The Chat - with Dan Murphy

When Noel Hogan met Dolores Oriordan in the late 1980s, neither of them could have imagined that together they would write the music that would go on to sell over 40 million records. Noel chatted about everything that has happened with the band in the 18 months since Dolores's death. He tells us what it was like compiling the demos that would eventually become the last Cranberries album. This episode is a brilliant insight into the background of one Irelands most successful bands, and of a music industry that is changing by the day.

Its difficult to put Duncan Casey in a box. He recently retired from a career in professional rugby where he played with Munster since 2013, and later with Grenoble in France. He is currently completing his masters in politics and is a member of the Social Democrats. He is a vocal advocate for the cause of the Palestinian people and has visited the West Bank numerous times.

We covered quite a few bases in this episode:

- Our trip to North Korea in 2016

- How working with a hypnotherapist changed his rugby career.

- What happened the time we visited a psychic in Limerick

- How colonial religious conservatism has influenced gay rights and attitudes towards transgender people in Polynesia

- Duncans experience visiting Israel & Palestine

Michael Murray was Limerick state solicitor for 37 years. He is most noted for his work relating to the Limerick feuds, one of the bloodiest gang feuds in Irish history.

We chatted about his role as state solicitor, and the feud that at one point saw Limerick to have the highest levels of gun crime in Europe.

We also discussed heroin use, the decriminalisation of drugs, and the meaning of the word 'evil'.

Pa Sheehy is frontman for Dingle band Walking on Cars. 'Colours' is the follow-up to their platinum debut album and it comes out on April 12th!

Danny O'Reilly is frontman for Irish band The Coronas, who are one of the biggest acts to come out of Ireland in the last decade. Danny chatted candidly and honestly about many things - the rise of the band from the Irish music scene to the world stage, band dynamics and how to keep a group together, the creative process, and his take on love and relationships.

Johnny Kiely is a retired amateur boxer who represented Ireland, and one of the most sought after strength & conditioning coaches in the world. He has worked with UK Athletics, the Irish rugby team, numerous Olympic Athletes and more recently the Egyptian soccer team for the 2018 world cup. He is also a lecturer at the University of Lancashire where he has published numerous writings on stress and its relation to performance. We chatted about many things - coaching Mo Salah and the Egyptian team through a world cup during Ramadan, the phenomenon of placebo, how stress can alter your genetics, and much more.

Answering some questions. Mostly ranting about censoring of music, touring with The Pogues, dating apps, love, and the worst countries to travel to...

Doctor Billy Mag Fhloinn holds a PhD in Irish Folklore, and a B.A. in archaeology, from University College Dublin. We chatted about the history of Halloween and its origins in pre-Christian Ireland. This led us to the theme of death, funeral, and why ritual is important to all cultures.