Never Have I Ever with Claire Byrne

Aoife Dunne is a comedian, poet and storyteller who shot to fame with her hit show “Good Grief”, which blendied humour, heartbreak and insight with its exploration of the strange and hilarious ways we survive trauma.  

Aoife Dunne grew up in Galway, the second oldest of two girls and two boys. Her parents separated when she was 14 years old. By the age of 23 she was an aspiring actress having attended the same Galway drama school as Nicola Coughlan. Then the unthinkable happened while she was back packing through South America. Her mother died suddenly. 

Aoife’s life was thrown into turmoil and she returned to Kinvarra to mourn her mother’s passing and assume her role as head of the family.  It was not until more than a decade later that she would find a new calling as a comedian through the telling of that very story. It’s been quite the journey but today Claire wants to explore a different sort of journey.  

Because according to Aoife, a major turning point in her life came in Brazil when she was 35 and she had a profound psychedelic experience with ayahuasca.  So Claire’s never been on a psychedelic journey, but Aoife Dunne has…

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Claire's guest is Mentalist, magician and hypnotist– Keith Barry.

For most of us our experience of hypnotism doesn’t go far beyond watching the likes of Paul McKenna on the TV back in the day or seeing your mate doing something mad on stage during Freshers Week. 

 Those are examples of stage hypnosis but hypnosis is also used for therapeutic purposes in what is known as hypnotherapy. 

 For the lay person the whole area is one that is shrouded in intrigue, suspicion and sometimes controversy. 

But it’s something Claire has always been fascinated by, at a distance. 

In this episode Claire speak with Keith Barry.

He is a multi award winning entertainer and magician with a Merlin Award and a James Joyce Award to his name. 

 And hypnotism has always played a central role in his outstanding career. 

Indeed he is probably the world’s foremost TV hypnotist. 

Can he hypnotise Claire?

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Claire's guest is actor and comedian Pat Shortt. If you’ve ever seen Easy Rider or The Motocycle Diaries you will be familiar with the rebellious allure of getting your motor running and heading out on the highway.

At least in the movie world, taking a motorbike out on the open road is an expression of freedom, a journey of self discovery. 

People long to travel the likes of Route 66 in the US, or cross the Mongolian steppe or even just wind their way down our own Wild Atlantic Way.

But in order to feel the wind in your hair and freedom in your soul, you need to be able to ride a motorbike in the first place… and Claire can’t.

In this first episode of Season 2 of Never Have I Ever Claire speaks to Pat Shortt.

Pat is one of Ireland’s most popular comedians, an award winning actor and a musician.

He is currently starring in ‘Animals’ which runs at the Abbey Theatre until November 7.  

And of course he has a longstanding passion for motorbikes which stretches back to when his father bought himself and his brother Peter an old BSA motorcycle to fix up when they were teenagers. 

Can he persuade Claire to put on a leather jacket and hit the road?

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Ulysses occupies a curious place on the bookshelf. It's a novel we're told we should read. A masterpiece we're expected to admire. And a book that many of us have never actually made it through. Claire Byrne is one of them. 

This week’s guest is Richard Boyd Barrett, the Dún Laoghaire TD whose love of James Joyce stretches far beyond politics. Together he and Claire explore why Ulysses has earned its fearsome reputation, whether it's really as inaccessible as people believe, and why a story about one ordinary day in Dublin captivates readers more than a century after it was published. 

As Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey sparks fresh interest in the ancient epic that inspired Joyce, Richard makes the case for rediscovering Ireland's greatest novel—not as an academic exercise, but as a funny, human, and surprisingly rewarding read. 

Can he persuade Claire to finally turn the page? Or will Ulysses remain firmly on her "Never Have I Ever" list? 
 
This is the last episode of the current series. Never Have I Ever will return in Autumn 2026. 

For most of us, war is something we witness from a distance. For Sally Hayden, it's become her life's work. This week, Claire Byrne meets the award-winning Irish journalist whose reporting has taken her from refugee camps to conflict zones across almost 40 countries.  

Together they explore what it means to live in or return to places most people are desperate to escape, how ordinary people endure extraordinary circumstances, and why telling those stories still matters. 

Sally reflects on fear, resilience, the emotional toll of bearing witness, and the moments of humanity, humour and hope that survive even in the darkest places. And Claire wonders: can anyone truly prepare themselves for a career spent documenting war?  
 
