The Hard Shoulder

The number of people applying for citizenship soared by 236% after the Government announced it was tightening the application process.  But what is the importance of the Irish passport throughout history?    Nathan Mannion, Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at The EPIC museum Dublin joined us on the show to discuss.

The trial of comedian Russell Brand has opened at in London. The comedian faces seven charges relating to alleged offences against six women between 1999 and 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The prosecution has begun outlining its case   Former Editor of Bureau of Investigative Journalism and freelance journalist, Meirion Jones joined Ciara with the latest.

Status Yellow wind and rain warnings are in place for seven counties across the day. Carlow Weather’s, Alan O’Reilly joined Ciara on the show with the latest.

Every week for The Ultimate Guide on The Hard Shoulder, we take a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, Eoghan Corry, Editor of Air and Travel Magazine, joined Ciara and Shane to give his ultimate guide to getting the best deals on air travel!

The search is on for Ireland's next big boyband, potentially bigger than Boyzone or Westlife. Brian McFadden has brought together the people behind One Direction and the Sugerbabes. Henry McKean sat down with Brian McFadden, and sent us this interview. If you think you have what it takes,  and you are between 17 and 19 years of age check out Brian McFadden's instagram page or eu.castitreach.c...

More than 300,000 public sector workers including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants, will engage in a 24-hour strike tomorrow over delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal. Joining me now to discuss this is Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Mid-West, Shane Moynihan.

Google is planning to spend up to $5 million into a new project in Ireland to develop better ways of predicting severe storms, flash flooding and other extreme weather events here. The plan will see 560 weather stations installed in schools across the country, with artificial intelligence being used to analyse the data. Ciara O’Brien, Technology Correspondent with The Irish Times has the story, an...

Today FM DJ Claire Beck joins Ciara to place her favourite book on the Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

Excessive spending on online raffles for houses, cars, hol­i­days and cash can be a red flag in loan applic­a­tions, affect­ing how much fin­ance firms are pre­pared to lend. This information comes at a time when online con­tests for massive prizes have been grow­ing in popularity. But, what should you know about how it affects your risk of loan applications? Joining Shane to discuss is Padraic Ki...

PrepayPower has announced it is freezing electricity and gas prices for customers this winter. The move will mean the energy provider's roughly 200,000 customers will be guaranteed to see no price increases until March 2027 at the earliest. Figures from the Central Statistics Office last week showed the prices for energy products, which include electricity, gas and other fuels, jumped by 15.3% in...

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation after a house fire in Waterford city claimed the lives of two adults and two children. Newstalk’s Chief Reporter Barry Whyte is in the area today, and joins Shane to discuss what we know so far…

“Vogue Williams is right, can we please stop telling new parents to enjoy every single minute? Maybe it’s time we gave exhausted parents a break, they don’t need constant reminders that “the days are long, but the years are short”... So says Niamh O’Reilly, Freelance Writer and Journalist. She joins Ciara to discuss.

The Government has described tomorrow’s planned strike action as “difficult to justify”, warning of disruption to essential public services. More than 300,000 public sector workers are expected to take part, affecting schools, hospitals and services across the country. Unions have hit back at Minister Jack Chambers, saying he “brought nothing new” to the table to avert the strike. For the latest d...

Nearly two thirds of homeowners are concerned about their home being damaged by extreme weather, such as storms and flooding, in the next five years. Despite the high levels of awareness, almost half of people have not made any improvements to protect their home against extreme weather in the last two years. That’s according to new research by Aviva Insurance Ireland. Joining Ciara with advice for...

The deposit return scheme for cans and bottles has promised to roll out more bulk reverse vending machines by the end of the year. The regular return machines that launched with the scheme required people to return their bottles and cans one at a time to get their deposits back. The new bulk machines allow you to tip a bag of bottles and cans into the machine, and it tots up the total itself... Jo...

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation after a house fire in Waterford city claimed the lives of two adults and two children. The four family members died, and two other children were left critically injured following an alleged arson attack on their home in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Joining Shane to discuss this and the local impact is Fr Gerry Chestnutt, Parish Priest at Sacred He...

Saudi Arabia was forced to extend the suspension of all flights to and from its main international airport in Riyadh on Monday after a further round of Houthi missile attacks caused more damage and left one person dead… Joining Shane to discuss this Dominic Waghorn, Sky News International Affairs Editor.

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Shane was joined by Dr Elaine McCarty, Senior Child and Educational Psychologist to discuss handling any pre or post-school meltdowns that your child can have.

A new study has shown that Irish people are buying more ‘fast-tech’ items, including mini fans, wireless headphones, or disposable vapes, than many European countries, with many not disposing of them correctly and throwing them in the bin. The research, which was done for International E-Waste Day, shows that nearly 90% of Irish people bought some ‘fast tech’ product in the last year. Joining Ciar...

Unions have rejected a last-ditch effort from the Public Expenditures Minister Jack Chambers to halt strikes on Wednesday. Linda Kelly, General Secretary for the ASTI joins Shane to discuss why these talks won’t be going ahead, and Maeve McTaggart, a News and Political Reporter with the Irish Independent joins to discuss what the impact of these strikes will be.

Today is the sentencing hearing of Riad Bouchaker, who was convicted of 8 offences related to the Parnell Square attack on November 23rd 2023. Frank Graney, Newstalk’s Courts Reporter joins Ciara to give the latest updates.

Former Olympic swimming coach and convicted paedophile George Gibney was jailed for fifteen and a half years today. The 78-year-old was found guilty of 40 abuse charges against four girls between 1971 and 1981. Newstalk Reporter Jamie O’Hara was in court today and joined Shane to discuss…

A new survey by AIB has found Irish consumers lose an average of €150 a year overpaying on shared bills due to being too polite to have the tough conversation. With many people renting and house sharing later in life than previous generations, the issue of ‘the politeness premium’ may be pinching their purse strings more than they realize. But, how can you tackle the issue to help your pocket with...

70 people have been killed in the last couple of days as Russian attacks intensify. Public transport has been targeted, while US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are meeting Ukrainian representatives today. Will there be any actual movement? Sir William Browder is an author and formerly Russia’s largest foreign investor, and he joins Ciara to discuss.

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by Off the Ball’s Cameron Hill and Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with the Irish Independent  to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists...