The Day the Presses Stopped
Declan tells his own story first: the morning the newspaper closed, the eight months of silence that followed, and the odd phone call that pointed him towards coaching.
From the Pass to the X-Ray Room
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Show notes
From the Pass to the X-Ray Room
Niamh Costigan was head chef at a busy Galway restaurant until her body and her patience gave out in the same winter. Four years later she is a qualified radiographer. This conversation covers how she picked a profession she knew nothing about and how she paid for it.
- Choosing a course by elimination rather than passion
- Being the oldest person in a lecture hall of 19-year-olds
- Weekend kitchen shifts that funded the degree
- The first day on a hospital ward and why it felt familiar
Niamh's advice for anyone in a physically demanding job that is wearing them down closes the episode.
Transcript
Hello again, Declan Hoare here, and this is Second Act Ledger. Today's guest is Niamh Costigan, who spent 14 years running the pass at one of the busiest kitchens in Galway. In the winter of 2021 her knee went, her temper went, and the job went with them. Niamh did something I find genuinely brave. She chose a profession she knew nothing about, radiography, and started a degree at 41 while working weekend shifts in a kitchen to pay for it. We talk about being the oldest person in the lecture hall, about the exam she nearly walked out of, and about the first day on a hospital ward when she realised a kitchen had trained her for it. There is a lot in here for anyone whose body is telling them the job has to change. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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