The Think And Learn Smarter Experience.

In this episode I sat down with Dermot Bannon, Irelands most prominent architect. Dermot's the front of a few different TV shows on RTE such as ,"Room to Improve" and ,"Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes". Some of the things we chatted about were, what got Dermot into his field, his own college experience and creating a TV show. What stuck me during this conversation was just how easy and engaging Dermot is to chat with. The way he was able to tell stories about the different parts to "Becoming an Architect" that were really interesting was brilliant. 

What also stood out was how he was able to disseminate some of the tools that were taught in college and which other ones an architect would benefit from learning along the way. In addition to this, we chat about the process of making a TV show in which the events are happening in real life. Dermot explained how they manage to balance keeping the realness fully intact while also instilling some TV drama naturally. He also goes into the many benefits both socially and professionally of loading up in a transit van with his college course mates and travelling to some of the most spectacular buildings in Europe.

Overall I really enjoyed this chat due to how great a storyteller Dermot is. It's obvious to me now why his TV shows continue to be so popular along with his actual business ! This one is definitely for the wannabe architects as it gives a great insight into some of the steps along the way while the great unwashed ( like myself ) can really enjoy listening while probably missing the importance of the finer details. In essence, it runs like his own TV show ! 

In this episode I chat with Conor O'Neill, founder of "Know Yourself Performance. Conor is one of the most prominent performance coaches in the online GAA world along with working with athletes across other fields too. Conor himself has a club All Ireland with Crossmaglen in his back pocket so he certainly isn't just a theory based coach. With that being said, Conor has nutrition and training qualifications along with being in the process of finishing a masters in psychology so he's got the homework signed off on too. Conor has his own podcast too in line with his own online coaching.

We chat about a whole host of different areas such as optimal nutrition, law of diminishing returns with regards to gym work, psychology of training etc primarily through the lens of GAA performance. Conor is brilliant at explaining tricky concepts to get your head around such as the possible benefits of prolonged fasting. The fact that he's worked with over 750 athletes over the years really shines through as he has now developed a hierarchy of importance with regards to performance and isn't married to one approach.

Overall, this was one of the podcasts that I've done that contains the most clear takeaways for anyone. While most of the conversation was developed through the lens of a GAA output, the concepts really ring home for everyone. It was great chatting to Conor and it's clear to see why he's such a successful coach himself !

In this episode I chat with Lena Tice, current Hockey player for the Irish ladies team about to head off to the Tokyo Olympics. Lena has over a 100 caps for Ireland already across cricket and hockey combined and is the second youngest international cricket player ever male or female. We chat about what it was like for Lena going through secondary school in St Gerards, Bray while playing international sport at the same time. 

We then get around to chatting about how Lena was preparing for her Leaving Cert while on tour with the Hockey team in New Zealand and leaving all her Chemistry notes on the North Island ! Lena definitely had a unique experience preparing for her Leaving Cert and she shares some well earned tips about balancing extra curriculars.

We then talk about going to UCD and continuing with her Irish Hockey career. It's great to get an insight into how top level athletes prepare for big matches ( or even Olympics !) and Lena details the different parts that make up her prep. From dealing with high pressure games such as the Olympic qualifier or the 2018 World Cup final to how she analyses her day to day training, it's great to see what areas are key to focus on. 

What's really revealing is that Lena knows what she's elite at and is willing to not get lost in the weeds of improving every part of her game and then losing sight of the bigger picture. I thought this was one of the key learnings from the whole conversation as the same in a funny way applies to everything, most especially the Leaving Cert !

Overall I really enjoyed this podcast again. Lena clearly has a knack for storytelling and probably should be the one hosting the podcast based on ease of chatting to her ! There's so many great takeaways from one of Ireland's future Olympians and I hope you all find it interesting.

In this episode I sit down with the most well known immunologist in the country, Professor Luke O'Neill and we chat about how he got into such a role. Professor O'Neill is the chair of biochemistry in Trinity and has won numerous awards in his field. In addition to this Luke is in a rock band ready to get out and start doing gigs once the outdoor venues are available again.

Luke talks about his experience of starting out in the field and what enticed him in going down this route. We talk about his move to London and eventually to Cambridge and what it was like being Irish in that time in England. Luke talks about his own role in co founding a company that has recently sold for €380 million.

