The Hard Shoulder

Off The Ball’s John Duggan joined Shane and Ciara on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the week’s action…

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, joins Ciara to discuss Meta’s new ‘Muse’ AI, and how it aims to be your own personal assistant in your pocket…

A protest will be taking place in Dublin city centre this weekend of more than 30 groups and left-leaning political parties as President Trump visits Irish shores. Joining Shane to discuss this is Criminal Defence Barrister and Senior Counsel, Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha, who is among a group of Irish lawyers who have signed a statement of objection to Trump’s war policies.

How we as a nation deal with death and mourning has always been unique, and so too is the way we show up for people in times of need. Food has always been at the center of that, showing up to neighbors houses with trays of sandwiches and boxes of tea bags following the death of their loved one is how we have shown support throughout the years. Society has changed remarkably over the past 50 years,...

(Spoilers for last night’s episode of The Traitors Ireland ahead!) Joining Ciara and Shane to discuss their experience on The Traitors is Denis, the murdered Faithful and Grainne, who was also a Faithful whose time was cut short…

GAA Director General Tom Ryan has said the organisation was “not ready” for the integration of the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association within the 2027 deadline of the Steering Group on Integration. This follows news that Dr Mary McAleese had stepped down as Chairperson of the Integration Committee. Joining Ciara and Shane to discuss this is Deirdre Murphy, former Head of Operations at Clare...

Every week for The Ultimate Guide on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, Fionn joined Ciara and Shane to give his ultimate guide to celebrating Halloween, or Samhain, in Ireland!

Just how big does a security operation need to be when a US President visits Ireland, especially when that person is Donald Trump? And, how much does it cost? Joining Ciara to discuss is Declan Power, Security and Defence Analyst.

We have all heard of the issue of derelict houses, but they are not the only empty buildings in this country. The latest figures show that one in seven commercial units are empty. Newstalk Reporter Bairbre Holmes has been looking into this, and joins Shane to discuss.

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister of State Neale Richmond has said there is an “appeal” to reform the current inheritance tax to boost what people can receive. He stated that the reform is needed because the current model does not reflect modern families. For more on this, Shane is joined by Financial Advisor and Analyst, Karl Deeter...

Nora Owen, former Minister for Justice, joins Ciara to place her favourite book on the Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

Twelve countries including Britain, Canada and France have said they would put sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the occupied territory. Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden also plan to limit trade with the settlements, the nations' foreign ministers...

Coimisiún na Meán are commencing an investigation into the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, under the Online Safety Code. What does this mean, and what exactly is the platform being investigated for? Joining Ciara to discuss is Adrian Weckler, Technology Editor with The Irish Independent.

PING! A mes­sage on your phone from your part­ner. What do you anti­cip­ate? A request for your ETA for din­ner, or a kiss-strewn ‘can’t wait to see you – let’s go to our favour­ite Italian?’ Joining Shane is Divorce Lawyer Sheela Macintosh-Stewart, who argues she can tell if your mar­riage is on the rocks by read­ing the last ten texts between you and your partner.

An international study shows Irish 15-year-olds outperform their EU counterparts when it comes to reading, and perform strongly in Science and Maths. The report from the 2025 study concludes that Irish students are first for reading, third for science, and fourth for mathematics out of 27 EU countries. Joining Ciara to react to this is TJ Hegarty, maths teacher and Founder of BreakthroughMaths.ie...

(Spoilers for last night’s episode of The Traitors Ireland ahead!) Páraic, who was banished last night as a Traitor, joins Ciara and Shane to share his experience in the castle!

New research by Aviva Insurance has found that almost 75% of drivers in Ireland support using technology that tracks driving behaviour for new and young motorists, but should telematics be extended to all drivers? Joining Ciara to discuss is Alan Behan, Product and Underwriting Manager at Aviva Insurance Ireland DAC.

The US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Ukraine for the first time yesterday for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an attempt to end the war with Russia. Russia has since said they do not rule out fresh talks with Washington and Kyiv on the Ukraine war, but it has been reported that Kyiv air raid alerts are at a record high as Russia launches round-the-clock strikes… For mo...

The price of Netflix’s monthly subscription is set to increase in the coming weeks, with the platform’s ‘standard’ plan, which previously cost €16.99 for Irish customers, to now cost €18.99… But, how can you get the best value for money for your subscriptions if you have multiple? Joining Ciara to discuss is Darragh Cassidy of Bonkers.ie .

Earlier this year we heard that the DublinBikes bicycle-hire scheme, operated by advertising company JCDecaux, is to be discontinued by Dublin City Council after 18 years. With a new scheme being proposed by Dublin City Council, what ideally would the new scheme need to improve cycling in Dublin? Joining Shane to discuss is Michael Pidgeon, Green Party Councillor for Dublin Southwest Inner City.

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Ciara is joined by Dr Anne Keogh, Clinical Psychologist, to discuss how to broach the topic of food and eating habits with your child without causing body image issues.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surged to a resounding victory in the Saxony-Anhalt regional election yesterday. Right-leaning and anti-immigration parties around Europe will be buoyed by this result, but will it make any difference to Europe's policy if more elections show similar results? Joining Ciara to discuss this is Shona Murray, Europe Correspondent with Euronews.

People seeking Irish citizenship would have to be resident in the country for eight years, as well as undertake language testing and be required to be economically self-sufficient under a proposed overhaul of Ireland’s naturalisation system expected to go to Cabinet this week… Joining Shane for more on this is the Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy.

(Spoilers ahead!) Off the back of the latest episode of The Traitors Ireland, Ciara is joined by Saoirse, who was murdered by The Traitors and Fionnuala, who was banished, to share their experiences of the show!

US Republicans will gather in Texas this week for a two-day convention dubbed ‘Trumpapalooza’ by organisers. The convention is an unusual midterm experiment, designed to rally voters around Trump’s record as the party faces increasingly grim forecasts for elections that could cost it control of Congress… Joining Shane to discuss this is Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer with University of Galway and Co...