Social Fabric podcast host Andrea Splendori speaks to two remarkable people who have made it to the very top of their different fields against all the odds.

Filmmaker Paddy Slattery has dozens of award-winning shorts and music videos to his name including the critically acclaimed thriller Broken Law which was recently picked up by Netflix.

Paddy tells how he fell in love with filmmaking at an uncertain time in his life, after he was restricted to a bed for almost a year, following a serious car accident.

He suffered a severe spinal cord injury that has left him with life-changing injuries. In Paddy's words "my body switched off and my imagination switched on. It's almost like when you deprive certain senses in the body, other ones become amplified. I felt like I was seeing, hearing, tasting and touching life in a completely different way.'

Richael Timothy is one of the country's most talented cyclists having represented Ireland at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo and won a bronze medal at the 2020 World Track Championships.

Growing up in Roscommon, Richael's athletic talent shone through as she represented her country as an Irish underage soccer international and inter-county footballer.

However, her world was turned upside down when an acquired brain injury left her with severely impacted motor function on the right side of her body. "(After leaving hospital) I still couldn't walk. If I got out of bed my face would droop. I'd walk and drag my foot. I couldn't lift a cup with my right hand.' Today, Richael is not only training to make the Paris Paralympics but has a degree in sports science and is doing a masters in performance coaching.

Thursday 27th April 2023 @ 8pm (doors 7pm). Tickets (€25) can be booked at www.whaletheatre.ie or call the booking office on 01 2010550.