Insights with Sean O'Rourke

Consultant Psychiatrist, Head of Addiction Services at St John Of God University Hospital and Clinical Professor at UCD’s School of Medicine Professor Colin O’Gara speaks to Sean about growing up in Cork in a family steeped in rugby and although he did play the sport like his famous brother Ronan he was more of a windsurfing enthusiast. He shares how he spends his time now advocating for those in the fight against addiction, highlighting the increasing numbers of people presenting with gambling and sex addiction as mobile phone possession and usage grows.
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Former Director of Radio Programming and Public Affairs in RTÉ Kevin Healy joins Sean to share his journey as a journalist for the Cork Examiner and RTÉ and his decision to change careers in his fifties to retrain as a barrister. He opens up about the end of Scrap Saturday, his time involved in the Confidential Committee of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation and dealing with tragedy over the past number of years with the passing of his wife author Deirdre Purcell and his step-son Simon’s death and inquest.
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Chartered Counselling Psychologist and lecturer in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in TU Dublin Leslie Shoemaker shares her journey with Sean from Pittsburgh to Ireland and how her dad’s side are one of the founding families of Pennsylvania. As co-founder of OCD Ireland, she explains what the disorder is and how she treats it.
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Manager of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, chief commercial officer at Bohemians Football Club and former owner of Bang Bang cafe in Phibsboro Daniel Lambert joins Sean to share his journey from working in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to managing Kneecap who have had a number of legal challenges against them. He opens up about growing up in Finglas and how his parents were influential in his life in relation to education, football and business.
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Star of ‘The Chase’ and ‘Beat The Chasers’ professional quizzer Darragh Ennis speaks to Sean about his journey from Rathcoole in Dublin, where he was suspended twice in primary school, to graduating from Maynooth University with a PhD before swapping it all for life in Canada and Oxford. He opens up about his breakdown on The Chase following his father’s death from Dementia in 2024 and how he’s writing a new book on memory.
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