I wasn’t sure about including a page like this, but people often ask what this work is like. Sometimes it’s easier to let others answer. I asked a small number of people I have worked with if they would be comfortable sharing a few words about their experience. They agreed to let me include them here.
I’d been out of work for 16 years, raising kids, and had no idea where to start. My sister-in-law suggested I talk to Cathal. He made tea, handed me Jaffa Cakes, and we had one of the most surprising conversations I’ve had in years. I stopped panicking. I started thinking about what I might actually want next. Rachel
I was thinking about leaving academia. Two jobs hadn’t worked out and I thought maybe I’d made a mistake choosing this path. I wasn’t sure who else to talk to so I reached out to Cathal. He’d taught me years before during my first year in uni. We didn’t make a plan. We just talked. He asked sharp questions but never made me feel stupid. I left those conversations feeling more human again, and a way ahead emerged. Alex
We brought Cathal in to help us rethink our tone of voice. What actually happened was more unexpected. We ended up talking about the kind of firm we are and want to be. It changed how we write, yes, but also how we think. We still quote him in meetings. Daniel
I’ve known Cathal a long time, mostly through his work in widening participation to higher education. When I started thinking about leaving my role in school leadership, I asked if we could talk. I thought we’d get practical. Instead, we ended up talking about why I started in the first place. It reminded me there’s still something alive in it. Helen
I was a year into a senior management role and quietly coming apart at the seams. I needed to talk to someone without pretending I had it all together. Cathal gave me that. His stories are often hilarious. He has a way of drawing out the serious without sounding serious. We talked a lot about Odysseus. I’m still thinking about some of those conversations. Margaret
I was questioning whether to stay in a job. Cathal didn’t give me advice. He gave me the kind of space where I could say things I hadn’t said out loud. That was enough. Actually, it was more than enough. Jon
We spoke at a point when I felt totally stuck. The strange thing is we didn’t rush to solve it. Cathal just paid attention in a way I wasn’t used to. I felt completely respected and listened to. He challenged me but never judged. I came to really look forward to those hours by the fire with the tea and fruitcake. It was a strange kind of happiness. Simon
Most people I spoke to wanted to steer me somewhere. Cathal didn’t. He listened properly. After a few conversations I realised I already knew what I needed to do. I just hadn’t trusted it yet. Lina
I’d been doing well on paper. Good job, decent salary, things ticking along. But I had this low-grade ache I couldn’t explain. Like I’d drifted too far from myself without realising it. A friend mentioned Cathal and I got in touch, not really knowing what I was asking for.
What stood out straight away was that he wasn’t in a hurry. He didn’t try to reframe things or hand me back a neater version of my life. We just kept meeting, once a week for five weeks. Sometimes we talked about work. Sometimes about old myths or books I hadn’t thought about in years. Once we spent almost an hour on a single line from Heraclitus. I found myself saying things I hadn’t said out loud before. Not because it was therapeutic exactly, but because he was listening in a way that made it possible.
Something shifted over time. Not dramatically. But I started making decisions I’d been avoiding and letting go of things I was holding onto for the wrong reasons. It wasn’t comfortable, but it felt right. What Cathal offers is hard to define. Which is probably why it works. It doesn’t fit into a category. But it helped me come back to myself in a way I wasn’t sure was possible. Tom
Consilium 