The Candidate

The annual St Patrick’s Day trip to the White House used to be a low-stakes photo op. Now? It's a perennial (somewhat tiresome, perhaps) news story and moral dilemma: will we, or won't we? Should Micheál Martin go, and if he does, what does Ireland actually gain and risk? Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, Rónán Duffy and Christina Finn unpack the political calculations around this, whether there's a...

It's a new Dáil term and a new season of The Candidate, but issues at home are taking a back seat right now. Non-consensual, AI-generated sexual imagery has become the flashpoint after X’s Grok tool made it easier to create and share this content. With gardaí investigating suspected child sexual abuse material, and ministers floating half-formed calls to ban the AI chatbot completely, the governme...

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy share their favourite political shows - the ones that helped them escape (or make sense of) real-life Leinster House drama. From The West Wing to Veep, The Thick of It to Borgen, they offer recommendations for what to binge over Twixmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy hand out their now-traditional end-of-year political awards, from the Michael Myers Award for Hanging On In There to the MGMT Difficult Second Album Award. The team reflect on the wins, flops, scandals, and surprises of 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A video aimed at young people moving back in with their parents, shared by the Department of Housing, was meant to be helpful... but it didn't land like that. At all. No sir.  Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy unpick why the backlash was so immediate and the lessons needed for the government on talking about the housing crisis. Do decision makers really understand just how hard t...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first visit to Ireland was smooth, symbolic, and tightly stage-managed. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews unpack the carefully curated optics of the visit, and examine what was said vs what wasn't. Also: how we are still talking about the Occupied Territories Bill? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A judicial review filed against the long awaited MetroLink has sparked a backlash from both government and a public fed up with delays. Ministers are treading carefully, defending the right to object while clearly hoping the residents of Dublin's leafiest of leafy suburbs back down. Will this be a short planning skirmish or a defining infrastructure war? Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane M...

In a move that has raised some eyebrows across Leinster House, Simon Harris has made himself the country's new Minister for Finance. This meant skipping over the entire Fine Gael front bench team in his search to fill the gap left by Paschal Donohoe’s high-profile exit to the World Bank. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy unpack why Harris did it, and how this could sh...

Catherine Connolly’s first speech as president was careful, critical, calm, with just a few pointed lines that hinted at how she’ll approach the role. But for such a major democratic moment, it felt stilted and oddly empty. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy examine why the inauguration itself felt so disconnected from the public, in contrast with Connolly's people-fir...

Fianna Fáil’s hiring of Ivan Yates to help prep Jim Gavin for grillings during the presidential election rate has sparked (or perhaps fanned) tensions with Fine Gael. Then there's the broader questions about media transparency and political training (and let's not forget: who Matt Cooper's new podcast co-host will be?). Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy unpack the pas...

John Collison, billionaire Stripe co-founder, lobbed a political bombshell in the direction of Kildare Street with a 2,500-word Irish Times think piece (manifesto, perhaps). Is it a bold vision or simply Silicon Valley naivety? Sinead O’Carroll, Christina Finn, and Rónán Duffy break down the response to Collison’s 'Make Politicians Powerful Again' call, from ministers nodding along to critics poin...

Catherine Connolly’s presidential victory was more than decisive (but we're not going to call it stonking because Christine hates that word). In this post-election episode, the team unpack what went so right for Connolly, and but where to even begin about where it went wrong for Heather Humphreys? Between Fine Gael’s incoherent campaign and the truly remarkable scale of spoiled votes, this race wa...

With just days to go before the public go to the polls, we sit down with presidential candidate Catherine Connolly. She joins Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy in studio for a wide-ranging conversation. We delve into her campaign so far - its origins, its controversies, and its future. We look ahead to after the election, and whether the movement she has built up has...

We're turning the corner into the final stretch of the presidential election. Catherine Connolly is pulling ahead in the polls, and it's starting to look a lot like Heather Humphrey's campaign just hasn't landed - and she's running out of time to change that. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy unpack a (somewhat) turbulent week of resignations and pointed remarks, from...

Eh... what just happened? Jim Gavin’s shock, abrupt, and unprecedented withdrawal from the presidential race has sent an earthquake through Fianna Fáil and will reshape the campaign. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy unpack the landlord-payment story, Fianna Fáil's vetting processing, the big questions this poses for the party's leadership, and what a narrowed field m...

The first presidential debate is unlikely to be one that anyone will ever really remember, but it gave voters their first real close-up look at how the three candidates perform under pressure. Humphreys tried to steer clear of any mistakes, Jim Gavin attempted to appear less “low energy”, while Catherine Connolly appeared to be in the most control. Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, a...

As the presidential election campaign kicks off in earnest, we're back with a new season of The Candidate. However... we have just three candidates in the race: Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys, and Jim Gavin. It's the smallest field in years. Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy examine why Maria Steen fell at the final hurdle, what it says about Ireland’s political spectrum, and...

After a summer of speculation, six-time All-Ireland winning Dublin manager Jim Gavin has emerged victorious in the race to be Fianna Fáil's candidate for the presidency. There was a contest and Billy Kelleher ran him closer than many expected but Taoiseach Micheál Martin got his man in the end. The question now is whether Martin's vision is shared by the public and whether Gavin is the superstar s...

The unexpected withdrawal of Mairead McGuinness has left a massive hole in the presidential race, one that has yet to be filled by any of the three major parties. Where do Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin go from here? In this unscheduled episode, Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy look at what this means for the campaign timeline, whether Gareth Sheridan’s bid is...

Ministers held their last Cabinet meeting this week, while TDs and senators have already cleared out of Leinster House for their break. That means it's time for us to hand out the report cards. We asked our listeners and readers to help us dish out some accolades for the performance of TDs in the current Dáil so far: Best Politician; Best Newbie; Comeback Kid; Must-Try-Harder Award; Quote of The T...

The government unveiled its updated infrastructure spending plan this week and its plans to splash billions on projects around the country. But on what projects and where? Well, that type of detail was, oddly, not forthcoming... From MetroLink to housing and health, the National Development Plan was heavy on spin and light on specifics. It was followed by the Summer Economic Statement and a shift...

The Dáil has wrapped up for the summer... again. But with a housing crisis, major legislation pending, and just 33 sitting weeks a year, should TDs still be clocking off this easily? Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Jane Matthews unpack whether Ireland’s political calendar is stuck in the past, and why a rethink of how the Dáil actually works should be on the cards. Also: the Occupied Territor...

Mary Lou McDonald is finally sailing us out of the presidential election doldrums... without saying much at all, really. Her non-denial that she would be throwing her hat in the ring has ramped up speculation around her being Sinn Féin's candidate. But could she actually win? And why are all the other parties playing it so coy? Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy look a...

As Micheál Martin woos Japan with harp performances and pints of Guinness, back home the government is floundering over student fees. Christine Bohan, Jane Matthews and Rónán Duffy dig into the communications mess that’s dominating headlines and angering parents (and is it simply a communications mess, or something more?). Also: what Rachel Reeves’ tears in the UK parliament say about the intensit...

It was already going to be a tense Nato summit, but when the alliance's secretary general referred to Donald Trump as “daddy”, and the White House embraced it, it shifted the tone from awkward diplomacy to something closer to humiliation... but did the move actually work? Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Rónán Duffy unpack the daddy text and what it says about Europe’s will...