Never Have I Ever with Claire Byrne

Claire's guest is Mentalist, magician and hypnotist– Keith Barry.
For most of us our experience of hypnotism doesn’t go far beyond watching the likes of Paul McKenna on the TV back in the day or seeing your mate doing something mad on stage during Freshers Week.
Those are examples of stage hypnosis but hypnosis is also used for therapeutic purposes in what is known as hypnotherapy.
For the lay person the whole area is one that is shrouded in intrigue, suspicion and sometimes controversy.
But it’s something Claire has always been fascinated by, at a distance.
In this episode Claire speak with Keith Barry.
He is a multi award winning entertainer and magician with a Merlin Award and a James Joyce Award to his name.
And hypnotism has always played a central role in his outstanding career.
Indeed he is probably the world’s foremost TV hypnotist.
Can he hypnotise Claire?
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Claire's guest is actor and comedian Pat Shortt. If you’ve ever seen Easy Rider or The Motocycle Diaries you will be familiar with the rebellious allure of getting your motor running and heading out on the highway.
At least in the movie world, taking a motorbike out on the open road is an expression of freedom, a journey of self discovery.
People long to travel the likes of Route 66 in the US, or cross the Mongolian steppe or even just wind their way down our own Wild Atlantic Way.
But in order to feel the wind in your hair and freedom in your soul, you need to be able to ride a motorbike in the first place… and Claire can’t.
In this first episode of Season 2 of Never Have I Ever Claire speaks to Pat Shortt.
Pat is one of Ireland’s most popular comedians, an award winning actor and a musician.
He is currently starring in ‘Animals’ which runs at the Abbey Theatre until November 7.
And of course he has a longstanding passion for motorbikes which stretches back to when his father bought himself and his brother Peter an old BSA motorcycle to fix up when they were teenagers.
Can he persuade Claire to put on a leather jacket and hit the road?
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Ulysses occupies a curious place on the bookshelf. It's a novel we're told we should read. A masterpiece we're expected to admire. And a book that many of us have never actually made it through. Claire Byrne is one of them.
This week’s guest is Richard Boyd Barrett, the Dún Laoghaire TD whose love of James Joyce stretches far beyond politics. Together he and Claire explore why Ulysses has earned its fearsome reputation, whether it's really as inaccessible as people believe, and why a story about one ordinary day in Dublin captivates readers more than a century after it was published.
As Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey sparks fresh interest in the ancient epic that inspired Joyce, Richard makes the case for rediscovering Ireland's greatest novel—not as an academic exercise, but as a funny, human, and surprisingly rewarding read.
Can he persuade Claire to finally turn the page? Or will Ulysses remain firmly on her "Never Have I Ever" list?

This is the last episode of the current series. Never Have I Ever will return in Autumn 2026.

For most of us, war is something we witness from a distance. For Sally Hayden, it's become her life's work. This week, Claire Byrne meets the award-winning Irish journalist whose reporting has taken her from refugee camps to conflict zones across almost 40 countries.
Together they explore what it means to live in or return to places most people are desperate to escape, how ordinary people endure extraordinary circumstances, and why telling those stories still matters.
Sally reflects on fear, resilience, the emotional toll of bearing witness, and the moments of humanity, humour and hope that survive even in the darkest places. And Claire wonders: can anyone truly prepare themselves for a career spent documenting war?

This Is Also A Love Story by Sally Hayden is published by 4th Estate.

Festival camping has never made sense to Claire Byrne. Sleepless nights in tents, mud, queues for the toilets... Why would anyone willingly swap the comforts of home for a damp field?
So, at the height of festival season, Claire sets out to discover what she's been missing. Her guide is Philip Meagher – solicitor by day, music obsessive by nature, and the founder of Forest Fest in Emo, Co. Laois. Philip took a remarkable gamble, investing his own money to build a festival designed for people who still love live music but don't necessarily want to rough it.
Can Philip persuade one lifelong sceptic that sleeping in a tent is a small price to pay for the magic that happens when thousands of strangers come together for one unforgettable weekend? Or will festival camping stay firmly on Claire's "Never Have I Ever" list?
📧 Have a suggestion for something Claire should try next? Email: never@newstalk.com
🎪 Find out more about Forest Fest: https://forestfest.ie/
🍺 With thanks to Ballykilcavan Brewery for hosting this episode: https://www.ballykilcavan.com/