status on the vaccine rollout in Ireland, explains the reasons for its slow progress and addresses whether Boris may have been right about the power being truly with a country's independence...

Before sitting down to chat to national marathon champion Aoife Cooke, Jar and Sonia take a moment to announce and explain three new Irishman Running Abroad events suitable for all kinds of runners. The two time world champion has put a lot of time and effort into coming up with events that will keep you motivated through lent. By challenging us all to see can we gain as much elevation as possible...

This week, three-time All Star and Mayo Captain Aidan O'Shea joins Jarlath for a fascinating conversation about his life and career. In this rare chat, Aidan speaks frankly about handling the media, nerves and battling with keeping the right mindset as well as the relationship between players and referees. Aidan also speaks about the frustration of the Dubs, the secrets of various GAA clubs which...

Sonia opens her medicine cabinet to reveal the over the counter fixer-upper tricks and treatments she has accumulated over the years. Everyone has niggling running pains but nobody has more solutions to cure them than the Irish athletics legend. We hear of a less than normal plant based solution for stimulating blood flow that has Jarlath on the floor and a rare bird oil sparks a memory for Sonia....

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. The only monthly recommendations podcast you need returns for to let our experts sift through all the content so you don’t have to. First up, award-winning Irish author a...

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...

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 of...

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...