Tommy Tiernan Show recap: Laura Dowling on ending stigma surrounding women's intimate health
Women's health advocate, speaker and author Laura Dowling on the Tommy Tiernan Show. Picture: Tommy Tiernan Show/RTE.
Those staying in for Valentine’s on Saturday night were treated to a Tommy Tiernan Show full that explored everything from women’s health education to a career in rugby.
Tiernan’s guests on Saturday night included rugby player Mack Hansen, pharmacist, entrepreneur, and author Laura Dowling, and Choctaw academic Waylon Gary White Deer.
Tiernan’s first guest of the night was rugby player Mack Hansen, who spoke about his life back in Australia, his move to Ireland and his career on the pitch.
The professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for United Rugby Championship club Connacht told Tiernan about his journey from Canberra, Australia, to playing for Connacht and Ireland, highlighting his experience of gaining 14 kilos after a broken ankle at age 20, which he said helped him become an elite athlete.
He spoke of his Irish heritage to Tiernan, telling him about his mother, who was originally from Cork, whose family moved to Australia when she was just four years old.
“So my mother is from Cork. She was born there, a good Cork lady, and I had the passport and everything. I got to around 22, I was playing for the Brumbies at the time, and the opportunity came up to come to Ireland. I felt like I just needed a change. Andy Friend, who was the coach at the time, gave me a call, and I think it was like a week later, I was like, ‘Yeah, ready to go’.
“She [my mother] is one of eight, typical Irish family back then, really, isn't it? She's the youngest, so she would have been around four or five, I think, when she went over to Oz. The whole family picked up and went over. My granddad was a carpenter. He started his own business over there and just stayed.”
Hansen spoke about playing for Connaught, going into detail about a recent injury which required six screws and a plate in his foot.
He said the injury will likely take about six months to heal but that expects to recover by next season.
“I wish I had a good story for you. I wish it was a shark bite, or something to do with saving someone. I went to pick the ball up, and as I've gone to step, I stepped on another guy's foot, and my foot just gave out.
“So I ended up doing a few ligaments in my foot, my joints were a bit out of whack. What they've done is they've put in I think it's six screws in and a plate, a little bit of a bone graft over that, and my mid foot's just one giant bone, pretty much."
Tiernan commented on how down-to-earth Hansen is, despite being a well-known rugby player, and Hansen acknowledged it as a trait of his personality, then went on to discuss an incident for which he received a three-week ban in January 2025.
After a 20-12 loss to Leinster in December 2024, Hansen complained that Connacht never received favourable calls and suggested the officiating was biased.
He later apologised for the "ill-advised" remarks, and told Tiernan on the show that he “unloaded on that game” and that he “shouldn't have”.
Closing out his conversation with Tiernan, he said he hopes to be back playing next season.
"Unfortunately missed this season, but kind of get into that and then yeah, hit the ground running,” he said.
Tiernan’s second guest of the night was Laura Dowling, a pharmacist, entrepreneur, and women's health advocate with over 20 years of experience.
She is the founder of the supplement brand fabÜ, host of The Laura Dowling Experience podcast, and author of
Joining Tiernan in the studio, she told him about what it is that she does and explained how important it is for women to educate themselves about their vulvas, and for men to create a safe space for women to discuss their anatomy.
Dowling spoke about her role in discussing taboo topics related to women's health, including menopause and intimate health, and mentioned her training as a pharmacist and her current work in giving women's health talks.
She listed issues facing women, such as vaginal dryness, sexual dysfunction, and incontinence, noting that many women are embarrassed to discuss these problems and explaining that incontinence affects a significant number of women, including young women and those post-menopause.
The conversation also touched on the reluctance to discuss women's health issues openly.
Dowling spoke about how women in the past likely suffered in silence, as discussing such issues was taboo, and discussed why it’s now so important to educate young girls about their anatomy and the proper terms to use.
“A lot of women don't love their vulvas, and they don't understand them, because we've never been given the correct language about how to talk about our anatomy, talk about things that can go wrong with them,” she said.
She went on to talk about STIs and safe sex practices for young women, pre and post-menopausal women’s health concerns, and openness about menstruation and women’s health concerns.
Touching on men’s role in women’s health education, she said: “It's about women opening up and talking about it to their partners too, because a lot of women don't like even talking to their partners about it. So women need to open up. Men need to be able to listen and not just try to fix it, because men love fixing but they maybe they maybe they just need to listen to this one and then go and maybe try and find out a little bit about I have a book called Love your vulva. They could start there.”
Tiernan’s final guest of the night was Waylon Gary White Deer, a Choctaw academic who shared his background and the Choctaw's historical migration from Mississippi to Oklahoma, the Trail of Tears, and their cyclical time perception.
He highlighted Choctaw cultural practices, such as ceremonies around death, and marriage, and emphasised the importance of intent in their culture, including the power of words and the concept of curses.
Discussing with Tiernan his Choctaw heritage, he provided a brief history of the Choctaw people and their migration from Mississippi to Oklahoma and elaborated on the Trail of Tears, explaining the origin of the term and its significance for various Native American tribes.
Speaking about identity, connection to place and his life in Ireland, he talked about living in various parts of the country, including Dublin and Donegal.
“People know me there in that small part of Donegal. They know me, and they are very welcoming to me. Even now, if I went back, it's hard for me to get away or leave, you know.
“But it’s also not just the people. I think the land comes out in the people.
“When I first got to Donegal I was way up by Errigal or a place where there were many more sheep than people, wondering how I got there with no car and a long way from the shop.
“I started noticing that there was almost like a knot, like a Celtic knot, made between the land and the sea and the wind and those three elements, very strong presences where I used to live, and you couldn't have a lie in, because the Earth and the wind and the water would just pull you out of bed every morning — very strong place.
“I became acquainted with the land before I started really meeting people. And when that gets into you, when a sense of place gets into you, it never really leaves you, I guess.”
Closing out the show on Saturday night was Dove Ellis performing the song
