Lunchtime Live

From sitting the Leaving cert at 83 to being trapped in a lion enclosure – Breakfast briefing Presenter Shane Beatty has a roundup of stories from around the country you might have missed!

Electric picnic kicks off this weekend – and it can be hard to believe that it’s the 20th Anniversary! Andrea Gilligan is joined by listeners including Arts Journalist and Broadcaster Pat Carty and Today FM’s Cathal O’Sullivan to share some of their favourite memories from the festival!

Creating home bars has been growing in popularity over the past while, whether it’s out in the shed, or under the stairs! Our Home Squad are here with advice if you’ve a mind to make your own. Andrea is joined by Roisin Lafferty, Founder and Creative Director of Roisin Lafferty and Hayley Burke, The DIYist to discuss.

It’s an exciting time for women’s football in Ireland – following Ireland’s World Cup debut there is a lot of buzz about the talent in Ireland. But, who are the names to keep an eye out for over the next few years?  Kathleen McNamee - Host of the COYGIG Podcast is with me to tell me about some of the rising stars. (Part 2 of our FAI/Cadbury series)

Maebhe Gorman was diagnosed with a life-limiting genetic disease about a year ago, and tragically passed away last week. Maebhe had a rare genetic condition that affects the brain, known as Metachromatic Leukodystrophy late infantile form. Her family are calling for the condition to be screened for in Ireland, as it is in most other countries. Andrea Gilligan is joined by Maebhe’s aunt, Carol Gorm...

Do you find voice notes annoying? Apparently, recent research from Pure Telecom says three quarters of us think they shouldn’t be more than a minute long, and some just don’t like them at all. To discuss (not through voice note!), Andrea is joined by Esther McCarthy - Life and Style Daily Features Editor for the Irish Examiner, Off the Ball’s Nathan Murphy and Ciara Treacy from Newstalk’s Digital...

It's Throwback Thursday! Where we look back on things that happened this week in history. 98fm’s Ciaran O’Connor joins Andrea Gilligan once more to rewind the clock… Image: Apple TV+

Wizz Air has announced it’s launching a subscription service offering unlimited flights to those who sign up. The Hungarian airline’s “all you can fly scheme” is being offered at an introductory price for a limited time. A year’s subscription will set you back €499 before this Friday, when it will rise to €599. The membership is inclusive of all flights across the company’s substantial internation...

Spin 1038fm presenter Michaela Hayes tells Andrea about her own experiences living with a stoma as M&S launch a brand of stoma underwear

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea Gilligan is joined by Pat Keville from Plantstore.ie to answer all of you houseplant questions

Irish teenagers are the best performers in reading literacy in the EU, but has there been a drop in reading books?  Andrea chats to Newstalk's Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly, author Sheila Flanagan and Sinéad Cuddihy from Tired Mammy Book Club. Photo by Vincenzo Malagoli

Is it normal to feel downhearted when you find out your baby’s gender? Andrea chats to parents who have experienced gender disappointment Photo by Lazaro Rodriguez Jr

Last week on Lunchtime Live, Adrian Kennedy spoke to the owner of Ballykilcavan Brewery in Stradbally about his desire to have his craft beers sold in Electric Picnic. Well the promoter Melvin Benn has responded, and says the reason it’s not being sold at the festival, is because he simply doesn’t like craft beer. Andrea is by David Walsh-Kemmis, owner of Ballykilcavan Brewery in Stradbally, to di...

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… Image: Universal Pictures

Should unhealthy food be in plain packaging like cigarettes?  Professor Donal O’Shea spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning and certainly believes so. Would this work? Andrea is joined by listeners, as well as Lorraine Carter from Persona Branding & Design to discuss.

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 the Newsroom’s Ellen Butler and Dave Hanratty, the Host of the No Encore Music Podcast, to review 'Dangerous Memories' Image: Tortoise Investigates

Andrea caught up with our reporter Laura Donnelly who in down in Stradbally ahead of Electric Picnic this weekend. Andrea also chatted to Kellie Anne Byrne – DJ & Radio Presenter - about which acts to look out for at EP.  

Retailer Brown Thomas have defended their decision to charge 60 cent for paper bags in their stores.  The charge, introduced last week, applies to the instantly recognisable Brown Thomas grey and white bags and Arnott's blue branded carriers and applies irrespective of the size of the bag a customer is given.  They say that all profits from the sale of paper carrier bags will b...

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 High Performance Coach Gerry Hussey.

Efforts to get people living in rural areas to buy Electric cars are failing. The Government target of having one million EVs on the road by 2030 now feels less likely. So what would get you to buy an EV? Andrea chats to Tom Spencer, editor of IrishEVs . com and hears from listeners

Dr Niall Breen from the Portmarnock GP Clinic joined Andrea to tackle your medical questions!

Last weekend, Andrea Gilligan decided to go on a boating trip for the first time, hiring a boat in Carrick-On-Shannon in Leitrim and setting sail. She reports on the experience!

Would a €750 tax credit stop young people leaving Ireland? Enterprise Minister Peter Burke has suggested that people under 25 should get the credit which may help to stop them from emigrating as soon as they graduate. It would cost around 100 million euro a year. Would this help to keep young, skilled people in Ireland? Andrea is joined by Cllr Peter Melrose and listeners to discuss.

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 if you should be taking a boating trip around Ireland. Andrea was joined by content creator Joshua Nueva to discuss Ireland’s exciting water opportunities!

Could Ireland host an Olympic games? Senator Malcolm Byrne thinks so; he wants us to aim to bid for the 2072 Summer Olympics. Is this a bit mad, or could it really happen? Andrea Gilligan is joined by Senator Byrne, Barry Kenny from Irish Rail, Brian Caufield from Trinity College Dublin and more to discuss.