The Players Voice

In our final episode of 2024, Cork’s Saoirse McCarthy joined The Players Voice to chat about retaining the All-Ireland this year and to share some of the lessons learned along the way.   Over the course of this wide-ranging chat, the All-Star wing-forward discusses the importance of enjoying the inter-county lifestyle, experiencing burnout and how much she has benefitted from developing as bo...

Kerry’s Kayleigh Cronin joined The Players Voice to chat about winning the All-Ireland this year and her decision to try life in the AFLW in 2025.   In a wide-ranging chat, the two-time All Star shares some of the lessons and insights that helped Kerry end a 31 year wait for an All-Ireland title at this level. She also opens up on her growth as a leader and person both on and off the field. &...

Antrim’s Conor McCann joined The Players Voice to chat about his decision to step away from inter-county hurling after 14 years of stellar service.   He talked about handling the transition out of the elite level of the game and why now was the right time to step away for him, his family and his club. Conor also reflected on lessons learned from the time spent wearing saffron yellow and share...

Meath’s Cillian O’Sullivan joined The Players Voice for an insightful and inspiring conversation about being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).   Late in 2023 Cillian’s world was turned upside down on his honeymoon when his condition deteriorated. He talks us through some of the challenges he has had to overcome on this journey and how he bounced back to represent Meath within a matter o...

All-Ireland winner and All-Star Conor Whelan joins us for a special episode of The Players Voice on World Mental Health Day.   Fresh from a Masters in Psychology, and currently doing a PHD on the Mental Health of GAA inter-county players, Conor offers fascinating insight into some of the challenges facing modern day players.   In a wide-ranging conversation about mental health and wellbe...

On this week’s episode of The Players Voice, host Alan O’Mara is joined by Tipperary’s Maria Curley.   An experienced leader on and off the field, Curley discusses why she is as determined as ever to keep driving standards for female GAA players. She also talks about becoming an entrepreneur and shares how her physiotherapy practice has positively impacted the community through over 65 exerci...

On this week’s episode of The Players Voice, host Alan O’Mara is joined by Kildare’s Grace Clifford. Grace talked about the decline and rise of Kildare during her career, and why she keeps coming back for more! She also chatted about the importance of players speaking up to create lasting change, empowering young girls in sport and life, and her excitement for the future of the game.   The Pl...

Mickey Quinn reflects on his decision to retire from inter-county football after 13 seasons and why now was the right time to transition out of the game. In a wide-ranging chat with the former Longford stalwart and AFL player, we looked back on lessons learned from his life in elite sport and discussed some of the highs and frustrations he experienced. We also chatted about his motivation for sett...

The latest episode of The Players’ Voice features Derry’s Conor Glass. During this conversation, Conor reflects on lessons he learned from his experience as a professional athlete in the AFL. He talks about how working with a sports psychologist helped improve both his performances and wellbeing. The Glen clubman also discusses how Derry have rebuilt confidence and a winning mentality in recent ye...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Cork’s Amy O’Connor. Fresh from captaining the Rebel county to the All-Ireland title and winning an All-Star, Amy sat down to reflect on a memorable year and some of the lessons learned along the way. She talked about what it was like to score 3-7 in the 2023 All-Ireland final, including a hat-trick within two minutes. Incredibly, as you will hear,...

