Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Hugh is joined by Jack Horgan Jones, Cormac McQuinn and Ellen Coyne for part one of our traditional festive AMA. This year listeners asked about the presidential nomination process, the influence of party leaders, the need for a dedicated Minister for Defence and the stability of centrist politics. Wishing all our listeners a very Happy Christmas. Would you like to receive daily insights into worl...

Dr Kevin Cunningham of TUD is one of Ireland’s most insightful political scientists and pollsters. At the Inside Politics live show in early December he joined Hugh, Pat, Cormac and Ellen on stage at the IFI to talk about Irish voters. What are the issues that really motivate them? Are they driven more by pragmatism or ideology? Today's episode is an excerpt of that conversation. Would you like to...

It was a difficult week for Micheal Martin and FIanna Fáil with the delivery of the report on the party's failed presidential campaign. Martin's position as leader is safe for now, but questions and doubts remain. In part one of today's podcast Pat delivers his assessment of the state of play within Fianna Fáil.  In part two Jack Power reports from Brussels on the ongoing EU summit, wher...

Earlier this month Hugh, Ellen, Cormac and Pat got on stage at the IFI in Dublin for our annual end of year live show. Today we’re bringing you an excerpt from the show as the panel discuss their choice for the standout moments from the political year. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: i...

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan talks to Hugh and Pat about antisemitism after the Bondi beach attack, the progress of the Occupied Territories Bill, Ireland's security needs, why and how the Government wants to reduce inward migration, regret over his decision to support Jim Gavin's nomination for the presidency and his own ambition to one day lead Fianna Fáil. Would you like to receive dail...

Ellen Coyne and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh to look back on the week in politics: Next week Fianna Fáil will get the long-awaited review into the circumstances around Jim Gavin's disastrous presidential campaign. Has the wait taken the sting out of the issue for Micheal Martin? The Government is worried about political fallout if it fails to vote against the EU's Mercosur trade deal. It argues tha...

Eoin Lenihan joins Hugh to discuss his bestselling book Vandalising Ireland. In the book Lenihan sets out his argument that the choices made by successive governments, on issues from migration to the economy, have destroyed the country. He points to an alliance between the political establishment and the media, academics and NGOs, all intent on stripping Ireland of its original identity and replac...

The appearance of drones of unknown origin in Dublin last week around the time of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit again highlighted the security challenges of the present day and Ireland's lack of capability to act in its own defence. Neutrality remains a popular policy, as again demonstrated recently by the election of Catherine Connolly as president. That popularity does not answ...

Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·       Ireland, along with Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands, will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in protest of Israel’s participation. RTÉ said in a statement on Thursday that it would be “unconscionable” for Ireland to partake in the event given the “appall...

Terry Prone is a legend in Irish political communication. Her memoir, I’m Glad You Asked Me That, looks back at her remarkable career. On today’s Inside Politics podcast, she talks to Hugh Linehan about the early days of political interviewing on TV, her experience of working with both Garret Fitzgerald and Charles Haughey, her ringside seat at some of the biggest political stories of the last fou...

Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh to talk through the week in politics: Jim O'Callaghan's message on migration The Taoiseach's fondness for overseas trips New data showing a rise in eviction notices Plus the panel pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Bri...

When Catherine Connolly was elected president with the support of every left-wing party, it sparked new hope on the left that greater cooperation between Sinn Fein, Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit could reap further electoral dividends. How realistic is that hope? And how would a left alliance actually work? Hugh talks to academic Aidan Regan and political corresp...

Denis Staunton has reported from Washington, London and Berlin. Now, as Irish Times China Correspondent, he is using his new vantage point to make sense of this turbulent era as it looks from outside the Western world. In a new newsletter exclusively for Irish Times subscribers, he writes about what’s happening in geopolitics, why it matters and how it affects you. You can sign up for Denis Staunt...

Ellen Coyne and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·      As Paschal Donohoe departs for pastures new at the World Bank, will his absence weaken Government? And does Simon Harris possess the right skillset for the role of Minister for Finance? It might not matter if the qualified doctors who have run the Department of Health are anything...

In his final interview as an Irish politician before leaving for a new role at the World Bank, Paschal Donohoe talks to Hugh and Pat about his decision to leave politics and his record as Minister for Finance and Minister for Public Expenditure, both roles he has held since 2016. The wide-ranging discussion looks at: The circumstances that have led to Donohoe's departure, including his decision to...

After 14 years in Dáil Éireann and a decade in ministerial office, Fine Gael's Paschal Donohoe today announced his resignation. He leaves to take up a senior role at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Why did Paschal Donohoe decide to go now, and where is he going? How important and consequential was Donohoe, as a politician and a minister? And just how prudent was 'Prudent Paschal'? Where does th...

Harry McGee and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·      The inauguration of Ireland’s 10th president in in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, on Tuesday, saw Catherine Connolly deliver a stirring address, amid a real testament to the health of democracy in this country, with all sides coming together after an at times brutal election ca...

The government has come under increasing intense criticism of its record on housing, and the sluggishness with which its addressed the need to build more affordable homes. Today on Inside Politics, Hugh Linehan discusses the issues with the planning and regulatory system that some argue is slowing down the process of boosting housing supply in Ireland. In an essay published in The Irish Times last...

As Catherine Connolly is inaugurated as Ireland’s 10th President on Tuesday, Inside Politics asks how the country’s European partners will be preparing for her presidency. What issues from the Connolly campaign may have raised eyebrows on the continent, and how might she navigate Ireland’s EU presidency in 2026? Hugh Linehan is joined by The Irish Times correspondent in Berlin Derek Scally, and in...

Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: ·      With renewed criticism from left-wing Opposition leaders of Tánaiste Simon Harris, over remarks he made about migration numbers in Ireland being too high, has it become almost impossible to have an honest discussion around immigration?   ·  &nbsp...

Iain Dale has written books profiling prime ministers, monarchs and dictators. Next up from the LBC broadcaster and podcaster is a book on the people - all men - who have served as taoiseach.  The Taoiseach: A Century of Political Leadership profiles all who have held the office and explores the evolution of the role. But Dale didn’t write it himself this time, instead drafting in a roster of...

Ellen Coyne and Naomi O’Leary join Pat Leahy to look back on the week in politics: ·      In the wake of Catherine Connolly’s emphatic presidential election win, could there now be a legitimate prospect of a left-wing government arising from the next general election?     ·      With anger still simmering in Fianna Fáil’s ranks...

This week’s Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan explores what a united Ireland would actually involve, Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole and Belfast Telegraph journalist Sam McBride have written a new book that addresses the case both for and against Irish unity. The structure of the book is unusual. Each journalist writes two long chapters: one arguing for unity, and one arguing against....

Pat Leahy joins Hugh Linehan for the final episode of Election Daily for this campaign. They look at the impact of Connolly's victory on left-wing politics, wonder if Ireland is about to have a more outspoken president than ever before and consider Simon Harris and Micheál Martin's political futures. Thanks to everyone who listened to Election Daily. Inside Politics will return on Wednesday. Would...

Votes are still being counted but it is already clear that Catherine Connolly has won the presidency by a huge margin. Connolly's victory will be confirmed at Dublin Castle this afternoon. Hugh, Jack Horgan-Jones and Ellen Coyne are there and sat down to discuss the emerging results and what they mean. How did Catherine Connolly get her campaign so right and Fine Gael theirs so wrong? What does th...