On the first Excellent Ireland of 2016, I had a great chat with Darren Ryan, Chief Executive at Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

This was one of this interviews where we could have talked for hours about any of the topics we cover, such as good habits he has formed, founding the Snooze Academy, finding his life’s purpose at an early age as well as his time working in overseas development in Kenya. It was great fun, and worthy of a part 2!

As we talk about, he wears many hats, but his main focus is on the amazing entrepreneurs effecting social change in Ireland with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

To round out the Excellent Ireland year, I interviewed a guest that I’ve wanted to have on for a few months.

Sean Beakey has been involved in oriental clinical practices for over 20 years. As well as being a qualified master practitioner and tutor of Amatsu, he holds qualifications in Shiatsu, Aromatherapy, various massage techniques and is a Reiki master. It doesn’t stop there. Sean is also a fully qualified Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, Team Coach, Expert in Martial arts and has lectured on multiple courses qualifying individuals in a range of health and fitness arenas. Still not finished. Sean holds seminars in Health & Life Management, Nutrition Management, Movement, Posture & Alignment and regularly features as a guest speaker and consultant expert on related topics in the media arena.

For those of you who are wondering what Amatsu is, Amatsu is A Japanese natural healing art that employs methods developed from well over 2000 years. By recruiting the body’s natural agencies to self heal and understanding the totality of what creates, contributes and maintains conditions. An Amatsu balance (treatment) addresses the cause and the symptoms presenting, as Amatsu balances the whole body not just the area of pain or restriction. The aim is to teach how to listen to and read the signs your body sends you.

In this podcast we chat about listening, body awareness and knowing how good your body is designed to feel!

Krystian Fikert has been a busy man.

Years ago in his native Poland, Krystian noticed that even small towns had easy access to psychological teams without the need for a professional referral or long waiting times. Krystian saw the need for such a service in Ireland, and established MyMind in 2006. MyMind aims to improve personal and community well-being, improve integration, and create open access to mental health services. In 2008, he started to expand the service to address the needs of other immigrant communities as well as the native Irish population.

Through MyMind, Krystian has created a movement for community-based mental health services, driven by a revenue-generating combination of paid and pro-bono therapists and practitioners to make mental health care available and affordable without stigma. MyMind uses both in-person and web-based support services to build their system for multi-layered support.

Not only does he have his hands full with that, he has also won awards from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, the Arthur Guinness Award, and a Captain Cathal Ryan Scholarship amongst others.

Niall Doherty. An Irishman in Amsterdam.

Niall Doherty has had an extremely interesting few years. Apart from spending most of the last 5 years travelling without once taking a flight, he now lives in Amsterdam and writes for a living, with over 500 published articles under his belt. If you don’t believe him, sign up for his “Disrupting the rabblement” newsletter at ndoherty.com where he outlines every penny he earns and spends each month, as well as loads of tips and tricks as to how to get more out of your day, stay healthy and stress free.

In my first Skype interview, we talk productivity, facing fears, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Nialls latest project, to help more Irish people start online businesses.

If you haven’t read Sarah Bannan’s ‘Weightless’ yet you need to put this podcast down, go straight to a bookstore and get a copy. Don’t take my word for it either, Colum McCann judged it “Riveting, agile and beautifully judged … Superb”.

This week I chatted to Sarah about writing, volleyball, moving house and being a member of the grammar police. For anyone who writes or wants to get an insight into the life of a published writer, there is plenty to get your teeth into here.

Check out her website at www.sarahbannan.com to get your copy of Weightless!

To round out July on Excellent Ireland, I chat to Sean Coughlan. This former actuarial/physicist is now the CEO of Boards.ie, one of Irelands most visited websites (members post almost 17,000 times per day!) and one of my personal go-to’s. Before Boards.ie, he was the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (http://socialentrepreneurs.ie/).

We chat about changing career paths, entrepreneurship, renewal, bringing 10 tons of Turkish sultanas to Ireland as a business enterprise and being a Dub!

Venture capital. We have all heard of it, but what do venture capitalists actually do?

On todays episode, I interview the “freckle faced Irish hustler with a rebellious heart” William McQuillan of Frontline Ventures (http://www.frontline.vc/).

We chat about everything from running to documentaries, drones to caffeine and Charlie Chaplin to watches for the blind. This is a cracker of an episode and well worth a listen especially if you have an idea you need to get out into the world.

Whether you’re the kind of person who thinks coffee flows through their veins or if its just something that everyone else seems to rave about, this episode is for you.

In 1998, David McKernan launched the Java Republic brand of coffees, teas and drinking chocolate. Initially, he started the business in a 5,000sq ft facility on the Kylemore Road in Dublin. Today he oversees importing, roasting and wholesale distribution to more than 1,200 outlets in Ireland, both north and south. Every day 2 tonnes of coffee is roasted in their custom designed and built Roastery Complex in Ballycoolin.

As well as being described as persistent, passionate and high-spirited, he supposedly inspires and irritates in equal measure. Listen in and see what you think

This week I interviewed the inimitable Anne Bedos who founded Rothar (http://www.rothar.ie), which, as well as being an award-winning social enterprise and cafe/bike repair establishment, is just a lovely place for bike enthusiasts

The Excellent Ireland London Interviews continue.

Kate McLaughlin is Dublin-born, now living in London. She founded POP, a platform for casting supporting artists. She was good enough to do the interview before jetting off to get married!

We talk about starting and growing her successful business, and the challenges she now faces in growing it further. Family, The God of Small Things and software development.

Check her out on www.wegotpop.com, Twitter and Facebook!