RTÉ

Insights with Sean O'Rourke

Society EN ↓ 97 episodes

One-to-one conversations between Sean O'Rourke and well-known individuals. Featured guests are prominent in public service, culture, sport and business and these long-form conversations explore their motivations, achievements and regrets; in short, what made them the people they are.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.rte.ie

Author

RTÉ

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.rte.ie

Latest episode

Sep 19, 2026

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Episodes

Nóirín O’Sullivan  19.09.2026

Former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan tells Sean about her rise through the Garda ranks, the sexism she encountered along the way, her stormy tenure at the top of the organization, and the impact that the furor surrounding the Garda whistleblower controversy had on her and her family.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Chambers 28.05.2026

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers joins Sean to discuss all things infrastructure, becoming the country’s youngest Minister for Finance since Michael Collins, his changing views on abortion, and the response he has had since he came out publicly as a gay man.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Chambers 27.05.2026

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers joins Sean to discuss all things infrastructure, becoming the country’s youngest Minister for Finance since Michael Collins, his changing views on abortion, and the response he has had since he came out publicly as a gay man.

Mary Davis 14.05.2026

Former CEO of Special Olympics International Mary Davis speaks to Sean about bringing the Special Olympics to Ireland in 2003, running for Presidency, working with the Kennedys and meeting US President Donald Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mary Davis 13.05.2026

Former CEO of Special Olympics International Mary Davis speaks to Sean about bringing the Special Olympics to Ireland in 2003, running for Presidency, working with the Kennedys and meeting US President Donald Trump.

John Saunders 07.05.2026

Chairman of one of the world's largest communications agencies FleishmanHillard John Saunders shares with Sean his experiences growing up in Artane, working in RTÉ as a sports journalist and his life in public relations. He speaks publicly for the first time about his daughters abuse at the hands of someone close to the family.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Saunders 06.05.2026

Chairman of one of the world's largest communications agencies FleishmanHillard John Saunders shares with Sean his experiences growing up in Artane, working in RTÉ as a sports journalist and his life in public relations. He speaks publicly for the first time about his daughters abuse at the hands of someone close to the family.

Fr John Joe Duffy 30.04.2026

Curate for Cresslough Fr John Joe Duffy joins Sean to discuss the tragedy that happened in the small village in Donegal on October 7th in 2022. Father Duffy arrived at the scene a short time after an explosion at the Applegreen Service Station which killed ten people. He shares his journey and how the community have been coping since.

Fr John Joe Duffy 30.04.2026

Curate for Cresslough Fr John Joe Duffy joins Sean to discuss the tragedy that happened in the small village in Donegal on October 7th in 2022. Father Duffy arrived at the scene a short time after an explosion at the Applegreen Service Station which killed ten people. He shares his journey and how the community have been coping since. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caitríona Perry 23.04.2026

Chief Presenter with BBC News and former presenter and Washington Correspondent with RTÉ Caitríona Perry shares with Sean what life is like in Washington second time round and how her experience in Newstalk, Today FM and RTÉ led her to anchoring in front of millions of viewers both in the US and globally.

Caitríona Perry 23.04.2026

Chief Presenter with BBC News and former presenter and Washington Correspondent with RTÉ Caitríona Perry shares with Sean what life is like in Washington second time round and how her experience in Newstalk, Today FM and RTÉ has led her to anchoring in front of millions of viewers both in the US and globally. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Colin O’Gara 16.04.2026

Consultant Psychiatrist, Head of Addiction Services at St John Of God University Hospital and Clinical Professor at UCD’s School of Medicine Professor Colin O’Gara speaks to Sean about growing up in Cork in a family steeped in rugby. He shares how he spends his time now advocating for those in the fight against addiction.

Professor Colin O’Gara 16.04.2026

Consultant Psychiatrist, Head of Addiction Services at St John Of God University Hospital and Clinical Professor at UCD’s School of Medicine Professor Colin O’Gara speaks to Sean about growing up in Cork in a family steeped in rugby and although he did play the sport like his famous brother Ronan he was more of a windsurfing enthusiast. He shares how he spends his time now advocating for those in...

