The 42FM

David Beckham has completed a career ambition with the bestowing of a knighthood by King Charles. On this week’s podcast, Gavin and Sinéad discuss why Beckham wanted a knighthood so badly, and detail his 20-year campaign for the honour. They look back at his career, assess his legacy, and consider the controversies. Do we underrate him as a player? Why did the English media establishment get Beckh...

Sinead spent the weekend at Croke Park, watching her beloved Kildare hurlers complete a stunning rise to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, and earn promotion to compete among Leinster's elite in the Liam McCarthy Cup next year. On this week's pod, we discuss how Kildare completed their rise, and then discuss the GAA's biggest single failing of their history: the failure to grow hurling across the country....

On this week’s episode, Sinéad and Gavin look ahead to the biggest events of the summer, previewing storylines and the likely winners and losers. What the hell is Fifa’s Club World Cup, and why is Gianni Infantino a collectible in the official sticker album? Can Rhasidat Adeleke or anyone else on Team Ireland win a global medal at the world athletics championships? Why do we all get so inexplicabl...

Imagine first experiencing the thrill of scoring a goal or kicking a point at the age of 51. That's the unlikely and thrilling turn life took this year for Laura Byrne, The Journal's Opinions Editor. This week Laura tells Sinead O'Carroll about her upbringing on the side of a GAA field in 1980s Wicklow. Football was hugely important in family life, but it just wasn't something girls played in her...

On this week’s pod, Gavin and Sinéad discuss Gary Lineker’s early exit from the BBC, after he shared a social media post that included an anti-semitic trope. They discuss how Lineker found his political voice, and why his challenging of the BBC’s impartiality rules made him a controversial figure. They explain what those impartiality rules are, and how they are not appropriate for the coverage of...

Gav dials in from Quail Hollow where Rory McIlroy begins his new quest - to become the first golfer of all time to win a calendar Grand Slam. He and Sinead consider the long odds against such a feat yet ponder whether a freewheeling and easy McIlroy can at least take the next step at the golf course with which he has a cherished relationship. Also, the pair discuss Shane Lowry’s chances after a he...

18 All-Ireland medals and 11 All-Stars across camogie and LGFA - few people are as qualified to speak on the skort controversy as Rena Buckley. The Cork woman tells Sinead O’Carroll that players’ wishes should be respected, but there are more pressing issues facing camogie - such as the failure to promote the sport to a wider audience and the slow pace of integration. Rena sets out how the big spo...

The GAA enacted a revolution a couple of years ago in introducing the split season, bringing forward the All-Ireland finals to July to allow for a defined season for the benefit of the club player. But as Meath’s shock win over Dublin was lost to many on a busy Sunday of GAA and other sport, Gavin and Sinéad ask if the GAA have made a mistake in so dramatically changing the season’s schedule. They...

The IRFU last week announced a change to the central contract system that has underpinned Irish rugby’s success in the professional era, with provinces now expected to foot 40% of the salary bill of players on central contracts, with the IRFU saying the money saved will go towards investing in the three provinces outside of Leinster. On this week’s podcast, Sinéad and Gavin discuss the IRFU’s poli...

Rory McIlroy has entered an exclusive club: the subject of back-to-back episodes of The 42FM. Oh, and he’s also become the first Irish golfer to win the Masters and the first European golfer to win the career Grand Slam. Having spoke last week of McIlroy’s years-long quest to win the Masters, Sinéad and Gavin this week reflect on how we he went and did it. They relieve their experiences of one of...

On this week’s podcast, Sinéad and Gavin dive into the epic quest that has become of Rory McIlroy’s efforts to win the Masters. Why does winning the Masters mean so much to McIlroy, and why has he struggled so often at the tournament? And how have all of his heartbreaks and near-misses changed how the Irish public think about McIlroy? Why is he more popular now than when he was winning, and the do...

One of five kids in Ireland drop out of sport when transitioning from primary school to secondary school, and the average age at which a child drops out of sport is 11. On this week's podcast, Sinéad and Gavin discuss the consequences of this drop-out, and what can be done to stop it. Research and anecdotal evidence suggest the single biggest reason behind kids' waning interest in sport is its com...

