Mamia & Me

On this episode, Amy is joined by broadcaster, comedian, businesswoman and mother of two, Jennifer Zamparelli. As might be expected with all those titles, there is plenty going on with Jennifer right now, from her new hair salon, to her radio and TV work, to her busy family life. But before delving into all that, Amy needs to set the record straight about a certain dog-related incident! 

Jennifer chats about juggling her incredibly busy career with her kids and family - from the joys of raising her kids, to the horrors of nits and threadworm! She also discusses her mum, growing up, and her habit of doing things and figuring out the details later. Finally, she reveals how her kids have had quite a few bumps and bruises, despite her husband being a stunt coordinator!

In a very special episode of Aldi’s Mamia & Me podcast, Amy is joined by Paul O’Connell in front of a live audience at Electric Picnic! There’s some rugby talk to begin, where Amy displays her renowned encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport, before the chat moves to life, being a parent, and Paul’s own childhood. There is plenty of overlap between being a good sports coach and being a good parent and Paul lays out some of the many benefits of sport for kids. He discusses his work for Barnardos, his biggest parenting fail (there’s a lot of vomit involved!) and the balance between work and kids. Finally, there’s the ultimate parenting goal of being “comfortable in chaos”!

On this episode, Amy sits down with the multi-talented Dermot Whelan and Dave Moore, best known for their morning radio show on Today FM. Amy learns about how Dermot & Dave unexpectedly ended up working together after a “playdate”, and their 20-year partnership both on and off air. There are some family holiday horror stories and some parenting fails, a little bit of meditation and, of course, some terrible dad jokes.

Amy chats with RorysStories, Rory O’Connor about the leaving cert, the delivery room and some of the obstacles he faced in school, only to return as a role model for kids facing their own challenges. Rory and Amy laugh and compare notes on ‘lockdown lookback'- the topic of Rory’s upcoming book. There’s some sound advice around parenting, mental fitness and chat about Rory’s upcoming live shows.

This week Amy is joined by Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian, who have a very exciting announcement! The celebrity couple sit down with Amy to talk about their news that they are soon to be parents, by way of surrogacy. Brian and Arthur talk about some of the difficulties as well as their joy at becoming parents, and their plans for the future. We hear about Arthur’s childhood and his route to becoming a renowned dancer and TV personality, and how Brian could have been UK Prime Minister (sort of!).

On this episode Amy chats to the acting phenomenon that is Barry Keoghan. From starring in a school play in Dublin as a teenager to taking on some of the biggest roles in Hollywood, Barry’s rise to fame has been startling. He chats about his childhood (including having the Olympic gold-medallist boxer Kelly Harrington as a babysitter!) and about some of the challenges he faced in early life.

With his most recent role in The Batman, Barry chats about his approach to acting, starring alongside some of the biggest actors in the world, and coming back home to Dublin where he’s just Barry, and where his grandmother will very quickly bring him down to earth if he gets any notions! 

This week Amy sits down with presenter, designer and mum Pippa O’Connor. Amy and Pippa quickly realise they are the same person: their husbands and children have the same names, they both wanted to be actors as kids, and they have a similar aversion to sport despite their famous family connections.

They chat about travelling in style (most of the time), supporting other women by talking openly about miscarriage, and the ups and downs of motherhood. Pippa shares memories of her own mother, talks about her childhood, her early career as a model, and her business success today. For Mother’s Day, her wishes are simple: that her kids will, for just one day, wear those lovely chinos and not their football gear!

Amy sits down with Victoria Smurfit to compare tales of motherhood, love, and mortifying auditions. How do you make sure your kids are eating healthily when you're working thousands of miles away? How do you embarrass your kids into doing what you want them to do? Why should you make sure your kids get bored? Victoria Smurfit imparts her wisdom.

Is it mum or mam, or maybe mammy? Actress and writer Brona C. Titley chats about accidentally leaving Ireland for a life in London, having a child in the early months of the pandemic and her award-winning career as an actress and comedy writer. Brona and Amy compare stories about the weird things people say to you when you’ve had a baby and the common misconception that Brona has written all of Robbie Williams' songs! 

And, Amy chats to TikTok sensation Serena Terry, better known as Mammy Banter. They look at her success on social media, her life as a mammy, your kids mortifying you in public and her new book. Oh, and there’s also a ball shaver…but it’s not what you think!

It’s Christmas time and Amy sits down with Lucy Kennedy to chat about festive plans, childhood memories and what Lucy really wants for Christmas. But it’s not all yuletide chat. As a presenter, writer, and mother Lucy talks about her record-breaking 7-minute morning routine to be on time for her radio show, her work on TV, her new book, and what her kids think about it all. And there are dogs too. Lots of dogs!