Aran Island Discs is an intimate, Irish-hearted interview series in which host Rossa McDermott invites guests to explore the soundtrack of their lives. Inspired by the timeless tradition of storytelling and the wild spirit of the Aran Islands, each episode blends conversation, memory, and music into a vivid portrait of the person behind the public image.
Across candid, often deeply personal interviews, guests choose the songs that shaped them — the tunes that carried them through childhood, challenge, triumph, heartbreak, and homecoming. These musical choices become gateways to unexpected stories: the mentor who changed everything, the night everything nearly fell apart, the place they return to in their mind when the world gets loud.
Recorded with warmth, humour, and unmistakable Irish authenticity, Aran Island Discs celebrates culture, creativity, and the emotional power of music. Whether the guest is a celebrated artist, an athlete, a thinker, or a local legend, every episode offers a fresh perspective on the people who shape Irish life today.
Settle in. Take the ferry. Discover the stories that live between the notes.
The podcast presenter is Rossa McDermott, and the series is recorded at Dublin South Podcast Studios in Dundrum. The concept is devised by Dos Amigos, and edited by Peter Rice
#aranislanddiscs #podcast #podcastseries #nusic #rossamcdermott #acast #spotify #applemusic #ireland #inismor #inismeain #inismaan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aran Island Discs is an intimate, Irish-hearted interview series in which host Rossa McDermott invites guests to explore the soundtrack of their lives. Inspired by the timeless tradition of storytelling and the wild spirit of the Aran Islands, each episode blends conversation, memory, and music into a vivid portrait of the person behind the public image.
Across candid, often deeply personal interviews, guests choose the songs that shaped them — the tunes that carried them through childhood, challenge, triumph, heartbreak, and homecoming. These musical choices become gateways to unexpected stories: the mentor who changed everything, the night everything nearly fell apart, the place they return to in their mind when the world gets loud.
Recorded with warmth, humour, and unmistakable Irish authenticity, Aran Island Discs celebrates culture, creativity, and the emotional power of music. Whether the guest is a celebrated artist, an athlete, a thinker, or a local legend, every episode offers a fresh perspective on the people who shape Irish life today.
Settle in. Take the ferry. Discover the stories that live between the notes.
The podcast presenter is Rossa McDermott, and the series is recorded at Dublin South Podcast Studios in Dundrum. The concept is devised by Dos Amigos, and edited by Peter Rice
#aranislanddiscs #podcast #podcastseries #nusic #rossamcdermott #acast #spotify #applemusic #ireland #inismor #inismeain #inismaan
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Niall O'Dowd is the Founder of IrishCentral as well as of Irish America Magazine and the Irish Voice Newspaper. He is also responsible for publishing IrishCentral.com community newspaper and The Irish Emigrant newspaper, in Boston. He founded the Wall Street 50 awards, the Top 100 Irish Americans, the Business 100 and more recently the Top 50 Women in Business and the Irish Legal 100 awards.
Niall was awarded an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin for his work on the Irish peace process, which was a subject of a book, "Daring Diplomacy" and a PBS Special, "An Irish Voice."
His book, An Irish Voice, is a remarkable first-hand account of an Irish emigrant who began as a part-time footballer and house-painter, and became a journalist, author, founder and publisher of two newspapers, a magazine and website, as well as a leading advocate for immigration reform for the ‘illegal’ Irish in the United States.
He played a pivotal role in the Northern Ireland peace process, securing a US visa for Gerry Adams in 1994 and acting as intermediary between the White House and Sinn Féin during a critical time in the peace negotiations.
He is also the author of Fire in the Morning, about the Irish at the World Trade Centre on 9/11 and an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University.
He was also a founder of the Irish Americans for Clinton campaign in 1991, supporting candidate Bill Clinton for president. He led an Irish American peace delegation to Northern Ireland after Clinton was elected and acted as intermediary between Sinn Fein and the White House at a critical period in the peace process. His role was featured in the book Daring Diplomacy by Conor O'Clery.
O'Dowd created the US Ireland Forum, a forerunner of the Diaspora forum held by the Irish government in 2009.
A native of Ireland, (his father was from Cillchuile, Ballydavid Co. Kerry, and lives in New York with wife Debbie McGoldrick and daughter, Alanna..
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.