Sin Scéal Eile

Robyn is a beautiful young woman, full of the joys of life. She’s in a relationship, living away from home in Cork city where she goes to college. This normal, happy life wasn’t always on the cards for Robyn and she feels so lucky to be where she is now.  Robyn has been chronically ill her whole life. She was diagnosed with POTS at a young age and since then has battled with lots of different...

We met Caroline at her family home, and she gave us the grand tour (in the hopes that we might be prospective buyers). Caroline is grabbing life by the horns and living the best life she possibly can, like she always has done. She’s determined and strong willed. At the age of 4, after seeing news coverage on TV, she decided she wanted to become a nurse and help children in Africa. Her undiagnosed...

Jonathan has the coolest job. He makes title animations for TV & film, something that I find truly fascinating as it sets the scene for the whole show. Of late, he has entered the world of fine art, selling pieces in the RHA annual show and gaining the confidence to perhaps pursue it a little more seriously than ever before. This segway is something he can only do now that his kids are a littl...

At just 20 years old, Cork native Lavie Olupona is no stranger to the spotlight. Through her work as a spoken word poet she has performed at Electric Picnic and Misléor.  Today, I met Lavie in her local park in Clonakilty, Cork, where she wanted to show me a very special bench. It’s a bench that is dedicated to her grandfather Michael Foley, commissioned by her Mam, aunty and grandmother. Lav...

Donncha is a dark horse. He’s been a dairy farmer all his life (as was his father, and his father’s father). He dotes on his herd and loves to see them so calm and curious and you can easily tell that they dote on him too, they crowd around him to take a photo together.  But Donncha is a man of many talents, not just milking. He’s tread the boards of local stages and even tried his hand at sa...

Valerie is a busy woman. She’s a single Mam to three kids from ages 28 down to four (one with additional needs), she works as a lecturer in TUS and is also studying for her PHD. Valerie is tasked with finding out what kids need in order to thrive in education. She recognises that not everyone learns in the same way, but that everyone deserves the chance to excel. Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another St...

I met Richard in a scout den, which made no sense at first but becomes clear once we chat. He’s an academic, a researcher and a geographer. He’s fascinated with holy wells, pilgrimages and how the spaces we inhabit affect us (and how we in turn affect the spaces). xR Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with sound by Ronan Lally. The podcast is produced by...

Dan describes himself as having a “cranky” face, but I don’t see it. We had summer evening cans out his back garden in Limerick and he told us all about his career as an air traffic controller, moonlighting as a rugby commentator and the latest book he’s working on.  His voice is calm and reassuring, exactly what’s needed as an ATC! xR Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and crea...

Sahar is young, free and very much in love, not just with her boyfriend, but with life, the music scene and Cork! Originally from New Delhi, life in Cork can be quite different at times from what she’s used to, but she’s acclimatising well and her family come to visit. The first thing she did when she moved over was throw herself into the indie scene and snap up Arctic Monkeys tickets, something s...

Anna had a revelation later in life thanks to amazing doctors in her local menopause clinic. Her kids were on their way to being raised and she just wasn’t feeling right. She hopped on the HRT and credits that for the freedom she found to follow her dream of becoming an artist. She now makes these beautiful thread creations from her home studio. Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted...

Eleanor is a beautiful soul with a huge heart and the best of intentions. Through her work in the trans community in Limerick, she regularly offers peer support to others who are following a similar journey to her own. Eleanor describes Limerick as having a great artistic, queer community that she’s very proud to be a part of. Together we chat about family acceptance, trans healthcare in Irel...

Shane is not what I expected at all. He was nominated by his wife Kate who told me that Shane is an Ultra Cyclist who does 2,500kms with not a bother on him.  Obviously I turned up expecting to see a man in lycra who wants to chat about bikes. What I got was a man with many thrash metal t-shirts, who told me lots of hilarious stories, like when he was 20mins away from death and how he made fr...

