The Hard Shoulder

A rally is taking place tonight ahead of Ireland’s UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel, with organisers calling on Irish players not to play the matches. The event is being organised by SIPTU and Trade Union Friends of Palestine. Mick Lynch, trade unionist and former General Secretary of the UK’s National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, who will be speaking at tonight’s...

 I find it depressing when I hear teenage acne stories from Ireland today about how long it takes to see a consultant dermatologist and how extortionate is if you go for private care. So writes, Mary McCarthy, columnist with the Irish Independent who joined us on the show to discuss.  

The Orange Order’s Drumcree parade is to be permitted to proceed along the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years. The Parades Commission placed a number of restrictions on the procession, including an 8am start time and limiting the number of participants to 35 people.   Alison Morris, Crime Correspondent with the Belfast Telegraph and Claire Hanna, Leader of the SDLP &...

 From October 1st, Eir will begin to turn off the 3G network it operates around the country. Donegal is first on the list, with the rest of the country following, and it plans to have the entire process completed within weeks. Irish Times Technology Correspondent Ciara O’Brien joined Shane Coleman on the show to discuss.

A new survey from Halfords has found that 82% of learner drivers have experienced road rage directed at them in the last year. The survey also found that almost half of all drivers surveyed have experienced dangerous tailgating.  Brenda Bolger, a driving instructor with Bolger’s Driving School joined us on the show to discuss.

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and Andy McCarroll, host of the ‘Xtravision’ podcast joined Ciara and Shane to review the latest TV and movie releases…

Do you remember when the internet felt like a shared playground? Back when strangers around the world connected over the colour of a dress? An age before toxic algorithms… Well, joining Ciara is Entrepreneur and Journalist Mark Little, who in his new book ‘The Last Good Day on the Internet’ explores a time when the web was a place of community, curiosity and potential. Until it wasn't...

Help with the cost of energy and home heating is the top priority for voters in next month’s budget. Pat Leahy, Political Editor of The Irish Times joins Shane to discuss the Irish Times poll revealing what voters want to see in Budget 2027.

All day today, as part of Newstalk's ‘One Day, Many Voices’ series, we’ve been hearing from people across our communities and talking about identity, accessibility, belonging and inclusion. And when it comes to inclusion, sport can play a huge role. Navan O’Mahony’s is home to the only adult Peil for All team in Meath, giving adults with intellectual and physical disabilities the opportunity to pl...

Simon Vigar, one of British television’s longest-serving Royal Correspondents joins Ciara to discuss his new book ‘The Four Wives of Windsor: Rivalries, Influence and the Real Power Behind the Crown’.

France has rushed out emergency meas­ures to tackle a loom­ing fuel crisis, with diesel prices at record highs and forecourts run­ning dry. The cash-strapped French gov­ern­ment announced €450 million of handouts and subsidies to house­holds and busi­nesses to deal with what Roland Les­cure, the Fin­ance Min­is­ter, called “a very dif­fi­cult and unwanted situ­ation”. Joining Ciara to discuss this...

Spoilers ahead for the finale of The Traitors Ireland season two! Ciara is joined by the two runner-ups and final traitors of this season, Carla and Pauric, to discuss the result and their experience on the show!

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, joins Ciara to discuss why a technology upgrade is causing the children’s emergency department in Tallaght Hospital to close for four days.

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

TikTok has told the Oireachtas Media committee that it removed 1,600 dangerous driving videos in the wake of the M9 crash. Joining Ciara to discuss is Chair of the Media Committee and Labour Party TD, Alan Kelly.

New research from Durham University has found that women tend to prefer men with a moderate-pitched voice of around 95Hz, with voices similar to the former President Barack Obama, or actors such as Gerard Butler and Jason Momoa are said to hit the so-called “sweet spot” when it comes to attractiveness. But, what is it about the way we speak that makes one accent more appealing than another? Joinin...

Child trafficking remains significantly under-identified in Ireland, with the number of children formally identified as victims remaining extremely low, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has warned. Joining Ciara to discuss this is Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner of the the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

Spoilers ahead for the finale of The Traitors Ireland season two! Ciara is joined by the winners of this season, Anna and Diego, to discuss the result and their experience on the show.

An Oireachtas committee on transport has heard that technology aimed to curb those who drive the wrong way down the road could be 15 years away. It also heard from RSA Chief Executive Sam Waide, who said the number of people killed in crashes had risen by 13% this year compared to the same period last year. For more on this, Ciara is joined by the committee's Chair, Fine Gael’s Micheal Murphy.

Half of Ireland’s large employers are asking employees to attend the office for a fixed number of days by next year, as companies move away from flexibility towards a more structured hybrid working model. To discuss further, Ciara is joined by Henry McKean.

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 Salzburg in Austria!

Fianna Fáil will table a motion this evening that will ban sale of vapes and cigarettes to anyone born after 2009. The bill follows moves made by the UK back in April, but will the ban work and bring about lasting change? Joining Ciara to discuss this is Dr Emmet O’Brien, Chair of ASH Ireland, Council of the Irish Heart Foundation and Respiratory Consultant at Beaumont Hospital.

In New York today, nearly 130 heads of state and government, and other high-level representatives are to meet with their counterparts and address the UN General Assembly with their national statements over the next three days. Elsewhere, EU countries resumed their scramble for an agreement on prolonging sanctions on Russia. Joining Shane for the latest on both is Anthony Zurcher, BBC News North Am...

Adam Harris, Founder & CEO of AsIAm, Ireland's Autism Charity & incoming CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland joins Ciara to place his favourite book on the Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

Figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show that grocery sales were up 4.28% in the four weeks to September 6th, while grocery price inflation is up 0.41 percentage points compared with the same period last year. So, with grocery prices still high, how can you make your money go further when doing your shopping? Joining Shane with some tips is Darragh Cassidy from Bonkers.ie .