Ready To Be Real by Síle Seoige

Topics covered : rape, trauma, living in fear, self harm, PTSD, reclaiming.  Bláthnaid Raleigh is from Mullingar, and her world changed forever after a night out in Galway in July 2019, when she was attacked and raped by a man from her hometown, Johnny Moran. As you can imagine, this conversation is intense at times, so please take care while listening. For five long years, as Bláthnaid tried...

This is a Ready to be Real revisit from 2020 — recorded during the height of the Covid restrictions. In it, I speak to folklorist, artist and musician Dr. Billy Mag Fhlionn (Pagan Rave) about Samhain and the old Irish traditions that still shape how we celebrate Halloween today. Billy lives in Dingle with his wife Muireann and their daughters, Sadhbh and Líse. In this conversation, he shares the d...

Topics covered: Gaeilge, music, heritage, culture, shame, colonisation, Irish Americans, Samhain, An Chailleach​. In this special Oíche Shamhna episode, I speak with musician, broadcaster, academic and podcaster Doireann Ní Ghlacáin. Doireann is the daughter of TG4 political correspondent Sorcha Ní Riada (and granddaughter of legendary Irish composer Seán Ó Riada) and fiddle player and retired Gar...

Topics covered : Fertility, multiple rounds of IVF, miscarriage, acceptance, magic. ​This is a re-release of a conversation I recorded with business woman Denise Phillips back in April 2021 when she had just come from an appointment in the Coombe hospital where she found out she was 29 weeks pregnant! It's the most incredible story. Now 4.5 years on, her daughter Beth is 10 and her son Jude is 4 a...

Topics covered : Grooming, childhood sexual abuse, shame, addiction, survival, recovery, therapy, healing, acting, Palestine, censorship, collective care, Andor. This is the second part of my conversation with multi award-winning Irish actor — and all-round gorgeous human — Denise Gough. In this episode, Denise speaks openly about the painful experiences of grooming and abuse in her childhood — ex...

This is The Real Take — a glimpse of the honesty, wisdom and connection you’ll find in every episode of Ready to be Real. ​In this snippet Irish actor Denise Gough speaks about her recent visit to The West Bank...she speaks about what she saw and how it has deepened her commitment to ​Palestine.  ​- you can hear the full episode with Denise ​anytime now. Hos...

Topics covered : Acting, celebrity culture, Palestine, grief, Zionism, solidarity. This week, I’m honoured to speak with award-winning Irish actor Denise Gough, who has gained a whole new audience thanks to her chilling and complex portrayal of the fascist officer Dedra Meero in the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor. But Denise is so much more than a brilliant actor — she’s a deeply compassionate a...

In this short clip, I revisit the powerful words of Dr. Gabor Maté — words that are resonating so deeply with me right now, especially in light of the devastating news of the murder of Palestinian journalist ​Salah Al Jafarawi yesterday. Gabor’s words are a reminder to ​us to stay human — to stay connected, compassionate, and awake — even when the world feels overwhelming. ​If...

Topics covered : Shedding shame, pubic hair, pelvic floor muscles, UTI's, periods, STI's, birth, constipation and the importance of fibre.  This week, I sit down with the brilliant Laura Dowling — better known online as The Fabulous Pharmacist! It’s Laura’s second time joining me on the pod, and I’m delighted to have her back. She lives in Dublin with her husband Frank and their three boys, a...

In this snippet I speak to ​Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly​ about how she feels about politics, what matters to her and what kind of President she hopes to be if elected. ​You can hear the full conversation with ​C​atherine anytime now and make sure you're registered to vote —tomorrow the 7th of October is the deadline.  It takes just 2 minutes to register : Che...

This is a conversation I recorded on the 3rd of September with Independent TD and Presidential candidate, Catherine Connolly. She lives in the Claddagh in Galway with her husband Brian, and they have two adult children. Her life and work have been shaped by a deep sense of social justice, compassion, and conviction. Before entering politics, Catherine worked as a cleaner, a nurse’s aide, a psychol...

This is The Real Take — a glimpse of the honesty, wisdom, and connection you’ll find in every episode of Ready to be Real. In this mini-pod, I revisit my April 2024 conversation with Irish-Palestinian artist Róisín El Cherif. Here, she speaks about Zionism, the birth of Israel, and why solidarity and meaningful action matter now more than ever. You can listen back to the full conversation with Rói...

