The Hard Shoulder

This week, Ciara was joined by Freelance Journalist Niamh O’Reilly and Richard Hogan, Family Psychotherapist, Columnist with the Examiner and co-host of the ‘They Mess You Up’ podcast to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists...

From Monday, primary school teachers across the country will begin industrial action in a row over public sector pay. The INTO says its members will begin a work-to-rule, which will mean teachers no longer carrying out additional duties outside their normal school hours. The action could have a knock-on effect for families, with some schools saying arrangements like early drop-off and after-school...

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

Bertie Ahern is allegedly in talks to take up a mediator role in the Drumcree stand-off. The news comes as Drumcree talks to resolve the dispute end without agreement… Joining Ciara to discuss is former Labour MP for Ealing North and former Northern Ireland Shadow Minister, Stephen Pound.

There are growing concerns over diesel prices and supply across Europe. US President Donald Trump is threatening a 90-day ban on US diesel exports unless European countries release some of their emergency reserves. EU Energy Ministers are meeting today to discuss the situation, so what does it mean for Ireland? Joining Ciara to discuss is Kevin McPartland, CEO for Fuels for Ireland and Aoife Foley...

Niall McCoitir has released his 5th book, ‘Ireland’s Animals. Myths, Legends and Folklore’ about creatures that have shaped storytelling in Ireland. It draws from Celtic myth, medieval bestiaries, folk stories and even saintly legends. He joins Ciara to discuss!

The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue TD, today announced the key timetable dates for the 2026 new round of the Community Sport Facilities Fund. Joining Ciara to discuss this and more is Minister Charlie McConalogue.

The Irish Times and Electric Ireland are announcing the winners of their search for Ireland’s Greenest Places.  With over 90 entries all around Ireland in 5 different categories, it's now time to find out who came out on top. Mary Minihan, Irish Times Features Editor joins Ciara to exclusively reveal this year’s winners!

Dublin 1 has been unfairly burdened with a huge over-concentration of social services, so says Robert Watt, the Head of the Dublin Task Force. Is he right? Joining Ciara to discuss is Marie Sherlock, Labour TD for Dublin Central.

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and John Fardy, Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk joined Ciara and Shane to review the latest TV and movie releases…

Rape Crisis Ireland (RCI) is launching new independent research showing that Ireland’s ‘rape shield’, the law meant to stop complainants in sexual offence trials being cross-examined about their other sexual experiences, is routinely failing to do so… For more on this Shane is joined by Sinéad Ring, Maynooth University Associate Law Professor and author of the report.

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

‘After years of record budget surpluses, life is still getting harder for ordinary people. We need a new approach’. That’s the slogan from the Social Democrat’s Alternative Budget. Joining Ciara to discuss it is the party’s Spokesperson for Finance, Cian O’Callaghan.

Oat milk, saunas, bathrobes - have we all just got a little bit fancy? Bernard O’Shea wrote today in the Examiner about the things his culchie soul absolutely abhors like skiing and bathrobes. So we’re asking today: what screams “notions” to you? Joining Shane to discuss is culchie representative, dairy farmer and TikToker Fin Walsh and townie representative and Columnist with the Irish Examiner,...

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Taoiseach Micheál Martin rejected the notion that Ireland is “overrun” with immigrants. The Taoiseach also addressed the possibility of crime statistics being published, which include nationality, something he said he is “not opposed to”. For more on this, Ciara is joined by John Lannon, CEO of Doras.

20 years ago this week, Professor Patrick Geoghegan presented the first ever Talking History show on Newstalk. And 20 years later he has the honour of being the longest running presenter of the same show on the station… He joins Shane to talk about the big anniversary!

The Universal Social Charge was introduced as an emergency measure in 2011, but workers still pay it on every payslip today. With the budget just around the corner, is it time we scrap USC? Joining Ciara to discuss is Managing Director at Alpha Wealth, Nicholas Charalambous and Managing Editor of The Irish Times, Cliff Taylor…

According to a new report from the Irish Medical Journal, the prescription rate of ADHD medication to over-16s in Ireland has increased by 211% over the past 10 years. So, why are we seeing this rise? Joining Shane to discuss is GP and owner of ADHDdoc, Dr Sarah Carty...

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about. This week, Simon joins Ciara and Shane to discuss how you can avoid pushy parenting!

Executives from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) appeared before an Oireachtas committee this afternoon, amid the ongoing fallout over the Republic of Ireland’s controversial Nations League games against Israel. Joining Ciara to discuss this Joanna Byrne, Sinn Féin TD for Louth and member of the Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport.

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, joins Shane to discuss Lidl’s launch of their own mobile network ‘Lidl Connect’ - and why it actually could be good value for your money…

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

Almost two-in-five men under the age of 25 believe rape victims are partly responsible if they were taking drugs or drinking alcohol, according to new research from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC). One in five also believe there are “a lot” of false rape allegations made in Ireland. For more on this, Ciara is by Eoghan Cleary, education expert in sexual exploitation research policy group and...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that one of the pilots of a flydubai plane bound for Tel Aviv had planned to crash it and kill its mostly Israeli passengers… Joining Shane with the latest updates on this is Dominic Waghorn, International Affairs Editor with Sky News.

“Anytime I google something, I tend to add ‘Reddit’ to the end of my query. Why? Because it’s guaranteed to find me an answer. There is nothing in all-human experience that the fine people of forum website Reddit have not encountered before.” So writes Journalist at The Irish Independent, Saoirse Hanley, who joins Ciara to discuss.