I'm delighted to be joined in this week's episode by Dr. Abigali Collins, Consultant in Public Health Medicine with the National Cancer Control Programme. Dr Collins immediately re-deployed back to the frontline in Public Health in the Midlands when COVID-19 reached Ireland and provided the consultant leadership for several large and difficult residential care facility outbreaks. Subsequent to this work, she was asked to take on a national role in the Covid-19 outbreak response and has been a fa...
May 13, 2021•27 min•Ep. 61
Welcome back to another episode of the podcast! In this episode I am delighted to be joined by Dr. Sarah Murphy (@drsarahjmurphy on Instagram), who is an Irish doctor specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. We speak on this episode about Sarah's career to date, and then discuss COVID-19 and pregnancy, COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy and the importance of smear tests as part of cervical screening. We also chat a little bit about being doctors on social media. I so enjoyed chatting to Sarah an...
Apr 15, 2021•43 min•Ep. 60
In this week's episode, I am delighted to be joined by Kate McDaid, who many of you will know as @nutrikate on Instagram. Kate studied Food Science at the University of College Dublin before following her ambition and moving to the UK to complete an MSc in Sports and Exercise Nutrition at Loughborough University. She secured a position in a nutrition consultancy over there, progressing to Senior Health and Performance Nutritionist. Back in Ireland, she founded NutriKate, which is a high performa...
Nov 29, 2020•46 min•Ep. 59
Today I am so delighted to be joined by Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh ( @mairetnc on Instagram), who is a fully accredited Sport Ireland Institute Sport and Exercise Psychologist, bilingual television and radio presenter with RTÉ TG4 and Newstalk, and also current medical student! And she's a Galway gal too! I'm really excited and grateful to have MT on the podcast today – we had a fantastic and interesting conversation about her experience in media and medicine so far, her background in sports psy...
Nov 22, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 58
Please note - This podcast includes conversation about diet culture, our relationships with food and exercise, body image and weight. If you don't feel that's something you are comfortable listening to right now, maybe save this one for another time. In this episode, I was so delighted to sit down and have a chat with personal trainer, fitness instructor, author, podcast host, content creator and all round good egg Tally Rye ( @tallyrye on Instagram). Tally is a definite game-changer in the fitn...
Nov 15, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 57
The podcast is back with a brand new episode! After a break over the summer, I'm delighted to be back recording again. Today's episode is a conversation with one of my best friends and fellow doctor (based in Dublin), Dr. Ciara Drumm. Ciara and I were in medical school together and have been great friends ever since - while I have pursued public health, Ciara, having worked as a doctor in Ireland and Australia to date, has been navigating a path she is equally passionate about, into dermatology....
Oct 25, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 56
Hi guys! Another podcast Q&A style episode with me. This week, I've sat down and recorded a chat answering your questions submitting to my Instagram last week. I discuss how my most important habits, public health and my favourite aspects of it, balancing work and study, and finding balance itself. The questions were quite diverse - thanks to all who submitted questions to me! I asked you guys on my Instagram last week if you'd like a Podcast Q&A episode and the resounding answer was yes...
May 25, 2020•29 min•Ep. 55
Welcome back to another episode of The Irish Balance podcast! This week, I've sat down and recorded a chat answering your questions submitting to my Instagram last week. I discuss how I'm coping with COVID-19, balancing blogging and my work as a public health doctor, motivation and how I got started with yoga. The questions were quite diverse - thanks to all who submitted questions to me! I asked you guys on my Instagram last week if you'd like a Podcast Q&A episode and the resounding answer...
May 17, 2020•31 min•Ep. 54
This week on the Podcast, we're talking about staying active while staying at home, and using staying home as an opportunity to figure out ways to move and exercise that are both enjoyable and sustainable. My guest is personal trainer, fitness influencer and nutrition coach Nathalie Lennon (@nathalielennon_ on Instagram), who is also a good friend of mine and an all round positive, inspirational powerhouse of a gal! Nathalie's message is centred around focusing on the mental and physical health ...
May 10, 2020•42 min•Ep. 53
Welcome back to another episode gang! This week, I am joined by Dr. Nikki Stamp, an Australian cardio-thoracic surgeon (@drnikkistamp on Instagram). Nikki trained throughout Australia and holds a Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine with Honors. She also holds a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in cardiothoracic surgery, and her research is widely published in various medical and surgical journals. Her research includes mentoring and gender in surgery, improving t...
