Win Happy Podcast

Ian Hannon , MD of Activate Training gets up at 4am to do the "breakfast run" with Dublin Simon , bringing hot drinks and snacks to the homeless in the city as they are waking. Saying " hello " is one of the greatest things you can do to a homeless person he says in this fascinating chat where he shares his own story and how he got involved. He also shares some of his valuable sales and leadership...

In this episode, Greg and Alma Brosnan from the Fuzion Communications digital team discuss the very unique and diverse role of social media during this crazy COVID19 crisis. From the early naming and shaming of pubs by the public, the outcry about Cheltenham, packed beaches and parks, to the social media "stars" of official Ireland including Head of the HSE, Paul Reid who was happy to have a spat...

In this fascinating episode we chat with Crisis Communications specialists from across Europe ( CCNE ) to discuss how each country is managing as each navigates the very challenging job of easing the COVID19 restrictions and safely returning to "normal". We learn that the easing of restrictions is more difficult than a lockdown when it comes to communications, that different "agendas" start to pla...

We chat with Joe McNamee , passionate food writer and food critic with the Irish Examiner and other publications as well as being the " ringmaster " of the Grub Circus event. He tells us about the new, free to use, 32 County Irish app, " Eat for Ireland " that he has developed to connect Irish consumers with Irish food producers and restaurants, in particular during Covid19. He shares his passion...

In this episode the sometimes teacher and always singer/songwriter, Jack O'Rourke , joins me for some big conversations about his life, the big influences, playing piano since the age of just four and new songs during the Covid lockdown. We chat about the huge influence of his folks and their attitude to life and the big moments in his career including his album Dreamcatcher and EP Ivory Towers ....

Making your way in the music business can't be easy and on this podcast the very lovely Liverpool born 23 year old, Sophie Morgan shares her story. Her tour has just been cancelled midway during the COVID crisis, so I was delighted that she took the time to chat about her love of the Waterboys, her early influences, the challanges of being a young woman in this tough industry and collaborating wit...

Sean O'Sullivan , Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office South Cork discusses the full range of business supports that are available, including the new supports introduced because of the COVID-19 crisis. We discuss the Business Continuity Voucher , the upgraded Trading Online Voucher , the Microfinance Ireland loans, eligibility critera for each, and the full range of other supports including...

Phil Crosby Jr . the grandson of Bing Crosby chats about his life, his very famous family and the chaotic "stories" that follow that name.  He chats about his with life with his mum Peggy , living with Dean Martin , his stepdad, Jack Klugman , star of the Odd Couple and Quincy M.E., growing up in LA and then living a life on the fringes, away from everything. Eventually he accepted and embraced hi...

In this episode we chat with Kieran McGeary , CEO of Cork's 96FM and C103 about the critical role of trusted media during a crisis, including the close relationship with government with COVID-19 . We chat about the challenge of getting the message right to the general public, achieving the right balance between dark news and other lighter content. We also talk about the challenge of keeping his te...

Near heart failure due to the extreme pressure of work just three years ago forced one of Ireland's most influential fashion editors, Constance Harris , to make the changes in her life that she had really wanted but would never have made. In this podcast we chat about her early life with her high profile, colourful media parents, Eoghan and Anne Harris , struggling with dyslexia, her career in fil...

On this episode we chat with members of the Crisis Communications Network Europe , who share the experience of the COVID-19 crisis in their respective countries. We can see clearly that great communications can save lives and in each member country we get an overview of where the crisis is currently, we examine the performance of government and media and how the general public have responded. Trus...

In this episode we chat with Lucy Hua , an architect with Irish firm, Wilson Architecture who works for them in their China office. Lucy, who lives with her family in Dalian tells us about their very strict "lockdown" restrictions, despite the city having no more than 20 cases of COVID19 and experiencing no deaths from the disease. One person can leave the household every three days, their passes...

In this episode we chat with one of the leading economists in Ireland, Jim Power who originally grew up on a farm in Waterford. We have a huge conversation about what is needed to preserve the Irish economy during the COVID19 crisis, his view on the government support package and our ability to recover quickly - he is very optimistic. We also talk about walking away from a soulless role in the ban...

