Two careers. And a conversation recorded at exactly the right moment.

Finn Gallagher's career began in a locked ward in Letterkenny in 1953. He retired as Chief Nursing Officer, having helped reshape mental health services in Ireland from the ground up. His son Paul followed in his footsteps into nursing and is currently the Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery — a role he will leave later this year.

In this episode, Marie Kilduff sits down with both of them — together, for the first time on the podcast.

What emerges is rarer than a career retrospective. It's a conversation about the decisions that define a life — recorded while Paul is still in post, and Finn can still remember what it felt like to be where his son is now. A young nurse choosing a ward over the Gardaí, guided by a single question from an older man he had rarely met. A father stepping back from his son's first day so the son could find his own footing. A wife's four words that settled a move that felt like emigrating.

Paul returns to Leading with Hearts and Minds, having previously shared his own story. This time, Finn is in the room — and what passes between them says as much as anything either man puts into words.

For anyone in nursing or healthcare leadership, this episode carries something quietly useful: what influence looks like when it's patient, what mentorship looks like when it asks rather than tells, and what it means to hand something on.

In this episode:

• Why Finn nearly joined the Gardaí — and what stopped him
• Paul's memory of his father at work, and what it planted in him
• The decision to move from Donegal to Limerick — and the conversation that made it possible
• What both men would say to the next generation of nursing leaders

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Inclusive Leadership Is a Leadership Practice, Not a Programme, with Síle Walsh

What is the difference between organisational diversity and social diversity, and why does that distinction matter in the workplace?

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Margaret Williams speaks with inclusive leadership expert and author Síle Walsh about inclusion as a leadership responsibility rather than a checklist or initiative.

The conversation begins by distinguishing between organisational diversity and social diversity, before exploring inclusive leadership as a core leadership capability that supports performance, psychological safety, and better outcomes for people and organisations.

Drawing on research, professional practice, and lived experience, Síle discusses purpose, co-creation, reasonable accommodation, and why focusing on needs rather than labels leads to more effective workplaces, particularly in complex healthcare environments.

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Marie Kilduff speaks with Professor Michael West about what compassionate leadership really means in healthcare and why it matters now more than ever.

Drawing on decades of research, Professor West explains how leadership behaviour shapes organisational culture, staff wellbeing, and patient outcomes. He challenges the idea that compassion is soft or optional, arguing instead that it requires courage, accountability, and a willingness to address difficult issues such as chronic workload, toxic behaviours, and system pressures.

The conversation explores the ABC conditions for compassion: human needs, autonomy, belonging, and competence, and how creating the right conditions for staff leads to innovation, psychological safety, and better care. Professor West also reflects on self-compassion, presence, teamwork, and the simple leadership question that can transform cultures: How can I help?

This episode offers practical insight for clinicians, managers, and system leaders seeking to build compassionate cultures that support staff and improve patient care.

Professor Michael West CBE

Professor of Organisational Psychology, Lancaster University Management School

Senior Visiting Fellow, The King’s Fund

Book: West, M. A. (2021). Compassionate Leadership: Sustaining Wisdom, Humanity and Presence in Health and Social Care, published by Swirling Leaf Press.

Shaping Culture on Purpose

Joe Ryan on leadership, accountability, and building trust in the HSE

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Joe Ryan, National Director of Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management at the Health Service Executive, speaks with Marie Kilduff about leadership, organisational culture, and psychological safety in healthcare.

Episode Highlights

• Leadership and organisational culture in the HSE
• How healthcare culture has changed over time
• Compassionate leadership and accountability in practice
• Psychological safety, staff wellbeing, and patient safety
• The impact of workplace incivility on performance
• Informal leadership and culture change in healthcare teams
• Measuring culture through staff experience and patient feedback

Guest:

Joe Ryan, National Director of Public Involvement, Culture and Risk Management, Health Service Executive

In this episode of Leading with Hearts & Minds, Marie Kilduff speaks with Dr Pádraic Dunne, Senior Lecturer at the RCSI Centre for Positive Health Sciences and Principal Investigator of the Digital Health Research Group. Pádraic’s background spans immunology, psychotherapy, lifestyle medicine, and health coaching, giving him a unique perspective on what supports human wellbeing in a world that is moving faster than ever.

Pádraic explains what positive health science entails, breaking it down into positive psychology, lifestyle medicine, and health psychology. He discusses why lasting change is challenging, why quick fixes rarely work, and why awareness, compassion, acceptance, and vulnerability are essential foundations for both personal and professional well-being.

This thoughtful conversation offers practical insight for anyone seeking to support their own well-being or that of their teams in a high-pressure healthcare environment.

Guest:

Dr Pádraic Dunne, Senior Lecturer, RCSI Centre for Positive Health Sciences

Host:

Marie Kilduff, National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing & Midwifery

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Marie Kilduff speaks with Amy Carroll, Assistant Director of Midwifery at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny. Marie begins by asking Amy how she first entered midwifery, opening a conversation about resilience, mentorship, and the reality of learning under pressure.

She shares insights from her time as a Spark Innovation Fellow, including how design thinking, curiosity, and psychological safety can transform services and support teams.

The episode also explores Amy’s award-winning work on the MUMA Postnatal Hub, her approach to conflict and communication, and her advice for midwives who want to grow into leadership roles.

A concise, uplifting conversation about compassion, innovation, and leading with authenticity.

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Prof Áine Carroll joins Marie Kilduff to reflect on how her mother’s final months shaped her understanding of what integrated healthcare should truly be.

Despite decades of professional leadership in integrated care, Áine found herself navigating a fragmented system that left her feeling powerless as a daughter advocating for her mum. That experience intensified her long-standing commitment to person-centred, coordinated care and exposed the gaps that so many families still face.

Together, Marie Kilduff and Prof Carroll explore:

• What happens when care isn’t joined up, even for those who understand the system
• The barriers that continue to block progress, from siloed services to poor communication and digital limitations
• Why leadership in a complex adaptive system must evolve
• The role of data, partnership, and meaningful relationships in driving improvement
• How the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) supports global learning through the Nine Pillars
• Why hope, action, and collective responsibility are central to making real change.

In this episode of Leading with Hearts and Minds, Marie Kilduff speaks with Caroline O’Regan, a respected leader in healthcare education and organisational development who has contributed significantly to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Caroline reflects on more than three decades of experience in leadership development—charting how the focus in healthcare has shifted from hierarchical management to a more inclusive, collaborative, and compassionate approach that values communication, empathy, and systems thinking.

They discuss:

• How leadership in healthcare has evolved over the decades
• The impact of Caroline’s work with RCSI on leadership education
• Preparing emerging leaders for complexity and change
• Why compassion and clarity remain at the heart of effective leadership

Presented by Marie Kilduff.

Produced by the National Clinical Leadership Centre for Nursing and Midwifery.