Sin Scéal Eile

Genetics were not on Sarah’s side growing up. By the age of 13, her Mother had gotten a breast cancer diagnosis, one that was known to be hereditary. Sarah had an agonising 5 years to wait before she’d know that she carried the same genes.  Sarah had to battle with surgeons to convince them to give her a double mastectomy and reconstruction, but she was always adamant it was the right choice...

What a life Kieran has led. She was born in America but always felt a pull towards Ireland (her parents of course were Irish too, and desperate to use the name ‘Kieran’ even though she was a girl). Kieran has lived a full life. Working for Sinn Fein during the peace process, a career in Human Rights with Amnesty International, a brief spell learning to weld and now a very fruitful career as a bake...

Like many people her age, Derbáil felt the pull of far away lands. She emigrated to the states when she was in her twenties, followed by a stint in Australia and then Canada.  She’s recently returned home, with an Australian husband in tow, and feels like she’s back at square one. She’s finding her way in this almost new country which is far different from the one she left in her twenties.&nb...

“Sauna Tom” as he's known around Dingle is a blow in whom the town loves. He moved down from Dublin a few years back and had the notion of setting up a sauna (he'd gotten the taste of sauna life and all its mental health benefits in Dublin and missed it dearly out West).  He credits his business venture for introducing him to so many of the locals but for also incentivising him to learn Irish...

The little charmer who sits on Emily’s knee for our whole chat is Cara. She’s Emily’s baby and is the cutest wee dote of all time. Emily loves taking her for walks as she finds people are friendlier and chattier with her when she has a dog.  Emily has faced all types of human interactions from strangers on the street and let’s just say, people can be very cruel.  At the age of 7, Emily w...

George is a director of films and TV. I’ve never been 100% sure what a director does, even though I’ve worked as a stills photographer on his productions. George kindly fills me in on all he does as well as what propelled him along his journey into comedy, including the almost mandatory move to London that a lot of Irish creatives make. Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and creat...

Ged loves history, reading and Dexter (his dog). He’s an avid collector of signed books, and spends his time in his reading nook (akin to a garden shed) out his back garden. He’s a man who is full of quick wit and excellent banter and regale you with fantastic stories from around the area.  Rx Sin Scéal Eile - That's Another Story was hosted and created by Ruth Medjber, with sound by Ronan La...

Ah the joys of being 22 and just handing in your last college assignment. Amelhyne reflects on her 4 years of college where she solidified her passion as an audiophile. She now has some beautiful decisions to make, whether to go straight into a coveted role in radio or podcast producing, or continue her education with a masters. Either way, she’s utterly convinced that the medium of radio is well...

We pulled our campervan up outside Catherine’s home in Kerry that she shares with her husband, Maurice. It’s the home where she raised her 4, now grown, children. She welcomes us with delicious vegan treats and a completely calming atmosphere. It’s the kind of home that you could sink into storytelling for hours, not watching the time tick by.  Catherine prides herself on being a host and mak...

Maurice is a natural born story teller. We sat at his kitchen table and he brought me on an incredible journey through his life. From his work as an artist and festival producer, to travelling around the world with three small kids, right up to being visited by a fox while eating a 9ct gold ball alone in the woods. I honestly won’t even attempt to paraphrase him, you’ll just have to listen! Rx Sin...

After an epiphany on holidays, Frances packed in her manic life in hospitality and started a slow life, in the form of The Slow Concept. It’s a clothes shop in Dingle that sells Irish made and sustainable designs.  With her own design work, she has managed to save 12 tonnes of towels and sheets from landfill, turning them into beautiful hand painted swim ponchos.  Her workshop is tucked...

Kevin greeted us at the door of the Dingle aquarium and gave us a sneaky behind the scenes tour of the place (including the top of the shark tank).  It's much bigger than you'd ever assume from the outside, full of incredible experiences (they even grow jellyfish out the back). Kevin is passionate about conservation. From indigenous toads, his beloved turtle Molly, to even the conservation of...

