This week’s podcast is slightly different, as we hear one woman’s account of undergoing fertility treatment, and the pain and disappointment that was to follow. Fertility treatment has undoubtedly been a catalyst for joy in many couples lives, but for a large proportion of people, the treatment does not work. Deirdre Donelly feels that she was given miss information by an Irish fertility clinic when she underwent treatment nine years ago.  Deirdre gave birth to her first child David in...

This week’s podcast marks the first live episode of Grief Encounters, as Sasha and Venetia were part of an extraordinary night of poetry, film and discussion at the Dublin premiere of the extraordinary documentary Git Was Here in The Sugar Club. The documentary is based around the life of Christopher “Git” Byrne who passed away from cancer in March 2016. Lorcan Fox, the films Director and Git’s friend interviewed him on camera about his life – his regrets, his legacy and his view on...

Grief Encounters was set up with one clear goal, which was to open up the conversation around loss for Ireland(and beyond)’s bereaved community. There weren’t nearly enough conversations on record offering support to those in the midst of their grief, and what a better medium to begin one, then a podcast. Unbeknownst to the Grief Encounters team, while we were busy plotting the opening sequence of podcast episodes to take us through January and February, this weeks guest was also spending her...

This week’s podcast is incredibly special, as Sasha and Venetia are joined in studio with Tomi Reichental, who's personal story is inspirational, emotional and more than all - incredibly important to tell.  Born in Slovakia 1935, Tomi is one of the only Holocaust survivors to have settled in Ireland after being liberated from the Bergen Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Tomi is an incredibly thoughtful and emotionally intelligent man which is clear from his account of the atrocity that he...

The importance of end of life care can never be understated, not only for the patient but also for their loved ones. It’s something that Sasha and Venetia both discussed on the podcast before, having experienced the special work that they do first hand.  This week’s podcast is a special one, as Sasha is joined in studio by palliative care doctor and bestselling author Kathryn Mannix, to speak about how we approach loss and the grief that often follows. Kathryn and Sasha go into detail about...

In recent years, the public’s attitude towards grief and loss seem to be changing, and more open conversations about the subject are happening, with those bereaved. These conversations, however, are often still regarded as taboo when speaking about Pregnancy & Infant Loss, with the grief often being kept silent.  October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, and this week Sasha and Venetia were joined by the incredibly inspirational writer and blogger Aoife Bermingham, to...

Anniversaries are something that Sasha & Venetia have spoken about on several episodes of the podcasts so far. They can spark a huge range of emotion, and often bring back a lot of sad and difficult memories. Some like to mark an occasion, while others are happy to see the back of these milestone dates. Often the way someone chooses to remember their loved one is dependant on their years or months grieving in between, and what form of relationship that is kept with the deceased.  This...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month internationally,  and for many people, the first name that springs to mind when thinking of the subject, is that of Marie Keating, who passed away from the illness in February 1998 . Since Marie’s death, her family have done unimaginable work in creating awareness for the disease, which devastated them 21 years ago. This week Sasha and Venetia are joined in the studio by Linda Keating, Marie’s daughter and Founder of The Marie Keating Foundation to...

Anniversaries are a bit of a theme for us this month on the podcast, and today, the 10th of October marks 10 years since the death of the brilliant and beautiful Steven Gately. On the morning of October 11th 2009 , Ireland woke to the devastating news that one of its brightest stars, had passed away in his sleep. In one of our first episodes, we had the absolute pleasure of speaking to one of his best friends and bandmates Mikey Graham about his love for Steven, then and now. He opens the...

This week on the podcast Venetia sat down with the incredible Irish writer Éilís Ní Dhuibhne to speak about their shared experience of losing a partner, the person that they loved most. Éilís  is the  author of  12,000 Days: A Memoire Of Love And Loss, which is a truly beautiful account of her relationship with her husband Bo Almqvist, who passed away suddenly in November 2013. Éilís gave up on fictional writing in the months following his death, but began a diary where she took not of her...

After losing his Dad to a heart attack in February 1998,  Our guest this week has since described his “new” relationship with his father  as “an irresistible detective story”, where he “keeps looking around for the essence of him”... Dermot Morgan is one of Ireland's greatest ever comedians and actors, most notable for his role of Craggy islands morally questionable Priest, Father Ted Crilly, in Channel 4’s Timeless classic - Father Ted. Don Morgan, Dermot’s son joins Sasha, to talk in...

Caring for a loved can be an incredibly difficult job, regardless of what stage of the illness they are at. It can often take a huge amount of strength and perseverance, particularly if it is a form of dementia, because of its degenerative nature. In March we spoke to the incredible Kathy Ryan, who lives with Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, who’s doing incredible work to advocate around Alzheimer’s Awareness in Ireland. Since Kathy’s appearance on the podcast, further discussion on...

This week on Grief Encounters, Sasha was joined by the parents of Sean “Lil Red” Hughes, who was an aspiring rapper from Finglas in Dublin, and the type of kid to make a big impression on anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. Joe and Karen are two incredibly proud parents who are doing exceptional work in raising awareness around Sepsis, which Sean passed away from in January 2018 at the age of 15.  After complaining of flu-like symptoms, Sean suddenly lost consciousness while...

