Our guest today on What A Woman Podcast is the phenomenal Ali Keane, who is a restauranteur, entrepreneur and mum of two who has overcome some significant challenges in life after surviving a car accident when she was twenty, which left her with life changing injuries.

We talk about:

- The car accident that changed Ali's life

- The journey of rehabilitation

- Life with a wheelchair and rediscovering her independence

- Becoming a mum

- Her love of food and exciting plans to open a vegetarian cafe in Tralee, Country Kerry

Follow Ali

@alikeane

guest today on What A Woman Podcast is Helen Steele, the award winning Irish fashion designer & entrepreneur with a hugely popular X collection of Active Wear at Dunnes Stores, featuring her signature style of funky bold prints that are comfortable, super quality and affordable too.

We talk about

- The challenges of growing up with ADHD but not having a diagnosis till her 30's

- How Helen looks at ADHD as a superpower

- Having an eating disorder and low self-esteem

- How Helen got through her divorce, business troubles & being a single mum and has maintained her success

- How Helen's collaboration with Dunnes Stores came about and why designing for every shape & size is important

- Dating after divorce and embracing ageing

Follow Helen:

www.helensteele.com

@helensteelefash

Today on What A Woman Podcast, we are joined by one of Ireland's leading Divorce lawyers, Helen Collins who has some four decades of experience in Family Law and is an expert in all aspects of divorce and a real trailblazer for women practising law.

We talk about:

- Divorce being a full-blown bereavement

- Why Helen insists all clients have counselling

- The impact of mediation

- How to support children

- How separation impacts property, pensions & inheritance tax

- Why coercive control is still difficult to prove

- Why Divorce Lawyers need Garda protection more than criminal lawyers

- How Helen was a trailblazer as she was the first female solicitor in Cork in the 70's.

Helen is Managing Partner of Wolfe & Co based in Clonakilty. She is a trained Mediator and author of 'A Short Guide to Divorce Law in Ireland – A Survival Handbook for the Family'. She is also the grandniece of Michael Collins which is a story we will save for another episode!

Find Helen:

www.wolfe.ie

Our guest on What A Woman Podcast today is Suzie O' Neill, founder of AYU, a leading Irish vegan cosmetics brand.

We talk about: 

- How failing the Leaving Cert never stood in Suzie’s way 

- How having her first business fail was the best thing that ever happened 

- Having no money & young children when she started out 

- How Suzie copes with the ups & downs of running a successful business 

- The transformative power of make-up on confidence

- Suzie’s must have’s from her make-up collection
Suzie is a real inspiration as she shows how failing the leaving certificate never stood in her way and once she followed her passion into beauty, she hasn't looked back and has built a highly successful brand. AYU offers gorgeous, high quality make-up and brushes with the aim of showing women how to enhance their natural beauty rather than mask it. AYU is available online with stores in Kildare Village and Cork.

Follow Suzie:

@suzie.ayu

www.ayu.ie

Today on What A Woman Podcast we are joined by the phenomenal former Irish Champion Amateur Jockey, Nina Carberry, who won the Irish Grand National, the second only woman to do that; and the first woman in eighteen years to win at Cheltenham with several wins thereafter. She had a hugely successful seventeen year career, trailblazing a path for the women jockey's that have followed in her footsteps. We talked about:

- the advantages and pressures of growing up in a racing family with a famous jockey father & brothers

- the pressures of the weight room

- sexism in the sport as female jockeys race equally against men

- what it feels like racing in the Grand National

- the dangers of the sport & her biggest fears

- facing retirement after a seventeen year career

- winning Dancing with the Stars

- how motherhood impacted her career

Nina can currently be seen as a coach on RTE's Ireland’s fittest family and she has released a children's book, ‘Ride To The Rescue' with a second book due for release in May.

Follow Nina:

@ninacarberry_

This week on What A Woman Podcast we are joined by the phenomenal Para-Athlete Madie Wilson-Walker who was given a 2% chance of survival after contracting meningitis when she was just three and due to complications she had both legs amputated below the knee, she lost four fingers and became deaf in one ear. We talked about:

- The impact of being so dangerously ill as a child

- Growing up as an amputee

- How Madie got into sport

- Her amazing achievements as an athlete

- Day-to-day life living with a disability

- Why people should be careful of making assumptions about disabilities

- Her other career as a model

Madie is currently training to qualify for the Canadian Paralympic team for Paris later this year. She is living and training in Kerry with her partner, the Irish Paralympian, Jordan lee.

Follow Madie:

@madiewx2

Our guest this week on What A Woman Podcast is the amazing Sex and Intimacy Specialist, Grace Alice. We covered so many interesting topics including:

- Getting the attraction back in long-term relationships

- Why its not selfish to prioritise your pleasure

- The symptoms of Vaginismus

- Why there is no shame in scheduling sex

- Why sleeping separately can be a good thing

- Why quality over quantity is more important

- Why sex bans can be a good thing

- Sex during menopause

- The shame men feel with a low libido

And so much more...

Grace Alice is based in Kerry, Ireland. She offers one-on-one and couples coaching sessions and workshops to groups, schools and organisations. Her experience as a sex educator led her to write the brilliant book 'Sex Educated' which you can buy at https://sexualhealthwest.ie/shop/ or from her website. It is a culmination of all the questions she heard when teaching young people and addressing them in a fresh, modern way with beautiful graphics. It's aimed at teens, young adults, parents and teachers but Grace is finding its popular with people who did not get a great sex education and who want a more positive understanding about sex and our sexuality in later life.

To find Grace go to:

gracealice.com

@grace_alice_oshea

This week on What A Woman Podcast we have a Christmas Special where we are interviewed by the amazing TV Personality, Musician & former guest Caitriona O' Sullivan, as we reflect on what has been an amazing year of hosting the podcast and meeting many of the leading women in Ireland that have shared their stories with us. It has been a privilege to meet every single one of them and we really believe there is something for everyone on the podcast. We felt really proud to look back on all these amazing conversations and are excited for what the next year brings for What A Woman Podcast!

We talk about:

- All of our guests & why each one stood out

- Why we started the podcast

- How we choose the right guests & topics

- The nuggets of wisdom that have most impacted us

- Who we were most starstruck by

- What successful women have in common

- Why more men are listening!

Follow us:

@whatawomanpodcast