Catch Up with Louise McSharry

Sending thanks to Jim Gavin for announcing that he was pulling out of the presidential race on a Sunday evening because Carl Kinsella and I were gagging to discuss it all this morning. We chat through the ins and outs of the presidential race, the 'Trump Peace Deal' for Gaza, Storm Amy and the terrible loss of Manchán Magan.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I went to Belfast to chat to Myrid Carten, whose debut feature film has been called 'extraordinary', 'raw' and 'searing' by Variety. I saw the documentary some weeks ago and was really moved by it. It tells the story of Myrid's relationship with her mother Nuala, and the impact Nuala's alcoholism and ill mental health has on them. It's beautifully made, unlike any other documentary I've seen on a subject like this, which many of you know is close to my heart. My own biological mother was also an alcoholic who later in her life was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I wanted to learn more about the film, how she approached it, and the challenges of making a piece of work that is so close to you and your family. I hope you enjoy.A Want in Her is in cinemas next Friday, October 10th.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Carl Kinsella and I discuss the ongoing horror in Gaza, Michéal Martin's questionable responses to various issues this week and the madness of the Ryder Cup among other things!Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I had the opoprtunity to spend some time with independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly, and I really enjoyed learning more about her and why she decided to seek the role of Uachtarán na hÉireann. We discuss some of the challenges facing Ireland at the moment, her early life growing up in social housing as one of fourteen, and why she thinks you should vote for her.Unfortunately, the table our microphones were on was a little wobbly which occasionally resulted in a little bump, but hopefully that's not too distracting.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Esther O'Moore Donohoe takes us through the week's entertainment stories, from Taylor's inability to chill and the dark story about D4VD.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Carl Kinsella and I discuss the fallout from Charlie Kirk's death including Jimmy Kimmel being taken off air and the enormous event that happened in Arizona last night, we chat about racism in Ireland and the discussion of it in the Dail and the good news coming out of Dublin Airport.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The latest batch of ships involved with the Global Samud Flotilla has set sail, so I thought it might be a good time to speak with one of the organisers to get a greater understanding of what is involved and what the hopes are for this movement. Fortunately, Karen Moynihan, Irish co-ordinator with the Global Movement to Gaza campaign generously gave us some time, and also, a renewed sense of hope.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a hefty week in the world of showbiz with the Emmys happening along with An Post launching Westlife stamps and somehow causing controversy in the process. James O'Hagan joins me to take us through the stories.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a heavy week of news this week, and Carl Kinsella and I do our best to take you through it all. We explain who Charlie Kirk was and discuss the responses to his death, we give you an update on what's going on with the flotilla setting sale for Gaza and talk about RTE's decision that Ireland will not take part in Eurovision this year if Israel do.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Una Mullally has been writing about Dublin for most of her adult life, including the challenges its faced since the pandemic. Lots of us spend a lot of time talking about and worrying about the loss of culture, social spaces and general buzz in the city centre, but what can we do to actually make changes? Una investigates this in a new podcast series, Saving the City. Saving The City offers an injection of hope and positivity for Dublin, with practical solutions to revolutionise how our city works, and how to improve the quality of life for its residents. I was delighted to catch up with Una this week to chat about why she wanted to do this podcast, and how we can feel positive about the future of Ireland's capital city.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emer McLysaght is back to take us through the week's entertainment stories and there was a lot to cover. We discuss the VMAs and I explain KATSEYE to Emer, we chat about the discourse around the new Wuthering Heights film and the trailer for The Walsh Sisters which is coming next month to RTE.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We go around the world in this week's news catch-up, from an update on Gaza and Israel to what's happening in our presidential race and Donald Trump's latest batch of strange behaviour.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Come to the Catch Up Cabaret (ish) - get your tickets here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Friday's guest is Dr. Anthony Delaney, actor, historian and author of Queer Georgians: A hidden history of lovers, lawbreakers and homemakers. We discuss our time in college together, twists and turns in career paths and of course, the queer history he covers in his brilliant book. Get your Catch Up Cabaret(ish) tickets here!To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cian Sullivan is on duty this week, taking us through the week's entertainment stories. Cardi B is serving pure comedy in her trial, people won't let Sabrina Carpenter be an adult, and the internet simply can't be normal about The Summer I Turned Pretty.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a hefty news episode this week. We discuss the latest from Gaza, the Irish protester punched by police in Berlin, the continued madness of the presidential race, the rumour that Donald Trump was dead and lots more.