Standing idly by

A reflection with Daisy about the Local Election Campaign as we move into the Final Week before Polling Day. Negative Campaigning A tuned in Electorate An identity crisis for Local Democracy How local politics is really about Horticulture, Alchemy & Wayfinding!

There is an increase in the volume of children who are presenting with school refusal/avoidance and we must start by accepting that this is a real issue and it doesn't have an instant magic wand fix. Daisy outlines a very straight forward and meaningful methodology for supporting children and families to navigate a scenario where there is a reluctance to attend school.  Based on a collaborati...

A very open, honest, reflective and insightful conversation with Sinn Fein Councillor for Bray, Grace McManus who shares her reasons for stepping down 8 months before the next Local Elections.

In this episode Daisy talks about how he manages tough situations and how he developed an internal version of himself that is activated in those times when challenging behaviour is present. The challenge for many of us can be how to stay present in moments of distress. How to retain compassion when there is no reciprocation.

Shining a light on how important it is to consider the decisions that we make NOW and how they will impact on our grandchildren's grandchildren! We need to focus on; Awareness of the risks Our gifts to the future How 'Long-termism' will serve us

Cllr Grace McManus joins Cllr Daisy to discuss a Housing Paper that they have recently published. In this episode they talk about the relevance of trauma within the issue of housing and how a 'Trauma Informed' approach to dealing with people who are in housing distress would make a difference at County Council level during the current Housing Crisis in Ireland.

"I believe that the more we include the thoughts, ideas and voices of young people in decisions that will impact on their future, the more hope we can carry into that future." According to Daisy, moving beyond tokenism and into the realm of meaningful and purposeful and supported engagement is actually worth it! When youth participation recognises the needs of young people in terms of th...

"I believe that good people can create bad policies. I don't believe in attacking individuals but I will always challenge proposals or policies that are not rooted in social justice or have not been developed with a human rights lens" Daisy explores the tension between popularity and good policy in the political arena. He wonders what has the most currency and what type of expectati...

"I believe that my failures as a politician are opportunities for reflection and insight as well as reminders that change doesn't always happen in the moment that it is needed." Failure is very familiar territory for most healthy organisations when it is seen as something that represents an opportunity. However, in politics it appears to be something that you must avoid at all costs...

Episode 1 of a 12 part mini-series exploring the emerging insights from the political experience of Cllr Dermot 'Daisy' O'Brien. This episode unpacks the statement, "I believe that the quality of political decision making at local level is directly linked to the quality of consultation with local people".

In celebration of International Women's Day, Daiz and Grace share stories of the Women who have been guiding lights for them throughout their lives. Women from mythology, activism, the arts, politics and also those who are close to them.

The story of an iconic and inspirational woman born Mary Harris in Ireland and eventually immortalised as Mother Jones who stood up for workers, for child labourers for women at a time when the profiteers of the ruling class in the US had everything in their favour until the Unions started to mobilise. What messages can we take from Mary's story that inform our activism today?

A short episode that sets the scene for a new series of podcasts which aim to explore the challenges and choices we face in a changing world. Motivated by the urgency across the Globe to 'course correct' from our current direction. Inspired by a belief that the simple shift away from 'Standing idly by' can generate such positive power that it represents the potential to become...

Daisy and Grace share their own top five 'guiding lights' which serve them well as they navigate these challenging times. You will thoroughly enjoy the conversation as they share insights, reasons and rationale for their respective choices such as, music, humour, people, sing alongs, quotes, companions and highlighting passages in books!

Daisy and Grace discuss '5 a-day for mental health' which is a tool that supports people to check in on their own well being and perhaps discover where they need to give some attention in order to resolve issues or even to make improvements. As a package the 5 a-day has a balance of internal, external, individual and group related concepts and approaches. 1. Accept  2. Connect   3. Contr...

Daisy, Grace and Tola from 'Be Well No Hate' interview Kelvin Akpaloo about his experiences of activism within the No Hate Speech Movement. Kelvin shares insights, wisdom, struggles and advice for young activists about how to approach change making with an openness about how you might change as you try to change the world around you! From Youth Summits in the Aviva stadium in Dublin to r...

A conversation with Cllr Grace Mc Manus about a recent Housing position paper developed by her on behalf of Sinn Fein in Bray. Issues such as homelessness, child homelessness, renting, buying and how we pursue change in this area are covered in this chat.

With a worrying rise of hate movements in Ireland Daisy attempts to unpack the process by which people identify with particular social groups.  Social Categorisation Social Identification Social Comparison By understanding how people integrate their own identity into that of a group we might better understand what we are up against as we try to address hate groups who are often masquerading as som...

Daisy and Grace discuss how shame is weaponised in politics.  What does it look like, who is involved, why is it so prevalent and what are the risks? A fascinating conversation that explores what its like to be in the arena of politics but also to take the perspective of those in the media and the electorate as shame becomes a popular tool of choice when politicians do "wrong".

Originally a video but transformed into a podcast to share with those who aren't on social media. This episode explores how we approach the uncomfortable conversations about homelessness. When we consider support options for those who find themselves in a homeless situation what factors influence where we sit on the spectrum from prejudice to compassion?

Elected in May 2019 Daisy and Grace reflect on a year in the role of County Councillors. Perhaps seen as unlikely political candidates at the time, Daisy and Grace talk about the previous year by posing questions to each other that cover a wide range of reflections. What has changed about you? What have you learned? What were funny moments? What failures did you learn from and how do you manage pe...

As the Officer Commanding in the H-Block prison during the Hunger Strikes of 1981 Bik McFarlane has a unique insight into how the story played out and what came after. This conversation was part of a commemoration event hosted online by Sinn Féin Wicklow & Wexford during the restrictions of the Covid-19 Pandemic.  Daisy invites Bik to share his memories, experiences, analysis and thoughts abou...

Connection is at the heart of the human experience but it has to be real! This episode explores and illustrates the full impact this pandemic is having on all of our human connections. In the absence of the gatherings that truly define us, what is left?  You can't attend the funeral of a loved one nor the match of your local football team. Births and birthdays are off the radar! Going out for...

Everything has changed, everything that was 'normal' is not available to us anymore. We don't know when this will end and we have no idea what will be left when it does. The biggest challenge at the moment is how we manage the impact of the Global Pandemic on us as humans who exist to connect, interact and spend time together in groups. This episode looks at our individual roles in...

When your work is in service to others and you spend your time in caring roles, the practice of Self Compassion can be the difference between flourishing and burning out. We often spend our time fully focussed and committed to those who we serve and forget to make time for self care. Some of us even dismiss self care because we prefer to prioritise the vulnerable people we work with and the though...