Untold with Niamh Buffini

Welcome to Untold with Niamh Buffini! 
In this podcast, we sit down with some of the nation’s most well-known faces, and dive deep into their journey to where they are now and what is next for them. We get to grips with some of the untold stories they’ve never shared before. You heard it here first! 
Our very first guest is TV personality, broadcaster, and fitness entrepreneur Ray Shah. Ray opens up about growing up mixed-race in Ireland and how embracing what makes you different can become your greatest strength.  
From navigating identity and belonging, to learning hard lessons in public and rediscovering passion after burnout, Ray's story is a reminder that our careers are rarely linear, and that the curveballs life throws at us are often what shape us most. 
This episode will teach you: 
Why being the odd one out can be your biggest advantage - and how to stop seeing difference as something to overcome. 
The real cost of reacting before thinking - what happens when emotion drives your public voice, and how to find the line between authenticity and oversharing. 
How to recognise burnout before it does the damage for you - and why stepping back from something you built takes more courage than pushing through. 
That it's okay to fall out of love with a career you worked hard for - and how to find your way back to passion, even if it looks completely different the second time around. 
Why the rules change as you get older - and how shifting from working harder to working smarter might be the most underrated transition of all. 
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini 
LinkedIn Website Instagram 

This podcast is a deep dive into the lives of genuine trailblazers—the people who didn’t just meet the norms, but completely reshaped them to create lasting greatness and fundamentally alter how we view the world. If you are someone driven to maximize your success, both professionally in your chosen career and socially, these are the blueprints you need. Each episode offers actionable lessons from their remarkable journeys, showing you how to study their path and adopt their strategies to achieve your own goals faster and with greater efficiency.  

This podcast is a deep dive into the lives of genuine trailblazers—the people who didn’t just meet the norms, but completely reshaped them to create lasting greatness and fundamentally alter how we view the world. If you are someone driven to maximize your success, both professionally in your chosen career and socially, these are the blueprints you need. Each episode offers actionable lessons from their remarkable journeys, showing you how to study their path and adopt their strategies to achieve your own goals faster and with greater efficiency.  

Welcome to Untold with Niamh Buffini!
In this podcast, we sit down with some of the nation’s most well-known faces, and dive deep into their journey to where they are now and what is next for them. We get to grips with some of the untold stories they’ve never shared before. You heard it here first!
Our very first guest is TV personality, broadcaster, and fitness entrepreneur Ray Shah. Ray opens up about growing up mixed-race in Ireland and how embracing what makes you different can become your greatest strength.
From navigating identity and belonging, to learning hard lessons in public and rediscovering passion after burnout, Ray's story is a reminder that our careers are rarely linear, and that the curveballs life throws at us are often what shape us most.
This episode will teach you:
Why being the odd one out can be your biggest advantage - and how to stop seeing difference as something to overcome.
The real cost of reacting before thinking - what happens when emotion drives your public voice, and how to find the line between authenticity and oversharing.
How to recognise burnout before it does the damage for you - and why stepping back from something you built takes more courage than pushing through.
That it's okay to fall out of love with a career you worked hard for - and how to find your way back to passion, even if it looks completely different the second time around.
Why the rules change as you get older - and how shifting from working harder to working smarter might be the most underrated transition of all.
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini
LinkedInWebsiteInstagram

Careers and the future

Welcome to Untold with Niamh Buffini!
In this podcast, we sit down with some of the nation’s most well-known faces, and dive deep into their journey to where they are now and what is next for them. We get to grips with some of the untold stories they’ve never shared before. You heard it here first!
In this week’s episode, Niamh sits down with Norma-Jean O’ Reilly, one of Ireland's most sought-after hairdressers and a familiar face behind the scenes of some of the country's biggest TV productions. Norma-Jean opens up about a career built on graft, honesty, and a lifelong love of transforming how women feel about themselves.
She shares the story of becoming a mother at 16, the defining moment that launched her career, the media storm that became a masterclass in resilience, and the devastating loss of her sister and how she looked to being busy for comfort. This is a raw, honest, and uplifting conversation about rebuilding yourself, and falling in love with your life again.
This Episode Will Teach You:
Why brutal honesty is the foundation of a long and respected career
How to turn a very public professional setback into a growth mindset moment
Why saying yes to everything, even unpaid work, is still one of the best career strategies going
The real cost of skipping grief and going straight back to work
How manifestation can look in practical, everyday terms (morning alarms, notes, letters to your future self)
Why showing your unpolished self on social media is more powerful than you think
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini
LinkedInWebsiteInstagram

