Brendan O'Connor

On her first trip to Ireland, the best-selling author and cook, dubbed “Australia’s Martha Stewart” Donna Hay, joins Brendan in studio. She discusses Australian cuisine, building her culinary empire and turning down a job offer from the actual Martha Stewart. She also gives tips for a top Australian breakfast: “short, sharp and shiny”. She also discusses her latest book ‘Sunshine, Lemons and Sea Salt’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MEP for Midlands-North-West and former Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, joins Brendan to talk about her fertility journey. She outlines her options as a single, gay woman, working in frontline politics. Maria explains her experience with the European Sperm Bank and discusses the impact of pregnancy on her body, her self-image and her wider family.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Bill Nighy, joins Brendan to discuss his fashion sense, his anxiety and the tension between his Irish heritage and his persona as ‘the quintessential Englishman’. Nighy also tells Brendan about playing an Irish grandfather in his latest film ‘500 Miles’, much of which is shot and set in Dingle, Co Kerry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A week after he told Brendan about having a cardiac arrest on a Dublin street, Irish Times columnist Brian Boyd is reunited on air with two of those who intervened to help save his life - physiotherapist, Laura Madden, and emergency medicine consultant, Dr. Cathal de Buitléir.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chartered work and coaching psychologist, Leisha Redmond McGrath, joins Brendan to discuss the psychological importance of holidays. She talks about the impact of bringing your work laptop away with you, and why it helps to do nice things for yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.