Nine year old me is thrilled with herself.
Forty years ago, I dreamed of having my own radio show. In a desperate attempt to make that dream a reality, I spent the few pennies I had on low-quality blank cassette tapes. On these, I recorded myself (sometimes with a less than enthusiastic younger sibling joining in) reading the news; interviewing people (often myself with different voices / accents); making up stories; reviewing books; and pretending to record documentaries. When I returned to Ireland I pitched a few programme ideas to RTE (the Irish national broadcaster).
The one closest to my heart was called ‘Parenting Uncoupled’; it was an idea for a weekly show looking at various elements of parenting when you are no longer part of a couple (this was in 2006 – I was often ahead of my time!). Don’t ask me how, but I managed to convince professionals, and other lone parents to spend time in a professional recording studio recording a demo. Which RTE rejected. Ah well!
Some dreams don’t die. Some dreams need to wait for the time to be right. Some dreams manifest in ways we didn’t quite imagine. My new podcast – Woman Up!, a podcast by, for, and about, women – is one such dream.
I was delighted to launch my initial episode on October 1st. Joining me was Aoife Martin. Aoife is an IT professional and columnist with TheJournal.ie. As well as TheJournal.ie, her articles have appeared in the Irish Times, Image Magazine, Irish Tatler and several other publications. She is the vice chair of TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) and enjoys writing, going to the cinema and swimming in her spare time. Apart from that, she has the best lipstick game I’ve ever come across, and she also has a wicked sense of humour.
