As part of the First Fortnight festival, I recently sat down with Dublin’s double All-Ireland winning players Nicole Owens, Noelle Healy and Sinéad Finnegan for a live panel discussion in The Sugar Club, Dublin. We spoke about how sport can impact your mental health in both positive and negative ways, discussing vulnerabilities with teammates and in the media, living a balanced lifestyle and the rise in popularity of ladies football in recent years. It was an incredibly insightful and inspiring conversation that men, women, boys and girls will relate to. Noelle Healy is the first voice that replies to my first question, Nicole Owens is the second and Sinéad Finnegan is the third. Hope you enjoy, Alan

Real Talks

Episode 20 - Nicole Owens, Noelle Healy & Sinéad Finnegan

Philly McMahon is a five time All-Ireland winner with Dublin and leading advocate for addiction recovery in Ireland. We sat down in front of a live audience in The Sugar Club, Leeson Street to discuss his best-selling book ‘The Choice’ as well as his hopes for 2018.

Episode 19 - Philly McMahon

Clare’s Carol O’Leary has become one of the leading voices that is both demanding and creating meaningful change for female sport in Ireland. Like many, Carol’s passion for GAA took hold at a young age but her development into the authentic and inspiring leader she is today wasn't without complications. On the podcast this week, she speaks about the search for self-confidence, the difficulty of trying to fit in and how turning to drink and failing college eventually forced her to look within for the answers that she craved. This podcast was brought to you by the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in conjunction with Pat the Baker. Their partnership, through the Be Healthy Wholemeal Loaf, actively supports Ladies Football & Camogie players in every intercounty squad. The WGPA player development programme provides services such as scholarships, careers advice and counselling to help members be their best in their personal and professional lives. If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget there are 17 previous podcasts with top class GAA heroes like Kevin McManamon, Oisin McConville, Eamon McGee, Briege Corkery and Noel Connors discussing so many different life lessons they have learned over the years. Find them on iTunes or SoundCloud by searching for 'Real Talks’.

Episode 18 - Carol O’Leary

Diarmuid Lyng wore the Wexford jersey for a number of years but after captaining his county in 2009 and 2010, his relationship with the game turned sour. In search for answers about himself and his relationship with the game, Diarmuid went and travelled the world. On that journey, which included a stay in a Buddhist temple, he found some of the answers he was looking for but he was also left with even more questions. Big thanks to Diarmuid for his honesty as well as his fascinating insight into sport, life, identity, meditation and a whole lot more. This is a conversation that everyone will be able to take something from. Thanks for listening to all our podcasts so far. We live in a society where we are constantly told shorter is better and we get soundbites forced down our throats but it is truly humbling that over 50,000 times, someone has sat down to press play on one of these conversations.

Episode 17 - Diarmuid Lyng

On the podcast this week, Leitrim GAA legend Colin Regan talked about what it was like to represent the county with the smallest population in Ireland, how being a protestant that thrived in the GAA jersey helped shape his identity and how now, in his role as Community and Health Manager in the GAA, he is adamant that the Association is about much more than just the games. If you are a first time listener, we hope you enjoy listening to a show that lets you see another side to GAA players by focusing on the person rather than the athlete. You can find us on iTunes or SoundCloud by searching ‘Real Talks’. There you can access previous episodes with Cora Staunton, Kevin McMamamon, Eamon McGee, Michael Fennelly and many more. If you are returning listener, thanks for the ongoing support. By the time you are tuning into this, will should have passed the 50,000 play count, so please keep spreading the word about the podcast to your friends, family and teammates. Last but not least, to help out Alan Kerins, who featured in Episode 13, our podcast host Alan O’Mara will be running through a bog on November 4th to help raise funds for a Children’s Home in Zambia that saves and changes the lives of many. It is a project that Alan Kerins and the team in Gorta-Self Help Africa have been supporting for over 10years. If any listener can spare a few euro, I’d really appreciate the support as any donation you make, no matter how big or small, will help to change a life. You can donate here - https://www.altruism.ie/fundraising_page/alan-o-mara-fundraising-page-for-gorta-self-help-africa

Episode 16 - Colin Regan

With 17 Senior All-Irelands, 11 in football and 6 in camogie, Briege Corkery is one of the greatest GAA players of all time. However, after giving so much to the Cork cause over the years, Briege decided to focus on other areas of life in 2017. She spoke about that decision on the podcast, whether she intends to return to the Cork fold next season, why the fear of losing drives her on more than the joy of winning and the danger of presuming that sports stars are automatically confident and out going people. We hope you enjoy getting such a detailed insight into the mind of one of Ireland’s most prominent sporting role models. This podcast was brought to you by the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in conjunction with Pat the Baker. Their partnership, through the Be Healthy Wholemeal Loaf, actively supports Ladies Football & Camogie players in every intercounty squad. The WGPA player development programme provides services such as scholarships, careers advice and counselling to help members be their best in their personal and professional lives.” If you enjoy this episode, there are 14 previous podcasts with top class GAA heroes like Kevin McManamon, Brendan Maher, Eamon McGee, Cora Staunton and Michael Fennelly discussing so many different life lessons they have learned over the years. Just search for ‘Real Talks’ on iTunes or SoundCloud.

