How dogs saved my life – Niall Harbison

Niall Harbison was a very successful entrepreneur in Ireland, setting up and selling a social media marketing agency and the very popular and sometimes controversial ‘Lovin Dublin’ media brand. But a combination of burnout and partying too hard, too often, led him to cut ties with Ireland and start a calmer and healthier life in Thailand. But unfortunately things got far worse, and his addiction to drink and prescription drugs soon led him to wake up in a hospital bed, at the point of near death. Niall promised himself that things would dramatically change from that day on. It wasn’t easy, but slowly he turned his life around and today, Niall is the founder and mastermind behind Happy Doggo, rescuing and feeding as many of Thailand's millions of stray dogs as he possibly can. His work saving dogs has also saved his life. This is a conversation that I enjoyed so much, and I know you will too. Check out Niall’s latest bestselling book - Tina: The dog who changed the world. COMEDY - What would it sound like if RTE put some of its most popular sports commentators on Wimbledon duty?!Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Its a question that women have to ask each other all too regularly at the end of a night out, and for standup comedians Claire Roche  and Justine Halpin, it was time to start talking about why. Claire and Justine wanted to start a wider conversation about the issue, bit not in a preachy way, so they put together a standup comedy show called 'Are Ya Alright Getting Home?'Come and laugh through the fear at 'Are Ya Alright Getting Home?', a standup comedy show with an all-female lineup diving into the ridiculous rituals we must perform just to return safely to our homes after a night out. From fake phone calls to keys as weapons and hurried steps as we reach our front door. This goes further into our daily lives as we navigate through harmful gender norms that affect all in society. Under the umbrella of comedy, we wish for everyone to hear our stories and help us recognise how we can build a safer place for all to live, turning daily survival mode into stand-up gold.  Claire and Justine put on their first show in Bewleys Theatre a few weeks ago in front of a sold-out crowd and such was the reception, that they’re already planning the next one. Check it out here https://thelark.ie/are-ya-alright-getting-home/COMEDY - Joe Duffy's has just presented his last ever Liveline, and auditions have been taking place for his successor. Michael O'Leary, Ray Darcy, and even Paschal Donohoe have thrown their hats into the ringProduced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand.

Ian O’Doherty has been a very regular fixture on Irish TV and radio, and in print, for many years now. His columns in the Irish Independent have always attracted a lot of attention – because they often challenge accepted truths and give voice to so-called ‘unpopular opinions’. In fact he sees doing this as an essential part of the role of a journalist.Ian has just launched his own podcast called The State of Us and he joins me on this episode of The Mario Rosenstock podcast to talk all about this new venture - and its well worth a listen. We also talk about Ian’s background, what got him into journalism and why he’s so passionate about it, his support of Israel, his affinity with Conor McGregor, and he also gives me an exclusive bit of news about Fr Ted the Musical!!Comedy - when word got out that Ian was going to be my special guest on this episode, the Mario Rosenstock hotline started hopping…Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Political reporter Gavan Reilly has been in the Oval Office twice – the first time was during Donald Trump’s first term as US President, and the second was during Trump’s current term. In this bonus episode Gavan tells me what its like to be up close and personal with Donald J Trump and he shares his thoughts on his politics, his personality, and even his physical demeanour.

Fintan has been one of the top thinkers, writers, and speakers in Ireland for as long as I can remember. He has so much to say about so many things and always has a deeply thought-out and fresh perspective on the big issues. So when we get stuck in to a great conversation, I let it run for as long as he’ll let me!This is part one of a two-part conversation we've just recorded, covering immigration and the ‘idiots’ of the far right, why Donald Trump uniquely combines fascism and comedy, how Charlie Haughey got away with it, and what it really means to be Irish. Enjoy!Comedy - Now that Elon Musk has dramatically vacated his government job as head of D.O.G.E, Trump is looking for applications for the role -  and we’ve got hold of some of them…Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

