The secret lives of Irish men

Ennis broadcaster and presenter Brian O’Connell is to air his latest radio programme, which will focus on male issues in Ireland today.

Described as a male version of the BBC’s The Women’s Hour, the programme is called Men Alive and goes out on May 11 at 7am and 9pm on Newstalk FM.

The show looks at the changing role of Irish men over the past few decades.

“Men are expected to be more emotionally articulate and societal expectations placed on men across the western world has shifted,” Brian said.

The programme explores how the identity and experience of Irish men has changed.

“In the programme I look at male friendship, fatherhood, prostate cancer, gentlemen’s clubs, erectile dysfunction, male identity etc. We hear a lot of male voices on Irish radio, but not a lot of men talking about male issues. Many of the contributors are new to media, and we were careful not to go to well known or familiar male voices. There will of course be lots of female voices in the programme also,” he said.

He looks at the specific cultural expectations placed on men in Ireland and how they are responding to that. He also meets fathers of different ages and backgrounds and looks at how they approach being a dad in comparison with their own upbringing.

Brian spends time with the Dublin Devils, the only all-gay soccer team in a Dublin league and reports on how they are challenging stereotypes about what it is to be a gay man in Ireland.

Reporter Róisín O’Dea visits a Gentlemen’s Academy, a male-only club for Irish men who want to get together for occasions other than sport. She talks to two men who’ve been friends since college about how their friendship has evolved over the years and hears what Irish women have to say about the dynamics of male friendships.

Brian also hears the views of a female panel on how Irish men are adapting to the challenges of a changing social and economic landscape. He meets two prostate cancer survivors, and hears their candid and honest account of surviving cancer and dealing with issues such as erectile dysfunction.

Despite the fact that the majority of Irish radio presenters and contributors are male, issues of male identity sometimes exists below the radar on Irish airwaves. Men Alive hopes to get to the heart of some of these issues.