In Síle Seoige: An Saol Mar Atá, renowned broadcaster Síle Seoige explores some of the major challenges we face as a society today: Bullying, Parenting and the Anxiety Epidemic
16:07, 18 Feb 2026Updated 20:29, 18 Feb 2026
Síle Seoige(Image: TG4/Siobhan Coyne)
Síle Seoige’s latest documentary is so timely and relatable as it explores some of the major challenges we all face in today’s world.
Síle Seoige: An Saol Mar Atá covered the topic of parenting in Ireland last week and we saw Síle, who is a mother of two young children, chat to parents and experts on the childcare crisis that is putting huge and unsustainable stress on families.
Ahead of tonight’s show, where Síle explores the prevalence of anxiety in Ireland, RSVP caught up with the Gaeilgeoir to chat about her own experience of anxiety.
“When I started working on the documentary, my understanding about myself was that I wasn’t somebody who was anxious or who suffered from anxiety. But then I realized when I started meeting people and talking to people, and particularly a conversation I had with neuroscientist Professor Ian Robertson, that it is something I have faced in my life,” Síle told RSVP Live.
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Continuing, she said, “Early on in my career, in my early twenties, I was asked to host an event. And my recollection to this day is that I stood on a stage and I said some words, but I couldn’t tell you now what I said. I don’t know if I was coherent at all. In my mind, I wasn’t. But it turns out I was fine but I was saying to myself how awful it was, I can’t do this. Professor Robertson said, what you’re describing is a mild form of a panic attack, where I was standing on stage, couldn’t remember what I was saying, my heart was thumping out of my chest, I was sweating, I was seeing red spots, I thought I was going to faint. I just had this really, really awful physical response.
“At the time, my understanding was just nerves overwhelmed me. But we didn’t have the words for anxiety back then. It was over 20 years ago, so I didn’t understand that that’s what it was.”
On tonight’s episode Síle chats to influencer and author Meghann Scully about the impact of grief on anxiety. Conall Mac Dhonnagáin explains that anxiety can come hand in hand with neurodiversity and Síle discusses with her friends how anxiety can increase during the menopause.
Professor Ian Robertson explains how anxiety affects us and in Cork, Professors John Cryan and Ted Dinan discuss their ground-breaking research into the connection between the gut and the brain. In Tipperary, Mags Casey, a community activist and Traveller, invites Síle to join a group of women who talk to her about our unequal society and how this contributes to anxiety.
Catch Síle Seoige: An Saol Mar Atá , tonight at 9,30pm on TG4
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