A nurse from Tallaght with an Australian passport, a hospice education in dignity, and a life that gets knocked sideways by grief, single parenting and domestic abuse somehow ends up building one of Ireland’s most recognisable aesthetics brands. That “somehow” is the bit we wanted to understand, so we sat down with Kerry Hannafee for a proper, no-gloss conversation about what it actually takes to start over.

We talk through Kerry’s global family background (Scotland, the British Army, Aden, Malta, Melbourne), what it feels like to come home to Ireland in the 1970s, and how early volunteering and hospice work shape her approach to care. From London nurse training at 17 to managing real pressure in hospitals, she explains how those years set her standards for safety, consent, and doing right by people, even when the job is hard.

Then the story turns: relationships, loss, debt, control, and the moment she realises she needs a plan that protects her kids and gives her independence. Kerry shares how training in fillers and aesthetics becomes a lifeline, how she builds trust across Dublin well beyond the usual “posh postcode” stereotype, and how she grows from couch appointments to clinics, medical teams, and serious investment in treatments and equipment. We also get into what’s trending now in skin rejuvenation and aesthetics in Ireland, including Morpheus8, SoftWave, microneedling, polynucleotides, peels and realistic treatment planning, plus why she says “no” to requests every day.

We finish with Kerry’s Pride allyship, the Pre-Pride Pamper Day, and what she wants next: stabilising, staying safe, and having time for family without losing momentum. If you like honest Irish business stories with real stakes, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review. What part of Kerry’s journey do you relate to most?

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You can hear the moment the penny drops for Dave Dillon: he’s sitting in a doctor’s office for his son’s ADHD assessment, the symptoms are listed one by one, and suddenly his whole past makes sense. Dave grew up in Kilamanagh, Dublin 24, and spent years believing his racing mind, big emotions and constant restlessness were just “the way he was”. By 12, drugs became the quickest way to quiet his head, and what started as hash escalated into weekend-long sessions, debt, shame and a life built around chasing the next escape.

We talk openly about the darker turns too: crack cocaine, paranoia, and drug-induced psychosis where every sound becomes evidence and every doubt becomes a conspiracy. Dave describes what it’s like to be trapped in that state, how it damages families, and how suicidal thinking can be fuelled by drink and drugs even when the person isn’t truly ready to die. It’s a tough listen at times, but it’s grounded, human, and full of hard-won clarity.

Recovery, for Dave, doesn’t begin with a simple decision. It begins with support, routine, TRP, meetings, peer groups, and the 12-step programme, plus the humility to admit that “clean time” isn’t the same as recovery. We also get into why he’s now writing Nanny Kayes, a screen project built from lived experience to raise awareness about addiction and psychosis, and why fast gas and youth drug trends need urgent action in Ireland.

If this conversation lands with you, please subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find it. What part of Dave’s story do you wish more people understood?

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Three women, one bus ride, and a conversation that swings from pure Dublin craic to the kind of honesty that stops you in your tracks. We sit down with lollipop ladies who spend their mornings and afternoons doing the most under-rated safety job in the city: stepping into live traffic so children can cross the road. They tell us what it’s really like on the kerb, from drivers who try to push through the sign, to the constant weather battle, to the small rules they live by when someone is roaring at them.

But the heart of it is the kids. We talk about school crossing patrol as more than road safety, because the lollipop lady can be the first kind face a child meets that day. We get into how they build trust, teach safe habits, keep spirits up on hard mornings, and why safeguarding, Garda vetting, and clear boundaries matter in modern Ireland. We also chat about Dublin City Council support, training, cover, and what good management looks like when your “office” is the middle of the road.

Then the conversation goes deeper into the lives behind the high-vis jackets: loneliness after the kids grow up, the women’s clubs that keep people connected, and the friendships that hold you up through the worst years. One guest shares her family’s experience of sudden sight loss and a diagnosis of Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, the guilt and grief that followed, and the practical ways they adapt, including better accessibility at sports with audio description.

If you’ve ever walked past a lollipop lady without a second thought, this will change how you see that corner. Subscribe, share with someone who grew up on your road, and leave a review so more people find the stories that keep our communities safe and human.

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