The Family of Things is a long form podcast series of interviews about ideas, life and how we live it. It is an Athena Media production presented by Helen Shaw crossing arts, sports, science, music, literature, politics, poetry, film, philosophy and popular culture. Our guests are outstanding people living and working in Ireland and to date include composer Linda Buckley, singer Iarla O Lionaird, novelist Denise Deegan, poet Nessa O Mahony and scientist Shane Bergin. You can find out more on thefamilyofthings.com http://www.thefamilyofthings.com www.thefamilyofthings.com en-us Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:12:40 GMT Athena Media Productions Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:12:40 GMT leon@athenamedia.ie http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.thefamilyofthings.com Helen Shaw's guest in this edition of the The Family of Things podcast is Irish scientist and astro physicist Professor Peter Gallagher. Peter Gallagher leads solar physics and space weather research at Trinity College Dublin. Gallagher researches the Sun, in particular solar storms and their impact on Earth. He is Director of the Rosse Solar Terrestrial Observatory at Birr Castle and leads the Irish LOFAR radio telescope project. Gallagher says he was always fascinated by how things work when he was a small boy, even taking the television apart to see what made it work but was a lack lustre student at school. He took physics and mathematics at UCD before his PhD in solar physics at Queen's University Belfast. At UCD he met and married fellow scientist Emma Teeling who now heads the bat lab at UCD and is an internationally acclaimed geneticist. Gallagher spent six years in the US including working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His cutting edge work at Birr Castle connects Ireland's space research history with its future since the 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845 constructed the biggest telescope in the world - Leviathan - and identified the whirl pool galaxy. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_PeterGallagher.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_PeterGallagher.mp3 Wed, 14 Dec 2016 09:00:00 GMT 42:14 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Vivienne DeCourcy, the writer and director of the new feature film Dare to be Wild is our guest in episode 12 of The Family of Things. Vivienne, a former lawyer, began writing scripts after surviving cancer and she talks about her instinctive relationship with the outdoors and nature from her childhood. http://pciserver.com/TFOT_Vivienne.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/TFOT_Vivienne.mp3 Tue, 01 Mar 2016 08:00:00 GMT 32:20 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Helen Shaw's guest is performer and accidental activist Rory O'Neill AKA the Queen of Ireland Panti Bliss. Rory shares the highs and lows of the last two years since his celebrated speech on the stage of the Abbey Theatre and the fight for Marriage Equality in Ireland. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_RoryONeill.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_RoryONeill.mp3 Fri, 05 Feb 2016 10:00:00 GMT 40:00 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Author and researcher Eleanor Fitzsimons is our latest guest in The Family of Things. Wilde's Women - her acclaimed biography of Oscar Wilde from the perspective of the women in his life, opens new windows on both Wilde and his work. Eleanor beautifully written and carefully researched study was published in Ireland in Autumn 2015 and is being released in the US this year and in this conversation with presenter Helen Shaw she introduces us to Oscar's intriguing mother, Jane Wilde a celebrated writer in her own time, and his much suffering wife Constance LLoyd as well as the women writers who influenced and inspired Wilde. Eleanor describes her work as recovering lost stories of women in history and sees her journey as akin to excavating the past, bringing forth what has been forgotten or obscured. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_EleanorFitzsimons_10.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_EleanorFitzsimons_10.mp3 Tue, 01 Jan 2016 13:0:00 GMT 42:15 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html In this 9th episode of The Family of Things, Helen Shaw meets Noirin Hegarty, former Editor of the Sunday Tribune and now Operations Director with Lonely Planet, to discuss her passion for journalism, how it lead her on an unconventional career path but to her dream job, and how she balances these demanding roles with family life. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Noirin%20Hegarty.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Noirin%20Hegarty.mp3 Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:15:00 GMT 37:24 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html In Episode 8 of The FAMILY of THINGS, Helen Shaw's guest is a man known for his winning speed and more recently his winning food. It's champion sprinter and Celebrity Masterchef David Gillick. David Gillick, who is now retired from competitive running, still holds the Irish indoor and outdoor 400m records and he won two Gold European medals as well as being a world finalist during his track career. In this episode of The Family of Things David shares his life story, what motivates him and what he has learnt along the way. Today he is a corporate coach sharing his sporting strategies with business leaders and he is also mentoring school students in athletics as well as playing in his local GAA team. David Gillick tells Helen about the moment he knew he wanted to be a professional athlete as well as discussing his move to Loughborough University, the place that not only furthered his career but where his met his wife, Charlotte Wickham. David's story of the boy from Ballinteer who made it to the highest levels of sporting achievement is both personal and inspiring and he chats about how his love of cooking grew from his obsession with fitness and how his Granny, now in her 90s, has been an inspiration in life. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_David%20Gillick.