iRadio's Groupchat

Obesity is more than just a number on the scale - it’s a serious medical condition we rarely know enough about.  

 Dr. Harriet Treacy, co-founder of Beyond BMI, is leading the charge against Ireland’s obesity crisis with a medically-led, multidisciplinary approach. She’s passionate about tackling obesity before it leads to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and more, challenging a healthcare system that often treats the consequences rather than the cause. She has a vision for the future of weight loss treatments in Ireland.   

Between the Sheets on iRadio’s Groupchat and as you may know it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, so tonight we’re talking about the connection between mental health, relationships, dating, sex, and emotional intimacy-  because the way we’re feeling mentally can have a huge impact on how we connect with the people closest to us.  

  Joining us now is psychotherapist Chloe Callanan from Are You Well Therapy, who’s here to help us unpack the signs someone might be struggling, how to support a partner in a healthy way, and why communication is so important in relationships.

We are known globally as “The Emerald Isle”, with our rolling hills and vales of green – at least forty shades of it in fact. Chris Greenlee, aka The Emerald Explorer prides himself as being the content creator that is guiding people to the best places that the island of Ireland has to offer this world. If you are looking for some inspiration for a trip or a staycation this summer, Chris could be the guy for you.   

She’s one of Ireland’s most powerful voices on inequality, education and resilience. Her first memoir, Poor, became a number one bestseller, won Biography of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, and sparked huge conversations around poverty, addiction and opportunity in Ireland.  

  Now, psychologist, professor and bestselling author Katriona O'Sullivan is back with a deeply personal new memoir, Hungry: A Biography of My Body, which explores body image, self-worth, trauma and the complicated relationship many of us have with our bodies.  

There’s a campaign gathering attention online right now calling for a life-changing medication to be made available in Ireland. 28 year old Emily Felix, who is living with a rare neuromuscular condition called Friedreich’s Ataxia, is calling for the government to make the drug Skyclarys accessible in Ireland.   

 This treatment has been approved in other countries and could help slow the progression of the condition, and Emily joins us now to tell us more about her story and what she feels needs to be done. 

Conor Kirwin joins Valerie on iRadio’s Business Spotlight to talk about setting up his food truck Zooweewee's at just 22, and why he’s sharing the whole journey online.

What started as a college assignment that got a brutal 17% turned into a real-life business, fuelled by pure determination (and a bit of “I’ll show you”). Conor chats through rebuilding the trailer from scratch, learning everything as he went, and the power of TikTok in bringing customers to the hatch.

Tonight on iRadio’s Groupchat, we’re joined by one of our own - iRadio presenter and content creator Dave Duke, whose recent TEDx talk in Athlone asked a pretty big question: what does it actually mean to be Irish?  

We usually think of identity as a checklist - your accent, where you were born, your passport - but Dave’s talk challenged all of that, while somehow still managing to make it funny and really relatable.  

 It also comes at a time when conversations around identity in Ireland are very current. Recently, Dublin Rose of Tralee Suad Moogue faced online abuse because of her Somali background, despite being born and raised here, sparking debate about who gets to be seen as “really Irish”.  

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and one that Claudia Ward expressed online has been met with a serious amount of both praise and criticism. For personal trainers and coaches, is their body their business? Claudia joins Valerie now to unpack her ideas.  

Now whether you’re job hunting, trying to move up in your career, or even thinking about a complete change, the way you present yourself online has never been more important. 

  From your LinkedIn profile to the content you share, your digital presence can act like a live portfolio - but a lot of us probably aren’t using it to its full potential. 

 Valerie is joined by careers coach Angela Burke to chat about how to build that online presence and use it to open doors

Now, if you’re single and scrolling, fed up of the apps, or just fascinated by the absolute chaos that is modern dating… our next guest has turned all of that into a podcast phenomenon.   

  She’s become Ireland’s unofficial cupid, interviewing people about their love lives from the front seat of her car on Dating with Doireann - and then encouraging listeners to slide straight into her guests’ DMs afterwards. 

  Matchmaker, therapist, chauffeur… she’s doing it all!