The 80% with Esther O'Moore Donohoe

This episode was first released in 2017 and re-edited in 2026.

It was around this time eight years ago when I first met Sophie White. We’d only just become Instagram friends then but I wasted no time sliding into her DMs asking if she’d come on the pod. And because it was the very beginning of my podcasting journey, I was still learning how to use the equipment hence the crackly audio during our conversation.

If you're not familiar with Sophie and her incredible work, she is a novelist, essayist and podcaster from Dublin. She has written several best-selling popular fiction books and in 2022 won the Shirley Jackson Award for best novel for sixth book, Where I End (Tramp Press, 2022). Sophie is currently writing the screenplay for an adaption of one her first book Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown which will start filming in summer 2026.

In this conversation Sophie and I talked about everything from the pill at a festival that changed her life, Rice Krispie penis cakes and the mind-bending headf*ck that is motherhood.

Follow Sophie here and listen to her podcast here. . My Instagram page is here and my newsletter In Bits, is here.

I hope you love it.

Peace and love,

Esther

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This conversation was first recorded in 2019 and was episode number 66 from season 5 of The 80%.

In 2025, Anna Haugh was announced as one of the latest hosts of BBC's Masterchef but she has been a TV regular for years. From Ready, Steady, Cook to Saturday Kitchen and even Pointless Celebrities on Channel 4, Anna has done it all. Starting out with Derry Clarke in L'Ecrivain in Dublin, Anna has also worked for the acclaimed Gualtiero Marchesi’s in Paris, Pied à Terre in London, Gordon Ramsey at London House and Bob Bob Ricard.

I chatted to Anna in 2019, the same year she opened her first restaurant Myrtle in Chelsea, London. Since then she has gone on to open wine bar Little Sister, right next door which stocks Anna's very own wine label. We love to see it.

If you like this episode, please leave a review and if you like it, why not share the link with some friends you think might enjoy it too.
Listen to her brilliant talk on mental health in her Food on the Edge talk here https://foodontheedge.ie/video/anna-haugh/

For all the latest updates on my fascinating life follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter here.

Peace and love,
Esther

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-80-with-esther-omoore-donohoe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brendan Courtney was my 26th guest on The 80% way back in 2017.

Years later, I went on to produce a podcast for Brendan and Sonya Lennon for many seasons and we eventually became real friends.

When we met 8 years ago, Brendan had a lot going on. His dad died less than 3 months before, his sisters were both sick but true to his character, Brendan didn't stop engaging with life and making the most of things even when there were challenges all around.

If you like this episode, please leave a review and if you like it, why not share the link with some friends you think might enjoy it too.

For all the latest updates on my fascinating life follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter here.

Thank you so much for listening. You've made me 80% happier by lending me your ears.

Peace and love,
Esther


Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-80-with-esther-omoore-donohoe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was recorded in 2019 and re-edited in 2026.

Geraldine Carton is now a contemporary artist known for her expressive figurative and portrait work in oils. She explores themes of human connection, vulnerability and social identity but when I spoke to her in 2019 she was in a very different space. At the time Geraldine was working with Taz Kellehar on The Useless Project having pivoted previously from social work and writing.

This conversation will be inspiring to anyone who feels stuck or feels like they’re searching for new horizons. What I love and admire about Geraldine is her fearlessness in changing her mind.

Reinvent yourself.

Follow Geraldine here and Mother Art house here. My Instagram page is here and my newsletter In Bits, is here.

Peace and love,

Esther

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-80-with-esther-omoore-donohoe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This conversation was recorded in 2018 and re-edited in 2026.

I met Emer in the old Library Bar in Central Hotel on Exchequer Street in Dublin (click here for the hotel update). Back then we were strangers who had no idea we’d go on to, not only become friends, but also become carvery's and roast dinners investigators and create our very own podcast called Emer and Esther’s Sunday Roast with Emer and Esther.

At the time, Emer was promoting the first book in the Aisling series she wrote with friend and collaborator Sarah Breen. Oh My God What A Complete Aisling was a huge success and in 2020 was ranked in the top five selling Irish fiction books of the decade. Their latest novel Our Deadly Summer will be out in May 2026. Here is a pre-order link to it if you want to get your hands on it.

During our wide ranging conversation we talked about everything from drying tights, archeology, working with Ryan Tubridy and how she and Sarah got their big publishing break.

Peace and love and happy listening!
Esther

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-80-with-esther-omoore-donohoe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.