Drinkaware Launches Midlife Women’s Wellbeing Podcast with Dr Marie Finn and Alana Kirk

Dublin, 1st December 2025 – Drinkaware, the national independent charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, has launched an original podcast series titled Here’s to Change. Hosted by Drinkaware CEO, Dearbhla O’Brien, the series aims to inspire listeners to reflect on their relationship with alcohol through honest, thought-provoking conversations with a diverse range of guests.

This week’s episode is a conversation with Clare-based GP Dr Marie Finn and life coach, Alana Kirk. Kirk is a women’s life and leadership coach, and helps guide women through life’s challenges. Their discussion questions the role alcohol plays in lives, with particular focus on its role of it in the mid-stage of our lives. This period of life can often bring many changes and challenges. During these times, alcohol can become a part of our strategy for meeting these challenges. 

The episode features a frank, funny, and deeply relatable conversation led by Drinkaware CEO Dearbhla O’Brien with guests Dr Máire Finn, a GP and menopause specialist, and author and midlife coach Alana Kirk. The discussion centres on how the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause transform women’s health, energy, and identity, and why this stage is a critical opportunity to reassess habits around alcohol. 

Dr Finn explains, “Every single cell in our body is influenced by estrogen and progesterone,” meaning the loss of these hormones can trigger anxiety, fatigue, and disrupted sleep, all of which can worsen with alcohol. The conversation addresses how many women lean on alcohol as a short-term comfort while managing careers, relationships, and children. Describing midlife as a “season for self-care and curiosity”, Alana Kirk shares her approach to mindful drinking, which she describes as becoming a “damp drinker; not dry, not default”, advocating for swapping rituals like a glass of wine for alcohol-free alternatives to rebuild control and enjoyment.

Here’s to Change complements Drinkaware’s wider mission to support adults in making more informed choices about their alcohol use and is part of a broader movement to help adults rethink their relationship with alcohol. By spotlighting relatable stories and practical tools for behaviour change, Here’s to Change builds on the growing national conversation about wellbeing, mental health, and balance. 

‘Here’s to Change’ is produced by Drinkaware, the national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland and is available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in today!