Finally we get around to talking about the area that really put Luke in the spotlight of the Irish public which is his knowledge of all things Covid related. I asked him some questions that I myself simply wanted to know the answer to and I'm glad to say the answers were really promising. This was a really insightful podcast and it's great to see such a bright academic be able to articulate himself and the complex issues he diagnoses in simple terms for the everyday listener. 

In this episode I sit down with Jack Kavanagh, a man whose hard to put a label on. He's a trained pharmacist, resilience coach, host of the only human podcast, a Ted talk speaker and much more. Jack's had a documentary ,"Breaking Boundaries" made about him and his trip with his friends through America.

We talk about the traumatic experience that Jack went through and how he's used that as a springboard to achievement. Jack's real skill is his ability to talk about his own experiences in a way that ends up making the story feel like your own. Jack describes how when he's giving a really good talk or coaching lesson, the talk ends up becoming about the audience as he is only a doorway into analysing their own experiences. 

We talk about Jack's own Leaving Cert experience and what lessons he has learned in the 10 years or so since then. From about 40 minutes in Jack starts talking about the resilience coaching that he's been doing and that part is what I myself took the most from.

Overall I think this is the one that I've learned the most from so far. Jack's got an incredible way of extracting lessons from his own experiences that do apply to everyone. His focus on the positive and being a "rational optimist" as he describes it himself is inspiring and is definitely one of the take aways from the podcast. I hope you all enjoy this episode and take something away from it too !

In this episode I sit down with Joe Flaherty, current Fianna Fáil TD for Longford and Westmeath. Joe lifts a lid on what it's like to be the voice for his own people in the most influential room in the country. What was revealing to me was the percentage of time Joe spends dealing with local issues and everyday struggles of the individual person in comparison to the more national topics. Joe also spends time talking about how Covid has sped the movement online where hosted a "town meeting" online which garnered over 10,000 log ons. The ability for more people to attend these meetings from the comfort of their own homes seems to have been a real added benefit as normally only a few hundred at best would come in person.

Joe also gives a revealing insight into some of the personal challenges he went through and how he's overcome them. This experience of experiencing adversity at a young age allows Joe to empathise with the younger generation now with their own specific problems. He reminds me that all these middle aged  Fianna Fáil TD's were young teenagers at one stage too ! He also talks about the dynamics inside the Dáil and the relationships he'd have with other TD's.

We also talk about what he hopes to leave behind him for the next younger generation to have when his turn is passed and the kind of Longford he would like to see his daughters grow up in. Overall this was a great podcast and one that I personally learned a great deal from. Having the chance to actually see what a TD's main roles are was very interesting as it's an area that I at least wouldn't understand well. His own story along with his plans for the future are very inspiring and I hope the rest of you enjoy this one too.

In this episode I chat with Jessica Mc Mahon current Mental Health Senator for Maynooth University in addition to completing her own degree. Jessica is also the Mental Health Society President, the founder of the Educate to Eliminate Disclosure Training and is a crisis volunteer for 50808 and Turn2me. 

We chat about what all of these roles entails and what sort of impact these roles have had on her. In addition to this Jessie talks about some of the one to one experiences she's had in these roles and what lessons she has taken from them. She talks about various techniques such as CBT ( Cognitive Behavioural Therapy ) and the like and how you can implement them into you everyday life.

Jessie also talks about her experience of being essentially in isolation for over a month in a hospital during Covid and some of the takeaways she got from the solitude. Overall this was an insightful talk into what it's like being such a key member in a society and various charities that really exposes you to some tough conversations. I'm grateful that Jessie came on and talked about her own Leaving Cert experience too and I do think this one has some gems especially around the CBT area.

In this chat I sit down with 4 students who are all still in NUIG doing courses ranging from Medicine to Marine Science. We talk about how they originally all found moving to Galway and getting stuck into their particular courses and college life in Galway. Some of what we got around to was the suss with accommodation, part time jobs, Christmas Day, Rag Week and much more. 

What really struck me during this chat was the culture that being a college student in Galway seems to have. It sounds more like being in a big town rather than a city and it has quite an open feel. From listening to stories of nights out and how they made random friends, it's clear to see that Galway really is a student town with a welcoming undertone. 

Once again I really enjoyed talking with some of my mates about better times back in college. It was actually hard to wrap up the chat in the end as they kept thinking of more stories and things to talk about. Even parts like the craic at Spanish Arch didn't get in ! Overall it was a very enjoyable chat and there's definitely some tips in here for any student thinking about going to Galway or even just going out in Galway.

