On part two of this two part podcast I chat with the wonderful Swedish singer Camilla Griehsel. She talks about life with her young family and her husband, Colin Vearncombe (aka Black) and their move from London to Schull in West Cork. Life in Ireland has been very special for Camilla both musically and personally but unfortunately not without huge…

On today’s podcast I chat with the wonderful Swedish singer, Camilla Griehsel who shares her life and musical story which is full of both joyful and heartbreaking moments In part one she talks about her early years exploring her gift for singing. Camilla is comfortable in nearly every genre of music and this has taken her from busking, to barbersho…

On today’s podcast I chatted with Londoner, Len Lipitch who celebrates 50 years living in Ireland this year. He started off as an accountant and working on one of the first “Flower Power” festivals changed his career trajectory. Len worked providing visuals to touring bands, he worked in a number of different countries and then he came to Ireland f…

Today’s guest tells her love story for Ireland, the man who kindly gave her and her travel companion a lift, and the very special craft business that they have developed together. On today’s podcast I chat with Sabine Lenz from Germany who tells that fascinating story, how she first met Len, bringing an old derelict ruin of a cottage back to life i…

On today’s podcast I chat with Turkish born, Ege Reynolds the founder and CEO of The Charming Man. Ege chats about his own life and career, his move from Turkey to the U.S., the cultural differences he encountered and some personal challenges he has overcome. He runs a very interesting business, whereby he coaches men who may lack the personal skil…

I am heartbroken to hear about the passing of my friend Micheál Sheridan of the Mercy Hospital Foundation. We hadn’t been in touch for quite a while and despite the connected world we live in today I had never realised that he was sick. My sincere condolences to his family and friends and I hope they will take some comfort from the huge difference …

On today’s podcast I chatted with former journalist and radio producer, Christine Tobin, a new senior member of the Fuzion communications team. Christine has a big story, from cheffing to 20 years of journalism, from Ireland to New Zealand and back, with lots of diverse experience gained along the way. Among other things she chatted about the huge …

On today’s podcast I chat with Andrew Dewar the serial entrepreneur, Thetahealer and co-founder of Five Year You. Andrew, who grew up with a sister with severe autism, lived in a constant state of stress and the very worst nearly happened when she actually tried to kill him. This traumatic experience had a huge impact on his life and it is only in …

In part two of a two part podcast with Paul Ruane, the Head of Brand with Fuzion who talks about the whole process of branding and how it works. He also talks about rebranding, when it is recommended and why he felt it was necessary to rebrand Fuzion and how he went about this. Even though the chat got a bit “nerdy” at times for anyone in business …

On today’s podcast I chatted with Paul Ruane, the Head of Brand with Fuzion who is responsible for the “hot off the press” rebrand of the agency. Graphic Designers are a strange breed and in this episode I try to get to know Paul a little bit better and also to find out what he means when he talks about “your brand” and why it matters so much. Enjo…

Running your own business for 20 years is a fantastic achievement. When you run your own business and Covid throws a huge spanner in the works and you decide to grab that “opportunity” to emigrate to the United States with two children while pregnant, people might think you were nuts!! On today’s podcast I chat with the co-founder of Eazy City and …

On today’s podcast I chatted with Valerie O’Hanlon, Career Coach and founder of Clarence Consulting. In a way Valerie was her own first client as she took her own career direction into her own hands and stopped what she was doing to go out on her own. “It’s not worth it to be miserable” she says, and as a career coach she helps people who might be …

On today’s podcast I chatted with two inspirational women who both gave up their full time jobs to follow their respective dreams, and now they find themselves selling their products alongside each other in a new pop up shop. Martyna Potocka, originally from Poland started her baby gifting business, The Little Big Moments two years ago. Sue Kumar f…

On today’s podcast I had the pleasure of the company of much travelled media professional, Vanessa Conneely. Vanessa is a warm and fascinating character whose love of her profession and her curiosity has taken her all over the world, living in interesting places and working across all types of media. She chats about her life and career, about the c…

On today’s podcast I chat with Andy Mackin, the CEO of the Mackin Group, a global success story headquartered in Cork. When a trial with Torquay United didn’t end the way he had hoped he was delighted to join the Irish Navy and ended up serving for 21 years. The retired Andy, at just 39 started his own health and safety consultancy and with an etho…

As we approach the two year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I welcome back the journalist and founder of Lifeline Ukraine, Paul Niland to the Win Happy podcast. Make no mistake, this is a brutal war with endless, pointless suffering and Paul, an Irishman who has been living in Kyiv for 21 years, tells us the story of the last two de…

On today’s podcast I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Gwendolyn Masin, concert violinist, educator and director of the GAIA Music Festival in Switzerland. She is the fourth generation of family musicians, she started playing piano at the age of three, she was given a violin for her fifth birthday and at the age of six she performed in her…