Conor McGregor caused a national jolt by turning up at the White House on St Patrick’s Day, and McGregor has since doubled down on his intentions to run for President later this year. On this week’s show, Sinéad and Gavin discuss the prospect of McGregor running for president. Sinéad explains the criteria around running for president, and how McGregor may plot a route to the ballot paper. They als...

On this week’s episode, Sinéad and Gavin discuss gambling in sport, and Ireland’s drawn-out means of tackling it. First they illustrate the extent to which the gambling industry has captured sport, to the point that it’s now some fans’ primary means of experiencing the sport. They explain how and why this has happened, and delve into some of its frightening consequences. More than a decade after i...

On this week’s podcast, and off the back of Sarah Healy, Mark English and Kate O’Connor’s medals at the European Indoor Championships, Sinéad and Gavin choose not to spend  too  long basking in the Ireland’s latest athletics success. They are joined by former 50km walk world champion and RTÉ pundit Rob Heffernan to look beneath the surface of the medals and ask: are these medals because...

Gavin last week met our new sports ministers for the first time, who told him that the government’s promised funding for professional football academies is ‘not imminent.’ The comment caused despair in football circles, and the necessity for his money is the centre of this week’s episode. Sinéad and Gavin delve into the minister’s comments and wonder why they are so slow to follow through on their...

The manner of the exit of Colin Healy from his role as assistant manager with the Irish women's national team has provoked intense criticism of the Football Association of Ireland, and the story refuses to go away. On this week's episode of The 42FM, Gavin and Sinéad explain the background to Healy's exit, why it has proved contentious, and the questions it raises around the competence of the peop...

The amateur filling an 82,000-capacity stadium before returning to the day job on Monday morning is one of the sources of pride among GAA folk. But how long will players be content to train as professionals and generate tens of millions in gate receipts and commercial revenue and go unpaid - while all around them are earning money? Perhaps not long if you go by what Limerick hurler Tom Morrissey w...

Last week, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order banning transgender women from female sport, beneath the title, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sport”, and on Monday of this week, World Athletics issued updated eligibility rules for the female category. On this week’s podcast, Gavin and Sinéad explain what these rulings actually mean, and then explore the broader debate: is it fair to ban trans wome...

This week’s show kicks off with some Six Nations chat: is the Irish team too dominated by Leinster, and is Jack Crowley the fall guy? Sinéad and Gavin dive into the Prendergast/Crowley debate. The biggest story of football’s January transfer window was Marcus Rashford’s move to Aston Villa from Manchester United. How did this happen? How did United’s local hero, to whom they handed a lucrative con...

On this week's episode, Sinéad gives Gavin the lowdown on last week's farcical Dáil scenes, and what is says about this government's hopes of lasting for a full term. They discuss how politics works when it comes to sport (10:35) - who makes the decisions, and why. Is sport underserved by not having its own, standalone department? And how important is it that a sports minister actually likes sport...

There was a big reaction to last week’s episode off the back of Mack Hansen’s punishment for criticising officials, specifically on the nature of media training, which Gavin and Sinéad described as being akin to a “personality transplant.” Among those getting in touch to raise their objections to the episode was Marcus O Buachalla, who is Head of Communications at Leinster Rugby. Marcus accepted o...

The 42 revealed last week that RTÉ have lost the rights to show League of Ireland matches to Virgin Media - despite an early-year press release in which RTÉ appeared to assume they would be showing the games in 2025. On this week's episode, Sinéad and Gavin dig into this story - why did RTE and the LOI prove to be such a loveless marriage? Were RTÉ neglecting their public service remit by not scre...

When Mack Hansen and the entire Connacht rugby squad were sentenced to media training, it was a deflating moment for sports media. But why should you care about the petty gripes of journalists? (6:17) Sinead O’Carroll and Gavin Cooney make the case that a more natural, authentic athlete makes for a better interviewee, which in turn enhances everybody’s enjoyment of their favourite sports. (14:32)...

Who is Rory Gallagher? Why is he seen as such a good Gaelic football coach? Why is he not managing one of the top county sides in Ireland? And why did Naas GAA club reconsider a decision to appoint the Ulster man to the management team of their senior football squad? Gavin Cooney and Sinead O’Carroll break down this week’s big GAA story. The pair also discuss how the club game has reached quasi-pr...