Win Happy Podcast

On today's podcast I had the pleasure of the company of much travelled media professional, Vanessa Conneely . Vanessa is a warm and fascinating character whose love of her profession and her curiosity has taken her all over the world, living in interesting places and working across all types of media. She chats about her life and career, about the changes in media and where she feels it is going ...

On today's podcast I chat with Andy Mackin , the CEO of the Mackin Group , a global success story headquartered in Cork. When a trial with Torquay United didn't end the way he had hoped he was delighted to join the Irish Navy and ended up serving for 21 years. The retired Andy , at just 39 started his own health and safety consultancy and with an ethos of hard work and customer service, door after...

As we approach the two year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I welcome back the journalist and founder of Lifeline Ukraine , Paul Niland to the Win Happy podcast. Make no mistake, this is a brutal war with endless, pointless suffering and Paul, an Irishman who has been living in Kyiv for 21 years, tells us the story of the last two decades and how he sees things going right now. Ukr...

On today's podcast I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Gwendolyn Masin , concert violinist, educator and director of the GAIA Music Festival in Switzerland. She is the fourth generation of family musicians, she started playing piano at the age of three, she was given a violin for her fifth birthday and at the age of six she performed in her first concert. Gwendolyn has lived all over the...

On today's podcast I speak with speaker, author and podcast host John R.Miles about his life, career, and his latest book ' Passion Struck '. John's career took an unexpected turn and this high ranking military professional suddenly found himself having to reinvent himself as a management consultant. He chats about the need for new leadership models, the move from command and control to coaching a...

On today's podcast I chat with the retired owner of O'Sullivans Bar in Crookhaven in West Cork, where you can enjoy the most southernly pint in Ireland. Billy O'Sullivan , 86 years young, ably assisted by his granddaughter, Alex , chats about his life and career and the story of the pub which has been in the family name for nearly 91 years. He chats about Crookhaven with a population of  just 37 p...

On part two of this two part podcast I chat with Conductor and Composer Vincent Kennedy about his 10th album ' Music of People and Place ' performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra featuring Mark Redmond on uilleann pipes. Vincent chatted about the powerful magic of an orchestra, the role of the conductor and the monumental task of recording 18 songs in just two days. Enjoy the show...   Click here f...

On today's podcast I chat with Composer and Conductor, Vincent Kennedy who has just released his 10th album ' Music of People and Place ' performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra . On part one of this two part podcast Vincent chats about a piece of music he heard when he was just 3 years of age that changed his life, mastering the trumpet, winning multiple awards as a young boy and going on to compo...

On today's podcast I chat with playwright, author and high performance leadership consultant, Shane Cradock about his latest book, ' The Inner CEO ', and what we need to do in 2024 to start living the life that we were born to live. Shane chats about his fascinating story, how a phone call changed the course of his life and how understanding your mind can be the key to unlocking the real you. I ho...

Paul Niland an Irishman has been living in Kyiv for over 20 years - he is the founder and CEO of Lifeline Ukraine . Daryna Hruzdieva was forced to leave her home in Kyiv with her family because of the war and she has been living and working in Ireland since March 2022. I asked them both to chat about the challenges of Putin's pointless war and in particular how they are feeling about another war t...

On today's podcast I continue my conversation with Saiphin Moore , the founder of the successful chain of restaurants in the UK, Rosa's Thai . Saiphin chats about opening a food stall at a Sunday market and then the very first Rosa's Thai in Spitalfields in London in 2008, some of her celebrity guests, and how she grew this business to a chain of 40 across restaurants in the UK. She chats about th...

On today's podcast I chat with Saiphin Moore , the founder of the successful chain of restaurants across the UK, Rosa's Thai . In part one I chat with Saiphin about the village in Thailand where she grew up, her love of cooking and her first little food business at the age of 14. She also chats about her brave move to Hong Kong, then to Jersey and back again, and then to London where she desperate...

On today's podcast I chatted with Shelly Rourke, the owner of Shelly's , an online baked goods gift business. Shelly is one of the early stage entrepreneurs participating in the UCC Ignite accelerator programme and as one of the marketing sessions was wrapping up recently the group started chatting about the horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel . Shelly took everyone by surprise when she announced...

