Lunchtime Live

Halloween is right around the corner. If you have children in school you’ll probably be bombarded with costume parties.  We want to talk about whether children’s costumes are another way for parents to get competitive?   Andrea was joined by parents to discuss...

Thousands of Polish nationals queued outside the Polish embassy in Dublin over the weekend to cast their votes in their country’s election.  Would you like to see Irish citizens overseas be given the right to vote in our elections?  Andrea Gilligan was joined by listeners to discuss...

‘Ask Me Anything’ is a new series every Friday on Lunchtime Live. Over the next number of weeks we will be chatting to people from different backgrounds, people who have weird or wonderful occupations or people who have had incredible experiences.   And, we want you to ask the questions. You can put whatever questions you like to our guest and we will put it to them.   Kicking...

12 year old Sarah Griffin was put into an induced coma after being rushed to hospital with difficulty breathing from vaping.  In support of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s new vaping awareness campaign, Sarah’s mother Mary joined Andrea on Lunchtime Live to discuss...

On 12th January 2015, Anne Marie’s son Max was stillborn at almost 42 weeks. To mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, Anne Marie joined Andrea to tell her story to increase awareness around baby loss.  Andrea was also joined on Lunchtime Live by Kinga and Professor Keelin O'Donoghue is a consultant obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital...

We are counting down to the Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals between Ireland and New Zealand tomorrow night at 8pm in Paris.  This could be our moment to push beyond the quarter final stages for the first time ever.  Has rugby overtaken football as the game that can lift a nation? Has this World Cup turned us into a rugby nation?  Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

Family farms are being put at risk by drugs debts racked up by young farmers.   An Irish Country Living investigation has found people in rural areas are buying cocaine on social media- leading to an increase in young farmers seeking help with their addiction.  Drugs counsellors say it's those aged 18 to 30 who are most affected.   Andrea was joined by listeners to discuss...

Endo is experienced by one in 10 women in Ireland and it is a lifelong condition. Lunchtime Live has been hearing from women across Ireland over the past number of weeks who are living with Endometriosis.   In a special, hour-long panel, Andrea chats to endometriosis sufferers, medical specialists and ask politicians – what can they do?

A listener emailed into Lunchtime Live to express her frustration with the Budget which she feels is leaving down Foster parents: 'I am writing to you tonight as I am so upset about today's budget. I'm a foster carer and I was so hopeful that this year we would finally get the long overdue increase to our allowance that carers have been begging for for many years now.'

Kevin, a listener got in touch with Lunchtime Live about an issue he is having. Kevin's wife was diagnosed with dementia five years ago and is now a resident in a private nursing home. His wife has a medical card, however, she is not entitled to any equipment to make life easier and more comfortable for her...

Who would have thought if Kanye West was looking for the lastest fashion accessory he would have found it on the corridors of St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School in Belfast    Principal of St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School in Belfast, Siobhan Kelly joined Andrea to discuss...

More than a third of people have felt the need to hide aspects of who they are at work for fear of judgement.   Almost half have felt their chances of career progression have been limited because of their background.  Others felt they were held back because of factors such as age, ethnicity, nationality, gender or gender identity.   Do you feel comfortable being yourself a...

Andrea spoke to Fatin Al Tamimi, a Palestinian living in Ireland, about watching the attacks from Ireland and trying to contact her sister who is currently in Gaza.

Israel attacked the Gaza Strip overnight last night as fighting raged with Hamas. The death toll from the war against the Palestinian militants surged above 1,100. It came two days after Hamas attacked Israel with rockets and fighters. The Hamas attack has so far killed more than 700 Israelis.  Andrea spoke to Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic who is currently in Isra...

Andrea Gilligan was joined on Lunchtime Live by Kildare GP, Dr Siobhan Chidley to answer listeners health queries and questions...

When it comes to Sex Education – how young is too young to talk to your children about sex?   One UK couple – Clio Wood and her husband Bryn told a UK paper that they don’t believe in lying to their children, who are two and nine, even when it comes to sex.   Andrea spoke to listeners about when they think it is appropriate to begin conversations about sex.

Kiera Dignam spoke to Andrea about the loss of her father Christy Dignam, dealing with grief and the upcoming release of her new album, 'Nepo Baby'.

From TV to music – how much are you spending on streaming services?  As part of Lunchtime Live's Cut the Cost series Newstalk reporter, Aoife Kearns has found the best deals on the market.

Big Brother returns this weekend after a five-year hiatus. The reboot will see a new cast of carefully selected housemates from all walks of life living together for 6 weeks. Apparently, eviction nights will be different, though we haven’t been told how.  The reboot will have a special emphasis on the mental health of contestants. But what is it like to be on Big Brother and what made it...

Some school children have to wait until secondary school for their first dental check due to backlogs for public routine dental services. Many parents are thus being forced to go private for their children's dental care needs, causing significant financial pressure. To discuss the crisis and its implications, Andrea was joined by parents Sarah and Shona and owner of Redmond Dental Care in Sutton,...

The entire Irish Radio industry is getting suited and booted tonight for the IMRO awards. With it being a Black Tie event, Andrea was joined by Stylist Mandy Maher and Louis Copeland, owner of Louis Copeland & Sons to discuss the requirements for a black tie event and whether the dress code is as popular as it once was.

With the rise of social media, many parents are sharing images and videos of their children leading to the phenomenon known as “sharington”. But in the French Parliament, a proposed bill that would make parents responsible for the privacy rights of their children who cannot consent to their images being shared is being debated. The bill also outlines how parents who look to financial benefit from...

Members of the public who witness shoplifters stealing from supermarkets should arrest them, even if they have to use force.  That is according to Chris Philp, the UK Minister for Policing who claims that the police ‘can’t be everywhere’.   He urged people in the UK to make citizen’s arrests to snare thieves and called on retailers to use security guards to step in where it is safe...

A tweet from News Editor of the Irish Examiner Deirdre O’Shaughnessy has sparked off great conversation with the team here.  She tweeted: “My husband has brought our two kids to a removal this evening and our Ukrainian friends are aghast”  Is it just a very Irish thing, to bring children to a wake? Or is it a good thing? It’s one of the things us Irish pride ourselves on, doing death wel...

One listener, Jerry, emailed Lunchtime Live about something he wanted to raise following an item on the show. Jerry writes: “However, the main point of this e-mail is to emphasize the hard truth that men don't want to date women over 30. Men very picky on age preference because men of nearly all ages prefer women in their early 20's (and scientific evidence has recently confirmed this).  Wome...