The immediate grief after a sudden loss is completely overwhelming, often making it impossible to process the present and the future. Our guest this week had the sad reality of experiencing this in March 2000, when hearing about his brothers death after a tragic accident at home. Abie Philbin Bowman’s brother Jonathan was a radio and television presenter, well known for his extraordinary wit, impulsive presenting style and humour, and without question his ability to often wind people...

After a late summer break, Sasha and Venetia return with more weekly Grief Encounters chats, and this weeks guest was an incredibly special one. Stephen Sexton is on the cusp of being one of Ireland's great modern poets, and his debut book has been compared to that of Seamus Heaney in recent weeks. If All The World And Love Were Young, is a beautiful elegy to his mother, who passed away from cancer in 2012.  Stephen explores her death and other themes of grief through the guise of the Super...

This week on the podcast Sasha and Venetia reflect on an incredible 8 months of conversation, looking back on the many things that they have learned from the incredible guests that have joined them so far. Grief Encounters will be taking a short summer break for the month of August but will be returning on Tuesday September 3rd with plenty more discussion on the subject of loss, and all that comes with it. If you're looking for a safe haven to express how you feel,  Share articles, photos...

The relationship between language and loss is something that we have we have covered in the past, and it’s also something that has proven to be divisive. How direct and frank should someone be, when the conversation is about an impending death?  This week’s guest is the Journal.ie’s Orla Ryan, who sadly lost her father to esophageal cancer in 2011. It wasn’t until a nurse told Orla “A week in your dad’s life is a long time” did she realise just how little time she had left with him.  In...

A chronic illness can bring with it many devastating lows, but also moments of hope and relief. Anyone who has spent periods of time caring for someone who was ill, will know these range of emotions  far too well. This week on Grief Encounters, Sasha and Venetia catch up with fellow podcast and founder of The Shift Andy Gaffney, who is here to speak about his brother Raymond who had to face all of this while battling a rare form of Leukaemia, that sadly took his life in the summer of...

This week’s Sasha meets the award winning UK writer Louisa young, who’s book You Left Early accounts her relationship with Robert Lockhart, an extremely talented and prolific composer from Wigan, who battled with alcohol addiction throughout his life.   Loving an addict can be incredibly difficult thing to do. It's a relationship that is often rampant with deceit & disappointment, and sadly more often that not, the addiction comes out on top. Louisa is a hugely empathetic person, and...

This week’s guest on Grief Encounters has been an extremely familiar face on Irish television for nearly 2 decades. Nuala Carey joined Sasha and Venetia in studio to speak about her incredibly beautiful relationship with her father Maurice who passed away in November 2018. With a huge amount of bravery and compassion, Nuala has been using her platform as a way to exercise the conversation around grief, undoubtedly helping a huge amount of people up and down the length of the...

To celebrate Pride week and Ireland’s rich LGBTQ history, we wanted to dedicate this weeks podcast into looking at a particular moment of time that sadly took the lives of so many of the country’s queer citizens. Ireland’s first AIDS case was diagnosed in 1982, and the mass hysteria and misinformation that was spread during this period ,caused damage that is still prevalent within the community to this day. Tonie Walsh otherwise known as The Godfather Of Gay, lived through 80’s and 90’s in...

In this week’s episode of the podcast Sasha and Venetia meet the incredibly talented writer, radio presenter and podcaster Emily Dean who speaks about “starting again” after a series of painful losses, all accounted beautifully in her new memoir Everybody Died, So I Got a Dog. The books jarring title is completely indicative to the tone of the conversation, as Emily refuses to speak gently about the painful realities of grief. Now, she is the only survivor of her immediate family and in her...

At 7.15am on Thursday, December 22, 2016, John Fitzsimons had to do the most difficult thing he has ever done, tell his beautiful two children Jack and Ella that their mum Grainne had died the night before, having battled Cancer for a long time. “I sat down with her, and her brother came in and I just basically told them that their mum had passed away the day before. I was expecting all sorts of tears and tantrums but they were fine, and they were fine because I had kept them in the loop. I...

Sickness and death brings with it a broad range of emotions, and one that is often overlooked is humour.  Gearoid Farrelly is an Irish comic who has toured with the likes of Joan Rivers, Sarah Millican and a host more of stand-up legends, since breaking on to the Irish scene over 10 years ago. Today he shared his own story about his beautiful friendship with Anne Marie Buckley, who passed away on the 1st of March 2018. Gearoid moved into an apartment 10 years ago, and after a series of...

This week’s guest is the founder of an incredible charity and resource for the bereaved, called The Good Grief Trust, which is pioneering the way that The UK approach grief support and resources. Lind Magistris first met her partner Graham when she played Susi in the BBC Series, Grange Hill. Graham was one of the series directors and 30 years later, purely by accident, Linda crossed paths with him once again. The pair enjoyed a loving and romantic relationship that lasted 8 years, but sadly...