Lunchtime Live

Laya Healthcare announced this week that they’re set to hike their premiums by an average of 6.5% from the start of October, and it’s expected other insurers might follow suit. In light of this, Andrea is joined by Dermot Goode from TotalHealthCover.ie to answer all of your health insurance questions.

This weekend, over 600 girls will descend on Enniskerry village in County Wicklow for their annual Belles in The Meadow football tournament.  To discuss, Andrea is joined by Mags O’Grady from Enniskerry FC and Shamrock Rovers Captain and former Ireland player Aine O’Gorman. (Part 3 of our Cadbury/FAI series, with thanks to Cadbury) Image: Enniskerry FC

Parents all over the country are struggling to get creche places for their kids. The stress and financial toll this can take is huge. There’s a story out saying there are 900 Wicklow children waiting for just 109 local creche places. How are parents supposed to cope? Andrea is joined by listeners to discuss.

Our friendships get us through the toughest of times – through every bump in the road. And are often at their strongest in the best of times, to share the great moments. But, there is something extra special about female friendships – they know and outlast everything. But, what is it about them that makes them so great? Andrea is joined by journalist Jenny McEntegart to discuss.

Another successful Electric Picnic festival has come and gone, but there were unfortunately some unsavoury events that occurred.  Andrea is joined by listener Cian, who details how he had to deal with homophobia over the weekend.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic. Today FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan joined Andrea in the studio to put a smile on your faces…

A new Road Safety Authority advert has been criticised as an insult to non car users, those with disabilities and public transport users. The ad features a young man relying on others to get around – in the video, quite literally, he is being carried in the arms of friends and family as he gets from place to place. The RSA shared the video online saying - ‘When you lose your licence, you become re...

Welcome to The Pod Squad! We review podcasts every Tuesday so you always have something new to listen to. This week, Andrea was joined by Editor of rollercoaster.ie , Sarah-Jayne Tobin and 98fm Producer Russell Alford to review the mystery podcast (with a unique name!), ‘Who Shat On The Floor At My Wedding?’. Image: Acast

A food truck on the Isle of Man has introduced ‘Seagull Insurance’ to deal with the scourge of seagulls robbing customers' food! It seems like a mad idea, but does it make sense? Charlotte Paige Smith, Co-Owner of Hawkins BBQ joins Andrea to discuss. Image: Hawkins BBQ

With talk of the passenger cap limiting Dublin Airport, should we be focusing more on the regional airports around the country? Andrea is joined by Mayor of Limerick, John Moran as well as listeners to discuss.

Today would have been the 75th birthday for Phil Lynott, the Thin Lizzy frontman. He’s often hailed as one of the country’s greatest songwriters, and because of that – there are celebrations across Dublin today in his honour. Joining Andrea to discuss his legacy and impact is Alan Buckley, Head Tour Guide at the Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum Experience and Shane Byrne, Marketing for Bruxelles.

Listener Katie was overcharged by over €1,300 after booking a holiday in New Zealand. She noticed that the booking website she used to get the flights ended with her having three separate bookings for the same one! She joins Andrea to explain the situation, and Sinead Ryan, Presenter of the Home Show and Consumer Expert discusses what can be done to help.

This year, Andrea Gilligan is determined to make some changes and become that bit healthier!  Andrea will be joined by a number of different people to find out how they live well. This week she was joined by someone who has made their own Camino, just closer to home! She speaks with Donegal Camino Founder Peggy Stringer.

Senator Sharon Keogan recently tweeted:  I've been contacted by many women on what they can do to protect themselves. Ireland is changing rapidly. Do you think Pepper Spray should be legal? I think I'd risk a fine!  What do you think? Andrea Gilligan is joined by Senator Sharon Keogan as well as listeners to discuss.

Dr Nina Byrnes, GP at Generation Health Medical Clinic joined guest host Anna Daly to tackle your medical queries…

How often do you sit around the kitchen table for dinner? Does it happen once a week? Or maybe even twice? Apparently, about half of families manage once a week, but would like to do it a lot more... So, what’s stopping us? Joining guest host Anna Daly to discuss is Media Personality Vogue Williams, who has teamed up with Heinz and Barnardos on this topic.

Do we need to change the way children are allocated school places? A centralised admission process for secondary schools is to be introduced in a number of towns across the country in time for the 2025 school year -  is this the best way to assign places? To discuss, guest host Anna Daly is joined by Lucy, a parent from Stillorgan, Eric Nelligan, Assistant Principal at St Munchin's College Li...

Season four of Emily in Paris was released on Netflix last week. Reviews for the show, which follows the exploits of an American marketing executive in Paris, have not been kind. Yet, despite this, the series is still wildly popular. Why are shows like this, which are so definitively critically panned, such a hit with audiences? Guest host Anna Daly is joined by Newstalk Reporter Bella Finn, Journ...

This is Lunchtime Live’s newest segment, Gilligan’s Island! Every Monday, we're going to explore this gorgeous island of ours and all that it has to offer. This week, we are looking at why you should take a trip to some whale watching! Guest host Anna Daly was joined by Sarah-Kim from @heyfromsk on Instagram to discuss.

Electric Picnic has wrapped up for another year – with 75,000 revellers enjoying Ireland’s biggest music festival. Fans were treated to performances by stars like Kylie Minogue, Noah Kahan and Calvin Harris as well as homegrown acts such as The Wolfe Tones, The Mary Wallopers and Kneecap. Over in the UK, their biggest music festival, Glastonbury, is broadcast throughout the BBC for the entirety of...

For this week’s Summer Memories, Andrea Gilligan is joined by iconic Dublin Drag Diva Davina Devine to chat and reminisce!

Andrea Gilligan was surprised to see a piece in the Irish Times writing that multivitamins are essentially placebos. As someone who regularly takes them, she had to know if this was really true. Andrea is joined by Sheena Mitchell, Pharmacist, health advocate and podcast host with Wondercare.ie to discuss.

Yesterday, Andrea Gilligan went down to the Dublin Horse Show, which will have around 120,000 people attending over the 5 days, to see what the big appeal was.  She spoke with those attending to learn what makes it so popular, including Siobhan Masterson, Commercial Director for the RDS.

There is so much going on in the world these days – but the story that has overtaken social media the last couple of days; the subject of innumerable articles, column inches and news coverage… is Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury announcing their split. The pair, who met on Love Island in 2019, have been the subject of so much comment, rumours and gossip this week that it begs the question: why are p...

Miss Ireland Jasmine Gerhardt says more needs to be done to tackle cyber-bullying after she suffered abuse online. Jasmine joins Andrea Gilligan to discuss.