On today’s podcast I speak with speaker, author and podcast host John R.Miles about his life, career, and his latest book ‘Passion Struck’. John’s career took an unexpected turn and this high ranking military professional suddenly found himself having to reinvent himself as a management consultant. He chats about the need for new leadership models,…

On today’s podcast I chat with the retired owner of O’Sullivans Bar in Crookhaven in West Cork, where you can enjoy the most southernly pint in Ireland. Billy O’Sullivan, 86 years young, ably assisted by his granddaughter, Alex, chats about his life and career and the story of the pub which has been in the family name for nearly 91 years. He chats …

On part two of this two part podcast I chat with Conductor and Composer Vincent Kennedy about his 10th album ‘Music of People and Place’ performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra featuring Mark Redmond on uilleann pipes. Vincent chatted about the powerful magic of an orchestra, the role of the conductor and the monumental task of recording 18 songs in…

On today’s podcast I chat with Composer and Conductor, Vincent Kennedy who has just released his 10th album ‘Music of People and Place’ performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra. On part one of this two part podcast Vincent chats about a piece of music he heard when he was just 3 years of age that changed his life, mastering the trumpet, winning multi…

On today’s podcast I chat with playwright, author and high performance leadership consultant, Shane Cradock about his latest book, ‘The Inner CEO’, and what we need to do in 2024 to start living the life that we were born to live. Shane chats about his fascinating story, how a phone call changed the course of his life and how understanding your min…

Paul Niland an Irishman has been living in Kyiv for over 20 years - he is the founder and CEO of Lifeline Ukraine. Daryna Hruzdieva was forced to leave her home in Kyiv with her family because of the war and she has been living and working in Ireland since March 2022. I asked them both to chat about the challenges of Putin’s pointless war and in pa…

On today’s podcast I continue my conversation with Saiphin Moore, the founder of the successful chain of restaurants in the UK, Rosa's Thai. Saiphin chats about opening a food stall at a Sunday market and then the very first Rosa’s Thai in Spitalfields in London in 2008, some of her celebrity guests, and how she grew this business to a chain of 40 …

On today’s podcast I chat with Saiphin Moore, the founder of the successful chain of restaurants across the UK, Rosa’s Thai. In part one I chat with Saiphin about the village in Thailand where she grew up, her love of cooking and her first little food business at the age of 14. She also chats about her brave move to Hong Kong, then to Jersey and ba…

On today’s podcast I chatted with Shelly Rourke, the owner of Shelly's, an online baked goods gift business. Shelly is one of the early stage entrepreneurs participating in the UCC Ignite accelerator programme and as one of the marketing sessions was wrapping up recently the group started chatting about the horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel. Shel…

On today's podcast I chat with nature, hurling and dog lover, Anne Harrington Rees. When Anne says that “Nature is my reason for being, it’s my whole life”, you know she means it! After a debilitating illness the Kilkenny native had to give up her landscaping career and she then turned to arts and crafts when she recovered. She now runs a successfu…

On today’s podcast I chat again with legendary artist, Jim Fitzpatrick who celebrates his 80th birthday in December of this year. Jim chats about his special relationship with the driving force behind Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, about his life obsession with Celtic mythology, the goddess Bríd or Saint Brígid and his intimate work with Sinead O’Connor.…

On today;s podcast I had the honour of speaking with one of my heroes, the artist Jim Fitzpatrick who brought us the iconic painting of Che Guevara, who brought the essence of Thin Lizzy to life on their classic album covers, who worked intimately with Sinead O’Connor and who’s life passion is Celtic mythology. Jim celebrates his 80th birthday in D…

On today’s podcast I chat with the warm and wonderful Claire Barrett otherwise known as Claire Marconi to the people of Crookhaven in West Cork. While on honeymoon in Kenmare in the late seventies her husband George asked her to make a diversion to the small little village of Crookhaven, the most southerly point of Ireland. Whatever it was about th…

I discovered an eclectic treasure trove of a shop called ‘East Meets West’ in the beautiful town of Schull in West Cork. When I chatted with the owner, Amanda Connell, I discovered the most fascinating person who has had a life and career with the most interesting twists and turns. She left her little village in Norfolk in England after she told he…

On today’s podcast I chat with future careers and workplace expert, John Fitzgerald, the founder of Harmonics. John, the author of “Future proof your career from the inside out” and host of “The Chord” podcast chats about his life and career as well as all things work. We spend huge chunks of our lives at work so we owe it to ourselves to get the m…

On a beautiful summer's afternoon I chatted with John Smith, the new CEO of Nano Nagle Place about his new role, his career to date and what drives him. John is as passionate about social justice as he is about hurling and he explains to me why this new role is the perfect fit for him. We chatted about Nano Nagle Place, what is on offer in this ver…

