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.
A record €13.5 billion worth of food, drink and horticulture products were exported from the Republic last year, a 4 per cent rise on 2020. This was achieved despite both the pandemic and Brexit. However, with the rise of gastro nationalism and the sustainability agenda, what does the future have in store for the Irish food industry?
In this podcast with Alison Cowzer, the chief executive of Bord Bia Tara McCarthy talks about all these issues - and much more besides. McCarthy also talks about how inflation is impacting the sector, the battle for talent, and the opportunities and challenges for Irish food exporters.
As the French presidential election increases the pace before the first round at the beginning of April, Thomas Hubert and France 24's Stephen Carroll reflect on the evolution of Emmanuel Macron during his presidency and whether the challenge ultimately will come from the extreme or from the centre.
Howard Hastings is chairman of Hastings Hotels, the family-owned business that owns a string of five-star hotels in the North and has a stake in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin. In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, he talks about steering the business through the pandemic, the hospitality outlook for 2022 and how Belfast is benefitting from cruise liners and a booming film industry. He also talks about the lessons he learned from his father William and his own journey in business.
The resignation of Northern Ireland's first minister Paul Givan caused shock and disappointment with the DUP accused of pulling a stunt. In this podcast, senior contributor Tommie Gorman analyses the move from the position of all the parties in Northern Ireland and anticipates what will come next and why Boris Johnson's future is central to developments
Bobby Healy is on a mission to build a worldwide drone delivery service. In an interview with the economist Stephen Kinsella, the founder of Manna outlines the technological and societal barriers that he is aiming to overcome, and how the business has the capacity to make structural changes to the economy. Healy and Kinsella also we talk about the rise and rise of AI as a societal technology, what progress means, Ireland’s dual economy, and how to develop a new industrial policy for the country. They also examine likely interest rates hikes and what they mean for the flow of capital to firms breaking new ground.
Alan Farrelly and Brian O'Rourke are the co-founders of Galway-based CitySwift, a start-up that digs into bus operators' data troves to help them optimise their networks. They tell Thomas Hubert how they grew the business from a side show to Farrelly's family business in their Longford teenage years to securing a contract with New York's transport agency and raising €3.5 million from top investors on the transport and tech scene – and why they think there is more money to be made from buses than flying cars.
Serhii Plokhy is professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard He has written many books on Ukraine, Russia, Chernobyl and the Soviet Union. The Gates of Europe deals with the history of Ukraine and the Lost Kingdom is a book about the Russian Empire and Russian nationalism. It also details what Ukraine means to Vladimir Putin and why a statue of an 11th century Ukrainian leader was erected in Moscow under his rule. In this podcast, he discusses the motivation of Putin and why the west must be united in supporting Ukraine.
Kevin Maughan co-founded Urban Volt to sell business customers energy-saving lights, and now rooftop solar panels, as a service – no capital outlay for the client, and recurring revenue for his company. He sits down with Thomas Hubert to discuss the renewable electricity market in Ireland, Urban Volt’s expansion around the world and its evolving business model as it gains access to new forms of finance.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg began filming The Beatles for the movie that would become Let It Be 53 years ago. That movie's footage became the riveting Peter Jackson documentary on Disney plus, Get Back. In this podcast Lindsay Hogg speaks about the happiness amid the tensions working with The Beatles and why he doesn't remember Orson Welles - the man his mother told a friend was his father - in his prayers.
Fiona Cormican has been delivering affordable homes for 25 years and is now director of new business at the approved housing body Clúid. In a frank and open discussion with Thomas Hubert, she breaks down the perceived opposition between private and social housing, shares insights into the inflation of construction costs and details the new cost rental tenancy model pioneered by her organisation.
