How we listen to music has changed. With streaming, social media and 15 second TikTok’s it’s rare we listen to a full album anymore. Sometimes, though, a body of work comes along that stops you in your tracks.  This week, Niall is joined by Gary Lightbody, lead singer and guitarist with Snow Patrol. The Irish band have just released their first album in 6 years, ‘The Forest Is The Path’, which may be their most vulnerable record to date. The band approached this album in a different way than...

If you’ve been following Niall on social media you’ll know he’s spent the last number of months training for another intense fundraiser to improve mental health supports for young people in Ireland.  Niall and the team are back for the second year to take on the grueling challenge of The Rising. This year consists of a kayak of the Shannon, followed by a 160 km cycle from Limerick to Carrauntoohil, and culminating in a climb up Ireland's highest peak, Carrauntoohil, totaling 393km. In this...

Anxiety can feel like something that is there to ruin our life, but the little alarm system going off inside us is actually incredibly important in giving us warning signals and keeping us alive.  In this week’s episode Niall is joined by Dr. Richard Hogan, renowned psychotherapist and clinical director of Therapy Institute. Richard’s work as a family psychotherapist has given him a deep understanding of anxiety and the function it provides. From sleep to screens, environment to emotions,...

We’ve talked a lot about connection and relationships recently on the podcast, but they are at the beating heart of our very being.  In this episode Niall is joined by our very own Louize Carroll of The Therapy Room, to dive deeper into how relationships mould and mirror our psychology. Louize has a deep passion for understanding how we relate to each other and how that impacts our own inner world. She has created a 12 week programme that helps individuals heal wounds, master triggers and...

We now have solid evidence that social connection is vital to our wellbeing and as crucial to our health as our diet and exercise. So is our modern divided world making us sick?  In this week’s episode Niall is joined by David Robson, science journalist and author of ‘The Laws of Connection’. We are living in times of great tension that is only exacerbated by our reliance on social media. Unfortunately, this is pushing us further and further away from each other, creating a deficit in our...

Sometimes life throws us challenges that can seem impossible to overcome, but something innately in us somehow keeps us going.  In this week’s episode, Niall is joined by Rachel Gotto, a hypnotherapist and mid-life crisis coach who has overcome immense tragedy in her life. Just two years after losing her brother to cancer, Rachel was shocked by the death of her husband while six months pregnant. Numb with grief, Rachel spent the next few years raising her daughter and trying to cope until...

In the head-melty chaos of the modern world, sometimes all we need is to get through the next five minutes.  In this week’s episode, Niall is joined by author James Parker, whose new book ‘Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes: Odes to Being Alive’ is a dedication to finding gratitude in unexpected places. As the unofficial “gratitude correspondent” for the Atlantic, James’ often hilarious odes range from moments of self-discovery to life-changing music to mundane everyday things. Niall and...

The sheer amount of information we are exposed to and are absorbing everyday is beyond overwhelming, and in a media landscape now flooded with misinformation and disinformation it can be difficult to decipher what’s real.  Niall is joined by Steven Brill, journalist and author whose latest book ‘The Death Of Truth’ looks at how social media has given snake oil salesmen and demagogues the power to destroy trust and polarise our society. Steven is also co-founder of NewsGuard, which rates the...

As humans we are subject to so much external and internal pressure to achieve, do, strive for more in our lives and in ourselves. It can feel like a never ending mountain to climb.  In this week’s episode Niall is joined by Dr. Clodagh Campbell, better known as The Wellness Psychologist, who works with a lot of ‘over-achievers’ to help them accept where they are at and calm the chaos within. Clodagh’s own experience as an adopted person inspired her to hold space for those who feel lonely in...

Relationships are at the core of our very being. How we relate to others can tell us a lot about ourselves and act as a window into our past.  In this week’s episode Niall is joined by Todd Baratz, renowned psychotherapist and sex therapist. Todd has just released his book ‘How to Love Someone Without Losing Your Mind’ which is a brutally honest guide about modern relationships and the culture which they exist in. Niall and Todd discuss how societal norms, both past and present, are living...

In our current CAMHS system, vulnerable children are being left behind, over-prescribed and under-supported, which was brought to light in the shocking report about the system last year.  In this week’s episode Niall is joined by three mothers whose families have been through the immense stress and struggle of accessing the CAMHS system in Ireland. Hannah Ní Ghiolla Mhairtín, having received no support for her young daughter and after taking part in commissions and consultations to no avail,...

As we begin to better understand the immense impact that trauma and environment have on our psyche and body we need to develop new pathways to healing.  In today’s episode, Niall is sharing a very exclusive discussion with world-renowned trauma expert and physician, Dr. Gabor Maté. Niall recently took part in a panel with Dr. Maté, along with Tammy Darcy, Founder of the Shone Project and Brent Pope, former rugby player and mental health advocate. Hosted by Claire McKenna, the panel discussed...

