The Hard Shoulder

A new report surveying 330 students across 12 higher education institutions in Ireland has found that controlling behaviours are becoming normalised in student relationships.    Joining Ciara on the show to discuss was Clinical Psychotherapist, Stephanie Regan. 

Russia has launched another major attack on Ukraine, with civilians killed and around 600,000 people left without electricity. At least six people have been killed with strikes hitting Kyiv and Kharkiv.   For the very latest Ciara was joined on the show by Emanuelle Chaze, Ukraine Correspondent for France 24 to discuss.

How does music positively impact people in difficult times such as dealing with bereavement, chronic pain, or comforting a loved one with dementia?   Dr Shane Cassidy, founder of Neurolinks and music therapist joined Shane on the show to discuss.

Irish author Sally Rooney says her books will no longer be sold in the UK, following an agreement with her publisher, Faber, over legal concerns arising from her support for Palestine Action.  Martin Doyle, Books Editor with the Irish Times joined Shane on the show to discuss.

Emmet Malone Work correspondent for The Irish Times along with Economist and Former Political Analyst David W Higgins joined Ciara on the show to discuss the latest from today’s public sector strike.

Male pattern hair loss affects millions of men, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with when it starts happening to you. Ciaran Bradley, Newstalk’s Digital Editor joined Shane on the show to discuss.

Minister of State for Local Government and Planning & TD for Waterford, John Cummins joined us on The Hard Shoulder to discuss the public sector strike action taking place around the country.

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.