May 03, 2020•40 min•Ep. 51
Welcome back to a much anticipated Part 2 episode of COVID-19 - Your Questions Answered, with GP Dr. Laura Lenihan (@drlauragp on Instagram) and Dr. Clíodhna Ní Bhuachalla, specialist in clinical microbiology and public health physician (@c_ni_bhuachalla on Instagram). If you haven't listened to our Part 1 episode, please do! In this Part 2 conversation, we discuss progress to date in Ireland in relation to measures taken to reduce the burden of COVID-19, the danger of complacency as regards our...
Apr 27, 2020•48 min•Ep. 52
In this week's episode I am joined by performance nutritionist Daniel Davey, who many of you may follow as @daveynutrition on Instagram. Daniel currently works as a nutritionist with Leinster Rugby and Dublin football – his background is in Science as an undergraduate, followed by a Masters in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health. He is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist. In addition, he has recently published his own fantastic cookbook – Eat Up, Raise Your Game! You...
Apr 26, 2020•52 min•Ep. 50
In this week's episode, we’re going to focus on looking after our digestive/gut health and chat a little bit about irritable bowel syndrome. I’m absolutely delighted to have as my guest someone who many of you may already follow, and who I’m a big fan of – Irish dietitian Orla Walsh (@orlawalshnutrition on Instagram). Orla qualified as a dietitian from King’s College London, after completing undergraduate studies in physiology, and she also has a Masters in Clinical Nutrition from Roehampton Uni...
Apr 19, 2020•50 min•Ep. 49
In this week's episode, I am joined by a very good friend of mine Shane Ryan. Shane is an entrepreneur in the Irish food business - he is the founder of Fiid, an Irish company whose product, plant-based tasty and healthy convenience meals with a difference, you may have seen on in your local Super Value, Tesco, Spar and also in Sainsburys and Ocado in the UK. The reason I’ve brought Shane on is to share the story of Fiid with you guys, with the aim of helping us all to realise how small changes ...
Apr 13, 2020•40 min•Ep. 47
Welcome back to another episode of The Irish Balance Podcast! This week I am delighted to be joined by Irish pharmacist Laura Dowling, who is @fabulouspharmacist on Instagram! Laura is a fantastic person to follow on Instagram - known for her hilarious dance videos and no nonsense approach to communicating health information. I love the insights she provides to our pharmacies in Ireland. In this episode we discuss the challenges our pharmacies face in the COVID-19 pandemic, what Laura loves most...
Apr 09, 2020•26 min•Ep. 46
I think this is one of my favourite Podcast episodes I have recorded to date. In this episode I'm joined by two fellow doctors - Dr. Laura Lenihan, general practitioner and @drlauragp on Instagram, and Dr. Cliodhna Ní Bhuachalla, specialist in Clinical Microbiology and public health doctor. and @c_ni_bhuachalla on Instagram. It's fantastic to have been able to get the three of us together to discuss COVID-19, both broadly and especially in the Irish context as that's where we all work. In this e...
Apr 06, 2020•54 min•Ep. 48
This episode is all about minding our mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. My guest today is Joe O'Brien - trainee health psychologist, educator, researcher and writer, and creator of the @headfirst0 Instagram page and the Head First podcast. Joe has been a guest on my podcast previously (check those episodes out if you haven't already!), and I'm very grateful to him for giving up some time to come back on to chat about mental well-being in the current situation we find ourselves in. We d...
Apr 02, 2020•31 min•Ep. 44
In this week's episode I chat to Maeve Hanan, consultant dietitian and health writer. Maeve is @dieteticallyspeaking on Instagram and @DieteticSpeak on Twitter. She is the creator of the https://dieteticallyspeaking.com/ website - and an all round breath of fresh air to follow on social media. Maeve advocates an evidence-based, no nonsense approach to nutrition and if you're not following her already, get on it! In this episode we chat about nutritional considerations in the current COVID-19 pan...
Mar 30, 2020•28 min•Ep. 45
Guys, I am so delighted to be bringing the Podcast BACK to you all! During these uncertain times, I wanted to use The Irish Balance platform to connect with those following, and to bring some COVID-19 related and non-COVID-19 content to you in audio format. The episodes to follow this short re-introduction to the Podcast will be mostly with guests, talking about looking after ourselves during this pandemic, hearing the stories of others, and hopefully making us feel more connected together despi...
Mar 28, 2020•12 min•Ep. 42
Welcome back to the FIRST Podcast episode of 2020! I’m so excited to share this week’s guest with you - UK-based registered nutritionist and head of nutrition at the Jamie Oliver Group, Jenny Rosborough. Jenny’s career background is quite diverse, working as Campaign Manager at Action on Sugar, and in child and family nutrition, designing and delivering evidence-based weight management treatment and prevention programmes for families, and delivering the UK MEND programme training (Mind, exercise...
