everymum

Today's guest is someone many of you will know from social media, where she's built a loyal following by sharing her passion for style, her relatable family stories and lots more. Sinéad De Butléir is one of the real rarities on social media today – aspirational but still a down to earth girl trying to juggle it all. She's an oncology nurse and mother of two small children, Mallaidh and Nóe, and is busy raising her children, building a career, protecting family life and trying to hold onto a sense of herself in the middle of it all.

In this episode, we're talking about the journey into motherhood from the very beginning, what she expected, what actually happened, and everything that came after. From pregnancy and birth to the fourth trimester, work-life balance, the mental load, and the everyday moments that have shaped her as a parent - nothing is off the table. Whether you're expecting your first baby, knee-deep in toddlerhood or simply wondering if anyone else feels like they're making it up as they go along, I think you'll find something in this conversation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Season 20, Episode 1 where we welcome Holly Cairns - leader of the Social Democrats, a TD for Cork South-West, and one of the most recognisable voices in Irish politics. First elected to Dáil Éireann in 2020, she's built a reputation for speaking candidly about issues ranging from housing, healthcare and women's rights, to gender equality and childcare. But beyond the headlines and parliamentary debates, Holly is also someone who has spoken openly about the personal side of public life: the pressures of leadership, the expectations placed on women, and what it means to build a life while serving the country.

As more people delay starting families, navigate changing ideas of parenthood, or try to balance demanding careers with their personal lives, those conversations have become increasingly relevant.

Today, we're stepping away from party politics and into the person behind the politician. We'll be talking about ambition, identity, family, and the values that shape not just how Holly leads, but how she sees the world. Enjoy this episode, and I'll be back to you next week.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan, your host. Today's episode surprised me. It's not often that happens, but when I first invited today's guest, Laura O'Connell, to join me, I wanted to talk to her about her genuinely hilarious and sometimes triggering midwife comedy sketches. I wanted to unpick with her the reactions and why she made them. Instead, we got into one of the most soul-baring and deep discussions about the realities of motherhood and its place (and struggle to find its place) in this patriarchal society we live in. We talk about how the major side effect of those brilliant reels was that Laura got angry – angry at the lack of support and lack of awareness around postnatal mental health. We get into the weeds about everything from guilt and the relentlessness of parenting (as laura puts it, there is no rip cord you can pull) and why conversations like the ones that come up in the comment sections of her viral reels are so important. This was a cathartic episode for me in all honesty, and you will be hearing from Laura again because I feel we have so much more to get through. Here's this week's episode, I'll be back to you next week with more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to everymum the podcast, with me Aisling Keenan. Today we are talking about one of the biggest identity shifts a person can go through and one we still don’t talk about nearly enough. Motherhood isn’t just a physical transition; it’s emotional, psychological, social. There’s a word for that transformation and that is matrescence. It's not something I was very familiar with until really recently, but my guest today studies it and is pretty much an expert now. Returning for more chats, Claire Moore is a mother of two, Irish but living in Hong Kong, and is a facilitator for an amazing organisation called Bump and Co. With Bump and Co, they know how unsupported, misunderstood, and invisible many women can feel during their post-partum period and beyond, and they bring a peer-to-peer support together to help new mothers through their experiences. In this conversation, we talk about the genuine gap in the care for new mothers, not just commercially, but emotionally. We also get into the bigger cultural conversation around motherhood: why society still struggles to acknowledge how destabilising and transformative it can be, the pressure to appear like you’re coping, and the tension between the beauty of becoming a mother and the grief of losing parts of your old self. We also discuss whether modern motherhood has become overly optimised and commercialised, and what support for mothers should actually look like in real life, beyond Instagram slogans and vague ideas about “self care.” And if you’re listening as someone currently in the thick of matrescence, feeling overwhelmed or unlike yourself, there’s a really important message in this episode for you too. Here’s my conversation with Claire, and I'll be back next week with more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm your host Aisling Keenan. Today’s guest is the brilliant Dr Laura Lenihan — GP, working parent of three girls and someone who speaks with rare honesty about the realities of modern motherhood. This conversation goes far beyond perfect parenting or tidy Instagram advice. We talked about Dr Laura’s own HRT journey and how hormonal changes can affect patience, relationships and the way we experience motherhood itself. We also got into the relentless balancing act of trying to build a career while raising children and the impossible standards many women feel they’re failing to meet every single day. We spoke honestly about maternal guilt, the mental load, and that feeling so many mothers carry that no matter how much they do, it somehow never feels enough. And we discussed the uncomfortable truth that the bar for fathers is often dramatically lower: how men are praised for participation while women are expected to carry the invisible management of family life almost by default. It’s a conversation about work, identity, exhaustion, resentment, love, ambition, and the emotional complexity of trying to be everything to everyone. But it’s also validating, and incredibly reassuring. Whether you’re a parent, thinking about parenthood, or simply trying to survive modern life without burning out, I think you’ll get a lot from this one. Here’s my conversation with Dr Laura Lenihan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.