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Both men spoke about their sobriety, with Power having given up alcohol 13 years ago while O’Donoghue quit drinking last Christmas after using alcohol to deal with his grief. He said he started drinking on the plane home to Dublin in December and “pretty much spent the rest of the Christmas drunk.” 

 He added: “It was really difficult for me to deal with being back in Dublin and seeing everybody for the first time since Mark passed away. On December 27 I decided enough was enough. I've been off the drink now 10 months.” 

He advised viewers not to drink while grieving.

"If you're drinking on grief, you're not getting over the grief, you're just kicking it down the road".

Power said his decision to get sober was one of the greatest gifts he got, second only to the birth of his son. He said he stopped after his drinking started hurting himself and his loved ones.

“It started really worrying my mum and dad, and I think one of the biggest gifts I gave them was not ringing them at 3am in the morning, out of my mind falling over, and they were hearing things crashing. They were so happy when I stopped.” 

Off to a running start

Olympic athlete Rhasidat Adeleke spoke about her experience in the Paris Olympics this summer and reflected on her nascent running days at school.

Adeleke said her teacher Ms Lunny was a key force in her journey from primary school races to becoming a professional athlete. Lunny encouraged her to join a running club after performing well in school races and helped her apply and train for a place in one.

“She gave me the forms, applications, she talked to the coaches and everything. I just went down, she pretty much organised everything and it was from there we made history,” Adeleke said.

Lunny was in the audience and she said everyone could see Adeleke’s potential when she was in school in Tallaght.

“She was so young. She was 9 [or] 10 and I think we already knew that she was going to be a superstar,” Lunny said.

“Everyone knew: the staff at St Mark's knew that she was something special, but she was really determined. She had everything that made a good athlete at a really young age.” 

The Hen House door is open…

Gaeilgeoir, podcaster and presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin was in the studio to speak about his new book, The Iriish Words You Should Know. As well as sharing some insight into the Irish language, including a word for the giddy joy of early pints (it’s ‘loinnir’, if you were wondering), he shared some interesting hints about the future of a popular podcast he co-hosted until earlier this year.

The Tommy, Hector & Laurita Podcast featured Ó hEochagáin with Tommy Tiernan and Laurita Blewiitt having a chat while sitting around a table in a shed at the bottom of a garden in the West of Ireland affectionately known as the Hen House.

In April they called time on the podcast, citing their busy schedules making it difficult to find time to record together. Blewitt gave birth to a baby girl this month and comedian Tiernan has been touring. Now, Ó hEochagáin has hinted more episodes could transpire, but potentially with different co-hosts.

“Oasis came back, are on the way back. Let’s just say Tommy’s busy on stages, Laurita is with family. Let's just say there could be a new addition to the Hen House. You never know. Let's just say the door of the Hen House is open.” 

Life in Gaza

Finally, Irish humanitarian John Whyte, who works with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), is returning to Gaza next week to continue delivering aid in the warzone. He joined Patrick Kielty to give an account of the horrors and struggles he has seen there since October 2023.

“It's a conflict where everyone around the world is watching. Very often I'm asked, ‘Is it really like that?’ And it is. What people see [in the news and on social media] is how it is. It's a tough environment. It's an active war,” Whyte said.

With hundreds of UNRWA staff being killed since the conflict began, Whyte said Gaza is “the most dangerous place to be a humanitarian worker”.

He added: “224 UNRWA staff have died in the course of this conflict, which is the most any UN agency has ever experienced in any field of operations in the history of the UN.” 

Whyte said his wife and sons support his decision to help in Gaza and he feels he must do what he can there.

“I believe I have a moral, personal, ethical, whatever you like to describe it, duty to do what I can. We have very frank conversations as a family and my wife Hilda and my boys all support what I'm doing. But I rely on their support as well, because I'm over there on my own.” 

He said he continues to have hope that the conflict will be resolved.

“I think you always have to have hope. Even in the darkest of days, you have to anticipate that one day there will be an end to this violence, there will be a ceasefire, and that in time, there will be the grounds for some sort of durable political solution.”