Episode 15 - Briege Corkery

As well as recounting some good and bad times in his Kildare jersey, Dermot Earley was also open and honest about being diagnosed with testicular cancer in his early twenties, what it was like to grow up in the army, serve in unstable countries like Bosnia and Lebanon and the impact of the untimely passing of his father, Dermot Snr, seven years ago. He even retold the story of a time when he was invited to Manchester United and ended up in the physio room beside Diego Forlan and Carlos Queiroz. Dermot is the current CEO of the Gaelic Players Association and spoke about why he is so passionate about bettering the lives of the inter-county player on and off the field.

Episode 14 - Dermot Earley

Back in 2001, Alan Kerins had the rare experience of playing in both the All-Ireland football and hurling finals for Galway. Throughout the noughties there was plenty of hype surrounding his dual player status but since then Alan has pursued another passion and raised millions of euro that has saved and changed thousands of lives in Africa. During the podcast we spoke about how playing sport at such a high level helped him to develop the skills and self-confidence to take on such massive projects and how staring death in the face while in Africa changed his perspective on both sport and life. A quick reminder for you to please share the podcast in your whatsapp groups or online via Twitter and Facebook as your support is invaluable to us in spreading the word and helping to celebrate these GAA heroes.

Episode 13 - Alan Kerins

Next up on the podcast is Michael Fennelly, an eight time All-Ireland winner with Kilkenny. Under the management of Brian Cody, the Cats have become one the most respected and consistent teams in the history of the GAA. During the course of this hour long conversation, it was fascinating to get an insight into the culture of the group, as well as the individual mentality Michael has needed to survive and thrive in a high performance culture. The 2011 Hurler of the Year was incredibly honest about the impact his love of hurling has had on his body and mind, and the many challenges he has had to overcome. Now in the latter end of his career at 32, he has changed jobs, studied leadership, started lecturing and began a journey into the entrepreneurial world. There is zero doubt that Michael Fennelly is much more than just a hurler.

Episode 12 - Mick Fennelly

An All-Ireland winner with Armagh, Oisin McConville was also a key member of the Crossmaglen Rangers club that won more titles than any mantlepiece could handle. To most supporters, Oisin was living the dream throughout his playing career but the stark reality was that away from the highs of places like Clones and Croke Park, he was dealing with a chronic gambling addiction in his day to day life. It was a real pleasure to sit down to reflect on his journey, his transition out of playing a game he relied on so much and discuss the incredible life lessons he has learned along the way, After the success of the first ten episodes of the Real Talks podcast with current GAA players, we will be bringing you another ten truly unique conversations over the coming weeks with living legends of Gaelic Games. Our next stop will be Kilkenny.

Episode 11 - Oisín McConville

This episode of the Real Talks podcast with Jamie Wall was recorded in the heart of San Francisco. A former underage player for Cork in both codes, Jamie was a prospect that had high hopes of representing his county for many years to come but back in 2014 his life changed after an abscess at the spine resulted in the loss of power in his legs. During this conversation, Jamie talks openly and honestly about the day his legs first gave way and the ups and downs of the last three years as he has had to adapt to life in a chair and rise to numerous challenges. He is now currently enjoying an extended break in a new city while also managing a GAA team on the west coast of America – an opportunity that arose after he coached Mary I to the Fitzgibbon Cup earlier in 2017. Keep an ear out at the end of the show as well for an exciting update about the next season of the podcast which will kick off in the coming few weeks. If new to the show, find us on iTunes and SoundCloud by searching ‘Real Talks’ to find previous episodes with Kevin McManamon, Brendan Maher, Jamie Clarke, Cora Staunton and more. Episode 10 of the Real Talks podcast with the inspirational Jamie Wall is brought to you thanks to the support of Kelly Bradshaw Dalton. Check out their website at KBD.ie for all your property needs in the greater Dublin area.

Episode 10 - Jamie Wall

Now in her 23rd season at the top level, it is a real honour and privilege to welcome Cora Staunton onto the Real Talks podcast. Having made her debut for the Mayo senior team at 13 years of age, Cora has gone on to win four All-Ireland’s for her county, 10 All-Stars and become a household name due to her incredible longevity, mesmerising talent and amazing ability to consistently get huge scores in the green and red jersey. Over the hour, Cora talked openly and honestly about how sport changed her life for the better, the impact of the death of her mother had on her life and why after all these years, she keeps coming back for more.

Episode 9 - Cora Staunton

Each Real Talks episode provides a prominent Irish figure with the opportunity to talk about life lessons, leadership, resilience, purpose, sport, passions and much more. Season One features 10 leading GAA players speaking in a way they have never been heard before. Guests include Kevin McManamon, a four time All-Ireland winner with Dublin, and Brendan Maher, Tipperary’s All-Ireland winning captain in 2016. No more clickbait. No more soundbites. Choose real people. Choose real stories. Alan O’Mara is the founder of RealTalks.ie and author of the best-selling memoir ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’.

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Real Talks

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