Martin O’Meara was an Irish man, an adopted Australian and hero of the First World War. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross Medal, the highest honour awarded for gallantry in the face of an enemy that a British & Commonwealth soldier can receive.

In this episode Sheila speaks to two of Martin’s closest living relatives, Bill O’Hara, and Noreen O’Meara. We learn about Martin and the circumstances which led to him receiving the Victoria Cross Medal. Noreen and Bill tell Sheila about Martins’ visits to Ireland in both 1916 & 1917 and the frosty reception that he received during the latter visit. Our guests then discuss Martin’s breakdown in 1918 which resulted in him being committed to an Australian mental hospital, a situation which only exacerbated his condition. In the final part, Noreen and Bill talk about the efforts which have led to Martin being finally recognised in Ireland for the hero he was, and about the wisdom that we can take from his incredible story.

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In this episode we explore encouragement. Sheila begins by telling us what encouragement is, and why it is so important. We then look at what one might consider to be the basis for encouraging others, namely, respect. Comparing the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and Immanuel Kant we see that respecting others is not only a good thing to do—it is also our duty—and thus we learn that to encourage is to respect one another as equals. Sheila then tells us about some Gaelic expressions of encouragement and her earliest experiences of encouragement while growing up in rural Ireland. We also learn about the difference between praise and encouragement and why the latter is a much more powerful force for positive change. In the final part, Sheila outlines how she uses encouragement to prepare her clients for interviews in her role as a life & business coach. 

Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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In this bonus episode James speaks to the guest editor of the Irish Philosophical Society Journal and Carlow College lecturer Dr Noel Kavanagh. Noel tells us how a packet of peanuts led to his decision to quit his job as a truck driver and instead pursue a career in academia. His grandmother who was a nanny to the stars and his grandfather on his father’s side who was a subsistence farmer from rural Tipperary. James and Noel explore what it means to be Irish and how this has changed over the last number of decades. Noel also tells us about his interest in the philosophy of love and explains why there is a therapy in learning about philosophy. In the final part, he outlines how the Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be a true test to a notion central to Western Liberal democracies, namely—the social contract.

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Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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In this episode we discuss how we can better deal with uncertainty. Sheila begins by telling us about her own personal experiences of uncertainty and how she draws on these to inform her work as a life & business coach. We then explore how the people of old Ireland dealt with uncertainty and discover that our ancestors were far more practical in how they approached the insecurities of life. We contend that the decline of this practical wisdom in contemporary society can be linked to the exponential rise of consumerism in the latter part of the 20th century. We then discuss the recommendations that both Stoic and Existential philosophers give in relation to dealing with uncertainty. We conclude, that drawing on this advice and developing the practical mindset of our forebears can help us to overcome our own uncertainties. 

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Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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In this episode we explore grief through the philosophy of Stoicism. We see that the Stoics particularly the thinking of Seneca can be considered a bit insensitive when it comes to the topic of grief. We then look at the waking tradition of old Ireland and specifically the practise of keening - a highly articulated custom of women’s oral poetry used to lament the deceased. Drawing on the philosophy of Joel Krueger we see that keening “scaffolded” the emotional consciousness of the community and thus brought all participants through the grieving process. Finally, Sheila shares her own experience of grief and claims that now more than ever we need to find innovative ways of facilitating the grieving process. 

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Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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In this episode we explore gratitude through the competing philosophies of Adam Smith & Immanuel Kant. We then look at the Gaelic practice of the Meitheal or the cooperative labour system in old Ireland where neighbours helped each other in turn with farming tasks like making the hay and trashing the corn. From this, we see that gratitude was central to the success of the Meitheal and thus the social cohesion of old Ireland. In addition, our exploration of the Meitheal demonstrates that both Smith & Kant fail to fully comprehend gratitude as they tend to overlook its pragmatic nature. In the final part, Sheila tells us how she draws on gratitude to assist her clients in her role as a life and business coach.

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Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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Attitudes. What are they? How do they shape and affect our experiences? And how does one go about changing a poor attitude?

To answer these and other questions, Sheila, and James draw on insights from their own personal experience, as well as, literary figures like George Bernard Shaw, and various psychological, and philosophical thinkers.

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Music credits: Sláinte by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Busy As A Bee – Comedy by Jay Man on OurMusicBox (via Youtube). FRENCH ACCORDION MUSIC by Accordeon Accordion Jo Brunenberg (via Youtube). 

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