Tear Down These Walls

In this episode of Tear Down These Walls, I sit down with Keith Doran for an honest and thought-provoking conversation about trauma, breathwork, the nervous system, and the powerful connection between our minds and our bodies.

Originally from Summerhill, Keith moved to Ballybough as a child before spending more than 20 years living in Australia. He has recently returned home to Dublin with his partner, Chelsea.

Keith is trained in psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, Reiki and breathwork. His own journey began after experiencing panic attacks in his late teens. He reflects on seeking help, visiting his GP, and being offered medication after explaining what he was going through. Keith shares that it didn’t feel like the right path for him personally, and instead he began asking a different question: What was happening inside me? That question set him on a journey of self-discovery and years of learning that would eventually shape the work he does today.

Together, we also reflect on what it was like growing up in Dublin’s inner city, where many families have lived through poverty, addiction, loss and trauma. We speak about how these experiences can be passed from one generation to the next and what it takes to begin breaking those cycles with awareness, compassion and support.

Throughout our conversation, we explore how childhood experiences can continue to shape us long into adulthood. We discuss the importance of feeling seen and heard, creating safe spaces, regulating the nervous system, and why healing often involves reconnecting with ourselves in ways we may never have considered.

I also share my own experience.

For years I believed I was doing everything I possibly could to heal. I had stopped drinking, attended therapy, ran, hiked and continually worked on myself, yet there was still a heaviness I couldn’t explain. A therapist suggested that somatic work might help bring my mind and body into greater alignment. Around that same time, Keith reached out through the Beyond the Walls hikes, despite us never having met before.

Working with Keith has made a significant difference to my own healing journey, particularly in helping to regulate my nervous system. For me, breathwork and somatic work became the missing piece of the puzzle. It changed my belief that what once felt impossible could, in time, become possible.

Keith also gives back to the community by running a free breathwork class in Ballybough once a month on a Thursday, creating a welcoming space for anyone who would like to experience this work.

Most importantly, Keith reminds us that if you’re struggling, please reach out. Whether it’s a friend, a family member, a teacher, a therapist or someone you trust, asking for help can be the first step towards creating lasting change.

I hope this conversation offers hope to anyone who feels like they’ve been doing everything they can to heal but still feels there may be another piece of the puzzle waiting to be discovered.

Thank you for listening and for continuing to Tear Down These Walls.

In this episode of Tear Down These Walls, I sit down with 23-year-old Niamh from Santry to talk openly about living with dyspraxia.

Before this conversation, I’ll admit that my understanding of dyspraxia was limited. Like many people, I thought it was simply a coordination disorder that made people a little clumsy. Niamh completely changed that perception.

She explains how dyspraxia can affect much more than physical coordination. We discuss information processing, the emotional impact of constantly feeling like you’re trying to catch up, and how everyday tasks that others take for granted can become overwhelming.

Niamh shares her experience of school, when teachers first recognised that something wasn’t quite right. Although the HSE assessment didn’t provide a diagnosis, her family sought a private assessment where she was eventually diagnosed with dyspraxia.

The conversation also explores her struggles with anxiety, her admission to St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, and how therapy, medication and learning coping strategies helped her begin to manage her mental health.

We talk about the impact dyspraxia can have on friendships, romantic relationships, confidence and self-esteem, as well as the hurt that can come from thoughtless comments made by people who simply don’t understand.

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is Niamh’s description of processing information. She compares it to a filing cabinet filling up faster than she can organise it, leaving her feeling overwhelmed as everyone else has already moved on.

We also ask an important question: Why do we hear so much about ADHD and autism, yet so little about dyspraxia?

Whether you’re living with dyspraxia, supporting someone who is, or simply want to understand it better, this episode is full of insight, honesty and hope.

If this conversation helps you or someone you know, please consider sharing it. Greater awareness begins with conversations like this one.

Episode 23 – Debbie O’Neill: The Children We See, The Children We Miss

In this episode of Tear Down These Walls, I sit down with Debbie O’Neill, principal of Scoil Eoin in Crumlin, a school supporting children with mild learning difficulties, many of whom come from disadvantaged and marginalised communities.

What followed was one of the most powerful conversations I’ve had on the podcast.

Debbie has spent 25 years advocating for children whose needs often extend far beyond the classroom. Her belief is simple: education cannot happen until a child’s basic needs are met. Safety, warmth, food, connection, belonging, and emotional wellbeing must come before learning.

