‘Meditation and comedy may seem like a weird mix, but they are just two things that bring you into the moment,” says Dermot Whelan in a teaser video for a live show.
It succinctly sums up what the meditation teacher, best-selling author, comedian, broadcaster and podcaster has mastered since he said goodbye to his hugely successful Today FM show with Dave Moore in August 2023.
In successfully blending meditation with humour, Dermot has brought it from what some would consider as airy fairy or taking itself too seriously to accessible. In doing so he has connected with a much wider audience, and looks forward to bringing his mindfulness humour to the Women & Agriculture conference on 29 October.
“Humour is a great tool for putting people at ease and just gently nudging them out of that resistant frame of mind. You know, into at least curiosity and a little bit of playfulness. When we’re in that state of mind, we are actually open to learning.
“If we’re in a resistant, cynical frame of mind, nothing’s really getting through. The reason I really have made it my life goal now to blend the humour and mindfulness is because I was that resistant man for many years even though I was really struggling. There was a lot of friction in my mind,” he observes.
While he loved his role in entertainment, there was always a push/pull of negative thoughts and anxiety, and like the title of his best-selling book, he felt Busy and Wrecked. Searching for something to help in “quieting that voice”, he discovered a meditation teacher on a random internet station who was funny despite talking about some deep life concepts.
“The minute I started to chuckle along, I realised I was connecting with it. The message was getting through, and the more I got into it, I was like, well, why can’t I do that?”
For Dermot, there is a “special sense of fulfilment” working with a group traditionally resistant to something like meditation, but they know they need to do something to improve their lives.
“When I look at a room of people like that and I see them all sitting there, having gone from that resistant posture with the arms folded at the start of our session and at the end where they’re sitting there with their eyes closed, just finding a little bit of stillness in their day – that’s huge.”
Will they continue it? Dermot doesn’t know, but he hopes they will reach for the techniques during that third sleepless night in a row of calving season or in a time of crisis.
Farm families
He recalls speaking to a group of social workers one time, who, while different from farmers and farm families, are similar too.
“A woman said something that stuck with me. She was like, ‘I love my job, and I love doing what I’m doing, and I want to keep doing it, but sometimes, I wonder where am I in all of this?
“I just felt a ripple go through the room, and people saying, ‘That’s it. We don’t want to stop what we’re doing. We love it deeply.’”
That idea can resonate with the farming community because it’s wrapped in generational tradition, lifestyle and love for the land, he maintains.
“But we can get lost along the way. So, I think my role is to help people to reconnect with themselves in the process and not fall out of love with the thing, that purpose that gets them out of bed every day.”
I wasn’t a farmer, but you know, I’m sure I annoyed a lot of them because I used to go and play in their hay barns with my friends and steal their hazelnuts and everything. I mean, farming is woven into the very fabric of our country and our countryside. I guess growing up where I did, it’s in the fabric of my childhood as well
With such a familiar and compassionate voice, it’s so easy to listen to Dermot talk about the benefits of finding moments of calm in your day or pushing yourself out of your comfort zone on occasion. It’s clear he is enjoying helping others learn practical techniques to destress in the moment just as he has.
Noticing that Dermot is leading a workshop entitled ‘What Really Matters’ to coincide with World Mental Health Day after our interview, Irish Country Living is prompted to ask what matters to him? He immediately holds up a mini-glass board from his desk with a long list of words like ‘service’, ‘family’, ‘humour’ and ‘balance’, all handwritten in black.
Life decisions
After years of not asking himself that question amid the swirl of getting ahead, pushing himself and being busy, he says this board is a list of what’s really important to him and each inform his decisions about life.
“Why am I saying yes to this thing that’s going to take me away from these people I really care about or this value? Is the thing I’m about to say yes to going to have me so tired that I can’t be present or have the energy to enjoy the people that I really care about, even though it sounds exciting and could lead to other things. You know, it took me a long time to realise that,” he admits.
He agrees that part of that was related to working in the media, where work is “transient and unpredictable”, and much like farming, it is very open to change, but you “end up sometimes spreading yourself too thin”.
Service is one of his most important goals, and he refers to this as an “act of giving” by sharing the knowledge he has learned with others. The other big one is spending time with his wife Corrinna and three children.
He’s “excited and honoured” to share his story at the Women & Agriculture conference, supported by FBD Insurance. While not from an agricultural background, Dermot grew up the youngest of six in Co Limerick, surrounded by farms.
“I wasn’t a farmer, but you know, I’m sure I annoyed a lot of them because I used to go and play in their hay barns with my friends and steal their hazelnuts and everything,” he says, chuckling. “I mean, farming is woven into the very fabric of our country and our countryside. I guess growing up where I did, it’s in the fabric of my childhood as well.
“To be able to stand there in front of such a powerful audience and hopefully share some things with them that may make their lives a little bit easier, I’m very excited about that.
“My first book was called Mind Full, and the reason for that was I had found myself at many stages in my life, with that feeling of just my mind being full of problems or worries or just stuff, just clutter.
“I’d be hoping to give the audience maybe a doorway to compassion for themselves, giving themselves a break in their own minds, but also some practical, scientifically proven tools to reach for in those moments where they feel like they’re carrying a lot,” he says, smiling.
Looking to the future, he’s working on not one but two books simultaneously, and his latest TV show, Museum & Me is on the RTÉ player, which features a beautiful interview with actress Mary McEvoy on the farm in Westmeath talking about the lure of the land. A big fan of hiking and mountains, he hopes to bring a group to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco for his next big adventure after going to Everest Base Camp earlier this year.
Being self-employed can be scary, he admits, but it certainly suits him. “I was making a cup of coffee this morning, and I was thinking my life financially and work-wise has never been more insecure, and I’ve never been happier.”
See dermotwhelan.com
Dermot Whelan will share his story at the Women & Agriculture Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Cork, on 29 October 2026, supported by FBD Insurance. Information on the Women & Agriculture conference is available, scan the QR code below with your phone.