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_David%20Gillick.mp3 Tue, 11 Aug 2015 10:15:00 GMT 52:09 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Helen Shaw's guest this episode is Cork born composer Linda Buckley who writes contemporary music drawing inspiration from the world around her, from the soundscape of her childhood growing up on a diary farm overlooking the Old Head of Kinsale to other places close to her heart including Iceland. Buckley's work has been performed by Crash Ensemble, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the University of York Javanese Gamelan to name a few, and its mix of vocal, acoustic and electronic sounds is often termed spacial music. Buckley draws references from medieval music and sees her works not just as compositions but as live engagements defined by space and audiences. The podcasts draws from Buckley's work including Torann, Eriu, Chiyo, Telephones and Gongs, Revelavit, Numarimur, Do you remember the planets, Fall Approaches Jump and O Iochtar Mara, and you can find out more on her website www.lindabuckley.org. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Linda%20Buckley.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Linda%20Buckley.mp3 Fri, 26 Jun 2015 10:15:00 GMT 43:30 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Helen Shaw meets actor and writer Mark O'Halloran the creative force behind the darkly comic films Adam and Paul and Garage. Mark talks about growing up in a big family in Ennis and his journey to become a writer and performer. He describes how limiting Ireland was as a young gay man and how a year spent in Amsterdam liberated him. He found a creative soul-mate in director Lenny Abrahamson and the two made the acclaimed independent film Adam and Paul in 2004. Mark shares life, love and loss in an open and revealing conversation stretches from his recent time filming in Havana for his new film 'Viva' to his poignant experiences in Iran. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Mark%20OHalloran.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Mark%20OHalloran.mp3 Thu, 13 Mar 2015 12:00:00 GMT 53:43 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Sean nós singer and songwriter Iarla Ó'Lionáird is Helen Shaw's guest in this edition of The Family of Things. Iarla is the voice of the acclaimed Irish ensemble The Gloaming whose album by the same name has received multiple award nominations. Iarla grew up in Cúil Aodha in Co Cork in an Irish speaking community in what he calls ' a hive of song' and along with his ten brothers sang, as a child, in Seán Ó Riada's choir. He talks about his relationship with his voice, his language and his creative journey from singing the cows back home to releasing his work through Peter Gabriel's label Real World Records. Today he performs across the world not just with The Gloaming but also with operatic work by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Iarla.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Iarla.mp3 Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:00:00 GMT 51:33 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html Helen Shaw's guest is Hans Zomer, Director of Dóchas, a development network, and lead organisation on the European Year of Development in Ireland. Hans talks about being shaped by his Dutch presbyterian roots, his family's experience of World War 2 and his childhood growing up in Cameroon. He speaks five languages but says he now feels Irish and dreams in English. 2015 is an action year for world development with two landmark UN events aiming to secure a new set of development goals and a global agreement on the environment and climate change. For Hans it is a challenge to all of us to ask and answer how can we make a positive difference in 2015? for more details on European Year of Development Ireland and Dóchas visit www.dochas.ie http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Hans%20Zomer.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Hans%20Zomer.mp3 Thu, 22 Jan 2015 17:00:00 GMT 40:32 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html A podcast series of interviews about ideas, life and how we live, presented by Helen Shaw. In Episode 3 of our podcast series The Family of Things presenter Helen Shaw talks to Trinity based physicist Dr. Shane Bergin. Shane says people often think science is ugly but necessary, while he thinks it is beautiful and essential. Shane talks of his passion to communicate science to the world and to inspire the next generation of scientists through his teaching work at TCD. Shane is behind the award winning project 'Dart of Physics' and in this interview he describes nano-science and its future. As a scientist, researcher and teacher Shane is often in the public ear and eye through his work but he shares his love of music, his delight in cooking and baking (every weekend!) and talks about the people he admires including Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Nobel poet Seamas Heaney. While Shane unpacks the world of science and education he also brought his favourite instrument along - the ukulele! http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Shane%20Bergin.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Shane%20Bergin.mp3 Mon, 5 Jan 2015 16:00:00 GMT 49:13 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html A podcast series of interviews about ideas, life and how we live, presented by Helen Shaw. In this second episode the guest is author Denise Deegan. http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Denise%20Deegan.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT_Denise%20Deegan.mp3 Thu, 18 Dec 2014 10:32:00 GMT 39:59 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html A podcast series of interviews about ideas, life and how we live, presented by Helen Shaw. First guest is poet Nessa O'Mahony. http://pciserver.com/The_Family_of_Things_Nessa%20O'Mahony_01.mp3 Athena Media Productions http://www.thefamilyofthings.com/ http://pciserver.com/The_Family_of_Things_Nessa%20O'Mahony_01.mp3 Thu, 27 Nov 2014 10:32:00 GMT 44:39 http://www.pciserver.com/tfot/TFOT1400x1400.jpg http://www.podcastingireland.ie/directory-details-35.html clean The Family of Things athenamediaproductions@gmail.com