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.
Tommie Gorman talks to Dion Fanning about the Boris Johnson he knew and why the chaos that defined Boris Johnson's premiership will remain given those most likely to succeed him.
In 2016, Tom O’Brien was caught in the crossfire when Apollo House, a building he was receiver over, was occupied by activists protesting homelessness. Six years on, he reflects upon that period and talks about the latest journey in his career: managing partner of Mazars. In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, O’Brien also talks about the future of the accountancy industry, the economic outlook for Ireland, and the sectors most at risk of failure.
Following the explosion of sanctimony after the brawl at Croke Park, Paul Flynn and Fintan Drury discuss how the GAA's own approach has contributed to the problems and why the player at the centre of the affair has been forgotten.
Sean Keyes talks to Dan McCrum about his book Money Men, which tells the story of the €24 billion fraudulent German payments company Wirecard – and also of the investigative journalism that uncovered it.
When US multinationals began to expand into Ireland, they were years ahead of local practices in terms of looking after employee wellbeing, says Stephen Costello. He saw the opportunity to launch the workplace mental health start-up Spectrum Life – and tells its story to Devin Sean Martin.
On Wednesday night, Emmanuel Macron addressed the French people following the disappointing results in last week’s national elections. He spoke about the deep divisions in the country and how he hoped to heal them.
As president, Macron is now in unprecedented territory. What does that mean for France and what does it mean for Europe? In this podcast Thomas Hubert, senior correspondent with The Currency, and Fergal Lenehan, an Irish academic based in Germany, discuss France, Germany and Ukraine's EU candidacy. Thomas reflects also on how Macron may have to reinvent himself after the election.
In every country, there's a bargain between workers, capital, and the state. The bargain protects the interests of ordinary people by giving them security and a reasonable standard of living in their working lives, and in retirement. Ireland's bargain, according to Stephen Kinsella, is based on the broad ownership of land. But now, for most young people, ownership of land is out of reach. That's bad in the here and now - and even worse for the future. In this podcast, the economist talks about his recent four-part series on Ireland’s generation gap and explains how many millennials will be left without assets on which to rely in retirement.
Matthew Continetti has written a history of American conservatism, a study of the age old tension between populism and the elites that have, long before Trump, dominated the story of the American right. His book – The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism deals with this history at a time when it seems as if one side has triumphed. “Right now,” Continetti says, “I think the Republican Party has consolidated around a populist tradition, exemplified by President Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.” In this podcast he talks to Dion Fanning about his book.
An inspiring careers day at school steered Belfast woman Aislinn McBride towards software engineering when she was 16. She now has 15 years’ experience under her belt at Kainos, a Northern Ireland-headquartered technology business expanding across 22 countries. One of her key challenges as chief technology officer is to replicate this lightbulb moment among potential candidates to broaden the group’s recruitment reach, she tells Thomas Hubert.
Fintan Drury founded a sports agency more than thirty years ago. In that time, he has advised the European Tour and worked on bringing the Ryder Cup to Ireland in 2006. In this podcast, Fintan talks to Dion Fanning about the LIV Tour and what he would say to a player if he was advising them when the Saudi-backed competition came offering money. He also talks about the ethics of sport in a complicated world and why this may be one instance where the choices should have been clearcut.