Welcome back to part two of my conversation, Michael Cronin, one of the really good guys. In part one we heard about Michael’s early life, his career, and how he tried his best to keep financial pressure a secret, while he desperately tried to find a solution. Michael had a breakdown, he tried to take his own life and in this episode he talks about…

On today’s podcast I chatted with my friend, Michael Cronin, one of the really good guys. Michael shares his story and without giving too much of this away in advance, it is all about the pressure of keeping secrets totally to yourself and our limited ability to soak up this pressure. We had our chat outside at the coffee dock at the back of the Ki…

12 brave men left Ireland on a very special mission to Porto with a very daunting task to complete - preparing Brendan Canty for his marriage to Ayla Amano next month. 12 brave men returned with the mission complete - we gathered some martial advice from these wise men for Brendan to carefully follow, we had fun, we made new friends and we all lear…

On today’s podcast I chatted with Magda O’Driscoll from Poland, who has very much made Crookhaven her home since coming here 18 years ago to take up a summer job. 18 years later, this talented artist, photographer and craftsperson, has her own business, Crookhaven Art Studio, is married to Jimmy a local fisherman and she must be one of the best amb…

On today’s podcast I chat with Brigid Collins of Ardmore Open Farm and Mini Zoo and Ardmore Glamping Pods. 12 years ago when their auctioneering business had slowed down due to the recession, her husband Denis suggested they start an open farm to hopefully supplement their income. 10 years ago that open farm opened to the public and this extended t…

On today’s podcast I chat with Katie Krimitsos, who is based in Tampa Florida in the USA. Katie has had an eventful career and as well as being a busy mum, she is also the founder of the Women’s Meditation Network where she creates many different “love notes” to women. Having a second baby and a determination to be a great mum as well as a great bu…

In part two of this two part podcast Johnny Quaid chats about getting on with his “Life Part two” as a young wheelchair bound man. He dug deep.went back to school, joined the Global Volunteers in Greece for a month and he found work. He chats about the difficulties that people with disabilities face, the attitude of people towards him, and his whee…

On Friday the 23rd of March, 2006 17 year old Johnny Quaid fell off a roof while collecting his jacket after work from the building site where he was working. Two weeks later, Johnny eventually woke up from a coma in the Mater Hospital with no recollection at all of what had happened. While recovering he quickly learnt that he would never regain th…

On today’s podcast I chat with Gizem Cetgin, originally from a military family in Turkey who now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina This engineer and innovation consultant turned her back on a successful career when she experienced so much “disconnection” in the workplace. She started her own business, Omnipresence Consulting helping people and teams…

Debra, Diana, and Jesi say their goodbyes and talk about some favorites from the show. Tell us what sparks your interest: Twitter: @interest_spark facebook, instagram, and TikTok: @sparkmyinterestpodcast Email: sparkmyinterestpodcast@gmail.comBy Granevan Media

On today's podcast I chatted with Cork City FC legend, Gearoid Morrissey about his career and life. On part two of our conversation Gearoid chatted about his successful career with Cork City FC, a short spell in England with Cambridge United including a debut in the FA Cup at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He also spoke about the differenc…

On today's podcast I chatted with Cork City FC legend, Gearoid Morrissey about his career and life. On part one of this two part conversation Gearoid chats about his early career, the joy of playing football with your friends and the excitement of fulfilling your dreams of becoming a professional footballer at the highest level in England. Arsenal,…

On today’s podcast I chatted with the very special Mary Doherty and her equally special son Aaron about her career and their lives together. Mary has spent 30 years with An Garda Síochána, a career that saw her progress through the ranks to the position of Detective Inspector, looking after the Protective Services unit, dealing with the worst of ab…

On today's podcast I chat with founder of Next Wave Africa, Greg Serandos, the Californian, who is living in Johannesburg in South Africa. At the time of recording he was in the middle of one of the daily scheduled rolling power outages as we chatted about his life and career with the company of some very loud crickets! He spoke about the beautiful…

On today’s podcast I chatted with two very special and talented people, the duo behind the new musical project, Hibsen. Grainne Hunt and Jim Murphy have teamed up to bring the James Joyce book “Dubliners” to life through a special collection of songs inspired by each story in the book. This project was born during a “Covid lockdown” songwriting wor…

Sometimes figuring out what you want to do in your life can be difficult, unclear and confusing and sometimes it can be crystal clear and there is only one path that is right for you. On today’s podcast I chat with the super talented Fiona Kennedy, my old neighbour who was born to write and sing beautiful songs. She chats about her new album ‘Find …

On today’s podcast I welcome back Professor Connell Fanning, Director of The Keynes Centre at UCC and co-author of The Leadership Mind. Books are a key part of the development programme at The Keynes Centre and critically he says “It’s not the book, it’s how it is read” that is important. Connell describes how we should “read with intent” , develop…