The GP Podcast

This is a re-released episode from Series 1.  We will return with Series 2 in September 2026. Happy Summer and thanks for listening! Participants Dr David McConaghy - Clinical Lead for Prevention, Irish College of GPs; Medical Director, TLC Doc Dr John Maher - Host Summary We explore an approach to working in the Out of Hours GP (OOHS) setting in Ireland. Dr David shares insights from over 20 year...

Participants Dr David McConaghy, Irish College of GPs Clinical Lead in Prevention; Member of HSE Team on Integrated Care Programme for Chronic Disease Dr John Maher - Host Summary This conversation reviews the management of hypertension in primary care, in light of recently-published ESC 2024 guidelines. We discuss: updated blood pressure targets and the potential implications for blood pressure d...

Participants Dr Ciara McCarthy - GP Lead in Women's Health, HSE and Irish College of GPs Dr Laura Cullen - Director of Women's Health, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host   Summary This two-part conversation reviews the provision of Early Medical Abortion (EMA) in primary care Ireland, based on the Irish College of GPs Quick Reference Guide "Early Medical Abortion: Top Ten Tips for Non-Provi...

Participants Dr Ciara McCarthy - GP Lead in Women's Health, HSE and Irish College of GPs Dr Laura Cullen - Director of Women's Health, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host   Summary This two-part conversation reviews the provision of Early Medical Abortion (EMA) in primary care Ireland, based on the Irish College of GPs Quick Reference Guide "Early Medical Abortion: Top Ten Tips for Non-Provi...

Participants   Dr Suzanne Kelly, Deputy Medical Director, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host  Summary Suzanne previews tonight's Wednesday Webinar (03 June 2026).  You will find a link to the College webinar recordings page here .  This will include a recording of this month's webinar, once it becomes available in the coming days. Suzanne also discusses the new PCS cycle, the value of the P...

Participants Dr Paul Ryan, Therapeutics Clinical Lead, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host Summary Dr John Maher is joined by Dr. Paul Ryan to resume their discussion of  Asthma Management in General Practice (this is part 2 of 2).   Today, Paul discusses: Current guidelines and recommendations, including the 2024 Joint Guideline from the British Thoracic Society, NICE and SIGN; The five ste...

Participants Dr Paul Ryan, Therapeutics Clinical Lead, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host Summary Dr John Maher is joined by Dr. Paul Ryan to discuss Asthma management in General Practice.  This is a two part series.   In today's episode (part 1), Paul discusses: Establishing diagnosis in patients with suspected asthma in adults, 5-16yo, and under 5yo cohorts; Special considerations in unde...

Participants Dr Eamonn O’Shea, Cardiovascular Lead, Irish College of GPs Dr David McConaghy, Prevention Lead, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher, GP - Host Summary Eamonn and David discuss the positive impact of appropriately managing elevated lipids  on cardiovascular risk, focusing on LDL cholesterol targets for different risk groups, the initiation of lipid-lowering therapy, management of side...

Participants   Dr Suzanne Kelly, Deputy Medical Director, Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher - Host  Summary This episode previews tonight's Wednesday Webinar (06 May 2026).  You will find a link to the College webinar recordings page here .  This will include a recording of this month's webinar, once it becomes available in the coming days. The webinar will be introduced by today's guest, Dr Suza...

Participants Dr Aoife O'Sullivan, Clinical Lead in Mental Health, Irish College of GPs  Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director and Director of Mental Health Programme, Irish College of GPs   Dr John Maher - Host Summary This is part 2 of our discussion on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Primary Care.  The conversation is based on a distance learning module developed by Aoi...

Participants Dr Aoife O'Sullivan, Clinical Lead in Mental Health - Irish College of GPs Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director; Director of Mental Health Programme - Irish College of GPs Dr John Maher (Host) Summary In this first episode of a two-part series, Dr. John Maher discusses Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in primary care with Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan and Dr. Brian Osbor...

Participants Dr Shane McKeogh - Adult Respiratory Clinical Lead, Irish College of GPs; Chronic Disease Lead, HSE Dr John Maher - Host Summary This is part 2 of our discussion on COPD in General Practice, based on the Irish College of GPs “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: General Practice Update” published in October 2025 and available from this link on the College website.   This is the seco...

Participants Dr Shane McKeogh - Adult Respiratory Clinical Lead, Irish College of GPs; Chronic Disease Lead, HSE Dr John Maher - Host   Summary In this first episode in a two-part series, Dr John Maher is joined by Dr. Shane McKeogh to discuss COPD  in General Practice.  Our conversation follows the recent launch of The Irish College of GPs “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: General Practice...

Participants Dr Lisa Devine - National Clinical Lead for Diabetes, Irish College of GPs and HSE Dr John Maher - Host Summary This is part 2 of our discussion on Type 2 Diabetes in General Practice, based on the Irish College of GPs Type 2 Diabetes GPU, published in November 2025, and available from this link on the College website.   This is the second part of my conversation with Lisa, so please...

Participants Dr Lisa Devine - National Clinical Lead for Diabetes, Irish College of GPs and HSE Dr John Maher - Host   Summary In this first episode in a two-part series, Dr John Maher is joined by Dr. Lisa Devine to discuss Type 2 Diabetes in General Practice.  Our conversation follows the recent launch of The Irish College of GPs “Type 2 Diabetes: General Practice Update” published in November 2...

Participants   • Dr John Maher - Host  Summary This episode previews tonight's Wednesday Webinar (1 April 2026).  A link to the recording will be added to the show notes in the coming days, once it becomes available. The webinar will be introduced by Dr Suzanne Kelly, Deputy Medical Director, Irish College of GPs. Topics and Speakers: Assessment and Management of Pain in Life Limiting Conditions -...

Participants • Dr Bernard Kenny, GP Specialising in Substance Misuse; Director of Addiction Management in Primary Care, Irish College of GPs   • Dr John Maher - Host   Summary In this Dr John Maher is joined by Dr Bernard Kenny to discuss codeine misuse and dependence in primary care.  The conversation follows the recent launch or the newly revised Irish College of GPs Foundation Course in Addicti...

Participants • Dr Aoife O'Sullivan, Clinical Lead in Mental Health, Irish College of GPs  • Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director and Director of Mental Health Programme, Irish College of GPs   • Dr John Maher - Host   Summary This is part 2 of our conversation on Managing Depression in Primary Care with Dr Aoife O’Sullivan and Dr Brian Osborne, based on their 2023 Quick Reference Guide (QR...

Participants • Dr Aoife O'Sullivan, Clinical Lead in Mental Health, Irish College of GPs  • Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director and Director of Mental Health Programme, Irish College of GPs   • Dr John Maher - Host   Summary In this first episode in a two-part series, Dr John Maher is joined by Dr Aoife O'Sullivan and Dr Brian Osborne to discuss the Irish College of GPs’ 2023 Quick Refere...

Participants Dr David McConaghy - Clinical Lead for Prevention, Irish College of GPs; Medical Director, TLC Doc Dr John Maher - Host Summary We explore an approach to working in the Out of Hours GP (OOHS) setting in Ireland. Dr David shares insights from over 20 years of experience in Ireland and abroad, highlighting the importance of preparation, patient safety, and effective communication. The c...

Participants • Dr Aoife O'Sullivan - Clinical Lead in Mental Health, Irish College of GPs  • Dr John Maher - Host   Summary This is part 2 of our discussion on Eating Disorders in Primary Care, based on the Irish College of GPs Eating Disorders GPU, published in December 2025 (link below).   This is the second half of my conversation with Aoife, so please go back and listen to part 1 first, if you...

  Participants   • Dr Scott Walkin - Clinical Lead for Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, Irish College of GPs   • Dr John Maher - Host    Summary   In today's episode, we discuss antimicrobial management of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in primary care. We explore the challenges of antibiotic stewardship in Ireland, the importance of accurate diagnosis with an emphasis on history a...

Participants • Dr Aoife O'Sullivan - Clinical Lead in Mental Health, Irish College of GPs  • Dr John Maher - Host   Summary In this first episode in a two-part series, Dr John Maher is joined by Dr. Aoife O'Sullivan to discuss Eating Disorders in General Practice.  Our conversation follows the recent launch of The Irish College of GPs “Eating Disorders: General Practice Update” published in Decemb...

Participants Dr Eamonn O’Shea, Cardiovascular Lead, Irish College of GPs (Guest) Dr John Maher, GP (Host)   Summary This conversation provides an overview of the recently-published Irish College of GPs GPU: “General Practice Update: Atrial Fibrillation in General Practice”.   Eamonn provides an update on managing atrial fibrillation following recently revised international guidelines, including di...

Participants: - Dr. Diarmuid Quinlan, GP in Cork; Medical Director of the Irish College of GPs - Dr. John Maher, GP (Host) Summary: Dr. John Maher is joined by Dr. Diarmuid Quinlan to discuss safe prescribing of isotretinoin in primary care, for management of severe acne. Diarmuid, a GP with over two decades of experience in practice and a special interest in Dermatology, has been prescribing isot...