Kevin Healy 09.04.2026

Former Director of Radio Programming and Public Affairs in RTÉ Kevin Healy joins Sean to share his journey as a journalist for the Cork Examiner and RTÉ and his decision to change careers in his fifties to retrain as a barrister.

Kevin Healy 09.04.2026

Former Director of Radio Programming and Public Affairs in RTÉ Kevin Healy joins Sean to share his journey as a journalist for the Cork Examiner and RTÉ and his decision to change careers in his fifties to retrain as a barrister. He opens up about the end of Scrap Saturday, his time involved in the Confidential Committee of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation and dealing with tra...

Leslie Shoemaker 02.04.2026

Chartered Counselling Psychologist and lecturer in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in TU Dublin Leslie Shoemaker shares her journey with Sean from Pittsburgh to Ireland and how her dad’s side are one of the founding families of Pennsylvania. As co-founder of OCD Ireland, she explains what the disorder is and how she treats it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

Leslie Shoemaker 02.04.2026

Chartered Counselling Psychologist and lecturer in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in TU Dublin Leslie Shoemaker shares her journey with Sean from Pittsburgh to Ireland and how her dad’s side are one of the founding families of Pennsylvania. As co-founder of OCD Ireland, she explains what the disorder is and how she treats it.

Daniel Lambert 26.03.2026

Manager of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, chief commercial officer at Bohemians Football Club and former owner of Bang Bang cafe in Phibsboro Daniel Lambert joins Sean to share his journey from working in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to managing Kneecap who have had a number of legal challenges against them. He opens up about growing up in Fing...

Daniel Lambert 26.03.2026

Manager of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, chief commercial officer at Bohemians Football Club and former owner of Bang Bang cafe in Phibsboro Daniel Lambert joins Sean to share his journey from working in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to managing Kneecap.

Darragh Ennis 19.03.2026

Star of ‘The Chase’ and ‘Beat The Chasers’ professional quizzer Darragh Ennis speaks to Sean about his journey from Rathcoole in Dublin, where he was suspended twice in primary school, to graduating from Maynooth University with a PhD before swapping it all for life in Canada and Oxford. He opens up about his breakdown on The Chase following his father’s death from Dementia in 2024 and how he’s wr...

Darragh Ennis 19.03.2026

Star of ‘The Chase’ and ‘Beat The Chasers’ professional quizzer Darragh Ennis speaks to Sean about his journey from Rathcoole in Dublin, where he was suspended twice in primary school, to graduating from Maynooth University with a PhD before swapping it all for life in Canada and Oxford.

Dáithí O’Ceallaigh 12.03.2026

Former Irish ambassador Dáithí O’Ceallaigh joins Sean and explains what life was like serving in places like London and Belfast during the Troubles. He also opens up about his wife’s dementia, his Sheriff Street roots in Dublin’s inner city and how he was the first in his family to go to secondary school. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daíthí O’Ceallaigh 11.03.2026

Former Irish ambassador Da´ithi´ O’Ceallaigh joins Sean and explains what life was like serving in places like London and Belfast during the Troubles. He also opens up about his wife’s dementia, his Sheriff Street roots in Dublin’s inner city and how he was the first in his family to go to secondary school.

Alex Cooney 05.03.2026

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cyber Safe Kids Alex Cooney speaks to Sean about her journey from working in the international development and non-profit sector in East Timor, Jamaica and London to empowering children, parents, schools and businesses in what can be a very challenging online world. She discusses what can be done to protect children with the fast-paced development of...

Alex Cooney 05.03.2026

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cyber Safe Kids Alex Cooney speaks to Sean about her journey from working in the international development and non-profit sector in East Timor, Jamaica and London to empowering children, parents, schools and businesses in what can be a very challenging online world.

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