25-04-2025
Ten high-profile Irish people reflect on advice they would give to their 25-year-old selves
Maïa Dunphy, writer and broadcaster
I came home from a voluntary wildlife project in Borneo just before I turned 24.
I was a little lost and very broke. I took the first job that came up - processing purchase orders for an injection moulding company. When I turned 25, I was still working there.
It was only when they offered me a big contract that I realised it wasn't what I wanted, so I got a job for a quarter of the salary in TV.
Maia Dunphy: "I sought out adventure over everything else back then. I'd save travel money to get back to Borneo, which I did twice, and didn't have any sort of life plan beyond the next 12 months."
I sought out adventure over everything else back then. I'd save travel money to get back to Borneo, which I did twice, and didn't have any sort of life plan beyond the next 12 months.
Lots of my peers had started building careers and I felt like a bit of a failure in comparison. Now, I'd tell 25-year-old me not to stress, because 20+ years later, I still don't prioritise any of those things.
Aimee Connolly, entrepreneur
I was in my first proper year of life with [my beauty brand] Sculpted by Aimee, having just launched it. I was self-funding the brand, turning what had started as a project into a full-fledged business that needed structure, strategy, and long-term vision.
Outside of work, I was travelling a lot with friends, making the most of that phase in life. I'd been with John, my now husband, for about three years.
Aimee Connolly: "I'd tell my 25-year-old self that everything does work out, even when it feels like you're just figuring it out as you go. Hard work is non-negotiable." Picture: Naomi Gaffey.
The biggest part of that year was discovering what it truly meant to start and grow a business, finding my feet, learning by doing, and figuring out what it took to make something like Sculpted work.
I'd tell my 25-year-old self that everything does work out, even when it feels like you're just figuring it out as you go. Hard work is non-negotiable.
You can't please everyone. So be a little more selfish with your time and energy, say no when you need to, and protect your focus.
Nicole O'Brien, singer
The Netflix reality show I featured on, Too Hot to Handle, had just come out.
It was a mad time, trying to do the most I could in the industry, as you have a short window to build a brand and foundation.
I never would sit and be present; I would just keep chasing the next big thing. I equated how happy I was with success, which I now know is the wrong mindset.
Nicole O'Brien: "I equated how happy I was with success, which I now know is the wrong mindset."
I would tell 25-year-old me to be present, enjoy the journey, and not worry about the small things.
It's important to take time for friends and family and not rush. If things don't go the way you want, it's for a reason.
Una Healy, singer/songwriter
It was a pivotal point in my life. I had been waiting for so long to get a break in music, and it was when I auditioned for The Saturdays.
It was pre-marriage and babies, so at that point my focus was solely on my career. I had put everything into it, years of graft.
Una Healy: "I would tell myself that life is for living and we all make mistakes. There is a song I wrote as a teenager called This Is Your Life. "
I would tell myself that life is for living and we all make mistakes. There is a song I wrote as a teenager called This Is Your Life.
There are so many nuggets of advice in there but one of my favourite lines is 'Won't know peace, if you don't know pain. If you want a rainbow you've got to let it rain.'
I try to take my mother's advice. When I don't, that's when I make the mistakes.
Elaine Crowley, TV presenter and producer
I was working at what was then TV3. I had been there for about three years.
I was a news reporter and assistant producer and I used to fill in as the anchor on the news whenever the main guys were on holidays, at weekends, or during the week.
Elaine Crowley: "I would tell myself to learn to drive and keep at it for the love of god because you will need it when you are older."
My dad had died a couple of years before, so I was very family-oriented, and that hasn't changed. But I was enjoying life too, hanging out with my best friends.
I would tell myself to learn to drive and keep at it for the love of god because you will need it when you are older.
Stop procrastinating and don't worry about what size it says on the label. You are perfect as you are.
Rosanna Davison, model and author
I was doing a lot of work in Europe, going to events, fashion shows, TV shows, things like that.
I was always pushing myself hard. I loved that every day was different, loved adventure and travel. I never wanted to have a routine. Spending time with friends was so important.
Rosanna Davison: "I would encourage myself to slow down, stop saying 'Yes' to everything, and stop spreading myself so thin." Picture: Jason Clarke.
I would encourage myself to slow down, stop saying 'Yes' to everything, and stop spreading myself so thin.
I've become much better at this with age, saying no to things that I feel don't suit me or that I can't manage. I have learned to balance my time a lot more.
Maeve Madden, fitness entrepreneur
I had just graduated from university as a nursery school teacher, which sounds good, but I hated it. I was so lost. I knew that teaching wasn't the career for me, but I had no clue what was.
I was living in London, drinking overpriced cocktails and attending a party every night of the week, and I decided to give myself a breather.
Think, dancing till sunrise, lots of dating, and saying YES to everything except a nine-to-five.
Maeve Madden: "It was the year I stopped following the societal 'shoulds' and that little lost phase turned out to be the first step toward finding myself. Sometimes being a bit lost is how you find your magic."
It was the year I stopped following the societal 'shoulds' and that little lost phase turned out to be the first step toward finding myself. Sometimes being a bit lost is how you find your magic.
I didn't know it would come in the form of my business, Queens Don't Quit, 14 years later.
I'd say, 'Maeve, stop panicking. You're not lost, you're just becoming.' Don't worry about what everyone else is doing - there isn't a time limit. Choosing a different path doesn't mean you've failed.
Kathryn Thomas, broadcaster
I was four years into filming No Frontiers, a travel show I worked on for a decade. I was living with five friends in a tiny house off Leeson Street.
I was travelling, on and off, for six months of the year to exotic places, coming home to part-time jobs, eating pot noodles and dancing in Night Owls in Ranelagh before taking off again.
Kathryn Thomas: "My sense of adventure and my friendships were most important to me. I'd tell myself to keep having fun." Picture: ©Norman McCloskey.
My sense of adventure and my friendships were most important to me.
I'd tell myself to keep having fun. I so enjoyed my 20s. I think I have a sense of adventure and with that comes a sense of fun and that is what life is about. I would say, 'Keep doing what you are doing and always push the boat out.'
Anna Daly, TV and radio presenter
I had just finished college. I'd done the backpacking thing and was home, working at the Bank of Ireland and then in marketing for radio, while realising that this adulting business wasn't that easy. Now I'd say, grab opportunities with gusto.
Anna Daly: "Don't assume everyone shares your moral compass, but try surrounding yourself with people who do." Picture: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland.
Don't assume everyone shares your moral compass, but try surrounding yourself with people who do. Save some money. Life is about to get a lot more expensive.
Stop buying tops for nights out and invest in some quality pieces. Travel. Relax. Stop worrying. Most of the things you worry about will never happen.
Dermot Bannon, architect
I had just finished college in England and moved back home. It was the boom in Ireland, and I was working my backside off, nearly every hour, trying to build a career for myself.
At 25, I became a workaholic. That seems to be the story of my life: taking on massive projects and putting myself under pressure.
I worked long hours, often unpaid, and I was just trying to hone my craft. If I could go back, I wouldn't do what I did.
I'd try to enjoy myself a little more. My dad always said to me, 'Don't live to work. Work to live,' and I think now, at this age, I get it.
I would say: invest in relationships, friendships, and your family because they are most important. You don't need to achieve things by a particular time. Life happens in the in-between moments. Work will never bring you as much joy as other people.
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