National Sisters Day | Sisters, Slagging and One Live Revelation #180

Ahead of National Sisters Day on Sunday 2 August, Laura hands the mic to the one guest who has known her longest - her younger sister Rachel, making her podcast debut. What follows is less an interview than a lifetime of shared history: the smear tests they were both booked in for that morning, Laura's abandoned marathon training, the running mishap Rachel has never been allowed to live down, and the commentary only a sister can give.

Then, halfway through, Laura mentions something she assumed Rachel already knew - that their dad wasn't there when she was born. He was at home with the other two. Rachel had no idea. What happens next is the reason this one is worth listening to: Laura calls their mother into the studio, live, to confirm it.

From there it's the full archive — the crooked teeth and the orthodontist bill that nearly cost their parents the house, the green gabardine Laura convinced her was school uniform, growing up around a mother working night shifts as a midwife, and the football trials Rachel was told she'd have been sent to if she'd been a boy. Underneath the slagging is the thing sisters rarely say out loud, and by the end they both say it.

If you have a sister, this is one to send her before Sunday.

🔑Key Points

Some family history only surfaces by accident

Rachel had never been told her father missed her birth — it came out mid-conversation, not through any big reveal.

Ask the person who was actually there

Rather than leave it hanging, Laura brought their mother into the room to confirm the story first-hand.

Sisters keep the receipts

Years on, the teeth, the gabardine and the running stories are all still admissible evidence.

Childhood teasing lands differently in hindsight

The stories that were mortifying at the time are the ones they now tell most fondly.

Growing up in an older sister's shadow shapes you

Hand-me-downs, comparisons and a very particular sense of humour come with the territory.

Girls were quietly steered away from sport

Rachel was told that if she'd been a boy she'd have been sent for trials — a throwaway line that stayed with her.

A parent's shift work sets the tone of a house

Their mother working nights as a midwife shaped how the siblings behaved, argued and looked after each other.

Slagging can be its own love language

As they put it themselves, it was mostly slagging — sprinkled with a lot of love.

📚Resources

CervicalCheck

Ireland's free cervical screening programme

ADHD Ireland

Support and information on adult ADHD

⏱️Timestamps

01:00 Why this one — National Sisters Day, and Rachel's debut

02:10 Both booked in for smear tests on the same morning

04:05 Laura's abandoned marathon training — and Rachel's running mishap

11:23 "Dad wasn't even there for your birth" — Rachel finds out

12:02 Laura calls their mother into the studio to confirm it

15:14 A female version of Rod Stewart: the crooked-teeth years

16:49 The gabardine that wasn't school uniform

19:45 Mark's first day at school — and Laura stepping in

24:40 "If you'd been a boy, you'd have been sent to trials"

27:00 What having a sister teaches you about conflict

34:13 Slagging, sprinkled with a lot of love

Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.

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