Moncrieff

Just before Christmas every year ice hotels around the world begin building their annual, and of course very seasonal, accommodations which usually open this week. But what is it actually like to stay in one? Sean was joined by travel journalist Devorah Lev-Tov to discuss...

Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight. A Green Christmas makes a fat Churchyard. If it be clear, a happy year. These are some of the common sayings in Irish folklore about the weather, but were they really trying to, or able to, predict the weather? Dr Marion McGarry is a Lecturer in ATU in Galway and author of 'Irish Customs and Rituals: How our ancestors celebrated life and the seasons' and she joi...

A Nobel prize winning scientist shocked the world earlier this week when he suggested an unusual and cost-saving method for cooking pasta. Now, a team of researchers in the UK have tried and tested it while also discovering their own even better way of doing it. Sean was joined by Dr. David Fairhurst, Physicist at Nottingham Trent University...

A survey has found that 60 percent of people aged 18 to 29 have never used a phone box. What was once a lifeline for families and communities has been made obsolete by mobile technology. However, there is still a strong nostalgia for the old phone boxes, and none more so than for Paul Murphy, aka The Phonebox Man who has been restoring them over the last decade. He joined Sean on the show today to...

2022 saw a 13% rise in road fatalities. This was the highest number for 5 years. But what is causing this and is the EU’s protocol on speed limiters a possible solution? Sean was joined by Conor Faughnan, transport commentator to discuss..

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to taste American chocolate you’ll know it’s an odd experience. The chocolate is not as creamy, it’s dry and crumbly and has an wierd underlying taste of vomit. Why is this and how do American’s make their chocolate compared to Ireland? To discuss, Sean was joined by Daniel Linehan, chocolatier from Bon Chocolatier in Athlone...

For almost 20 years, Fr Aquinas Duffy has worked with missing persons cases and set up missing.ie in 2000. Last month on National Missing Persons Day it was shown that there are 897 missing persons cases on the island of Ireland still outstanding. Fr. Aquinas continues to urge people with any information, no matter how irrelevant you might think, to come forward. He joined Sean on the show today t...

When we hear the word “UFO”, many will think about science fiction, little grey men and The X Files. But for Dr Eamonn Ansbro, his research paints a very different picture. He’s an astronomer who works with the European Space Agency, but he’s also been documenting and researching these unexplained objects in our skies for more than 30 years. Eamonn joined Sean on the show to discuss...

It’s easy to forget that most musical instruments start out as a block of wood. Slowly, and over time, they are manipulated into beautiful objects that make music. And this is very true in the case of the traditional Irish banjo, which are still handcrafted in Co. Galway today, and indeed for the past 40 years. But what is involved in the process? Tom Dunne was joined by Fintan Cussen of Clareen B...

Lisa de Jong is a women’s health coach or what people call a period coach and educator. Before this role and after years of suffering, Lisa felt no one was taking the pain caused by her menstrual cycle seriously. She travelled abroad for treatment and was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis. Lisa now helps women in Ireland, and all over the world, to manage the symptoms of chronic pain and tra...

How do twins differ? How are they exactly the same? There are many misconceptions about twins and how similar and different they can be. Could a pair of identical twins score the exact same on a test without even knowing it? Tom Dunne was joined by Professor Nancy Segal Director of the Twin Studies Center at Cal State Fullerton...

Anja Bakker started her pilgrimage last April, from Cork to Jerusalem on foot. Now, 9 months later, she is currently in Serbia and she joined Tom Dunne on the show to discuss... Image: The Flaunting Harper

For this weeks 'How To' slot we’re looking at how to sell your house. Tom Dunne was joined in studio by Barry McDonald, Estate Agent and Spokesperson for the REA group to discuss...

Perhaps one of the big questions facing the creators of artificial intelligence is how to replicate human touch. Now, a robot has been created that is able to give hugs. It’s called the HuggieBot 2.0 and one of its creators, Alexis Block of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems joined Tom Dunne on the show...

A new palliative care centre is to be built on Midlands Prison campus. This is a decision made as the elderly population in the prison continues to rise Conor Lally, Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times joined Tom Dunne on the show to discuss..

With the Christmas period coming to an end, many people around the country will be starting to take their Christmas tree down. But when is the right date to do so, and what do you do with it afterwards? Henry McKean has been looking into this and he joined Tom Dunne to discuss...

A rare celestial event will take place later tonight. But what is it and how can people look out for it? Dave Moore from Astronomy Ireland joined Tom Dunne on the show to explain...

It is often said that bad times make great art - Dublin based artist, Nathan Wheeler certainly believes that to be true and has been using his creative skills to expose the sheer scale of the housing crisis. The hobbyist turned activist is highlighting the issue by creating detailed models of the derelict buildings in every town and village in the country and he joined Tom Dunne on the show to dis...

An Irish man is in position to become the 2nd ever Irish person to win the long running channel 4 quiz show Countdown. Octochamp Edward Byrne has won today’s semi final and is now in the final which is on our TV screens tomorrow, Friday 23rd December. Edward joined Sean on the show today to chat... Image: Channel 4

Many people will be making their way home for Christmas over the next 48 hours or so, whether that be a short car journey or a flight around the world. But for families in Ukraine, having the family home for Christmas this year takes on a whole new meaning, and for Lesia Vasylenko, she picked up some very special passengers from the train yesterday. Lesia is a human rights lawyer as well as an MP,...

When you’re seriously ill and in need of rehabilitation, one form of therapy you might not think of is music therapy. Music has been proven to be a motivator towards meeting your health goals and can bring both physical support and emotional support along your health journey. Alison Sweeney, music therapist in Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street joined Sean to discuss…

Henry McKean met people randomly at Heuston Station in Dublin and asked where are you going?

The BBC Food website is a go-to for many households, especially in preparation for Christmas dinner. And it turns out the prawn cocktail with Marie Rose sauce seems to be back in vogue as the website releases their most popular recipes for the big day. Is it the ultimate kitsch dish? And why would a staple of the 70s and 80s be making a comeback? Edward Hayden, TV chef and culinary lecturer from S...

In the town of Gavle in Sweden, every year the city builds a giant straw goat. But dark forces have led the goat to be burned down on a total of 38 times out of the past 54 years. Will it survive this year? Sean was joined by Anna-Karin Niemann, Spokesperson for the Gavle Christmas Goat...

For this weeks 'How To' slot we’re looking at how to donate an organ. Sean was joined in studio by Dr. Catherine Motherway, Clinical Lead on Organ Donation with University Hospital Limerick and Organ Donation Transplant Ireland to discuss...