The Women's Podcast

Having a thoughtful, sustainable and more mindful Christmas does not have to be a buzzkill. With that in mind, this episode is full of tips for a more joyful and less wasteful festive season, that doesn’t banish the fun. Irish Times contributor and author of the Game Changers column Catherine Cleary came on to talk to us about some sustainable gift ideas, while author of soon-to-be-published book...

With the courageous shows of defiance against the misogynistic Islamic Republic in Iran and the rights of women and girls continuing to be eroded by the Taliban in Afghanistan, two women discuss the devastating, unjust situation in their countries. Mahya Ostovar, a lecturer at University of Galway left Iran ten years ago and Mahbooba Faiz, arrived in Ireland a few months ago from Afghanistan with...

It was a chance meeting in 1992 which brought Ennis women Colette Reddington and Mary Fitzgerald together. When their paths crossed, both were seeking shelter for victims of domestic abuse, but were struggling to find local services. After realising there were no refuges available, not only in their hometown of Ennis, but in the entire county of Clare, the women decided to take action. Now, t...

When her career stalled during the Covid lockdown, actor and writer Roise Holt moved back to her parents house in Somerset and began creating comedy videos from her old bedroom. The videos skewering British politicians went viral propelling her into newfound stardom as a parody MP. In this episode, Rosie talks to Róisín Ingle about the success of her satirical videos and why they resonated so well...

CervicalCheck campaigner Vicky Phelan died this week, at the age of 48. Over the years, Vicky has joined us on a number of occasions as a guest on the podcast, sharing her story and her journey through treatment. Today we celebrate the life of an extraordinary Limerick woman who fought for justice for so many. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Teresa Deevy may not be a familiar name to most people, but it should be. Born in 1894, the Waterford woman, who was deaf from the age of nineteen, was a successful dramatist and playwright. In the 1930s, six of her plays were performed on stage in the Abbey Theatre and her reputation as a brilliant and talented writer had critics referring to her as next Sean O'Casey and the ‘Irish Chekhov’. That...

Last month, Aimée Foley emerged from the Central Criminal Courts of Justice with a smile on her face. The 21 year-old had been fighting to get her father’s prison sentence increased, after he had received just five years for raping and sexually abusing her as a child. Following an appeal by the DPP, Michael O’Donoghue of Colmanstown, Ballinasloe, Co Galway had his jail term almost doubled, meaning...

This month on The Women’s Podcast book club, we’ve been reading Lucy by the Sea by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout. Set in the early days of the pandemic, it tells the story of Lucy Barton who moves to Maine during lockdown, to live with her ex-husband William in a small house by the sea. Leaving her life in New York behind, Lucy must now spend the next several months in the company...

This week marks ten years since the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died on the 28th October 2012. The young Indian woman was seventeen weeks pregnant when she presented to University Hospital Galway complaining of severe back pain. Although informed by doctors that she was actively miscarrying, she was denied access to an abortion, despite multiple requests. One week later, she was dead. What f...

Last year, as part of their ‘Storyland’ initiative, RTE invited budding writers and creative talent to submit their ideas for original and new local drama. From the hundreds of submissions, three dramas were eventually chosen to go into production, all written by women. The first of which airs tonight on RTE2 at 9:30pm. It’s called Mustard and was created by actress and playwright Eva O’Connor. Or...

When Maryam Mohitmafi arrived in Ireland with her husband two years ago, she was seeking a better life. A life where she could be free to choose what to wear, where to work and what religion to practice. A life with “basic freedoms” that are not available to women in her home country of Iran. From her new home in Dublin, the 31 year-old watches on as the women of Iran fight for those freedoms. Ove...

Total is the brand new book from author and filmmaker Rebecca Miller. It has just been released, but the wheels were set in motion for this collection of short stories, almost two decades ago. It was during the pandemic, when Miller, the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller and acclaimed photographer Inge Morath, finally found the time and space needed to flesh out and expand her ideas. In Total,...

Kate Ewart-Biggs was just eight years-old, when her father, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the former British Ambassador to Ireland was assassinated by the IRA, just two weeks after the family arrived into the country. Looking back on that day in 1976, Ewart-Biggs says she spent “a lovely morning” with her father, before he left their home to attend an official meeting. Minutes later, the explosion from...