Throughout our conversation, we explore how childhood experiences shape lives, the impact of disadvantage, and the role schools can play in changing a child’s future.

One quote displayed on the wall of Scoil Eoin, attributed to a former principal, stayed with me long after our conversation ended:

“I want to acknowledge luck, the benevolence of it in my own life and the absolute brutality of it in others.”

For me, that quote captures so much of what this episode is about. None of us choose where we are born, the communities we grow up in, the opportunities available to us, or the struggles we inherit. Yet those early circumstances can shape everything that follows.

Debbie speaks openly about her own upbringing, one filled with stability, education, and opportunity. During our conversation, I described it as “generational wellness” — where positive values, education, confidence, and support are passed from one generation to the next. For many children growing up in disadvantaged communities, the inheritance can instead be trauma, addiction, poverty, violence, or exclusion.

What struck me most about Debbie is her ability to understand this reality without judgement. She sees beyond behaviour and asks what happened to the child behind it. She understands that anger, withdrawal, acting out, and struggle often have deeper roots.

We also discuss the proposed changes that could see children moved from specialist educational settings into mainstream schools, and why Debbie believes many vulnerable children need smaller class sizes, specialist support, and environments that truly understand their needs if they are to flourish.

On a personal level, this conversation brought me back to my own childhood and school experiences. It reminded me how life-changing it can be when one adult truly sees, hears, and believes in a child.

If we could clone people like Debbie and place one in every disadvantaged school across Ireland, I genuinely believe it would transform lives.

This episode is about education, trauma, resilience, advocacy, and the extraordinary difference one person can make when they refuse to give up on a child.

Episode 22 of Tear Down These Walls, Breaking Through Silence features Dara Gray.

Dara speaks openly and honestly about growing up alongside his older brother Donal, who is autistic and has severe intellectual disabilities. Unlike his mother, who experienced life before Donal, Dara never knew anything different. From childhood, his world revolved around routines, unpredictability, care plans, emotional tension, and trying to keep the peace within the family home.

In this deeply reflective conversation, Dara shares the impact this had on his mental health, relationships, outlook on life, and sense of self. He speaks candidly about depression, negativity, asking for help, going to counselling, and overcoming the belief that taking medication was somehow a defeat. He also reflects on the love he has for his family, particularly his parents, who despite the immense pressures they were under, still made space for him and his sister to feel loved and supported.

Dara talks about how his experiences shaped his path, including initially wanting to become an occupational therapist because of Donal, before realising working in an environment so close to his upbringing was simply too triggering.

What emerges throughout this episode is Dara’s honesty, self-awareness, resilience, and hope. This is a conversation about the unseen impact caring dynamics can have on siblings, about healing from chaos, and about learning that even in the darkest moments, life can change, people can heal, and peace is possible.

A powerful and deeply human episode.

Episode 21 of Tear Down These Walls is a deeply moving conversation with Orla — a mother whose story reminds us that pain, love, and resilience don’t belong to any one background.

Orla reached out to me after listening to the podcast, sharing how she connected with stories from a completely different world to her own. She grew up in a stable home, with education, opportunity, and no addiction or crime — yet she recognised the same thread that runs through all of our lives: human suffering.

In this episode, Orla speaks openly about her son Donal, now 31, who was diagnosed with autism after years of searching for answers. She shares the journey of raising a loving, engaged child whose behaviour changed dramatically in his teenage years — a shift that brought immense challenges to the entire family.

Orla speaks with honesty and courage about the moment she had to make the heartbreaking decision to place Donal into residential care — a decision that broke her, and led to her own time in St. Pat’s. She reflects on the impact this had on her, her husband Tom, and their children Dara and Ash, and the reality of family life shaped by routine, uncertainty, and survival.

This episode holds both pain and hope. It highlights the importance of support, specialised care, and understanding — not just for the individual, but for the whole family.

There’s a moment in this conversation that will stay with you:
Orla says, “I love my son… but I didn’t always like him.”
A sentence filled with truth, courage, and the kind of honesty many parents will recognise but rarely say out loud.

Daragh’s beautiful poem, written for Autism Awareness Day, is also shared in this episode — a powerful reflection of love between siblings.

This is a story about motherhood, breaking points, and finding a way forward.
And most of all, it’s a reminder that no matter where we come from — we all carry something.