In one of the most powerful and moving episodes of Where Do I Go From Here, Annmarie and Katie sit down with the extraordinary Aliesha Caffrey — hairdresser, icon, and one of the most courageous women you will ever hear speak. Aliesha grew up on the Curragh in Kildare, the oldest of nine children, with a father in the army and a mother who was her greatest champion. From the very earliest age, Aliesha knew she was different. While her brothers played football, she played hopscotch with the girls, wore her mother's shoes, and simply felt like a girl — because she was one. But growing up in 1970s and 80s Ireland, being different came at a price. Aliesha opens up about the cruelty she faced as a teenager — the slagging, the name-calling, the cigarette burns on the bus, and one devastating night on the Curragh when a group of soldiers followed her home and subjected her to one of the most dehumanising attacks imaginable. An attack whose smell and shame stayed with her for decades. And yet, through all of it, Aliesha never stopped being Aliesha. She tells the story of travelling to England in her mid-twenties to begin her treatment — years of assessments, psychiatrists, hormones, and waiting. She describes the morning of her surgery in Brighton, walking alone along the beach with twenty cigarettes and Whitney Houston playing in her ears, knowing that when she came back out of those clinic doors, she would be fully and completely herself for the first time in her life. This episode covers the full arc of an extraordinary life — the unconditional love and acceptance of her family, who embraced her at every stage; her sister's wedding where she came home as Aliesha for the first time; her return to Newbridge in 1997 to open her own salon; her television appearances including the Late Late Show with Gay Byrne; her beautiful thirty-two year marriage to Jonathan, who she lost just eighteen months ago; and the grief she is still walking through now, with the same resilience and honesty that has carried her through everything. Aliesha also shares her personal perspective on where things stand today — the puberty blockers, the faster processes, the changing conversation — and why, in her own experience, knowing who you truly are has to come before anything else. Her name, Aliesha, means I will never leave you in Irish mythology. And she never has — never left herself, never abandoned who she was, even when the world tried its hardest to make her. This is her story. And it is one you will not forget. This episode is proudly sponsored by Inner Therapy, Naas and Portlaoise — offering EMDR, couples therapy, CBT and neuro-affirmative care. Visit innertherapy.ie Keywords: Where Do I Go From Here podcast, mental health Ireland, identity, self-acceptance, gender identity Ireland, resilience, grief, loss, Late Late Show, Inner Therapy, Annmarie Gray, Katie Richardson, Aliesha Caffrey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