You know the feeling you get when you meet someone who is really sound, but also destined for great things? That’s how I feel about Mary. It’s hard to explain her work (and do it justice). She's an incredibly talented designer who works in textiles, but while also creating her own prints and patterns. She makes gorgeous drawings, the Limerick City one being particularly divine (the mayor even wore...

Michelle takes us on a French themed trip around the world, there’s love, heartbreak, excitement, a best friend who knows exactly what to do in every crisis and a bit of murder mystery too. She’s a natural born story teller with a rollercoaster of a life. Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with sound by Ronan Lally. The podcast is produced by Dee Reddy...

Sharon has had a very full life, but not one without its ups and downs. She’s proud of the fact that when she was a very young woman she got “justice” (air quotes added by herself) against her child sexual abuser, but she knows that many others can’t go down that route and may never have the relief that she felt when the verdict came through.  Now, she cherishes every single day and says ‘yes...

Amy is a cheery, happy soul. She has recently emigrated to Ireland from the United States after 30 years of choosing it as her preferred holiday destination. She packed in her job and ran away with her savings. She now lives a much slower and much more community centred life, with some whiskey tastings and gigs along the way. Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth...

I met Gaël in a Saturday market a few years back. He has a little van from which he made the most amazing crepes. Today, we sat in his very quaint wee house, surrounded by art and plants, and we were treated to vegan cookies.  It’s Gaël’s dream to open a community space in the area. Somewhere kids can hang out, listen to live music and a place where locals can host a market. The biggest chall...

Enda has been busy this week on the lead up to Irish Aids Day (June 15th) and meets us today utterly exhausted. Enda is an incredible queer icon, known also as drag queen, Veda who has played stages across the world, released albums, starred in movies, hosts a podcast but today we’re talking specifically about his activism.  Enda went public with his own HIV diagnosis back in 2019 and has sin...

Éanna is mad about emo music. It’s something he came to later in life after leading what he describes as a “sheltered” life. He has found his passion and his tribe and now runs emo clubs around the country where he plays an awful lot of My Chemical Romance! Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with sound by Ronan Lally. The podcast is produced by Dee Reddy...

Here is a woman who has found her passion. Johanne lives by Samba, it’s her be all and end all. It’s her community and her joy. What’s most amazing is the connection she feels to her sadly departed Dad whenever she’s playing with her bloco. We found Johanne buzzing around the festival, in her self described smurf outfit, banging her drum, having the time of her life.  Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That...

Sinead exudes art in everything she does. In her professional capacity she endeavors to create spaces that people can be in awe of. This weekend at the festival she’s inviting people to her loveball, where she’ll hand out love letters and spread a little joy while DJ-ing under the very fitting moniker of minikimono. Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with...

We’re down at Beyond the Pale this weekend doing the day job (photography) and so we thought we’d interview some of the lovely folk around us, like Michal.  Michal is the brains behind the amazing queer collective, Rathaus, who take to the stage tonight. They’re an inclusive queer collective of DJs, performers and all round incredible people. xR Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hoste...

Val makes us a cuppa in her lovely home and we fall instantly into the rhythm of a very quick Irish conversation. Val has lived in more counties than I’ve traveled to, but now resides in Dublin (although Cork seems to be vying for her attention too). Together we talk a mile a minute and cover topics like why Lesbos is called Lesbos, the importance of community and if we had another hour, we’d be a...

Jill is a trailblazer, even though she would probably never describe herself as one. Jill has been swimming in Sandycove for nearly 50 years. In 1974, she was one of the first women to ever swim in the 40 foot. Fed up with having little space or depth to swim in Sandycove at the time, she defied the gender ban and swam with the men.  Jill worked for RTE, but when she got married had to give u...

Barry left Dublin for Cavan, and is living a lot of people’s dream. During the pandemic things got a little noisy in their apartment in Portobello. Yvonne, Barry’s wife, lost her mum, and she felt the need to live a little closer to where she came from, Cavan.  They now have all the space in the world, not to mention peace and quiet. Ever keen to keep busy and integrate into his new community...