When Alice Ryan began writing her first novel There's Been A Little Incident, a debut about familial love and lifelong friendship, it was an "act of hope" in the face of terrible loss. 11 years ago, her mother, former literary editor of The Irish Times Caroline Walsh, died by suicide while suffering from a debilitating illness. Ryan, a grand-daughter of the late writer Mary Lavin, was in...

When Edwina Dunn was a young girl, she dreamed of becoming a long distance truck driver and living a very glamorous life on the road. While she didn’t quite achieve that goal, she did go on to become a very successful business woman and the brains behind the Tesco Clubcard. In the early 1990s, she and her husband Clive brought their expertise in data science to the boardroom of Tesco and helped th...

Girlcrush is the brand new novel from writer and illustrator Florence Given. It follows the journey of Eartha, a young woman fresh out of a relationship, coming to terms with her sexuality and dealing with her growing online fame. It’s the second book from the writer who brought us Women Don’t Owe You Pretty which explores all corners of the feminist conversation. Given speaks to Róisín Ingle abou...

It’s Fringe time again and as usual, the Dublin Fringe Festival has a host of female-led art and showomanship to discover. In today’s episode we highlight some of the brilliant events by women taking place in venues across the capital from the 10th to the 25th of September. (You won't want to miss Growler, the story of an 82-year-old inner-city vulva for just one brilliant example). Róisín Ingle i...

Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen is the latest book up for discussion on the book club. Set in the summer of 1994, the story follows the lives of Maeve and her two friends, who begin working in the local shirt factory in a small border town in Northern Ireland, while awaiting their A-Level results. As the summer unfolds, tensions rise in the factory between the Catholic and Protestant workers and...

We cannot resolve the climate emergency without fighting for gender equality. Women, especially poor women of colour, are suffering most as a result of the climate crisis, our highest-profile climate activists are women and girls and yet, at the top table it is men who are deciding the earth’s future. In her latest book, How Women Can Save the Planet, award-winning journalist Anne Karpf argues tha...

In the 1960s and 70s, the name Karen was one of the most popular baby names for girls. Now, not so much. With the rise of the Karen meme, the name has gradually become associated with obnoxious and entitled behaviour, usually demonstrated by a white, angry, middle-class woman. In this episode, Róisín Ingle speaks to two Irish Karens, Karen O’Donoghue and Karen Hand, about how their once loved name...

Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch was just 11 when her eating disorder began to manifest. She struggled for several years with anorexia, with spells in and out of hospital including a three month stay in a facility in England. In her memoir, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting, she explores with breathtaking clarity, her path to recovery and her struggle to deal with the complexities and contradictions...

In this podcast recorded in September 2021, Róisín talks to the journalist, author and presenter of the brilliant How To Fail podcast Elizabeth Day. She has just published her latest novel, Magpie, a thrilling, stylish and psychologically astute story of jealousy, motherhood and power. In this funny, moving and revealing conversation, Day explains how some of the book’s themes relate to her own li...

Aoife Farrelly was just six years-old, when her older brother Cian began sexually abusing her. The abuse lasted two years and stopped when she told her parents what was happening. Last month, he was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to rape and sexual assault. Now aged twenty-one, Aoife plans to rebuild her life, ‘heal her inner child’ and not let the abuse define her. In this episode,...

Launched in 2015, Love Island is one of the most successful reality dating shows on TV. Despite a number of controversies through the years, the show still attracts millions of viewers every night. So why is it so compelling to watch and what keeps us coming back for more? In this episode Róisín Ingle is joined by three avid Love Island viewers, writer and philosopher Laura Kennedy, baker Gerry Go...

The price of everything is on the rise. From petrol, groceries, energy and gas, every facet of our lives has been affected. So why is everything so expensive and how can we make our money stretch further? In this episode, Róisín Ingle speaks to two budgeting experts Caz Mooney and Kel Galavan, who both share their money and saving tips through their Instagram profiles @Irishbudegting and @Mrssmart...