Daragh Fleming on Grief, Numbness, and Finding His Way Back to Words 

Daragh Fleming went viral last year for a poem, but on this episode, Laura and Daragh talk about everything that came before it. The Cork writer opens up about a childhood spent lost in books, a long detour through sport and self-doubt, and the years he spent convinced he wasn’t creative at all. 

The Loss That Changed Everything 

At seventeen, Daragh lost his close friend Irby to suicide. The grief changed him in ways he’s still making sense of. For years afterward he felt almost nothing, a numbness he didn’t recognise at the time as depression, while quietly performing the emotions other people expected of him. 

He’s honest with Laura about the survivor’s guilt that made him sabotage his own happiness, the panic attack that eventually became his rock bottom, and how therapy and journaling slowly led him back to writing. It’s not an easy part of the conversation, but it’s approached with honesty, sensitivity and real care. 

What It Means to Be a Man 

From there, the conversation opens out into the work Daragh is known for now: poetry that reimagines what it means to be a man. He and Laura talk about why anger is so often the only emotion men feel allowed to show, how language like “toxic masculinity” can shape the way boys see themselves growing up, and why he believes emotionally healthier men make life safer for everyone around them. 

Creativity, Warmth and What Actually Matters 

For a conversation that covers so much difficult ground, it’s also warm, funny and full of hope. Laura and Daragh talk about creativity showing up in everyday life, not just on the page, and Daragh shares his belief that the meaning of life is found in the people we share it with. 

It’s the kind of episode that stays with you well after it ends, especially if you’ve ever felt like you were performing an emotion rather than feeling it. Have a listen when you get the chance. It’s one worth giving your full attention to.