You know those beautiful pianos you see in various train stations around? They’re the brain child of John Murphy (and his wife). He petitioned Irish Rail to invite a bit of musical goodness into people’s commutes. As a professional piano tuner, it gives him no greater joy than hearing people play a (tuned) piano in the wild, especially watching young kids getting the opportunity to practice before...

Mark is a storyteller. He held a position in the Dublin Leprechaun for 13 years, telling all sorts of folk tales, one of which he shares with us today. He’s a lover of sticks and unusual trees and is also sometimes a part time Santa (is there such a thing as a full time Santa?). Mark has a lovely cadence to his voice, as well as a sensitive kind of wit, which in turn makes him a great storyteller,...

Sorcha is a musician, a mother and a Kerry native (even though sometimes she feels like a bit of a blow in). She grew up being part of quite a different family than what was the norm in West Kerry in the 90s, but it’s something that she prides herself in these days.  With both parents being uilleann pipers, her childhood was soundtracked by what she describes as intense and sometimes melancho...

The stage is Zia’s life, not necessarily being on it, but lighting it up and designing the sets. She has a very cool job, touring around to different theaters, dreaming up lighting cues and figuring out how to tell a story within a small dark space.  Zia wasn’t always Zia. She was once Aislinn, but as a very creative and strong-willed 3 year old, she decided to change it, making all her famil...

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 at Poddle Audio with original music by Elaine Mai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wayne chose to meet in Phibsborough because he's a very polite man and thought he would make it easier for me to be closer to town. What we both discover mid interview is that we live about 20 feet from each other. His back garden looks into mine, our dogs clocked each other months ago, but yet we were oblivious. We could have done this interview in our garden!  I was interested in meeting Wa...

Who knew hitting up a random swing dancing lesson could change your life? Christian fell in love, head over brogues, as soon as he laid eyes on the burlesque star, Sorcha. He swung her off her feet in the workmans, now, as a family, they cut a fine figure. They embrace a rockabilly/vintage kinda look that makes them truly unique at the school gates.  Christian has lived a life and a half, fro...

Redundancy can be a blow to many. Some choose to spend their money on holidays, home improvements, fancy handbags even. Loretta spent it on herself, in the most life affirming and positive way possible. She invested in her dream career, she built herself a workshop out the back of her house (sacrificing what little garden they had). She went back to college, learned some new business skills and “r...

I am absolutely fascinated by Lesley Bond’s story. We met in Woodstack Café, which is nestled away in the woods in Kildare and feels like you’ve been transported back in time, and after hearing Lesley’s story it makes total sense.  Lesley once held one of the most coveted (and viral) jobs in Ireland. We’re all seen it, we’ve all dreamed of it. Herself and her (now) husband, got hired as the c...

Do you remember the “guaranteed Irish” sign that you used to see on all the products, the little symbol that when you saw it, you knew the product was fairly sound and very Irish. A little mark you could trust.  Well, Una Healy has developed a new mark, one that also helps consumers trust a product, service or brand. It’s the one that lets you know that a human has created the piece and that...

Dare I be so cringe as to say that meeting Emma was like a breath of fresh Éire? She’s a Kildare native who attended gaelscoil but never felt truly fluent until she arrived in college. The love of the Irish language hit her like a tsunami, suddenly she was attending Irish social clubs, ordering pints as Gaeilge, and even changing her entire course to study Irish more.  She now runs Raidió Rí-...

Gerry has had a wonderfully varied life, and it’s still going strong. He started young, just 16 years old when he began his 30 year career in Aer Lingus. From there, he went on to work for many different companies, even finding himself in the Oireachtas at one stage. It was after a brief stint in Papua New Guinea that he decided to change direction completely and in his 50s, began studying to...

This project is somewhat reserved for people who don’t usually have a platform. It’s for sharing real stories, from real people, so I was a little bit trepidatious to interview a politician who would normally have their own audience and agenda.  However, our podcast producer, Dee Reddy, assured me that her friend Hazel would give me her truly honest opinion and stories, and I was intrigued to...