The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast

This is series 2 of An Irishwoman’s Diary from The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, search in your podcast app for An Irishwoman’s Diary to find the six-episode Series 1.  Bridget Coll’s story reads like fiction — a thriller even — just as the many words used to describe her don’t seem to fit together: nun, lesbian, teacher, militant, law-changer, even “home-wrecker”.This “tiny woman with a fierce heart” from Fanad Co Donegal protested in Chile and made legal history in Canada. But at home in Ireland, her story isn’t so well known.Clodagh Finn: Bridget Coll — nun, lesbian, law-changer, and militant

This is series 2 of An Irishwoman’s Diary from The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, search in your podcast app for An Irishwoman’s Diary to find the six-episode Series 1.  A precursor of Cabaret, the show about ‘a bad girl with a heart of gold’, became the go-to show in Dublin for a brief period in the 1950s, against all the prevailing morals of the time.Asked later why it hadn’t been banned, as JP Donleavy’s The Gingerman was, Archbishop John Charles McQuaid pointed out that the character of Sally Bowles wasn’t Irish, and therefore didn’t present a threat to the morality of Irish women.The star of both shows was Genevieve Lyons, an actor, theatre maker and writer who lived a very unconventional life. Her performance as Sally Bowles caused a brief craze for berets in fashion starved Dublin, and she wrote many books – one, about the famine, owed its name to Princess Margaret.In this episode Clodagh Finn recounts the story of a self-described “lunatic traveller” who though often penniless followed her creative dreams.Clodagh Finn: The Irish woman who made ‘Cabaret’ a hit in Ireland long before the Broadway musicalAn Irishwoman's Diary series 1: Meet the Irish women who left their mark on history 

This is series 2 of An Irishwoman’s Diary from The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, search in your podcast app for An Irishwoman’s Diary to find the six-episode Series 1.  Countess Joan Fitzgerald was a pivotal figure in medieval Ireland, immensely wealthy and powerful, but as a woman it was her marriages that defined her power.From the immensely wealthy Fitzgerald family – the Desmonds of Munster, who owned ten castles, her first marriage at age 16 was to James Butler, an Ormond of Kilkenny, aimed at linking the two great Houses.His death by poisoning caused some concerns in London – she was too powerful to be left to her own devices – and she was married off to an Englishman, Sir Francis Bryan, who was referred to by Henry VIII as his ‘Vicar of Hell’.She chose her own third husband from among her own allegiances, and made peace between the warring Ormonds and Desmonds, later being described by Queen Elizabeth as ‘the angel of peace’. The peace she negotiated fell apart just a month after her death.Read Clodagh’s column here: Clodagh Finn: Formidable medieval women deserve much more recognitionAn Irishwoman's Diary series 1: Meet the Irish women who left their mark on history

 This is series 2 of An Irishwoman’s Diary from The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, search in your podcast app for An Irishwoman’s Diary to find the six-episode Series 1.She competed in three separate Olympic games; competed for Ireland in hockey, tennis, sailing and cricket, and even won the support of Eamon deValera who sought her out to compliment her “fine race” at Trinity College in the early 1950s.But Maeve Kyle fought against all the odds, including her own in-laws, when she decided to compete in the Olympics despite having recently become a mother for the first time.A letter writer to the Irish Time described her as a “disgrace to motherhood” , but she blew off the criticism to become a popular sporting figure and the backbone of athletics in Ireland for many years.Irish Examiner columnist Clodagh Finn joins Deirdre to discuss the woman who became known, rather inaptly, as ‘The Kilkenny Kitten’.Read Clodagh’s column here: Clodagh Finn: They called Maeve Kyle a disgrace to motherhood — then she became an Irish Olympic iconAn Irishwoman's Diary series 1: Meet the Irish women who left their mark on history

This is series 2 of An Irishwoman’s Diary from The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast, search in your podcast app for An Irishwoman’s Diary to find the six-episode Series 1.She campaigned for healthcare for infants, set up an almshouse for the poor, introduced carpet weaving to Ireland, bred silkworms at her home and, rather incongruously, took shooting lessons to stop her brother-in-law bullying her (it worked!).Lady Arabella Denny (yes, like the sausages – a distant branch of the same family) was a woman before her time.Irish Examiner columnist Clodagh Finn joins Deirdre to discuss the woman who left very explicit – and unusual – instructions for what was to be done when she died.Read Clodagh’s column: Clodagh Finn: The life and extraordinary death of Arabella DennyAn Irishwoman's Diary series 1: Meet the Irish women who left their mark on history

“Hell is not the proper place for him”.  Just one week after the publication of a wide-ranging report into the cover-up around one of Ireland’s most prolific and sadistic child abusers, paedophile Bill Kenneally died in prison on Thursday.  Survivors estimate that Kenneally abused at least a hundred boys and potentially many more, aided by the total impunity being a member of a powerful political family conferred on him.  One of those boys, Simon O’Toole, was abused by Kenneally from the age of 11. In today’s episode, he shares how he went from being a clever, engaged child to an angry, hostile young man as Kenneally’s abuse impacted every aspect of his life.  He describes his battles with alcohol addiction and violence during his forty-year struggle to deal with the impact of years of sexual abuse, torture and degradation.  After sixteen detoxes, eleven rehabs, and two dozen hospitalisations, it was a conversation about giving up alcohol with the New York nurse who saved his life that finally forced him to confront what he was running from.  At almost 60, Simon says the vindication of the report and Kenneally’s death represent a turning point for him, and for the 11 year old boy who was “sacrificed” to protect powerful men’s reputations.  Warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of abuse and may be distressing for some listeners. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode , contact the 24 hour rape crisis hotline on 1800 77 8888. Bill Kenneally's victims in line for freedom of Waterford city 'He died a befitting death for a monster': Bill Kenneally victims react to death Victims react as convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally dies in prison aged 75 Bill Kenneally and Waterford's open secret: The paedophile who ran rampant through the city 'He's pure evil': Bill Kenneally survivor recounts decades of trauma and the struggle for justice

 It’s that time of year again, parents are frantically trying to figure out where to warehouse their children over the next 8 weeks, teachers are trying to marshall exhausted children who are staying up too late and everybody is in desperate need of a holiday. How are working parents meant to manage the summer holidays? Why is there no government assistance for this – and whose responsibility is it, anyway?Teacher and columnist Jennifer Horgan and parenting podcaster Sinead O’Moore have both written for the Irish Examiner in recent days about school holidays, parenting, and the struggle to balance competing responsibilities. They join Deirdre on today’s episode to talk about motherhood, compromise, parenting, and what needs to change. Jennifer Horgan: Teachers aren't responsible for childcare and workplace challengesMums need to be honest about the toll of school years — the 'motherhood penalty' is real  

The EU migration pact comes in to force today after a week of anti-immigrant riots in Belfast and amid rampant mis and disinformation on social media.On this episode Deputy Political Editor Paul Hosford debunks some of the myths around the pact explaining what the pact is, what it means for Ireland and how much it will cost.This episode covers changes to the asylum process, a hardening of Government policy towards asylum seekers, and the controversy around ‘return hubs’ which would see people sent to third countries with concerning records on human rights like Rwanda and Libya.ieExplains: What is the EU Migration Pact, and can Ireland opt out?Ireland not 'ceding any sovereignty' by harmonising our asylum laws with the EU, Taoiseach says'Incredibly regressive' parts of EU Migration and Asylum Pact 'would make Tommy Robinson blush'President signs international protection bill into law without Supreme Court referralIreland's immigration law 'could become one of Europe's most severe'