Fuzion Win Happy Podcast

Greg chats with Sister Bride Given, an Irish nun originally from Listowel in Co.Kerry and a Board member of Nano Nagle Place. Sister Bride shares her fascinating story, joining The Presentation Sisters, a closed order when she was just 17.  In that time she has lived through huge changes, part of which has led to the creation of Nano Nagle Place two years ago in Cork city.  She tells the story of her life, the story of the original female Social Entrepreneur, Nano Nagle and how she founded the Presentation Sisters to educate the Catholic children of Ireland and she also shares  what we can expect when we visit the very special visitor attraction, Nano Nagle Place.  Enjoy the Show!

Professor Patrick O'Shea, President of University College Cork initially started off at the college studying physics on a scholarship.  After an illustrious career in the United States at the University of Maryland spanning 30 years he returned to UCC nearly two years ago to take up the role of President. In this podcast he outlines his ambitions for the college and the critical role that education plays in a much changed Cork and Ireland. We wish him the very best of luck. Enjoy the show!

In part two of our podcast with the inspirational Chairman of CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), Tommy Fegan he shares with us how he and his family coped with the sudden death of his son, Kevin at the age of 24. The initial shock, the grieving and then the losing of one's self in work, in various projects and getting involved in fundraising for the charity CRY are all things that helped Tommy to cope. We even heard about the very special role that a certain Finbar Furey played in helping Tommy with his early dark days. Tommy also shares with us the huge work that CRY are doing and the big projects this year that might just require your support. Enjoy the show..  

Greg chats with Daithí, the music producer from the West of Ireland about "the business" of a career in the music industry. A very frustrated Daithí, despite lots of early success was on the brink of abandoning a career in music when he had the most accidental of hits with "Mary Keane's introduction". He added a dance track to a recording he found of his grandmother talking about how she met her husband, which became a huge overnight success. Daithí is now taking on the music business on his own terms and is crafting a successful career, making music that has meaning to him. He chats about the challenges of the music industry, the dangers of ego, his relationship with fans, coping with disappointment and loss and the expression of this in his new album, which will be released in the new year.  Enjoy the show!

Greg chats with CEO and Founder of Tour America and Cruise Holidays, Mary McKenna. To say Mary is a survivor is an understatement - 9/11 is a total disaster when your business is bringing people to America and then there was a near death experience where she was literally rolled over by a jeep behind her office. During the recession that wiped out 50% of the travel operators in Ireland, Mary started Cruise Holidays. This ultimate survivor, lives her life according to a very special set of values, many of which were passed down to her by her dad, Frank who she absolutely adored. Enjoy the show!  

In part two of this podcast with the CEO of the international organisation EIL (Experiment in International Living), Kevin Hickey, explains in detail some of the powerful initiatives and the transformative effect they have with young adults. He is joined on the episode by the inspirational Annemarie Collins, from the travelling community, who travelled to Mexico as part of the EIL Explore programme and she shares her valuable experiences including working with indigenous and immigrant children. Annemarie says that her experiences changed her forever. they woke up "the activist" in her! I hope you enjoy the show! Click here for Part One    

Greg chats with the CEO of EIL, An Experiment in International Living, Kevin Hickey. Kevin shares his fascinating life journey from a small farm in Tallow to incredible experiences and roles including archaeology, running a music school, an observer of the very first democratic elections in South Africa in 1984, rural community programmes, teaching in Mexico and his role as CEO of this very interesting international organisation, EIL. Enjoy the show!

Greg chats with Tommy Fegan, Chairman of CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) in Part 1 of a fascinating podcast. Tommy grew up in a divided society in the North of Ireland and witnessed first hand the very worst of the troubles. His love of music brought him close to the travelling community in the South and made him one of the most popular men in the United States during spells there. His fascinating career meant he had to push his strong politics aside with key roles with Cooperation North and the Prince's Trust where he enjoyed a special friendship with Prince Charles. His life came to a shuddering crash on the 3rd September, 2010 when his son, Kevin, aged 24 died suddenly of heart failure. This introduced him to the condition SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome) and the organisation CRY. Enjoy this special show    

If you want to get anything done you should ask a busy person! Greg chats with serial educator and the master of getting great things done, Bernard Kirk, CEO of Camden Education Trust, Co-Founder of Africa Code Week and someone who is involved in so many projects all with the same goal of advancing the potential of young people through education. An early experience on building sites in the UK set off a powerful light bulb moment for Bernard - without education you will struggle, as he witnessed with so many Irishmen slogging their way through life.  Bernard uses his Irishness, his ability to make connections and his determination to move mountains. Enjoy the show!    

In this episode Greg chats with Caroline O'Driscoll, KPMG Tax Partner, Chairperson of ITCork and Co-Founder of I Wish. Caroline, chats about her life in Cork, her 21 years with KPMG and her passion for the region as a place to work and live. She chats about her role as Chairperson of ITCork, a 200 strong members organisation and one that has seen huge employment growth and her role with I Wish, which encourages young women in STEM sectors. She also shares some simple golden rules about preserving that precious balance between home life and work. Enjoy the show!  