In this episode I'm joined by Cora Staunton widely considered to be the greatest Ladies Gaelic Footballer of all time. We chat about moving to Sydney at the age of 35 to start a whole new sport, AFL as a professional job. We discuss what drove her throughout her career and the tactics and tricks other teams tried (and failed) to implement against her.

In addition to this I try to prod at what kept Cora's competitive drive intact over a 20 plus years intercounty career which included playing in over 25 All Ireland finals club and county combined. We talk about the hallmarks of successful athletes and what were the similarities and differences between the girls in Mayo and Oz. Cora also chats about the doors that being a prominent GAA player has opened for her and what she has managed to learn from these experiences.

Overall this was a podcast that I found trickier than most to do. The hard thing about it was that Cora has so many diverse parts to her story. I found it hard to get to all the ridiculously interesting parts while exploring some of them in detail. Without doubt, there are some gems to be taken from this one and I'm delighted to have gotten the chance to share some of them with you. As always I hope you enjoy this and can take away some learnings from a true Irish sporting great.

Paul Flaherty is an ex All Ireland winner with Galway in 2017 and the founder of the app, "What's the Scór". What's the Scór is an app that let's you know in real time literally what the score is in any club game in Galway and Clare along with many more specific clubs throughout the country. We talk about what the plan is for the app in the next few years and what other sports it might evolve to cover too.

We also talk about what it's like setting up a business as an intercounty player and the other resources available to start up entrepreneurs in Ireland. In addition to this we chat about Paul's hurling career for Galway and LIT in general and hear some of the tamer stories from those times. Paul also chat's about how Covid has forced him to pivot the business slightly and how he's managed to keep the business going even when there's no scores needed to be known ! I burned the ear off him a few times with ideas for what else he could add to the app as it's such an interesting concept.

Overall this podcast is a great one for anyone whose curious to see what it's like to set up a business as an intercounty player along with a behind the scenes view of the commitment levels it takes to win an All Ireland. It was really insightful to hear Paul talk about the similarities between a high performing sporting team and his own business team. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, it was a fascinating one for me personally anyway.

In this episode I sit down with some mates of mine all from different courses in UCD. We chat about what UCD is properly like going there as a student. We all chatted about why we chose UCD and the particular course that we ended up doing. We went into what we thought expected it to be like versus what it actually ended up looking like.

The chat ended up veering towards the socialising part of going to college. From UCD Christmas Day to various events organised by the different courses some of the stories that happened on those nights were shared here. For me at least, it became clear throughout the podcast that the experiences that had the greatest impact on each of us came about as a result of the variety of mates you make in college. We talk about the organic nature of making new circles as you move into college and how that can affect your academic side positively too.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable podcast to be a part of as it was great to chat about being back in UCD in normal times. It really reminded me what normality used to look like and how similar all the things people miss are. Once again thanks to Gary, Ellen, Éile and Matin for joining me here and I'm sure the rest of you will enjoy it too.

In this episode I sit down with Róisín Cormack, a psychology student in Maynooth University. Róisín is also a Crisis volunteer at 50808 and is the PRO of the Maynooth Mental Health Society. In addition to this Róisín is also involved with Mind the Mind Ireland, a mental health awareness campaign that's aimed at helping young students become aware of their own mental health needs.

In this chat we talk about Róisíns own Leaving Cert experience along with how she's finding college. We also talk about different techniques we can use such as breath work to control our brains state and either calm us down or energise us. Róisin also outlines various resources available online that can help guide such practises or others like journaling.

We also talk about Róisíns experience of working on the helplines for over 200 hours now at this stage and what she has learned from all of those experiences. Overall this was a very insightful podcast for me and one that I learned a good bit from myself especially with regards to the control neurologically you can have over the mind through your control of your breath.

Here I sit down with Peadar O'Cofaigh Byrne, current Dublin footballer and Business and Law student in UCD. Peadar was on the team that won the 5 in a row with Dublin and also had the chance to try his hand at AFL. In this podcast we chat about all things from studying for the Leaving Cert to going up against Fenton in training.

We talk about moving into college and playing freshers football along with starting the Business and Law course. In addition to this we talk about the culture established in the current Dublin set up and how it's conducive to sustained dominance in the Football landscape.