We’re excited to drop in your feed today to tell you about a new series from Lemonada Media and the BBC: Pop Culture Debate Club with Aminatou Sow. Being a pop culture fan naturally comes with a lot of opinions. You’ve got your favorites and you’re ready to defend your picks at a moment’s notice. That’s what Pop Culture Debate Club is all about. Each week, two notable mega-fans square off, ready to convince host Aminatou Sow that their opinion on TV, movies, and music is the only one that...

Mindfulness and music are two things Niall is incredibly passionate about, and a combination of both can be an easy and accessible way for people to create their own practice.  Today, Niall is joined by Niamh McCarthy, the creator of Mindful Nation, an app that connects meditation and music from some of the world’s biggest producers and DJs. Having spent her early career touring with Madonna and U2, the gruelling lifestyle took its toll on Niamh and she ended up in hospital with burnout and...

One of the most powerful supports for our wellbeing is community, a shared sense of humanity that can really nourish the soul.  In this week’s episode, Niall is joined by Meggan Roxanne, writer, poet, digital artist and entrepreneur. Meggan is the face behind The Good Co, and the 24 million strong Instagram account The Good Quote. When faced with her own mental health crisis Meggan began sharing quotes from songs, writers and herself online and quickly built a community that made her feel...

We’re excited to drop in your feed today to tell you about a new Lemonada Media series called The Pink House with Sam Smith. Hosted by five-time Grammy winner Sam Smith, The Pink House is about the people and places that make us who we are. One of those places was Sam’s childhood home in the English village of Great Chishill, literally called The Pink House. It was a space of total warmth and love where Sam felt safe enough to find their voice. Each week, join Sam in conversation with icons...

Every so often on the podcast Niall likes to sit down and share some thoughts, feelings and observations he’s been having and today he’s focusing on the idea of impermanence.  This year has brought health scares to Niall and people very close to him, and it’s shook him to his core, giving him a different perspective on life. He dives into the complexity of navigating grief and fear of the unknown, and how we can move into a place of sitting with discomfort, embracing impermanence and...

Those who are a fan of The Therapy Room episodes will know the wisdom and magic of Dr. Tony Bates. Our team was lucky enough to visit Tony in his hometown of Sligo during the Where Is My Mind? tour. This week Niall is sharing the on-stage interview with Tony in the beautiful Hawkswell Theatre. Tony and Niall have been on a similar journey with their own minds and have a mutual passion for changing how we see and how we hold people’s pain. With his long career as one of Ireland’s top...

Ireland has been experiencing a housing crisis for the last number of years and it’s having a devastating effect on the wellbeing of children and young people.  In the episode, Niall is joined by Rory Hearne, a leading expert on the Irish housing crisis and an Associate Professor of Social Policy at Maynooth University. Rory is a candidate for the European Parliament Elections in 2024, under the Social Democrats party in Midlands-North West. Having spent most of his career working on...

Mental health experiences can be deeply personal, but we need to look for the solutions at a political level. Mental health is connected to capitalism and social issues and we need change in these areas to see change in ourselves.  In this episode, Niall is joined by Micha Frazer-Carroll, an award-winning journalist, culture commentator and author of ‘Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health’. Having grown up with mental health issues all around her, Micha is passionate about changing the...

Mental health stereotypes can often show the experience in just one way, debilitating, unable to get out of bed or function. Although this can be the case for some, there are many of us battling our minds while living a fully-functioning life.  In this episode, Niall is joined by Dr. Lalitaa Suglani, a psychologist and author of ‘High-Functioning Anxiety’. Lalitaa coined the term after experiencing this herself, along with seeing her patients appear accomplished and successful on the...

We’ve just landed back from our tour around many beautiful parts of Ireland and we’ve got some great live guest interviews to bring you over the coming months.  One particular stand out interview was in The Source Arts Centre in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, with an incredible man, Aidan Loughnane.  After a lengthy battle with grief, anxiety and an eating disorder, that almost pushed him to the brink of death, Aidan decided to turn his life around. He found a love for running and began sharing his...

As we pursue the radical reimagining of Ireland, and the world’s, mental health frameworks, we must be open minded to new ideas and treatment models.  In this episode, Niall is joined by Dr. Jessica Schleider, Founding Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health and author of ‘Little Treatments, Big Effects’. Jessica’s mission is to create evidence-based solutions that bridge previously-unfillable gaps in mental health ecosystems. Based on research that most people seeking support will...

As some of you may know, we’re on tour with the podcast across Ireland. It’s been great to get out and meet some of you guys, to share space with you and of course our incredible guest interviews.  Today, we thought we’d share one of our live interviews with a long-time friend of Niall’s, Danny O’Reilly, front man of The Coronas. Niall and Danny have come up through the music industry together over the last 15 years and share some of their stories from ‘the good old days’ before 15 second...