In this episode we chat with David Waldron , Director of Cloud Services with Radius Technologies about remote working, in particular when we are forced to due to the COVID-19 virus. We chat about how easy it is to work remotely, the process for employers and employees and we discuss in detail the practical nuts and bolts including the equipment needed, broadband, the challenges of setting up a wor...

In this episode we chat with Dr. Gerry Waldron, Asst. Director of Public Health in Northern Ireland. We chatted about his role in the NHS , when they feared COVID19 would be a "High consequence infectious disease" in the North, the controversial 'Herd Immunity' approach and the impact of this with the somewhat different approach in the South. Should we have prepared better and what will the likely...

In part three of this three part podcast Dr. Orla Flynn reflects on her life, her career and the new role as President of GMIT after spending 33 years at CIT .  We chat about moving to Lismore from New York at the age of 11, adapting to life in Ireland, witnessing cruelty in the classroom, experiencing the joy of team sports and then leading teams through big transformation including her time as h...

In part two of this three part podcast Dr. Orla Flynn, the new President of GMIT (Galway Meath Institute of Technology) reflects on her 33 successful years at CIT. In this episode we captured a huge (sometimes heated!) and very passionate conversation about Gender Equality, the role of ratios and how the 'Me Too' movement adds an extra challenge to this complex topic   Let us know where you sit wi...

Dr. Orla Flynn , has just left CIT after a fantastic career spanning 33 years at the college to take up the role of President at GMIT in Galway. ( Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology ) In Part 1 of a three part podcast, Orla talks about her love of teaching, the early part of her career lecturing in Maths and Computer Science (at " The Tech ") and her steady progression up the ranks to senior role...

Greg chats with Mary McGrath , Director of the First Cut Youth Film Festival about the sheer joy she witnesses first hand when so many young people get to express themselves each year through film, and the huge, lasting impact that this can have on their lives. Mary chats about her life including teaching, community work and how a youth project, which ultimately led to First Cut rescued her from a...

Greg chats with Mary McGrath , Director of the First Cut Youth Film Festival about the sheer joy she witnesses first hand when so many young people get to express themselves each year through film, and the huge, lasting impact that this can have on their lives. Mary chats about her life including teaching, community work and how a youth project, which ultimately led to First Cut rescued her from a...

In this episode we chat with Founder and MD of Digicom and former President of Dublin Chamber , Greg Clarke . Greg is one of those rare breeds, those unsung heroes of the indigenous small business sector in Ireland. No grants, no advance factories, no super cool App - this is a business employing 40 people, built on pure hard work and excellent customer service. Greg chats about lessons from 23 ye...

In this episode Greg chats with Dave O'Donoghue , who brought the healthy food franchise, Freshii to Ireland from Canada. Dave who grew up on a small farm in Kerry has had a huge career working in food, from selling butter and cheese to supermarkets to managing the European operation for huge brands such as Cuisine de France . A desire to do his own thing and to help Ireland to eat healthy led to...

In this episode we take on the huge topic of our young vulnerable children, over 6,000 in Ireland who are in foster or residential care. Greg chats with a who works tirelessly with her team to find suitable foster care parents, and to prepare them so that they can successfully provide safe, caring and loving homes to our most precious, vulnerable children. Enjoy the show    This show has been brou...

From rapper, songwriter and tech fan, Garry McCarthy ( aka GMCBeats ) has turned into a teacher, a mentor, a friend, a provider of safe places and an inspirer of young people who are bursting to have their voices heard. In this episode of the Win Happy podcast I chat with Garry about his career, his love of music and tech, his early rapping success and how he has found a special love for inspiring...

Greg chats with the fascinating behavioural scientist, Milo-Arne Wilkinson , who is in Ireland to launch the ELEVEN Executive Leadership Programme at Dublin Business School . Milo, one of 16 children, originally from Hawaii and now living in Australia has had a fascinating career, which has led her to developing this very unique programme that focuses on the attributes of leaders and not their com...