We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Keelan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jason, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my parents. Both work incredibly hard and have done for many many years. My dad lost his job on December 11th in the morning in 1986. I was born less than 12 hours later!! Wasn’t easy but we made it
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a primary/elementary teacher from a small town in Ireland called Mullingar. For those who have never heard of it, it is the home of Niall Horan and the top mindfulness podcaster in the world, Niall Breslin, and his Where Is My Mind podcast. In my free time I also work as a journalist in sport for a local newspaper, writing about local gaelic football and hurling (Irish sports) but have since become a national journalist also. At the end of July, the Gaelic Games World Games will be held in Derry, Northern Ireland and I will be the official podcaster for the association – it will see more than 100 teams globally who play the sports come to Ireland for a week of games, events and fun – including several USA teams. On a holiday in 2019 starting in Japan and ending in Ukraine, I was on a bus journey from Kiev to Chernobyl when I was listening to a podcast about the 2019 Gaelic Games World Games and had the idea to start my own podcast on the idea of chatting to teams outside of Ireland as many of them never receive any publicity. During covid I began a podcast called The Loaf of Bread GAA podcast. GAA being the association for gaelic games and ‘loaf of bread’ taken from a famous speech here in Ireland from a sporting manager.
As for the podcast, I feel that the most exciting part has been interacting and getting to know players and management from more than 400 teams across the globe and now being officially the only international gaelic games podcaster in the world!!!
Most recently, the brand I was growing took a fun turn. I have a love for sports jerseys, particularly gaelic games jerseys in Ireland and abroad. A local sports manufacturing company, KC Sports, got in touch and asked if they could design a jersey and merchandise based on the podcast, noting that the brand was growing across Ireland and had gained attraction outside of Ireland. So as a result I now have a Loaf of Bread jersey, mug, bucket hat, baseball cap, zip top! It is beyond my wildest dreams!
And then to be asked by the official association for gaelic games (the GAA) – who are the largest amateur sporting organisation in the world – to be the official podcaster for one of their biggest events is quite insane but exciting!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Sport: I adore sport. I adore writing. I love chatting to people. The Loaf of Bread GAA podcast has proven to be a way of linking all three and from the recognition of the podcast, I have now become a national media presence in the sport
2. Travel: Having travelled to 100+ countries, the ability to link history, geography and gaelic games globally is key
3. Enjoyment: If you are planning on doing this as a full time, money-making entity then it can be hard to enjoy it. I don’t do it for an income, I do it for enjoyment
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always looking for gaelic games teams to chat with, based anywhere in the world!
I am always happy to collaborate with social media people at any time
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loafofbreadgaapod/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoafPod
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEiolLD6i4Ddu5jL4FTqPA (don’t use this much)
- Other: https://linktr.ee/loafofbread
Image Credits
All are my own
