DIVE IN . . . with David Watters

David Gough is an All Ireland Football GAA Referee from Co. Meath. David made history in 2019 being the first member of the LGBTQ+ community to referee the senior men's All Ireland Football Final, in addition, to this he was a key factor in the GAA walking in the 2019 Dublin Pride Parade, the first time in the organisation's history to do so. David has been a strong ambassador for the LGBTQ+, especially in the GAA, speaking out against homophobic language and calling for more work to be done in making the GAA a more open and inclusive place for its members. In this episode, we discuss his sporting career in GAA (and in tennis!), 2019 All Ireland Football Final, his own coming out story, the use of homophobic language within the GAA and the GAAs efforts in becoming more inclusive. 

I had the honour to interview the former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Elected into office in 1997, she served two terms until 2011 and in her time in Áras an Uachtaráin she saw tremendous progress in which she described her term as one of "Building Bridges" especially due to the progress in Anglo-Irish Relations. She has been an advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ people since the 70s in which she was a founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform with David Norris. Over the years she was a strong, powerful ally and voice for the LGBTQ+ community providing a voice to a minority and helping usher in a new era of human rights and acceptance in Irish society. In this interview, she discusses the evolution of  LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland, the role of the Church, the most impactful moments of her presidency and Anglo-Irish relations, what needs to be done for a more equal Ireland for all its people regardless of race, gender or sexuality. 

Lindsay Peat is a player on the Irish International Women's Rugby Union Team, having played numerous caps for Ireland, and in 2017 won Player of the Year. Lindsay, an all-round sports star has represented Ireland in Association Football, Basketball and have even won a coveted All Ireland Senior Football Championship with Dublin GAA in 2014.  A fantastic ambassador for the women and LGBTQ+ people in sports, having shared her own story and been a spokesperson on many occasions including in 2019 where she was an official ambassador for the Union Cup, an international LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby tournament hosted that year by the Irish Team, The Emerald Warriors. In this episode, Lindsay talks about her sporting career, her own coming out journey, the future of womens and inclusive sports and the importance of being a team and being an ambassador Check it out. 

Gary Stewart, an inspirational business leader and representative of the black and LGBTQ+ communities,  is the CEO and co-founder of “The Nest”, a mobile app that could be called “Masterclass for founders” and has raised more than $1m from a high net worth prior to launching. From 2014-2019, Gary was the Director of Wayra UK, a corporate accelerator where he invested in 185 start-ups that raised $265m and were valued at more than $1bn. He launched his first start-up in 2005 that raised $4m before eventually being acquired by a publicly listed company. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Gary graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Yale College and worked as a lawyer in NY, London, Madrid and Barcelona. He is a Governor of the University of East London and has been twice on the Power List of the most influential black people in the UK. In this episode, Gary talks about his own coming out experience, advice for founders from minority groups and how society and businesses are changing for both people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community.

Sara R Phillips has been a leader and activist within the trans and intersex communities for over 40 years. Some of Sara's most notable contributions are helping to successfully negotiate the Gender Recognition Act by Self Determination in 2015, inclusion on the 2018 review committee for the Gender Recognition Act and being an active member of TENI since its inception of which she is currently serving her third term as Chair of the Board. Sara is still a very active member of the trans community, having recently joined the board of the International Trans Fund and is the current collector for the Irish Trans Archive. Listen to this interview in which we discuss the changing landscape of trans rights and inclusivity in Ireland over the years, what are current issues facing the trans and intersex community and what can be done going forward.  

Episode 6 of Dive In... features Sophie Benoit and Caitlin Hafer, the founders of exciting new hackathon and innovation events business, What The Hack. On the show, Sophie and Caitlin discuss their upcoming virtual hackathon Hack Back, focused on finding solutions to the problems businesses face in the current economic climate, they give us insight into how they formed What the Hack, how to secure high calibre speakers and clients for events and what other businesses and projects they are working on. 

Episode No. 4 of Dive In...With Watters features Ashley M. Williams, CEO & Founder of RIZZARR.  Listen in to us discussing her journey as an entrepreneur so far, her career in journalism, content creation, authenticity and how to follow your own path. Ashley is a leading Millennial and Gen Z content marketing strategist, spokesperson, consultant, and a global speaker for brands that want to reach the younger generations. Ashley, an award-winning journalist, having worked for NBC News, WBAL Radio, and USA TODAY transitioned into the founder and CEO of RIZZARR, a tech-enabled content marketplace. 

Episode 3 of Dive In...With Watters, I'm joined by Wendy Stunt. Wendy is the founder of Go DigiCard (Digital Business of the Year 2020), an innovative Irish company bringing businesses together with its digital business card solution. Since its establishment, Go DigiCard has quickly gained customers worldwide. On the show, we talked about her journey as an entrepreneur, her various projects and businesses and the importance of networking.