Lunchtime Live

Students at a Co Louth school have pledged to continue with a protest to have a “ban” on playing Gaelic games lifted. Over 70 senior students at Dundalk Grammar School walked out of classes on Friday afternoon in protest at the school’s refusal to allow them play Gaelic football. To discuss, Andrea is joined by Sean McLean, Chairperson of Louth GAA, local Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú and Ronan Fol...

This year on Lunchtime Live we’ve been looking at things that we can do in order to make ourselves that bit happier and healthier. This week, Andrea is joined by Paul O’Neill from the Bray Wheelers Cycling Club to discuss why you should be into cycling!

What would you think about the GPO, the most iconic building in O’Connell Street, being repurposed?  Would it be better served as a world-class museum? What if it were to house a leading Government department? Would it make a good new home for RTÉ?  All of these have been proposed as the new Dublin City Centre Taskforce called to redevelop the GPO as a ‘major public building’. &nbsp...

Dr Niall Breen from the Portmarnock GP Clinic joined Andrea Gilligan to tackle your medical queries.

Emma Quirke from Kerry recently represented Ireland in Spain, but at an event you might not think of: the World Jigsaw Championships. She joins Andrea to explain more.

Thousands of babies are missing out on face-to-face developmental checks because of a lack of public health nurses… It has created a real worry that children with potentially serious health problems will fall through the cracks. Is this something that’s happened to you? To discuss, Andrea is joined by Katie Mugan, Lactation Consultant & Breastfeeding & Formula Feeding Specialist, Katie Mak...

Should the state buy Rory Gallagher’s Guitar? Or is that the best way of spending taxpayers money? Tánaiste Micheál Martin has hinted that one of the State’s cultural institutions could move to buy Rory Gallagher’s signature Fender Stratocaster guitar, when it goes up for auction later this week. The guitar is being auctioned off by the Gallagher estate at an estimated price of £700,000 to £1 mill...

This is Lunchtime Live’s Big Batch. Every Monday we’ll be learning new easy to cook batch recipes to keep you eating well. No more staring into an open fridge looking for inspiration! This week, Andrea is joined by Siobhan Berry, from @mummycooks on Instagram, to look at some how versatile tomato sauce can be when batch cooking! Follow the hashtag #LLBigBatch for all our recipes.

A Dublin priest is promising to ban the "glorification of criminality" during funeral masses in his church. Fr Bill O'Shaughnessy, who is based in Tallaght, said that the church should never be a place of "such blatant anti-Christian activity" after witnessing incidents including someone wearing a balaclava while entering the church carrying a coffin, and floral arrangements of alcohol, screwdrive...

Every Friday, as part of our ‘Ask Me Anything’ series, we put your questions to people from interesting backgrounds or working in different careers. This week, Andrea was joined by Casting Director Shauna Griffith to answer any of your movie and TV questions!

What does your profile picture say about you? If you have it as a selfie, are you more likely to be self centered? That’s the question posed by Journalist Áilín Quinlan in Echo Live this week. She and Life Coach Mark Fennell join Andrea to discuss.

‘School reunions are LinkedIn with gin and tonics – do I really want to go to mine?’ So asks Tanya Sweeney, Columnist with the Irish Independent. She recently got an invitation to her school reunion and joins Andrea and more to discuss whether they’re worth going to.

Are you doing enough to prepare for your retirement? A survey from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission shows that one in 10 people between the ages of 45 and 64 don’t have a pension, but is just having a pension even enough? Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at CCPC joins Andrea to discuss.

From the Northern Lights to flying GAA players home for championship – Joe Caulfield from the Newstalk Newsroom joins Andrea to share some of the stories from around the country this week you may have missed!

Touchscreen controls in modern cars pose a road safety risk, that is according to the Euro NCAP - the consumer organisation that gives safety ratings on cars. Touchscreens, they say, which are used for the radio, air conditioning temperature and some driver controls are taking drivers’ eyes off the road. Should you be allowed to have touchscreens in cars? Andrea is joined by Shane O’Donoghue, Edit...

From getting the perfect balance between house plants and jungle in your room, to how to keep them alive – the Home Squad are here to help make houseplants work for you! Pat Keville from PlantStore.ie and Emma Delaney, Senior Interior Designer from April & the Bear join Andrea to discuss.

Actor Mark Ruffalo hit out at the Irish Green Party this week, weighing in on Irish politics. The actor claimed that the party is ‘about to do something really terrible to the environment’ by accommodating fracking. The Green Party have said it’s a ‘very misleading account’ of what is included in new legislation about liquified natural gas (LNG). How bizarre is something like this, from someone li...

Hurricane Milton has done incredible damage to Florida overnight, so what is it like on the ground for those living there? Andrea is joined by listeners in Florida to discuss.

A love of reading is something all parents want to instil in their children, but a new survey from BookTrust shows a drop off in reading once children progress to secondary school. Joining Andrea to discuss this is Mary McCarthy, Columnist with the Irish Independent, Darina Molloy, Senior Executive Librarian based in Castlebar and Sarah Webb, Children's Author.

From the Chilean miners to John Denver, Ciaran O’Connor from 98fm joins Andrea Gilligan to rewind the clock!

Dublin City Council have launched their new plan to breathe life back into the city's night time economy.  The new Dublin City Night-time Economy Strategy aims "to create a dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant nightlife" for both citizens and tourists. What, do you think, would revitalise Dublin’s nightlife? Ray O'Donoghue was appointed Dublin's Night Mayor back in April, and joins Andrea and more...

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea Gilligan is joined by Joey Donnelly, owner of Crofton Motors in Dublin, to answer any of your car-adjacent questions!

7-foot-tall Andrew Day talked in the Telegraph about how being so tall can lead to some pretty big disadvantages. Everything from hobbies and holidays to clothes and shoes ends up costing him a fortune because of his height. Are you on the taller side? What disadvantages do you face because of your height? Andrea is joined by listeners, including Ireland’s tallest man, Shaun Aisbitt, to discuss.

(Some details of this story could be distressing for listeners.) Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin was backpacking in India when she was murdered. That was in 2017, and although someone was arrested at the time, there has still been no trial. Her family have been waiting for justice for seven years, and her mum Andrea Brannigan joins Andrea Gilligan to discuss.

Travelling solo can be an incredible adventure, but is it worth the cost? From higher accommodation prices to missing out on group discounts, solo travellers often pay a premium. Andrea is joined by frequent solo traveller, Pippa Meehan, Ariana Dunne, Host of the Solo Powered Podcast, Rory from Rory’s Travel Club and more to discuss.