As the saying now goes, what happens in Leinster House…ends up in Gavan Reilly’s new book, ‘The Secret Life of Leinster House: what you really need to know about how the country runs’. Gavan is a former colleague of mine from back when he was the correspondent for Today FM and Newstalk. He now leads Virgin Media’s political coverage and he’s also one of the presenters of the great Group Chat podcast. When it comes to politics and politicians, Gavan has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt – and now it’s time to write the book . In this episode of The Mario Rosenstock podcast Gavan joins me to share the juicy stories, behind the scenes intrigue, and the insights into how politics really works, that he has gathered over his many years as a political reporter. COMEDY- Did you see that Ryanair Boss Michael O ‘Leary has just become 100m euro richer? …This has caught the attention of a few well known people and they’ve been leaving messages for Michael on his phone…we got exclusive access. Produced by Patrick Haughey, Audiobrand

A couple of weeks ago Dave Hannigan joined me to share the fascinating story of how a Kerry man called Butty Sugrue managed to convince the one and only Muhammad Ali to come to Ireland and fight Alvin Lewis in Croke Park. It’s a fantastic yarn and if you didn’t hear it, I’d strongly recommend doing so.But Dave has lived in the US for over 25 years and so I couldn’t let him go without getting his thoughts on what its like to be an Irish man living in Long Island, which is true Trump territory, and all that comes with it. Dave and I go deep on politics, media, the 'flooding of the zone', and even the fall of the Roman empire!The Mario Rosenstock Podcast is produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

He joined me here on the podcast a couple of years ago but he’s such a brilliant character and so much has happened in his life since we last met, that it was high time we did it again.Born into a highly dysfunctional family, Willa White became addicted to solvents by the age of 7, which was followed by several years of heroin and alcohol abuse, stints in prison, and mental breakdowns.  The story of how he got clean and into a good place in his life and head is a real lesson in tenacity, resilience and the power of being surrounded by good people.Willa’s new show is called Dead Man Talking and you should definitely check out the details and see if you can make it along – right after you listen to this episode of The Mario Rosenstock podcastProduced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Lisa Harding and I go way back, right back to Trinity College Dublin in the early 90s where we both did our degrees and became very involved in acting. We both went on to pursue acting careers, however neither of us decided to stay on that path but we ended up succeeding in different, yet still related careers. In Lisa’s case, that career was writing fiction, something that she has excelled at from day one. Her latest novel is called The Wildelings and it is set back in those crazy college days in the early 90s in Dublin and because I was there at the time myself, I was dying to get stuck in to this book and have a chat with Lisa about it here on the Mario Rosenstock podcast. We chat about how people from unconventional, even dysfunctional backgrounds tend to find each other college and band together. Lisa also tells me about falling in love with acting – and falling out of love with it again; why writing is a lot like acting, the craziness of creative people not being able to get mortgages to buy a home, and lots more. COMEDY - We have managed to get exclusive access to the voicemail box of the Eurovision song contest headquarters. Their phones have been hopping since Ireland’s entry failed to make it through to the final. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Picture the scene – its 1972, Ireland is a very different place to what it is today, the country is very monocultural and  feels isolated out on the periphery of Europe. Its all a bit grey.  Enter from stage left, one of the most interesting,  charismatic and successful sports stars in the world – the great Muhammad Ali – and he’s here to fight in Croke park stadium. The story of how all of this came about has fascinated me for years. It involves the world’s greatest sportsman, a pretty questionable Kerry-born circus strongman, and an Ireland that is almost unrecognisable to the Ireland of today. Journalist and history lecturer Dave Hannigan is the man who decided to bring this story to life – and to a new generation – and it all comes together in his new book called The Big Fight: When Ali conquered Ireland. This story has everything, its told by a brilliant story teller. Enjoy. COMEDY  - Joe Duffy has announced his retirement after almost forty years in RTE. And he gets an unexpected call that sets him rushing out of the studio. Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand