The Hard Shoulder

Iarnród Éireann has announced the building of four new train stations to welcome the arrival of the long-awaited Navan to Dublin railway. Joining guest host Ciara Doherty to discuss is Peadar Tóibín, Leader of Aontú and Brian Caulfield, Professor in the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.

Spotify has been blasted for its new logo, which was released to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The logo, which features a green, glittering disco ball, has replaced its usual lime green icon. From your iOS update to the newest Instagram feature, why are we so up in arms about tech companies changing their software? Joining Ciara to discuss this is Elaine Burke from the ‘For Tech’s Sake’ podcast.

You’ll know this next guest from your TV screens where he put celebs through a week of hell in ‘Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week’. Ray Goggins, adventurer and former special forces soldier is back with season two of ‘Uncharted’! In ‘Uncharted’, Ray leads another batch of Irish celebrities through extreme wilderness challenges, but this time, the challenges lead to deeper conversations and strong...

The Government is to move on Tuesday to have RTÉ’s finances audited by the State’s spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). The change comes almost three years after it came to light that undisclosed payments were made to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy. Minister for Media and Communications Patrick O’Donovan sought approval for a new Broadcasting Bill at Cabinet today. Joining...

Irish Barrister in London, Specialising in Human Rights & Civil Liberties and Ireland’s former Special Rapporteur for Child Protection Caoilfhionn Gallagher joins Shane to place her favourite book on The Hard Shoulder’s bookshelf!

12 Irish Citizens part of the Global Sumud Flotilla have been detained in an illegal Israeli prison. The mission set out to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and draw attention to the Israeli naval blockade, but has since been intercepted by Israeli forces. Speaking on their way into cabinet this morning, Micheál Martin said it was “unacceptable”, while Simon Harris deemed Israel “in breach of inte...

A Garda investigation is under way into an incident which occurred on Dublin’s Henry Street, in which a Congolese man died following an alleged shoplifting incident. The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) has said it is very concerned that excessive force may have been used against the man, who has been named as Yves Sakila. Joining Ciara to discuss this is Shane O’Curry, Director of the Irish Ne...

Safefood says there are significant gaps in kitchen hygiene practices among Irish home cooks. As part of their ‘Clean As You Go’ campaign, Safefood are asking households to adopt simple, practical habits to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and safeguard family health. Henry McKean has been out asking the public for their poor kitchen habits, and joins Shane to share what he’s heard.

The Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections will be taking place this Friday. What are the issues and concerns from people in both constituencies? Newstalk’s Josh Crosbie has continued his reporting by speaking with locals in the Dublin Central constituency, and joins Ciara to discuss.

Channel 4 has said "very serious allegations of wrongdoing" including rape, have been made against a small number of past participants in the reality TV series, ‘Married at First Sight’. ‘Married at First Sight’ is a reality TV show where strangers start a marriage-like relationship with each other, meeting only minutes before the ceremony and then going on honeymoon and subsequently living with e...

The Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, today introduced draft legislation which will see significant reforms to dog breeding and ‘puppy farms’ in Ireland. The Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2026 will see a marked change in ensuring ethical breeding practices and in strengthening animal welfare standards for that sector nationwide. Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marin...

Former ally of Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who used to be one of his biggest supporters, has warned of a "political revolution in America" if the US sends troops into Iran. For more on this, Shane is joined by Amy Tarkanian, former Nevada Republican State Chairwoman and Republican Strategist. Image: Reuters

Last week, Unite and SIPTU members working for the NAS engaged in a 24-hour stoppage as a result of management’s ongoing failure to implement the 2020 ‘Roles and Responsibilities Review’. Government talks are underway today. John McCamley, SIPTU Health Organiser joins Ciara to discuss where things are at the moment, and how the situation could evolve in coming days…

Shane and Ciara are joined by renowned Irish musician Sharon Shannon to discuss her upcoming documentary, ‘Tradfluencer: The Sharon Shannon Story’ which airs tonight at 9:35pm on RTÉ One.

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Ciara and Shane are joined by Iseult White, Psychotherapist and author, to discuss the importance of having dinner together as a family, without any distractions getting in the way.

New figures from the Department of Housing show that the building of apartments is on the rise with almost 25,000 flats under construction in the Dublin region. In contrast, the number of houses with planning permission where work has commenced has fallen. Is it time to increase density and build up like this, and are more embracing apartment living? Carole Pollard, Architect & Editor of ‘Iris...

Following on from the conversation Ciara had with Tommy Fleming on the show on Friday where he came out as a gay man – we wanted to talk about the use of the word ‘gay’ as a derogatory term, and the impact of it… Joining Ciara to discuss is PD Savage, former Gaelic Footballer and Crossfit champion from Co. Down.

The Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections will be taking place this Friday. What are the issues and concerns from people in both constituencies? Newstalk’s Josh Crosbie has been speaking with locals in the Galway West constituency today to find out, and joins Shane to discuss.

The sales of lamb were down 31% year-on-year, according to a report released today from WorldPanel. It highlights recent concerns among consumers as grocery inflation now stands at 6.7%. Mayo-based Master Butcher, Seán Kelly has said that his beef and lamb sales have dropped, and he believes that the rising prices and lack of sit-down Sunday meals are factors in this… Seán joins Ciara to discuss t...

Teacher and writer Sara Ribeiro’s prosthetic leg was lost by an airline during a connecting flight. After repeated calls and stress to locate it, she was finally informed her bag had been misplaced and would take several days to return to her. She described the experience and the lack of available support as "overwhelming”... She joins Shane to discuss, as well as Claire Dunne, CEO of the Irish Tr...

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by Off the Ball’s Cameron Hill and Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with the Irish Independent to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

“Stop demonising one-off rural housing. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by neighbours. If town and village life is so much more sensible and attractive, why do so few people choose to live over the shop?” - so says Michael McDowell in his Irish Times article this week… Joining Ciara to discuss this is Séamus Guidera, Chair of the Architecture and Public Affairs Committee at the RIAI and Martin...

The Rolling Stones are back in the news after their new album, ‘Rolling Tongues’, was announced to be released on July 10th. Pat Carty, Arts Journalist and Broadcaster, joins Ciara and Shane to tell the story of this iconic band…

Andy Burnham is Labour's "best chance" of winning the Makerfield bye-election, according to Britain's former Health Secretary Wes Streeting. If successful, the Greater Manchester Mayor is widely expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the party leadership. Joining Shane to discuss is London-based Journalist, Vincent McAviney. Image: Reuters

Sarah Rees Brennan is an Irish author whose books have been published worldwide. Born and still living in Dublin, she was a New York Times bestselling author who wrote for streaming giant Netflix and superhero powerhouse Marvel. After surviving stage 4 cancer, she feared she would never write again… But, the anticipated release of her second adult fiction novel, ‘All Hail Chaos’, out today, proves...