Overall, once again I really enjoyed this chat with Peadar. We actually talked for over 2 and a half hours but the mic turned off so we lost 40 minutes of the conversation ! At least that made my job easier getting the time down of the podcast. I hope you'll enjoy it and for anyone wondering what it's like moving into UCD as a GAA head this will most certainly give you an idea.

In this episode I sit down with Liam Turner, current Leinster player and BESS student in Trinity. Liam went to school in Blackrock winning both Junior and Senior Cups as captain. Liam also played underage for Leinster and Ireland winning the U18,19 and 20 Interpros and winning a Grand Slam with the Ireland 20's in 2019. Liam has also represented Ireland on the Rugby 7ns circuit playing in the likes of Cape Town.

We chat about the Leaving Cert and Blackrock at the start and then more about playing for Leinster and Ireland at underage and getting his chance in the senior squad after about 20 mins. Liam also talks about his own Leaving Cert experience and the cross transferable skills he noticed between studying and playing elite sport. 

Overall I really enjoyed this podcast big time. From talking about the cultured fostered in the Leinster setup to playing for Ireland in a World Cup in Argentina there's plenty to dig into. We even touched on the two times that he managed to torch me on the rugby pitch ! I hope you'll enjoy this podcast and get some benefit out of it too.

(Apologies for the audio quality at times by the way. It's a work in progress but we're on the case.)

Today I'm here with Eimear Dinneen, Studyclix's own Chief Operations Officer. Eimear is an expert in all things Leaving Cert related and has been working with Studyclix for the past few years. We chatted about a number of different topics from Eimear's own Leaving Cert experience and college life to the more nitty gritty parts of actually sitting down and studying for the Leaving Cert.

One thing I most certainly took away from this was the variability of approaches you can have in tackling a language. Eimear outlined various tips that can even be applied after the Leaving Cert as she ended up studying languages in UL and now is living in Germany. Overall this is a really interesting chat for someone sitting the Leaving Cert now as the various mindsets that can be implemented in preparing effectively are broadly examined.

Thanks again to Eimear for this insightful chat and if anyone wants to hear more specifically from her head over to Studyclix's own podcast to hear some for specific LC tips !

In this episode I sit down with Ger Brennan, 2 time All Ireland winner for Dublin and Vincents in both club and county and current Carlow trainer. Ger is also head of UCD football among many other activities too. Here we chat about going to school in Belvedere and playing with the likes of Cian Healy. We talk about the challenges of playing intercounty sports and the mentality it takes to succeed at the top level. In addition to this Ger explains part of his management style and what lessons he took from playing under various managers such as Jim Gavin.

Overall we look at the influence faith has had on Ger's experience and how he manages to have his combative personality on the pitch with a more rounded personality off it. We discuss the challenges balancing intercounty careers with a professional job and much more throughout this episode. 

I really enjoyed making this episode and I hope you too will get some benefit out of it along with enjoying it too. 

In this episode I have a chat with Hannah McLoughlin. Hannah's a member of the Irish ladies hockey team that will be heading to the Olympics in July. Hannah's also studying Economics and Finance in UCD and is currently on an internship in Davy. We talk about everything from why she chose Economics and Finance to how she has found training to become and Olympian. 

We go into depth into the more technical and mental side of actually being an elite athlete about halfway in and Hannah also tells us what processes she uses to analyse her own performances. We also talk about balancing a challenging finance career in conjunction with the rigours of international hockey and much more.

I hope you enjoy this episode and get something from it to take away too. Best of luck to yourselves and have a good one.

This is the first episode ever in the Think And Learn Smarter Experience. Here I sit down with Diarmuid Murtagh, current Roscommon footballer and a primary school teacher in Ballymun, Dublin. We chat about Diarmuid's experience dealing with balancing both county football and the Leaving Cert, college and his job later in life. 

In addition we talk about the run he had with Roscommon underage winning 4 Connacht titles in 5 years along with the breakthrough into the senior setup culminating in 2 more Connacht titles and a deep run in the All Ireland. 

Finally we chat about what it's like being a teacher and what lessons translate to sport along with how he manages his day to aid his performance on the pitch. 

The approximate time stamps of the episode are as follows:

00:00 - 05:30 Intro, Teaching and coaching.

05:30 - 08:15 Training in lockdown.

08:15 - 19:00 Leaving Cert and Underage county.

19:00 - 25:30 College and free kick routine.

25:30 - 56:11 Roscommon Seniors and a bit of everything really to finish up !

Hope you've enjoyed this episode and have taken something away from it. I'll see youse in the next one.