In this episode Greg chats with the man from Cavan, Michéal  Sheridan, the CEO of The Mercy Foundation Hospital. Michéal chats about that balance between being professional and taking things personally and he chats about the "life changing" Roger Waters gig that challenged us all to RESIST wherever and whenever we see bullshit happening in the world. He shares his personal and professional stories including the early days working on the family farm, working with the ISPCC and his current role at the Mercy Foundation. Michéal is excited about the great work being done at the hospital and even more excited about the new Cancer Care Centre, which hopefully will get the necessary planning permission and become a reality for those experiencing the trauma of cancer in their lives. Enjoy the show!  

In this episode Greg chats with General Manager of the Kinsale Bay Food Company, Tommy Doyle, Kerry Legend, the winner of seven All-Ireland Senior medals. Tommy is asked if the "invincible" Dublin team can be stopped from winning five All-Irelands in 2019 and if Kerry are the team to do that. We talk about the art of defending, having a ferocious appetite for winning and Kerry needing a manager who will be brave enough to take the challenge and to Go For It Enjoy the show!    

In this episode of the Fuzion Win Happy podcast, Greg chats with Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur 2018, Conor O'Loughlin, CEO and Founder of Glofox, who shares his story of huge disappointment with an injury, which finished his rugby career with Connacht at the age of 28 to a new career in computer software. Realising that his rugby career and dream was over, he started a web development company and quickly evolved this into a niche software business for the gym and fitness industry. This business has expanded globally from Ireland thanks to the hard work and focus of Conor and his team and the careful navigation of the complex world of funding with Enterprise Ireland, Angel Investors and VCs. We hope you enjoy Conor's fascinating story.  

In part one of this Fuzion Win Happy podcast, Joe Philpott, lead guitarist of Rubyhorse shares the incredible story that took this band of school friends from their garage in Cork to huge success in the U.S. In this episode, Part 2 Joe takes us from then until now, from falling out of love with music and the band and then gradually falling in love all over again with both. 15 years later the band are back recording and gigging - listen to their story and check out the new single "I wanna get lost" at the end of this show Enjoy the story and enjoy the music! 

In this episode of the Fuzion Win Happy podcast we chat with Joe Philpott, lead guitarist of Rubyhorse, who are on the comeback trail after 15 years of not playing together. In part one Joe shares his and the bands incredible story, which took friends rehearsing in a garage in Cork to being chased by all of the major record labels in the U.S. Determination, hard work, faith and raw talent took Joe and Rubyhorse on the most amazing journey, which featured Beatle, George Harrison appearing on one of their tracks, reaching No.17 in the U.S. Billboard charts and appearing on the David Letterman Show. Enjoy part one of this intriguing story about the power of dreaming big and having the balls and determination to realise these dreams. Keep Rocking!

In this episode of the Fuzion Win Happy podcast, Greg chats with the music loving, artist and kayaker, Donal Clancy, CEO of Laya Healthcare. Donal shares his fascinating story including how he has calmly navigated this thriving business through some huge storms, which saw it evolve from BUPA to Quinn Healthcare to Laya Healthcare.   Donal shares his philosophy about business and life and how he approaches the many storms he has experienced. Enjoy the show!

In this episode Greg chats with Mick Hannigan, the Co-Director of the Indie Cork Film Festival. Mick, who has just returned from a 3 month volunteering stint in the West Bank shared his experiences in Part 1 of our chat. In this, Part 2 of our chat he shares his life story, including early days growing up in Cork, London in the punk rock seventies and then a return to Cork. He has spent over 30 years spotting Irish film talent through the Cork Film Festival and the Indie Cork Film Festival, which is now in its 6th year. Enjoy the show! 

Greg Canty chats with Mick Hannigan, Co-Director of the Indie Cork Film Festival over two episodes. Just back from a three month volunteer stint in the West Bank, Mick shares his fascinating experiences. He wasn't expecting to be herding sheep with shepherds in Yatta, Hebron and there was lots more to surprise him during his time in this troubled place. Sumud is the Arabic word for hope... Mick has hope. Would you jump off your busy wheel of life for 3 months? Enjoy the show!

Greg chats with Deirdre Mortell, the CEO of The Social Innovation Fund. When her dad told her she was like someone with a permanent itch in her ass he was right..she never stays still!! Being "different" has her always challenging, changing what she can. A colourful career with senior roles with Oxfam, Barnardos, the 10 year One Foundation project with Declan Ryan and now the Social Innovation Fund. She is also the founding board member of Women for Election. Enjoy the show!

Greg chats with the famous fishmonger from The English Market, Pat O'Connell. Pat shares his story about his hardworking mum, Kathleen who started K.O'Connell Fishmerchants and how a typical market transformed into the huge Cork showpiece that it is today. He tells us the story of decades of regulars and what exactly he said to The Queen, that made her laugh in that iconic photograph. He talks about the huge loss experienced when his mum passed away and he also shares some news about an exciting development with Dunnes Stores Enjoy the show!