Woman Up

Growing up in a family of artists and tinkerers with a pen and a paintbrush in her hand, Katharine majored in Music, and minored in French Literature for her BA at Pomona College. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, she traveled across Europe for a year, listening to the finest orchestras in the world, practicing flute, reading novels, and soaking up European culture. In the late ’80's she went to Lisbon "for six months” for a job and never looked back. In the intervening years, she has become a devoted student of the Alexander Technique, a reader of Zen philosophy, and - after studying in Paris - became certified in Integrated Practice. Katharine believes that our artistic endeavours add meaning to our lives while contributing—in ways large or small—to the treasures of human invention. Her burning desire to help others find the freedom to create in their own way, has led her to offer her wisdom, experience, and expertise as a coach. You can find ouit more about Katharine, her work, and her approach to coaching on her website, and you can also find her on Instagram.

Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin writes crime as Sam Blake, the multiple No 1 bestselling Irish crime writer.She has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times, and twice for Irish Teen and YA Novel of the Year. Her second YA novel, Something's About to Blow Up was Winner of the International Education Services Teen & YA Novel of the Year 2024. Her latest adult thriller, The Killing Sense, came out in January 2025 and is a No 1 bestseller.Follow Sam on social @samblakebooks or find out more at www.samblakebooks.com, where you can join her Reader's Club and receive her adult thriller High Pressure for free.Vanessa is also the founder of Europe's biggest writing resources website, the award winning writing.ie, the Writers Ink online writing group and Murder One, Ireland's International Crime Writing Festival. She is currently Chair of the board of the Society of Authors, and previously was Chair of Irish PEN and a board member of the Crime Writers Association. Having developed a range of initiatives in the writing world, Vanessa is a champion for emerging writers, working with agents and publishers, both in the UK and Ireland, spotting new talent.Among the things we discuss are the sewers off Paris - which you can find out more about here. We also mentioned the book, Perfume by Patrick Süskind more than once. If you are interested in getting your own copy, it is available here.

This week, my guest is the fabulous Barbara Scully. Barbara is a writer, author, broadcaster, agony aunt, feminist, mother, wife, stand-up comedian, and friend. In this episode (which we could call "Shit Central"!) we talk about her book (Wise Up), her stand-up comedy show, her regular slot with Seán Moncrieff, on Newstalk, and her take on life post-menopause. You can try your luck getting tickets for Barbara's stand up show at Dalkey Comedy Festival here, listen to her agony aunting here, buy her book here, find her on BlueSky, and follow her on Insta. Barbara's website can be found by clicking this link.

On this episode of Woman Up!, I am in conversation with Anne Coates. Anne is from London, and has been a writer for decades. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. For the most part, we are discussing her "Hanna Weybridge" series. We alos talk about stigma, single-motherhood, and the rules of writing. You can find out more about Anne and her books on her website.

In this episode of Woman Up!, I am in conversation with the hugely impressive, and multi-passionate Ceara Carney. As an actor, Ceara trained at Bow Street Academy, after completing her BA in Performance Arts at Dundalk I.T. She has toured extensively in Ireland and Europe, and will be recognised by many from Vodafone's Each Christmas. Currently, she is touring various venues around Ireland with Quintessence Theatre's The Curious Case of Albert Cashier. You can find out more about Albert here, and you can find out about the remaining tour dates here. As a writer, Ceara's first radio play, Frizzy Lizzy was produced by RTÉ, and aired most recently in September of this year. Ceara's day job is also in the Theatre, as she is part of the team at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. Outside of Theatre, Ceara is a passionate environmental activist - creating and participating in spectacle displays with Extinction Rebellion Ireland. She also produces her own podcast, Book of Leaves, which concerns itself with sustainable living. The books we mentioned during our chat were 'Humankind A Hopeful History' and 'Utopia for Realists And How We Can Get There', both written by Rutger Bregman; and 'Why Women Are Poorer Than Men and What We Can Do About It' by Annabelle Williams. If you would like to contact Ceara, you can contact her through her agency. Finally - I must apologise for the audio in this episode - I had twitchy WiFi at some points in the recording. I do hope that doesn't affect your listening pleasure too much.

This week, on Woman Up!, I am joined by Máire Ní G, who is a qualified Occupational Therapist, a certified Universal Tao Instructor, and she also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Bereavement & Loss. Máire studied Trauma and Polyvagal Theory with Dr Stephen Porges and Deb Dana. Outside of work, Máire loves to travel, dance, and eat pink grapefruits. Not necessarily all at the same time. The inner smile meditation Máire refers to can be found here on her website. It is free to download.

In this episode, I am joined by the tenacious, generous, warm, intelligent, witty medical student (and mum of twelve), Dubliner Rosemary Murphy. Rosemary talks about her route to RCSI, her determination to make her dream come true. We also talk about people's prejudices and assumptions when they realise she has a dozen kids - including the (mistaken) assumption that the family lives on benefits!You can follow Rosemary on Twitter @rosemary_murphy

CW: Child Sexual AbuseMy guest this week is Dr Claire Cunnington.Claire is a researcher at the Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, UK and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). She is interested in interpersonal violence, inequality and stigma, with a particular focus on CSA and trauma. Her Wellcome Trust funded doctoral research asked adults recovering from CSA what helped and hindered their recovery. She is currently working on a Nuffield funded project looking at domestic violence and child protection. She has also made the film 'Flow' about CSA disclosure which was selected for the Birmingham International Film Festival and the Women Deliver WD2023 Arts & Film Festival. She blogs at www.clairecunnington.com, tweets @Cunning_Claire and is also on mastodon @DrC@mastodon.onlineThe film that Claire refers to can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU82VgDWfmE - Film: Flow