Sporty Cork clan next up on Ireland’s Fittest Family

A sporty Cork family take part in the second episode of the latest series of Ireland’s Fittest Family on RTÉ1 on Sunday at 6.30pm.

Mentored by GAA legend Davy Fitzgerald, the Healys face families from Tipperary, Donegal, and Laois, as they seek a quarter-final place.

Dad Noel Healy, 59, is a fitter/welder who loves to keep active, particularly with his family. They run, hike and walk together, and Noel’s favourite tradition is their annual Christmas Day swim.

Daughter Melua, 19, has just completed her first year at UCC, studying Biological and Chemical Sciences and loves GAA, running, hiking and swimming. She was on the Cork Minor Camogie panel.

Daughter Shanna, 27, is a primary school teacher who also plays GAA. A member of her local athletics club, she has completed several half-marathons.

Son Kelvin, 31, who works for a pharmaceutical firm, is a marathon runner, and goes to the gym, surfs and enjoys sea swimming. He has a black belt in taekwando and recently won a county final with his GAA club, Carrigaline.

What if we’re not supposed to have it all sorted by the time we hit 30?

That’s the question at the heart of Spriocanna Saoil, a new four-part Irish-language documentary series that starts on TG4 on Wednesday, and was produced by Macroom woman Edel O'Mahony

It follows Donegal-born, Belfast-based presenter Caoimhe Ní Chathail as she explores love, motherhood, purpose, health, and the pressure to have all the answers by a certain age.

At 32, Caoimhe has started asking herself questions. Should she be thinking about having children? Is there such a thing as meeting the right person at the right time? Should she know what her purpose in life is by now?

Caoimhe takes these queries into the real world, meeting people whose lives have taken different paths.

The first episode explores the pressure on women to become mothers and the idea that they should have children by a certain age.

You can read an article by producer Edel O'Mahony in Monday's Echo.