An exhausted daughter sits down with her philandering father for their traditional pre-Christmas dinner. Will they survive the evening without tearing each other apart? Or will a Christmas miracle help them overcome their differences? You can hear me read the story on the Christmas Special episode of the podcast.
It’s the 2025 Christmas special! Dara presents his new seasonal story, hot off the press! In ‘Early Service’, an exhausted daughter sits down with her philandering father for their annual Christmas night out. Can they survive their oppositional tendencies? Will something magical help them transcend their differences? Why does the holiday mean such different things to each of them?
The 2025 Christmas Special! – Episode 234 Read More »
In this episode it is Dara’s great pleasure to sit down and have a long overdue chat with his great friend and former college buddy, Aengus Devine. Aengus is a gifted musician, singer and songwriter, and has sustained a long career as a professional musician. At the end of their long and winding conversation, Aengus plays his lovely new Christmas single ‘God Save Christmas’.
In this episode, Dara is wondering if the spirit of the season is upon you, or if you’re still waiting for that festive feeling to announce itself. The price of beef isn’t helping much. Nor is the price of Christmas trees, for that matter! And why does his daughter have so much to do?
Mari Lwyd, a Sugar Mouse, and a Rake of Christmas Poems! – Episode 232 Read More »
In this episode, Dara has thoughts on December coming round so quickly and the accompanying temptation to collapse in a heap. Does the festive season differ in any significant way from the rest of the year? Christmas really did used to be something special and genuinely indulgent – but does that still land when the rest of the year seems to involve frequent indulgence too?
This year’s Christmas story is about a father who finds himself incapable of giving up on his missing child, even though it feels like a lost cause. You can hear my reading of the story on the Christmas Special episode of the podcast.
It’s the 2024 Christmas Special!
Pulling it out of the bag at the eleventh hour, Dara presents a very short, but somehow shaggy interview with his daughter Maeve, who gives a shout-out to Harry Styles, of all people.
This is followed by this year’s new Christmas story, ‘Arrivals’. It follows a father who tries to honour his faith in his missing son by being at a certain place on a certain day every year. Will his faith be rewarded? A quiet and quietly rewarding story for the season that’s in it.
The 2024 Christmas Special! – Episode 186 Read More »
In this episode, Dara is warming up for the festive season by acknowledging how stress-inducing it can all get and how it really isn’t for everybody. In his own household a new permutation is longed for by some, which doesn’t entirely suit him.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Ask Me Sponge Balls! – Episode 184 Read More »
In this hard-fought-for episode, Dara soldiers on alone to deliver this year’s Christmas special.
The 2023 Christmas Special! – Episode 135 Read More »
This year’s Christmas story finds an old woman in trouble. The woman remembers she was once a young girl in trouble too. Who will come to her aid, and will she want their assistance?
Mrs. Hennessey and the Women’s Christmas Read More »
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