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have officially retired for the Autumn and to me that often means cosy nights in with a lovely glass of wine. This week, so, I thought it might be nice to have some wine chat with wine expert and educator Sinead Smyth. We get right down to the basics of how wine is made, how to figure out what you like, and why wine should be for everyone, not just people with massive budgets and a wealth of knowledge.You can find Sinead here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was very rude of Taylor Swift to announce her engagement after this episode was recorded, to be honest. Fortunately I was able to talk a bit about it in the intro!To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Carl Kinsella and I discuss a wide range of stories from the horrors continuing in Gaza to Donald Trump's militarisation of Washington D.C. and the Electric Picnic scam everyone's talking about. Check out the church moving imagery here.Pre-order Carl's book At Least it Looks Good From Space here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Sophie White is back on the podcast - hooray! This time she's here to chat about her excellent new book Such a Good Couple, which tells the tale of three couples who've been friends since college grappling with the real life issues people face in their forties. Sophie and I discuss some of those issues and the great effort she made to approach them with sensitivity, ahead of the book coming out next week. This includes conversation about fertility challenges and eating disorders.Apologies for the clunkier than usual ad breaks in this episode - the converstation was really flowing so it was difficult to find places to pause!You can order Such a Good Couple here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I got off the plane this afternoon and went straight to my microphone to record this week's entertainment catch-up with James O'Hagan. We had lots to cover from Oasis in Dublin to Saoirse Monica Jackson's DEEPLY cool wedding and Netflix's new Guinness series. Oh and there's a lot of bad language when I get incensed re: the end of And Just Like That... (sorry not sorry.) Enjoy!To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since I'm on holidays this week, Cian Sullivan and I are taking the opportunity to chat about the evolution of the music industry. We discuss why there is no song of the summer this year, the role Tiktok plays, live music and bad audience behaviour, standoms and much more!To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm still away so this week I'm sharing this month's Screens, our monthly film and television episode which is usually Patreon-only. This month Emer McLysaght and I discussed:Too Much (Netflix)Normal People (Netflix)Feels Like For a Girl (BBC)The Beach (Disney Plus)Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of Miami, Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Valley (Hayu)To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I'm away, I'm bringing you another recording from our recent live show at Connolly's of Leap. This time it's myself and Emer talking about nepo babies, and Emer's endless fascination with them. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm away on holidays so today I'm bringing you a recording of Carl and I chatting at Connolly's of Leap. I hope you enjoy.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm catching up with the much-loved Alison Spittle, comedian, podcaster, writer and actor. I originally wanted to chat to her about her new show which is currently on in Edinburgh and is coming to Dublin Fringe in September, as well as her new podcast Magazine Party, and we do talk about those things, but mainly we talk about the complicated topic of weight and weight loss. This is tricky territory and I know it can be triggering for some people (including me depending on where I am in terms of body image at a given moment), so if you can't listen right now, that's ok. I do think it's a useful conversation though between two people who have given a lot of thought to the layered toxicity of diet culture, conversation around body image, life as a fat person and the impact of weight loss. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James O'Hagan and I had many thoughts and feelings in this week's entertainment catch-up, from whether or not Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad is promoting eugenics to the rumoured romance between Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau and how annoyed we are at Michael Patrick King.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello friends, we're a little late today because I'm fresh in the door from All Together Now, but better late than never, eh? There's lots to discuss, from the latest from Palestine, to Conor McGregor's losing streak and a message in a bottle which could be connected to a much bigger story. Pre-order Carl Kinsella's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is a conversation with Ria Czerniak-LeBov. You may remember that Carl mentioned Ria's recent piece in the Irish Examiner, the headline of which was 'Not all Jews are Zionists - Alan Shatter Does Not Speak for Me'. Ria has been writing for months about her perspective on Israel's actions, and she was generous enough to share her perspective with me on the podcast this week. It was clear through our conversation that speaking out in this way as a member of Ireland's jewish community comes at a cost, but I am so grateful to Ria for the work she's doing in this area, and her valuable perspective.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whta a pleasure to have Emer McLysaght back at my table to chat through the week's entertainment stories. We discuss the deaths of Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan, Trisha Paytas' baby names, CMAT's new song on the BBC and lots more.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual, the news is newsing. This week we discuss rising international pressure in relation to the starving people of Gaza, the low key announcement of the National Development Plan, listeriosis, racist incidents in Dublin and the removal of the Lidl in Carrigstown from Google Maps.Pre-order Carl's book here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While I am very au fait with the music festival calendar, it feels like there are cool foody events happening around the country all the time that I don't know about. As I get older I'm more and more interested in Ireland's food scene, so I thought it might be useful to get the lowdown on some food festivals and events coming up over the next few months, and which ones might appeal to you.Thankfully, there are few people who know more about this than Ali Dunworth, food writer and event curator. This week we caught up on what events you should be putting in your calendar. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's entertainment catch-up is a sprawling affair which includes Cian Sullivan and I discussing the Coldplay affair and why the discourse should end now, Beyoncé's stolen music, the Emmy nominations, and the irish media's love of Rosie O'Donnell.This was recorded before last night's sad news about Ozzy Osbourne, so we'll chat about that next week.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's news catch up covers the upcoming presidential election, Sinn Fein's proposals around endometriosis, Donald Trump and Stephen Colbert and the latest in Gaza, among other things.Preorder Carl's book here. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a delight to have Morgana as today's guest. Morgana is a singer songwriter who you may know as being one half of Saint Sister. Now, she's focused on her solo project, of which I am a giant fan. We discuss life as an artist, age, sexism, the music industry, aiming big and being deluded, and I really hope you enjoy it. Get tickets for Morgana's tour here. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Esther O'Moore Donohoe is back to chat through the week's entertainment stories. We discuss the end of Gregg Wallace's BBC career and his BS statement in relation to his inappropriate behaviour at work, Justin Bieber's surprise album, Jane Birkin's Birkin bag and yes, Azealia Banks releasing Conor McGregor dick pics.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unfortunately nothing light to report in this week's news about Palestine, including the disappointing news regarding visas for some children planning to come to Ireland to play GAA. We discuss that, as well as the troubling imagery of bonfires in the North and the Irish presidential race finally starting up, among other things. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I first became aware of today's guest when I saw a clip of her speaking in the Seanad last week. The clip began with Senator Nicole Ryan, who was elected to the Seanad in February, saying that sometimes people forget that before people become politicians they're people with lives who have experiences that shape how they see the world, and it was her personal experience which led her to put forward the amendment that was being discussed that day. The proposed amendment was to the existing Domestic Violence Bill, and it suggested that the presence of children in cases of domestic violence should be considered an aggravating factor when it came to sentencing. She outlined her own experience in the Seanad, and I immediately wanted to know more. Thankfully, she found time to speak to me this week, and today I'm bringing you that conversation.CW: domestic violence, drug related death and pregnancy lossTo support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's entertainment episode is a beefy one via lots going on and James O'Hagan and I having a lot to say on it! We discuss the vibes in live music right now from Oasis to Lana Del Rey, Lena Dunham and the discourse around her body and the end of Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's relationship... among other things.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Carl Kinsella and I discuss the updates from Gaza, the classfiication of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, the tragic death of Diogo Jota, housing protests and some good news from Ryanair (?!).To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don't need to have read Nussaibah Younis' excellent book Fundamentally: A Novel to enjoy this chat with her - she is charming, funny and super smart. However, the book, the story of a heartbroken young academic who takes a job in Iraq attempting to deradicalise ISIS brides (a job Nussaibah has done herself), is great.The books I referred to during this interview were Fashion Babylon, Hotel Babylon and Air Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emer McLysaght is back this week to catch us up on the week's entertainment stories. We discuss Glastonbury, how much we love Lewis Capaldi, why we can't stomach the Bezos wedding and Dua Lipa splitting the G.You can see the Martin's Life video we mentioned here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's beefy one this week as Carl Kinsella and I discuss the political conversation coming out of Glastonbury, the latest from Gaza, Momdani's victory in the New York Mayoral Democratic Primary, yet more record numbers of people in emergency accomodation and why 'natural' contraceptive tracking apps might not be the way to go.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was honoured to be asked by Senator Lynn Ruane to interview Dr. Mohammed Mustafa in Trinity College this week. Dr. Mo, as he's known, is an emergency medicine doctor who spent two stints working in Gaza over the last eighteen months. Horrified by what he saw, and feeling deeply conntected to it via his Palestinian heritage, he has dedicated his time since to doing everything he can to get medical aid into the region. I'm delighted to bring a recording of this conversation to you as this week's Friday episode. The more people who hear from Dr. Mo, the better. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's lots of live music chat with Cian Sullivan this week as we chat about Beyoncé's big guests in Paris, Dua Lipa coming to Dublin and preview Glastonbury. Aside from that we say goodbye to Brian Wilson and chat about Brad Pitt's AA revalation. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Carl Kinsella and I discuss the latest in international relations which includes Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran, Israel's continued attacks on Palestinians and Russia attacking Ukraine once more. We also chat about Kneecap's day in court, say RIP to Lord Henry Mountcharles and enjoy some good news about the basic income for artists.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is World Refugee Day so I thought it would be useful to catch up with someone who works with refugees every day, to remind ourselves of what leads someone to become a refugee and how we can best support them. Amina Abdulla is Regional Director for the Horn of Africa with Concern, and I really enjoyed learning about her work, as well as what keeps her going when funding is sinking and the work is tough.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Esther O'Moore Donohoe and I have lots to discuss this week during our entertainment catch-up, from whether Edinburgh Council was wrong to call Oasis fans fat, middle-aged drunks to whether Sabrina Carpenter is the worst thing to ever happen to feminism (spoiler: I don't think so).To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carl Kinsella and I have a lot of ground to cover on this week's news episode, from Israel's continued assault on nearby nations as well as the latest from Gaza, to the riots in Ballymena and protests in America, as well as the man behind Tattle Life finally being named. It's a chunky one.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I was delighted to catch up with Shaquira Knightly and Naomi Diamond, two thirds of Haus of Wig. Haus of Wig, billed as Ireland's fiercest & most formidable drag haus, are responsible for some of my favourite drag performances of recent times and they are taking over The Gate Theatre on June 21st as part of Dublin Pride. I was delighted to catch up with them about what we can expect from that night, how they came to drag, their gorgeous friendship, supporting Chappell Roan and lots more. Get tickets for GATECRASHES: HAUS OF WIG here.To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week James O'Hagan and I chat about what makes Primavera special and some of the big moments to come out of last weekend, we discuss Tom Felton's awful red carpet answer at the Tonys, as well as what forced Dawn French to apologise this week. To support the podcast and access bonus episodes, join the community on Patreon here.Join us in Connolly's of Leap on July 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.