Share
The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast
The best stories from the Irish Examiner brought to you by Opinion Editor Deirdre O’Shaughnessy
Latest episode
Killeagh's Finbarr Fogarty on his teenage drug addiction, the guilt of surviving a fatal car crash and finding peace
54:23|Killeagh man Finbarr Fogarty hit the headlines in 2001 when he was involved in a horrific car crash in which two of his friends, Cian O'Mahony from Killeagh and Wayne Martin from Hollyhill, died.He survived serious injuries, including a broken neck and had to learn to walk again.Like a lot of young men, he had gone off the rails in his teens, using drugs and alcohol to find confidence and fit in. Adults in the community and in his school were aware of his drug usage, he says, but never intervened beyond a threat to expel him from school, something he now finds hard to understand.Like many teenage boys who become involved in risky behaviour, he believed he was invincible."...I was invincible as a teenager... there was a few times where we were doing 100 miles an hour and we just, you know, thought, there's nothing going to happen. It's grand."But when it happens, that switch has not gone off in our head just yet. This idea, you know, we could die. It's just, you know, we're not going to die."Even the crash did not break the power of his addiction – he was arrested a few months later after a local guard found him on the street in a drunken state."I was arrested, and I remember the bangarda who picked me up, she looked at me and said – are you the guy who was in the accident? The guards have a very tough job."Now, 25 years later, Finbarr lives in Australia where he runs a successful business and volunteers to help other people in recovery.He spoke to Deirdre for today's episode about breaking the cycle of addiction in his family; how recovery works; and how he and his friends were let down by adults who knew they were in freefall.
More episodes
View all episodes
The lasting impact of 9/11 on the people of New York, with Paul Hosford
58:26|25 years after the era-defining day that two hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the impact is still being felt worldwide by countless people.In New York itself, people are still picking up the pieces of their lives, with many of those who helped on that day left to fight for justice.The death toll on the day was 2,996 people, but the death toll in the years since from cancers and other conditions caused by the toxic dust and the cleanup effort is far higher.Irish Examiner Deputy Political Editor Paul Hosford has been in New York meeting firefighters, construction workers, ambulance staff, residents, politicians and journalists who shared their memories of the day and its impact on their lives.Jim O’Callaghan’s immigration crackdown, with Louise Burne
38:48|On Monday at the Fianna Fáil think-in the Government announced what they called the “biggest reform of Ireland’s citizenship rules in a generation”.Tomorrow, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan will bring to Cabinet a new bill setting out onerous new rules for migrants who want to become Irish citizens.The rules, which will affect people who already live and work here, include an eight year waiting time before applying, a block on people who have received certain social welfare payments becoming citizens, an English (or Irish) language proficiency test, and conditions around habitual residency. They will also impact spouses of Irish citizens.Political correspondent Louise Burne joins Deirdre for a rundown of the new rules, a discussion of the political context behind them and the reaction from politics and civil society groups.Citizenship rules to tighten by end of this yearNew citizenship rules would require eight years’ residence, language test and civics examNumber of people immigrating to Ireland fell by 12% this year, new figures showUkrainians being moved out of Citywest: ‘We need a place to survive, that’s it’Criminal courts in turmoil over solicitors’ strike, with Gráinne Ní Aodha
22:13|The criminal courts have been in turmoil over the past few months as a dispute between Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and criminal defence solicitors who work for legal aid clients has spilled over into courtrooms. Those accused of a crime are appearing in court with nobody to advise them, cases are being put on the long finger and judges and rights organisations are beginning to speak up about the lack of justice for vulnerable people.Irish Examiner News Reporter Grainne Ni Aodha has been covering this story and is today’s guest on the Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast. Solicitors' walkout raises fears of 'covid-level backlog' in court cases as legal aid strike continues'Things need to be moved on': Warning of legal challenges over solicitors' pay disputeOngoing legal aid dispute poses 'grave public risk', solicitors warn‘It’s a siege mentality’: Minister accused of downplaying disruption caused by solicitors' strikeWithdrawal of services by solicitors not justified, says TaoiseachSarah Harte: Jim O'Callaghan should look closer to home to solve legal delaysTrish Bourke on leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses, being groomed by an older man and finding her place in the world
54:53|Growing up a Jehovah’s Witness in rural Co Tipperary was not your typical Irish childhood.Weekends spend proselytising, no Christmas or birthdays and very little interaction with the world beyond the community meant Trish Bourke was a very sheltered teenager when she was groomed by an older man.In her book UnWitnessed, Trish writes movingly about her steps away from the faith that shaped her, the predatory relationship she fell into and a termination she went through as a result, and her eventual discovery of her place in the world.From being called a murderer by her devout family, and a loving but sexless marriage to teaching computer literacy to Martin Sheen, her story is full of twists, turns and contradictions.Trish Bourke is today’s guest on The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast. Her book, UnWitnessed, is published by Menma Books and available at unwitnessed.net.Is Cork University Hospital unsafe for patients?
35:20|Management, clinicians and staff at Cork University Hospital are in a mounting disagreement with the HSE and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill over staff and resources at the South-West region’s biggest hospital.Trolleys are mounting up at the hospital’s Emergency Department and as the health service faces into the winter season, staff and management fear a tragic incident if resourcing is not urgently addressed.Last week CUH boss Jennifer Kearney wrote to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to say the hospital was unsafe for patients and staff.“My responsibility as chief executive is not simply to comply with a process," she wrote. "It is to speak clearly when I believe that process is creating a foreseeable risk to patients and staff."I would rather raise that concern now, when there is still an opportunity to act, than remain silent and explain afterwards why we did not.”The Minister hit back in an interview on RTE radio, saying there was “no evidence” the hospital was unsafe - but medical staff at the hospital have since rowed in on the CEO’s side.So, is the hospital safe or not?Irish Examiner Health Correspondent Niamh Griffin gets into the detail of the dispute at CUH on today’s episode.Health minister says no evidence of increased patient safety concerns at CUHHiqa seeks clarity over Cork University Hospital safety fears CUH boss says hospital 'unsafe' for patients amid shortfall of over 1,000 staffWild Swans author Jung Chang on growing up in Mao’s China, her new book Fly Wild Swans and her mother’s death
57:17|Jung Chang achieved worldwide acclaim for her autobiographical work Wild Swans, published in 1992.The book told the story of her grandmother, a warlord’s concubine whose feet were bound, her mother, a Communist Party official who suffered under Mao, and herself, one of the first students permitted to leave China to study in the West in the 1970s.Since its publication Jung has become a prolific writer and historian of China but her biography of Mao, written with her Irish husband Jon Halliday, put her on the wrong side of the Communist Party’s propaganda.Her new book, Fly Wild Swans, tells the story of her life since Wild Swans’ publication – particularly her increasingly difficult relationship with the Chinese authorities.In this interview with Deirdre O’Shaughnessy recorded in front of a live audience at the West Cork Literary Festival, Jung describes how her life changed when the Party became displeased with her; her difficulty in visiting China since the publication of the Mao book; and, for the first time, she discusses the death of her beloved mother, whose life story inspired millions in Wild Swans.This episode of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast was recorded live at the Maritime Hotel Bantry as part of the West Cork Literary Festival 2026. See westcorkmusic.ie.