Brendan O'Connor

The rise of the Naked Nail

Broadcaster Aifric O’Connell explains the trickle-down effect of top influencers and catwalk shows abandoning gel manicures in favour of a return to a healthier, more natural-looking nail, more in line with the recent Quiet Luxury fashion trend.

Patrick Freyne -“There’s a beauty in accepting that you’re probably just average”

Irish Times Writer Patrick Freyne has written his first novel, ‘Experts In A Dying Field’. He talks to Brendan about identifying as a yuppie in his youth, his years playing in bands, work burnout, obsoletion in middle age and why having children isn’t the be-all-and-end-all. He charts his life through five songs from The Monkees to Pixies and more.

Newspaper Panel

Joining Brendan to discuss the big stories in Sunday’s newspapers are Mary Regan, Political Editor, Irish Independent & Sunday Independent; Alan Barrett, Research Professor at the ESRI; Hazel Chu, Dublin City Councillor and Green Party Deputy Leader and Cormac Lucey, Columnist, The Sunday Times.

The Watchlist

Joining Brendan to discuss the week’s film and TV highlights are writer, Henrietta McKervey and producer, Eoin Sweeney. They discuss Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, Bad: The Song That Saved My Life, The World Cup, The Isle of Wight music festival and Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You amongst many more.

Ciara Mageean - “If I’m going to die, I’m going to fit in as much living as possible now”

Olympian Ciara Mageean spent her career representing Ireland and Northern Ireland, including a Gold at the 1500m European Championships in 2024, a year before the cancer diagnosis that ended her career. She talks to Brendan about her career, her terminal diagnosis, grief for the life she’ll never have and why we should all live in the moment.