For professional athletes, retirement doesn’t come in the form of a gradual career peak—it arrives suddenly, often through injury or physical decline. Unlike those in other careers who can steadily build toward financial security, many athletes find themselves facing uncertainty in their early 30s. In this episode of Sports Matters, former rugby players Niall Woods and Marty Moore discuss the challenges of transitioning out of the game, from financial instability to the loss of identity and structure. Speaking to Ian Kehoe, they explore the psychological and practical difficulties of life after professional sport and the importance of preparation for the next chapter. Sports Matters is sponsored by Whitney Moore.
Ibec's pre-budget submission is a counter-intuitive call on the State to spend money. But not to splash out willy-nilly, as the business lobby group's chief economist Gerard Brady tells Stephen Kinsella. Addressing capacity constraints in the economy, establishing a counter-cyclical infrastructure to exit the feast-and-famine habits of government capital spending and planning for the long-term needs of an ageing population are the key proposals they discuss on this podcast.
Mairead McGuinness is facing the final period in which she can push reforms through as European commissioner for financial services. As we get closer to European and Irish elections that will define her own political future, she tells Thomas Hubert that "nitty-gritty" measures to progress towards a capital markets union are her priority, defends the taxonomy of sustainable investments she has put in place and explains what the EU wants to achieve with sanctions against Russia.
Shane Kiernan and Stephen MacCarthy are co-founders of Recruitroo, a company tackling labour shortages with an automated online platform to recruit overseas workers. While they acknowledge it is difficult to raise money at the moment, they tell Thomas Hubert that investors still remember the value created by start-ups founded in the previous economic slowdown over a decade ago.
The DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson spoke at an event organised by Co-Operation Ireland last night. After the proceedings ended, the politician sat down with Tommie Gorman to discuss power sharing, the Windsor Framework, and North-South relations.
Emily O'Reilly marks 10 years as European Ombudsman as Brussels is engulfed by the Qatargate corruption scandal. As one of the top officials tasked with policing fellow eurocrats, she explains where gaps remain in the "integrity architecture" of the EU and why. The former journalist and Irish ombudsman also tells Thomas Hubert how she is approaching next year's European election, when her own position will be up for renewal.
Wirecard was once a $30 billion tech start-up unicorn. However, it was later exposed to be a financial fraud by a team of journalists led by Dan McCrum. McCrum is part of the Financial Times investigations team, and his book, "Money Men: A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth", is an international bestseller. In this podcast, he talks to Sinead O’Sullivan about his efforts to uncover the story and the interlocking relationships between politics and business.
Niall Woods has a unique perspective on the world of professional rugby. A former international who plied his trade with leinster, London Irish and Harlequins, he worked in various bodies representing players for ten years before establishing his own talent agency, Navy Blue Sports. In this podcast, he talks about the decline of London irish, cutting deals with sponsors, and why ruby players who operate out of the IRFU system should be available for the national team.
In his book, "Our Lives in Their Portfolios", Brett Christophers argues that that as a result of privatisation and the financial crisis, the ownership and operation of housing, infrastructure and other social assets have moved behind closed doors. In the latest episode of ‘The Context’, he talks about his book and his theory with Sinead.
The restaurateur Padraic O’Kane is upbeat about the future for the high-profile Dublin eateries he co-owns, Fire Steakhouse & Grill in Dublin’s Mansion House and Sole Seafood & Grill on South William Street. However, he is less optimistic about the outlook for the hospitality sector outside of the main cities, many of which he believes will close down if they are are forced to repay warehoused tax debts. In this podcast, he talks about the economics of the sector, and why, as it did during the pandemic, the government needs to step in. He also talks about bringing US college football to Dublin each year and explains how, this year, the event will break the world record for the number of Americans leaving the US to attend a single sporting event.
Last year, out of the blue, the Biden administration sanctioned China’s semiconductor industry. It banned the sale of semiconductors to China and US citizens working with Chinese companies. The move highlighted the importance of the sector – and the growing geopolitical issues enveloping it. After all, it is a resource that is fuelling the global economy. In Chip War, Chris Miller recounts the sequence of events that led to the United States perfecting chip design and details why the battle to control this industry will shape our future. In this podcast, he talks to Sinead O’Sullivan about the politics and economics of the semiconductor industry.
