Cavan's next podcast

Stay tuned for Chats With Dee, the next podcast set to hit Cavan this September.

Lecturing at Cavan Institute for the past 18 years, Deirdre Donnelly has realised the importance of talking, which is why she wants to hit the studio and start recording.

The podcast will be focused on mental health, specifically how people look after their noggin in their daily lives.

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Be it the local shopkeeper, singer, sports star or politician Deirdre plans to reach out and take you to the Cavan Institute recording studio.

“I think the big thing is people need people, and if we can help and share those ideas to get us through the hard days then it’s a success,” she said of her new venture.

The mother of three says she loves the chats and the craic but is also aware of the “bad days” people from all walks of life can have regarding their mental health, which is why she is bringing her bubbly, sincere and down to earth personality to the podcasting studio.

The Crossdoney woman gave a hint as to who could be receiving an interview request in the coming weeks.

“Obviously I’ll want to pull on the sports people, I would love to pull on some of our politicians, and teachers, shop owners, there’s no stipulation, it’s just whoever will come in and share what helps them - it would be absolutely brilliant.”

“I’m here talking about how it will help people, they’re helping me. I love getting out and meeting people.

“I love hearing people’s stories. Hopefully people can find a good rapport with me and open up.”

Deirdre emphasises she is not a psychotherapist and doesn’t intend for the podcast to delve into mental health issues.

“I’m definitely not qualified that way but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I’m doing.

“I’ll signpost or move people on if they need professional [help],” she assures.

With a background in law and having spent her years teaching on the communications and IT side of things, Deirdre took a somewhat abrupt turn towards teaching dog grooming.

“It was during the year where I saw the massive impact the dogs had on even the students coming into the room.

“One of the highlights was where I saw the students putting the phone down,” she said, which is a “massive thing.”

“I could see there was something with the dogs,” she said.

As we speak in the environs of Killykeen Forest Park, Deirdre’s four month old golden retriever Molly chews a stick while lying on the grass, every so often checking on her owner chatting on a nearby bench. She’s curious, friendly, and welcoming. Upon greeting, she noses at your palm and quickly accepts you as a friend, diving her head and later her entire body in your hands, begging you to stroke her.

Molly’s deep brown puppy eyes soften, and her tail swishes from side to side slightly faster.

Unknowingly, she puts a smile on the lips of those in her presence.

“This is just something that I’ve taken on from the college and doing the CPD in grooming. I just see that the dog grooming is having such an impact [on mental health].”

Deirdre gave a three-day workshop with prisoners “down the south” on dog care and grooming.

“The impact it had on them was unbelievable.

“These are lifers, these are people that are there 20 odd years, the governors were even shocked to see how much they were opening up in the time they were in the workshop with me.

“They were relaxed when they were working with the dogs.”

The prisoners took the dogs for strolls and Deirdre said that the “chats were absolutely brilliant”.

Out of this, she decided “there’s something there” when it comes the connection between humans and animals.

Knowing that retrievers and labradors are the best breeds temperament wise, Deirdre bought Molly specifically to do dog therapy.

“Molly is going in for training in the next couple of weeks,” she explained.

The young pup has yet to undergo training for dog therapy but has been out already.

So far, Deirdre has been to Castle Manor Nursing Home to visit residents with Molly and with local primary school children, however she wants to take dog therapy further. In September, she will begin working with Cuan Cancer Support in Cavan working with cancer patients and their families.

One of these sessions may see them have a couple of hours where people can bring their own dogs or Molly, they can learn skills such as washing, cutting, drying and looking after the dogs.

“It could be as simple as us just going for a walk,” she said.

It’s in the moments when people are just grooming the dog that they tend to open up.

“If it works [on people] from prisoners to elderly to primary school children, why not share the idea?”

“If I could just get the word out there, dog therapy is something that could work for people.

“I would love to see a workshop in all primary schools with regards to dogs, I think it would be a massive thing under their wellbeing curriculum in primary school.”

Having held fundraisers in the past with her husband Ronan, Deirdre likes to do something different each year to help people.

“I thought, do you know what, the podcast could be another way of helping people.”

If you can share tips and tricks for minding your mental health, Deirdre wants to speak to you to try to help others.

“I think the main thing with mental health is to get it out there, that we talk talk talk.

“My advice is just talk it out, if I’m the ear to listen to their story and I can help them in some way regarding what I would have went through or experienced, it’s job done, a success for me.

“Hopefully people can relate to me because I never put a front up that everything’s perfect with me because it’s far from it. People sharing these stories, I want to get it out there that they are as much of a therapy for me as I am for them.”

Chats with Dee will launch on Spotify this September, where the podcast host herself will be interviewed first before speaking to others.

Deirdre encouraged people to direct message her on instagram page @deirdredonnellyx to suggest interviewees or to put yourself forward.