The latest episode features former Galway player Alan Kerins. Back in 2001, Alan Kerins had the rare experience of playing in both the All-Ireland football and hurling finals but since then his impact has stretched far beyond the playing field. Through his charity work, Alan has raised millions of euro that has saved and changed thousands of lives in Africa. During this conversation, Alan tells us...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Dublin’s Ciarán Kilkenny. The Castleknock clubman talks about life as a teacher, setting up a Yoga business and the importance of trying new things. He chats about his search for sport/life balance and lessons learned from pushing himself too hard. Ciarán also looks back on the high of recapturing the Sam Maguire this year and opens up on the mental...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Dublin’s Lauren Magee. During this conversation, Lauren explains why Dublin's All-Ireland victory in 2023 was the sweetest of them all. She discussed how much she benefited as a person from taking a break to go traveling and what she learned from her experience in the AFLW. Lauren also opens up about losing her step-dad to suicide and her journey wi...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Kerry’s Martin Stackpoole. The goalkeeper joined host Alan O’Mara to open up in great detail about his gambling addiction and his recovery. Martin talks about his struggle to reach out for help, what he learned from spending time in a treatment centre and how much he is enjoying living life on his own terms again. The Players’ Voice is brought to yo...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Players Voice - where this week we are joined by Down’s Fionnuala Carr.   During this chat, Fionnuala opens up about the highs and lows of running her own business, MarVal Power. She talks about applying the ‘next ball’ mentality she learned in sport to business, as well as dealing with self-doubt and building confidence. We also chatted about retiring fro...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Players Voice - where this week we are joined by Kildare goalkeeper Mary Hulgraine. During this powerful and insightful conversation, Mary reflects on her well-being journey and recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. She talks about the importance of accepting help and shares some of the highs and lows of life in recovery. Mary also chats about learning to l...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Players Voice - where this week we are joined by New York goalkeeper and former Down player, Mick Cunningham. One of the heroes that helped the exiles to their first ever win in the Connacht GAA championship earlier this year, Mick tells us why he moved to New York in the first place and how it has helped him to evolve as a person and a player. Away from the GA...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Players Voice - where this week we are joined by Clare camogie star Chloe Morey and former Tyrone player Gemma Begley, who is now the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion manager with the Gaelic Players Association. During this chat, Chloe and Gemma outline why female inter-county football and camogie teams will play the remainder of their 2023 championships under...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Players Voice - where this week we are joined by Cora Staunton. During this chat, Cora shares how she is managing the transition out of her 6 year spell as a professional athlete in the AFLW. Cora tells us about her work as part of the Galway camogie management team this season and her passion for mentoring, leading and empowering the next generation as she loo...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Kildare hurler James Burke. During this chat, the 2022 Christy Ring Player of the Year opens up about how bacterial meningitis once turned his whole world upside down. Contracting the rare but deadly infection was a life threatening experience, and James shares some of the unexpected lessons and perspective he was forced to learn as a young man. We...

This is the second part of our mental health special on The Players Voice with Antrim hurler Domhnall Nugent. Having struggled with addiction to alcohol and cocaine, Domhnall Nugent spent three months in residential rehabilitation. He is now an addiction facilitator with Cuan Mhuire and the founder of Let’s Face It. In this episode, Domnhnall and host Alan O’Mara talk about developing resilience,...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Antrim hurler Domhnall Nugent. Having struggled with addiction to alcohol and cocaine, Domhnall spent 3 months in residential rehabilitation. He is now an addiction facilitator for Cuan Mhuire and the founder of Let’s Face It, where he releases his own weekly podcast. This conversation is a two-part mental health special, as Domnhnall and host Alan...

The latest episode of The Players Voice features two Cork legends, Orlagh Farmer and Orla Finn. This is a special conversation between the best of friends as they look back on the journey that saw them grow together as both players and people. The pair were part of multiple All-Ireland winning campaigns - including the 6 in row teams from 2011 to 2016. Earlier this year, both Farmer and Finn annou...

Dublin All-Star and All-Ireland winner Leah Caffrey joins The Players Voice for a wide-ranging conversation about life on and off the field. Leah spoke to us from Ballymaloe Cookery School, where she is currently navigating a significant career change and challenging herself to be much more than just a footballer. She also talks about the highs of winning multiple All-Ireland’s, benefitting from t...

Antrim All-Star Jane Adams joins The Players Voice this week to reflect on important lessons in life, sport and business. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Alan O’Mara, Jane shares her journey to self-acceptance and happiness, after initially struggling to accept that she was gay. Jane highlights how resilience, courage and adaptability have helped her to navigate the ups and downs of bu...