Topics covered : a brief history of Palestine, Israeli mindset, racism, dehumanisation, solidarity.  I sat down with author and activist Fintan Drury in mid August to speak about Palestine. In this conversation he takes us through a brief history of Palestine and the relentless injustices that Palestinians have endured for decades. Book :   'Catastrophe : Nakba II' You can listen to...

This is The Real Take — a glimpse of the honesty, wisdom and connection you’ll find in every episode of Ready to be Real. In this mini pod I speak to Miriam Hussey about regulating our nervous systems especially in these turbulent times, spiritual bypassing and the power of collective care. If you found this snippet helpful, you can hear the full conversation with Miriam anytime now...

Topics covered : Nervous system responses to stress, chakras, spiritual bypassing, self and collective care, motherhood, gratitude.  In this episode, I speak to integrative health coach and co-founder of wellness platform 'Soul Space', Miriam Hussey. She was a guest on one of my very first episodes of Ready to be Real back in 2019, alongside her husband Gerry — I love being in her company and...

​Topics covered: Early-onset Parkinson’s disease, anger, grief, acceptance, adapting. This is The Real Take — a glimpse of the honesty, wisdom and connection you’ll find in every episode of Ready to be Real. In this snippet I speak to Irish Examiner fashion editor and author, Annmarie O’Connor, about life with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. The youngest of five girls, Annmarie grew up on Lo...

Topics covered: Early-onset Parkinson’s disease, symptoms, pain, denial, grief, acceptance, adapting. In this episode, I speak with Irish Examiner fashion editor and author, Annmarie O’Connor, about her experience of living with Parkinson’s disease. The youngest of five girls, Annmarie grew up on Long Island, New York, before moving to Ireland at the age of twelve. With strong family roots here —...

This is The Real Take — a glimpse of the honesty, wisdom and connection you’ll find in every episode of Ready to be Real. In this ​b​onus episode I speak to health food advocate and Instagram sensation Sophie Morris about food labels and what to be aware of when doing our food shop, health halos and how she deals with criticism. ​You can hear the full conversation with Sophie Morris now....

Topics covered : Understanding food labels, ultra processed food, the psychology of supermarket shopping, clever food swaps, health halos and handling criticism. ​Welcome to my first episode back after the summer break, I’m joined by health food advocate and Instagram sensation, Sophie Morris. S​he lives in Greystones, in Wicklow with her husband Robbie and their two boys, Wrio...

A quick update about Ready to be Real...I'm taking a break for the summer, but I’ll be back again in the autumn. Thanks so much for your continued support, it means so much to me and thanks also to my amazing guests who made these conversations possible. The past ten months have been intense — full of meaningful work (I've been working on a documentary series) an...

Topics covered : Identity crisis, bullying, self-worth, addiction, alcohol, drugs, money laundering, court case, self-sabotage, Covid, homelessness, taking responsibility, rebuilding her life.      In this episode I sit down with DJ Nikki Hayes — whose real name is Eimear O’Keeffe. Eimear or Nikki as she’s better known, rose to fame as a hugely popular voice on radio stations l...

Topics covered : Activism, social justice, betrayal, family estrangement, patriarchy, responsibility, grief, regrets, forgiveness, love, business.   In this episode, I sit down with mother and daughter — Rosita and Chupi Sweetman. Rosita is a trailblazing activist and one of the founding members of the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970's, a time when speaking out for women’s r...

Topics covered : Imposter syndrome, vulnerability, shedding shame, triggers, self-sabotage, apologising, blocks, boundaries, self-worth, ADHD, conditioning, reclaiming.   This episode originally aired on the 6th of October 2023 and feels eerily resonant now, given how much has shifted since. I speak to body-based visibility and business coach, Kate O’Dwyer. She lives in Dublin with...

Topics covered : Mental health, homophobia, same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland, rejecting shame.  This week marks 10 years of the marriage equality referendum in Ireland when the country overwhelmingly voted 'yes' and in doing so became the first country in the world to grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples by popular vote. 3 years ago I spoke to bar owner, drag queen and...

Topics covered : Hurling career, All Ireland Finals (2017 & 2018), growing up, learning from failure, resilience, criticism, coping with fame, love, loss, proposal story, becoming a Dad. This week, I’m joined by All-Ireland winning hurler and businessman Joe Canning. He’s a proud Galway man who now lives in Limerick with his wife Meg and their baby daughter Josie. In the first part of our conv...