Welcome to Untold with Niamh Buffini!
In this podcast, we sit down with some of the nation’s most well-known faces, and dive deep into their journey to where they are now and what is next for them. We get to grips with some of the untold stories they’ve never shared before. You heard it here first!
In this week’s episode, Niamh sits down with Irish TV personality and social media star Alan McGarry for a candid conversation about their journey through reality TV, self-acceptance, and life behind the scenes.
From their early days chasing casting directors to appearing on the US show Plastic Surgery Rewind alongside Kim Zolciak, Alan opens up about the highs and lows of building a career in entertainment, their identity as a non-binary person, and the very private reality of caring for their mother, the untold side of their life.
 
In this episode, you’ll discover:
How Alan got their first TV break on Body Fixers in the UK, and why Alan thinks they handled it all wrong
The moment they turned down Catfish UK and what it taught them about trusting their instincts
What it was really like landing on a US show alongside Kim Zolciak, without knowing who the host was when they signed up
How a knock on their bedroom door from Kim changed everything for them on set
Their journey to identifying as non-binary and what that means to them today
Why they’re stepping back from social media, and why that's actually a business decision
What Pride Month means to Alan and why they believe it's for everyone
The untold story of their mum's serious diabetes diagnosis, her two-month hospital stay, and the role Alan plays caring for her behind the scenes
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini
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In this episode, Niamh sits down with Audrey O'Connor, Reiki master, sound bath facilitator, and breathwork practitioner, to talk about her unlikely career path from quantity surveying into the wellness world.
Audrey opens up about burnout, trusting your body's signals before your brain catches up, the fear of judgment that comes with a big career pivot, and what she's learned facilitating sound healing sessions for clients working through stress, grief, and life transitions.
 
In this episode, you’ll discover:
The slow-burn decision to leave a "safe" career.
How to recognise burnout in an unconventional form.
Learning to pivot without permission.
Reiki, sound baths, and how energy work actually feels.
Grief, culture, and emotional avoidance.
What people are really searching for.
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini 
LinkedIn Website Instagram 
 

In this episode, Niamh sits down with musician Daithí Ó Dronai. He opens up about his roots in County Clare's traditional music scene, his teenage rebellion into rock and bass guitar, and how discovering loop stations led him back to the fiddle in a whole new way.
He traces his path through a viral talent show appearance, gritty open-mic "boot camp" gigs in Galway, and the explosive success of his breakout track "Mary Keane's Introduction".
Danny shares his evolution from touring dance musician to founder of the band Houseplants, to composer scoring acclaimed film and TV projects.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
How childhood environment and family influence can shape a creative path in ways you don't even realise
Why loving what you do often comes after years of grinding, not before
How to find what makes you uniquely interesting as a creator - even if your story feels "ordinary"
Why patience and time matter more than talent when it comes to building something meaningful
How shifting your mindset from "what can I get" to "what can I give" can change your relationship with your work
How to turn a personal or emotional moment into something that genuinely connects with others
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini 
LinkedIn Website Instagram 

In this episode, Niamh sits down with Irish 400m sprinter Sophie Becker, fresh from the gym mid-season. Sophie opens up about the constant uncertainty of life as a professional athlete, injuries, funding, qualification, and how she's learned to hold that uncertainty while still fully committing to the sport.
Sophie also gets candid about the toughest stretch of her career, and how she used discipline and passion to push through and get back out on the track.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
How to keep showing up for something even when the results aren't there yet, and why that's often exactly when the real progress happens.
Why uncertainty never fully goes away, once you "make it"
What a major setback can teach you about who actually shows up for you.
How to tell the difference between pushing yourself and working against yourself.
Why being "selfish" about your goals doesn't have to mean abandoning the people who matter to you, and how to find the balance
 
Connect with Niamh Buffini 
LinkedIn Website Instagram