The Hard Shoulder

Newstalk Reporter Sarah Madden brought in a report earlier around the ethics of surrogacy – a debate that has re-ignited after actress Lily Phillips welcomed her first baby through surrogacy. So, where is Ireland at with it, and is the practice ethical? Joining Kieran to discuss is Annette Hickey, Solicitor specialising in surrogacy and Sandra Adams, advocate for women's sex based rights who recen...

Cyclone is the first Irish gladiator to be on the long-running BBC show Gladiators, which has had a recent revival. Cyclone joins Kieran to talk about what the process was like to join the show - and discuss her experience so far! Image: BBC

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly joined Kieran to discuss Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with US President Donald Trump - and the controversy about what work is being done. Image: Reuters

Today, the DPP confirmed they will appeal the six-and-a-half-year concurrent sentence imposed on Kieran Fogarty for the murder of student journalist Joe Drennan, who was killed in a hit and run. The family of Joe have been protesting against the sentence, and Sarah, Joe’s sister, joins Kieran to discuss.

According to a City Council Chief, some inner-city Dubliners have no sense of pride, and dump their waste daily in the street. Henry McKean has been investigating, and joins Kieran to discuss.

A lot of Ireland’s economic success over the past few decades has been down to American multinationals. But, with Trump in office, is our stance over Gaza threatening the country's economic future? Micheal Murphy, Journalist at the Telegraph joins Kieran to discuss.

Lily Collins announced last week that she had welcomed the arrival of her first child through surrogacy. The actress was met with backlash when she didn’t explain why she used a surrogate, with many speculating online that the Emily in Paris star didn’t want to miss out on career opportunities, others said Lily was reluctant to lose her figure. The controversy has reignited the debate around the e...

Channel 4 have now placed a trigger warning on an episode of ‘Father Ted’, where the late Dermot Morgan does a racist impersonation of a Chinese person. The warning says that this episode was “...made in 1998 and contains language and racial impersonation which some viewers may find offensive.” So, is the trigger warning justified? Or are we just over-sensitive when it comes to older content? Ian...

Getting kids to eat the greens is a daily struggle for most parents at the dinner table, but would getting them to grow their own produce help? For more on this, guest host Anton Savage is joined by Lilly Higgins, Chef for SuperValu’s ‘Let’s Grow’ initiative.

Worried parents across the country have had routine, and necessary developmental checks for their children with public health nurses suspended, with some parts of Ireland without a public health nurse due to staffing shortages... Catherine Stocker, Social Democrats Councillor for Clontarf has been directly affected by this and joins guest host Anton Savage along with  Dr Kieran Moore , Medica...

Former Professional Cyclist Nicolas Roche joined guest host Anton Savage this week to place his favourite book on The Hard Shoulder’s Bookshelf!

US President Donald Trump warned that "all hell" would break loose if every Israeli hostage is not released from Gaza within days. It’s after Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a ceasefire deal it said Israel was violating. Will this sort of rhetoric work? Joining guest host Anton Savage to discuss is Alistair Bunkall Sky News Middle East Correspondent and Sean Bell retired Fight...

There is still uproar over a stabbing incident in Stoneybatter on Sunday afternoon… Should we be taking knife crime more seriously, and has there been an increase of knife crime in Ireland? Joining guest host Anton Savage to discuss is Columnist and retired Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Chris Luke.

Today is Safer Internet Day, and new research has revealed that a third of young people are addicted to social media… Joining Anton to discuss when children should be introduced to the internet and phones is Fiona Jennings Head of Policy and Public Affairs at ISPCC and Stella O'Malley, Psychotherapist and author.

Valentine's Day is around the corner, but would you be willing to scrap big gifts for something homemade as prices go up? Joining guest host Anton Savage to discuss is Meghann Scully, Freelance Journalist, Esther McCarthy, Lifestyle Editor at the Irish Examiner and John Lowe from moneydoctors.ie .

A newly discovered asteroid called 2024 YR4 could collide with Earth in the year 2032... With the asteroid having the damage potential to destroy a city, what are the chances this will happen? And is there reason to worry ? Kieran is joined by David Moore from Astronomy Ireland to discuss.

The knife attack in Stoneybatter has shocked many people, and has also resulted in some interesting reactions – particularly online. Has social media changed the way people interact with news? Commentator Brendan Ogle joins Kieran to discuss.

The Ferryman play is running in the Gaiety Theatre until March, and it is a gripping tale about the effects of the troubles on a family farm in 1980’s Armagh… Kieran is joined by one of the main cast in the studio today to discuss: Charlene McKenna!

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Kieran is joined by Aoife Lee, Parenting Coach at ParentSupport.ie to discuss the best way to introduce phones to your children, and how to manage phone use around the house.

A man in his late 20’s remains in custody after three men were injured in a suspected knife attack in Stoneybatter in North Dublin. The incident has been described by Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan as a "random attack", but has led to fears about a growing culture of violence. Criminologist, Triona O’Connor and Conor Lally, Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times join Kieran to discuss.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he will look at the rent pressure zone system with intent to change it, or indeed remove these zones by the end of this year. But, what impact would that have on the market? Karl Deeter, Founder of onlineapplication.com or (Director of Irish Mortgage Brokers) joins me now...

Last week, speaking at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump unveiled his own plans to take over the Gaza strip… After these comments, the group Arab Americans for Trump changed their name to Arab Americans for Peace, and in Dearborn, Michigan, it is reported there is a sense of regret among Arab Trump voters. Joining Kieran to discuss is Amer Zahr, comedia...

Samantha Mumba has said that criticism given by RTÉ’s Eurosong panel on Friday nights Late Late Show was “unnecessarily rude and vile to all the finalists”... Was she right? To discuss, Kieran is joined by one of the contestants, Reylta, Russel Alford, 98FM producer and Eurovision geek and Mickey Joe Harte, Eurovision contestant in 2003. Image: Andres Poveda

This week Kieran Cuddihy was joined by the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis Off the Ball’s Ger Gilroy to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

RTÉ’s ‘The Great House Revival’ is back this Sunday at 9pm on RTÉ 1 and the RTÉ Player. Joining Kieran to discuss is its host, Architect Hugh Wallace!