Booker Prize-winning author Paul Lynch joins Alison Cowzert to reflect on the intense demands and deeper meaning of a writer’s life.
After 18 months promoting his acclaimed novel Prophet Song, Lynch still has plenty to say — about the discipline of writing, the risks of pursuing it as a vocation, and why, for him, there was never really a choice. “The thing about true vocation is you don’t have a choice,” he says. “To do anything else is to risk a loss of core identity.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, Lynch discusses the role of the artist, the importance of state support for writers, and why Prophet Song — a novel often described as dystopian — is in fact a mirror to the modern world. Arts Matters is supported by HLB Ireland.
For 20 years, Marian O'Gorman has been Chief Executive of the iconic, family-run, Kilkenny Group. In this podcast, she talks to Alison Cowzer about succession, acrimony, the importance of championing Irish designers and the future of the retail brand. She also explains why she wants Irish businesses to rally behind Green Friday
Brid Horan broke the mould by becoming Ireland's first female actuary. Not that she planned it that way. In this interview, the former deputy chief executive of the ESB and cofounder of the 30% club talks to Alison Cowzer about her impressive career, leadership, pensions, and why gender balance matters
From Eircom to Quinn Insurance, he was the go to insolvency expert during the economic crash, handling some of the biggest corporate failures of the era. Ian Kehoe talks business with Grant Thornton Managing Partner Michael McAteer.
Sam Smyth meets Tony Boyle, who continues to seek justice over the awarding of the state’s second mobile phone licence to Denis O’Brien’s Esat. It has been an exhausting and costly battle, but, steeled by the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal, he is not giving up.
"We do things very simply. We have state of the art logistics." Breege O'Donoghue spent 37 years at the top of global giant Primark. Here she talks value, ambition, and the very DNA of the retail trade
An Post CEO David McRedmond has held leading roles in the communications sector including with TV3 and eir. He tells Sam Smyth about taking on the banks, maintaining government investment in the countryside and making money from broadcasting – all in the face of digital transformation.
In an in depth interview, the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform talks about overhauling the Department’s culture post-crisis, the institutional reforms that have taken place and the need for a robust public debate around the political economy of spending.
Having earned his spurs in a global trade dispute over bananas, Philip Lee has built one of the state’s prominent law firms. So just how did he do it, what would he change about the system, and what are his plans for the future?
Michael Dawson has had a varied career. He started out in politics in the late 70s, booked out the RDS for Italia 90, built up the business One4All and sold it for €100 million. In this podcast, he talks to Alison Cowzer about his personal journey, revealing lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Paschal Taggart has been at the heart of Irish business for more than four decades. In this exclusive interview with Sam Smyth, he talks about how a man from Antrim became a pillar of Irish commerce.