Jan 23, 2020•51 min•Ep. 41
Welcome back to a brand NEW episode of The Irish Balance Podcast! I am so excited to share this week's guest - Dr. Laura Lenihan, who is a GP (general practitioner) currently working in Galway, Ireland. Laura runs the page @drlauragp on Instagram and is a breath of fresh air to follow for practical, empowering health information. Laura shares her backstory to becoming a doctor and why she chose to pursue general practice, and we then dive into a number of important topics - pregnancy, fertility,...
Dec 10, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 40
In this week's episode, I interview Esther Goldsmith, sports scientist with FitrWoman (@FitrWoman). FitrWoman is the world's first app to provide daily training and nutrition advice tailored to menstrual cycle hormone changes. The app aims to helps you track your menstrual cycle and provides personalized training and nutritional suggestions tailored to the changing hormone levels throughout your cycle. Menstrual health doesn’t crop up much in day to day conversation or on social media, but it’s ...
Sep 22, 2019•42 min•Ep. 39
In this week's episode, I chat to Angela Burke who is @theintegrativecoach on Instagram. Angela is originally from Galway, and has a background in Commerce as an undergraduate, and in Career Development and Coaching as a postgraduate. She now runs her own career coaching business based in Dublin, with the goal of helping people to live the life they desire, by securing the jobs and ultimately building the career that enables them to do that. We chat about the challenges of career choices at scho...
Sep 08, 2019•39 min•Ep. 38
This week on the podcast I am delighted to have registered nurse and evidence-based nutritionist Robyn Taaffe, founder of The Lifestyle Clinic in Dublin, as my guest. Robyn runs the Instagram page @thelifestyle_clinic as well as her busy nurse-led lifestyle medicine clinic in Dublin. She advocates a non-diet approach to food and nutrition in her clinic, as well as placing equal importance on movement and self-care. In this episode we discuss what diet culture is and how we can spot it, relations...
Aug 29, 2019•47 min•Ep. 37
I'm delighted to bring you guys the highly anticipated Part 2 of my mental health podcast episode with Joe O'Brien, mental health researcher working at Spectrum Mental Health and creator of the fantastic @headfirst0 Instagram page and Head First podcast. In this episode, we discuss social media, it's possible effects on our mental health, and the questions we're all wondering - how addictive is it, and what does problematic use of these apps look like? We then move onto discuss alcohol in Irelan...
Aug 01, 2019•55 min•Ep. 36
The Podcast is back! I'm excited to be bringing you guys a brand new episode sharing some life updates from me personally and work-related, as well as a little recap on who I am and what my message as a doctor is! The main focus of this episode is sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity, looking at the research on the topic of sitting time and of course, sharing some simple steps to build movement into our day.
Jul 21, 2019•29 min
This week on the Podcast, the focus is on redefining how we think about fitness and figuring out ways to make sure our movement and exercise is both enjoyable and sustainable. My guest is personal trainer, fitness influencer and nutrition coach Nathalie Lennon (@nathalielennon_ on Instagram), who is also a good friend of mine and an all round positive, inspirational powerhouse of a gal! Nathalie's message is centred around focusing on the mental and physical health benefits exercise can bring us...
Jun 22, 2019•51 min•Ep. 33
This week on the Podcast we are chatting about YOGA! I've been practising yoga for over a year now and have had many questions from you guys about how and why I got started. I've brought the topic to the Podcast to hopefully help you guys give yoga a try whether at home, in a class or both, and also to bust some common myths and confusion about yoga (spoiler alert - it's not possible to be 'bad' at yoga!). This week's guest is yoga teacher Ruth Delahunty, who is also a graphic designer, mom of t...
Jun 15, 2019•48 min•Ep. 34
In this week's episode of the podcast I'm chatting to Fiona Staunton, Ballymaloe-trained chef, Home Economics teacher and creator of Fiona's Food for Life (@fionasfoodforlife). I met Fiona earlier this year and was delighted to attend one of her fantastic cookery demonstrations a few weeks back. I've brought her on the podcast to share her ethos with you guys - 'Cook, Eat, Nourish' - all about showing us how to make cooking healthy, tasty and nourishing meals and snacks in a simplified and more ...
Jun 02, 2019•48 min•Ep. 31
In this week's episode, I chat all things realistic self-care with Vicky (@theflourishingpantry) and Lauren (@the_nutritionist_foodie), friends of mine, female entrepreneurs and co-founders of The Reset Retreats. We chat about why the girls started their retreats business, and then dive into why self-care is more than a buzzword, and why it's so important to find simple accessible ways to integrate self-care strategies into our daily busy lives. This is one of my favourite podcast episodes on my...
May 26, 2019•48 min•Ep. 29