This Is Also A Love Story by Sally Hayden is published by 4th Estate. 

Festival camping has never made sense to Claire Byrne. Sleepless nights in tents, mud, queues for the toilets... Why would anyone willingly swap the comforts of home for a damp field? 

So, at the height of festival season, Claire sets out to discover what she's been missing. Her guide is Philip Meagher – solicitor by day, music obsessive by nature, and the founder of Forest Fest in Emo, Co. Laois. Philip took a remarkable gamble, investing his own money to build a festival designed for people who still love live music but don't necessarily want to rough it. 

Can Philip persuade one lifelong sceptic that sleeping in a tent is a small price to pay for the magic that happens when thousands of strangers come together for one unforgettable weekend? Or will festival camping stay firmly on Claire's "Never Have I Ever" list? 

📧 Have a suggestion for something Claire should try next? Email: [email protected] 

🎪 Find out more about Forest Fest: https://forestfest.ie/ 

🍺 With thanks to Ballykilcavan Brewery for hosting this episode: https://www.ballykilcavan.com/ 

Consultant paediatric surgeon Jennifer Billington takes Claire Byrne behind the operating theatre doors, sharing what it's really like to operate on babies and children, where every millimetre matters and every decision carries enormous responsibility.  

From fighting for her place in medical school after missing the points twice, to operating on some of the smallest and sickest children, Jenny reveals the pressure, privilege, and humanity behind the surgical mask. 

Can Claire overcome her squeamishness? Jenny offers a gentler first step – watching real surgical procedures on video. Could this be one "Never Have I Ever" that's about to become a "Maybe..."? 

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What does it take to walk onto a stage with nothing but a microphone... and make strangers laugh? Claire Byrne has never done stand-up comedy. Al Porter has spent much of his life doing exactly that. 

From becoming one of Ireland's biggest comedy stars while still in his twenties to experiencing a spectacular public fall from grace, Al joins Claire for a candid conversation about confidence, shame, addiction, failure, forgiveness, and the strange power of humour. 

Why are comedians often at their funniest when talking about the worst things that have ever happened to them? Can laughter change the way we remember painful experiences? And is making fun of yourself an act of courage... or self-preservation? 

This is a conversation about far more than jokes. It's about what happens when your greatest material comes from the parts of your life you'd rather forget.

Does Claire have the courage to give it a go? 

Al’s show Algorithm will continue across Ireland throughout the autumn. His debut play, written with Karl Spain, The Kavanagh’s Married With Parents, will be staged at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght this September. He’ll also star in the 3Olympia Panto next Christmas.  

Poker is about far more than cards. It's about psychology, pressure, risk, and knowing when to trust your instincts. In this week’s episode, Claire meets one of Ireland's greatest poker players, Andy Black. From multimillion-dollar tournaments in Las Vegas to years spent living in a Buddhist community, Andy's life has been anything but conventional. 

With the World Series of Poker reaching its climax, Claire explores what it takes to make decisions when the stakes are high, why fear can be both a warning and a weakness, and whether taking a chance is ever really a gamble. 

Can Andy convince Claire to sit down at a poker table... for real? 

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What would happen if somebody put you under constant surveillance, deprived you of sleep, encouraged you to distrust everyone around you, and then broadcast the results to the nation? For most of us, it sounds like a nightmare. For Vanessa Ogbonna, it was a winning strategy. 

This week, Claire sits down with one of the stars of The Traitors Ireland to talk about what reality TV is really like once the cameras start rolling. Vanessa lifts the lid on the strange psychological experiment at the heart of one of Ireland’s biggest TV hits. 

Born in Nigeria and raised in Waterford Vanessa reflects on growing up in direct provision, finding belonging through football and the devastating setbacks that forced her to rethink her future. As World Cup fever takes a grip, she shares how football became an escape and an identity — and why losing it was one of the hardest challenges she’s ever faced. 

Together, Claire and Vanessa talk about what it feels like to be watched and judged by complete strangers. And of course, Claire asks the question many listeners will already be wondering: should she sign up for Celebrity Traitors? 

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave a rating, and tell a friend. And if there's a Never Have I Ever confession you'd like Claire to tackle, we'd love to hear from you: [email protected].