On today's podcast I chat with nature, hurling and dog lover, Anne Harrington Rees . When Anne says that " Nature is my reason for being, it's my whole life ", you know she means it! After a debilitating illness the Kilkenny native had to give up her landscaping career and she then turned to arts and crafts when she recovered. She now runs a successful business, Anne Harrington Rees Designs , insp...

On today's podcast I chat again with legendary artist, Jim Fitzpatrick who celebrates his 80th birthday in December of this year. Jim chats about his special relationship with the driving force behind Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott , about his life obsession with Celtic mythology, the goddess Bríd or Saint Brígid and his intimate work with Sinead O'Connor . Jim is as passionate and as motivated as ever a...

On today;s podcast I had the honour of speaking with one of my heroes, the artist Jim Fitzpatrick who brought us the iconic painting of Che Guevara , who brought the essence of Thin Lizzy to life on their classic album covers, who worked intimately with Sinead O'Connor and who's life passion is Celtic mythology. Jim celebrates his 80th birthday in December of this year and on part one of a two par...

On today's podcast I chat with the warm and wonderful Claire Barrett otherwise known as Claire Marconi to the people of Crookhaven in West Cork. While on honeymoon in Kenmare in the late seventies her husband George asked her to make a diversion to the small little village of Crookhaven, the most southerly point of Ireland. Whatever it was about this special place, Claire was hooked and shortly af...

I discovered an eclectic treasure trove of a shop called ' East Meets West ' in the beautiful town of Schull in West Cork. When I chatted with the owner, Amanda Connell , I discovered the most fascinating person who has had a life and career with the most interesting twists and turns. She left her little village in Norfolk in England after she told her parents at just nine years of age that it was...

On today's podcast I chat with future careers and workplace expert, John Fitzgerald , the founder of Harmonics . John, the author of " Future proof your career from the inside out " and host of " The Chord " podcast chats about his life and career as well as all things work. We spend huge chunks of our lives at work so we owe it to ourselves to get the most from this precious time. Enjoy the show...

On a beautiful summer's afternoon I chatted with  John Smith , the new CEO of Nano Nagle Place about his new role, his career to date and what drives him. John is as passionate about social justice as he is about hurling and he explains to me why this new role is the perfect fit for him. We chatted about Nano Nagle Place, what is on offer in this very special centre and his plans for the future. E...

Welcome back to part two of my conversation, Michael Cronin , one of the really good guys. In part one we heard about Michael's early life, his career, and how he tried his best to keep financial pressure a secret, while he desperately tried to find a solution.  Michael had a breakdown, he tried to take his own life and in this episode he talks about his road to recovery and much more. Enjoy the s...

On today's podcast I chatted with my friend, Michael Cronin , one of the really good guys. Michael shares his story and without giving too much of this away in advance, it is all about the pressure of keeping secrets totally to yourself and our limited ability to soak up this pressure. We had our chat outside at the coffee dock at the back of the Kingsley Hotel, sipping on our coffees and watching...

12 brave men left Ireland on a very special mission to Porto with a very daunting task to complete - preparing Brendan Canty for his marriage to Ayla Amano next month. 12 brave men returned with the mission complete - we gathered some martial advice from these wise men for Brendan to carefully follow, we had fun, we made new friends and we all learnt a few things from this trip away. Enjoy the sho...

On today's podcast I chatted with Magda O'Driscoll from Poland, who has very much made Crookhaven her home since coming here 18 years ago to take up a summer job. 18 years later, this talented artist, photographer and craftsperson, has her own business, Crookhaven Art Studio , is married to Jimmy a local fisherman and she must be one of the best ambassadors for this special corner of West Cork. We...

On today's podcast I chat with Brigid Collins of Ardmore Open Farm and Mini Zoo and Ardmore Glamping Pods . 12 years ago when their auctioneering business had slowed down due to the recession, her husband Denis suggested they start an open farm to hopefully supplement their income. 10 years ago that open farm opened to the public and this extended to a mini zoo gradually as exotic animals were add...