Moncrieff

Limerick is leading a national experiment as the campaign for Ireland's first directly elected mayor is now in full swing. The directly elected mayor model aims to give real power in local government back to those elected by the people. Joining Seán to run everybody up to speed on the campaign and the 13 candidates currently running is News Reporter for Limerick’s Live 95, Nigel Dugdale. 

As part of the foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan was passed by the US Senate, Tik Tok has just one year to divest from its Chinese parent company - or else face a total ban in America. Joining Seán to untangle all of this is Adrian Wreckler, Irish Independent’s Technology Editor.

When this guest retired, he decided to drive his motorbike the full length of the Americas, from Chile to the US. Joining Seán is Peter Murtagh, Journalist and author of ‘From Tip to Top: The journey of a lifetime from Chile to Alaska’.

Hozier has become the fourth ever Irish artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.   The Wicklow musician’s song ‘Too Sweet’ has ascended to the number one spot, climbing from the number two spot since last week.  Danny McElhinney is a Music Journalist from the Irish Mail on Sunday and joins Seán to discuss the song’s success.

With the increase in outdoor areas for hospitality businesses since the pandemic, is there an argument for putting a roof over streets to stop the pesky rain from ruining our al fresco dining experiences? This is exactly what has happened on Monck street in Wexford town. However, it has divided opinion. Joining Seán is Padraig Byrne, Journalist with the Wexford People to discuss. Image: Visit Wexf...

Half of the world’s creatures live under the ground in soil, but have you ever thought about what they sound like? A new project seeks to find some answers... Joining Seán is Dr. Jackie Stroud, soil scientist at the University of Warwick, to discuss.

As discussions continue apace about the prospect of a United Ireland, are there economic lessons to be learnt from the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s? Seán's guest lived and worked near Leipzig during that transition over thirty years ago. Cormac Lucey, Economic columnist with the Sunday Times and Independent Candidate in the local elections, joins Seán to discuss.

It seems young people are bringing back a sense of community spirit. A new survey by the Nextdoor app found Gen Z- those aged 27 and under-are most open to helping their neighbours.  To discuss further, Seán is joined by Henry McKean.

For years, budget airlines have soared due to the fact they could sell flights for the same price as a pint of Guinness in Temple Bar.  However, due to inflation, is this now a thing of the past?  Édaein O'Connell is a journalist who has been looking at this, and joins Seán to discuss.

Taoiseach Simon Harris delivers a formal state apology to the families and victims of the Stardust fire tragedy over 40 years ago in the Dáil. Joining Seán to comment on the proceedings is Editor of TheJournal.ie , Sineád O’Carroll.

It was revealed the other day that the supermodel Cara Delavigne has had a correction made to one of her tattoos after a typo was accidentally inked on her arm. But just how common is it for typos to happen during the tattooing process? Joining Seán is Rob Connolly, Owner of The Ink Factory Studios in Dublin and New York.

There’s a new term trending on social media called ‘microfeminism,’ which underscores the idea that creating change doesn’t always require grandiose actions but starts with small, highly intentional daily gestures. Joining Seán to discuss is Associate Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Surrey, Dr Aífe Hopkins-Doyle. 

An Irish man has been lifelogging for 18 years; every 30 seconds, a photograph is taken and catalogued using AI. This is for a good reason; the purpose of lifelogging is to help people with dementia and Alzheimer's with their memory and support them. Cathal Gurrin is the deputy director of the ADAPT Centre and Professor at the School of Computing in DCU and joins Seán to discuss.

Trying to meet up with friends can be tricky, and a lot of us may end up saying, ‘Must meet up soon!’ just as a reminder that we still want to meet up, or do we? Well, Tanya Sweeney is an Irish Independent Columnist and joins Seán to discuss.

A new production of Tuesdays with Morrie is currently playing at the Gaiety Theatre here in Dublin, until this coming Saturday. One of the lead actors is Dan Butler, perhaps best known to Irish audiences for his inimitable portrayal of Bulldog Briscoe in the classic sitcom Frasier. He joins Seán to discuss the production. Image: Uncredited

The National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin has been named as the most boring tourist attraction in the country. Ireland escaped quite well in this new list, put together by solitared.com . The museum was ranked 38th, with the Branson Scenic Railway in Missouri taking the top spot. We sent Newstalk reporter, Josh Crosbie to find out what makes a tourist attraction stand out.

With so many ash trees being felled due to dieback in England, a new system has been introduced to allow treetop-dwelling dormice to travel: mini bridges. Joining me Seán to discuss this is Kate Wollen from Forestry England.  

Last night news broke in New York that a man originally from Ireland would not only sit on the jury of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, but had also been selected as foreman. Joining Seán to discuss the jury selection process is Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and Columnist with the Journal.

While the Old Irish Goat is already an endangered species in Ireland, the absence of legal protection means it is now also the target of trophy hunters. Joining Seán to discuss the issue is Sinead Keane, volunteer with the Old Irish Goat Society.

TV licence inspectors are getting so much abuse that they are now having to get resilience training - what exactly is that? Seán is joined by Richard Burke, Managing Director or Resilience Matters to discuss.

Life can be incredibly hectic; it may feel like we are constantly on a roller coaster, and sometimes need to switch it off completely. Putting your phone on silent may not be enough, but fleeing to a Benedictine Monastery might be! Veena McCoole did just that, and joins Seán to talk about the experience.

One of the latest TikTok trends is “loud budgeting” - where people are open and vocal about how much money they have, as well as how much they will spend. Seán is joined by Frank Conway, Founder of MoneyWhizz to discuss.

While books may be getting more expensive, spare a thought for the people who write them. Authors receive just a tiny percentage of the actual cost of a title. So, is it actually worth writing a book? Seán is joined by Ian Winwood, Author of ‘Bodies: Life & Death In Music’, and has been writing about this in the Telegraph.

A family in the US who got an octopus for their nine year old son's birthday say it's upended their life, after it gave birth to 50 babies. 9-year-old Cal, was given the octopus in October and named it Terrance - believing it to be a male. The family says the sea creature turned out to be larger than expected, and say many water tanks have now taken over their bathroom. To discuss this, and anothe...

The battle of Android versus Apple is raging on, and Samsung is once again the most popular smartphone in the world. Are Apple's best days behind them? Here to discuss is Elaine Burke is the host of The For Tech Sake Podcast and joins Seán.