The Hard Shoulder

Now as we broadcast to you live from my home county, the hurling stronghold of Kilkenny, there is a buzz of excitement leading up to the All-Ireland final. Kilkenny faces a strong team on Sunday and they are optimistic and confident in the South West. Newstalk reporter, Josh Crosbie went to Limerick to meet with fans and family of the hurling team.

The Hard Shoulder is LIVE from the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny on All-Ireland weekend as part of Newstalk's Summer Tour. To preview Sunday's All-Ireland Hurling final between Limerick and Kilkenny, Kieran was joined by David Herity, Former Kilkenny hurler, Paul Murphy, Former Kilkenny hurler and Paddy Stapleton, Former Tipperary Player...

The Hard Shoulder is LIVE from the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny on All-Ireland weekend as part of Newstalk's Summer Tour. While in Kilkenny, Newstalk's Bobby Kerr took Kieran on a boat tour of the Marble City...

The Hard Shoulder is LIVE from the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny on All-Ireland weekend as part of Newstalk's Summer Tour. Kieran was joined by author Helena Duggan to discuss the release of her new book 'The Light Thieves Search for the Black Mirror', the second book in its series...

John Fardy, Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk joined Kieran to discuss what viewers can expect from Barbie and Oppenheimer...

The Hard Shoulder is LIVE from the Hibernian Hotel in Kilkenny on All-Ireland weekend as part of Newstalk's Summer Tour. Kieran was joined by a superb panel of Kilkenny locals, dormer Munster and Ireland player, Mick Galwey, Owner of Paris Texas Bar and Restaurant, Pat Crotty and former Kilkenny camogie player, Tracy Milea...

Ireland lost out 1-0 to Australia in the first game of the World Cup but hopes are still high. There have been ‘Watch parties’ taking place across the country to support the Girls in Green. Newstalk reporter, Josh Crosbie went to an event in Kilnamanagh where Irish captain Katie McCabe started her football journey.

You may have seen this week that there was an increase of almost 10,000 referrals to Tusla between 2021 and 2022. According to Tusla's latest annual report, there were just over 82,000 referrals to child protection and welfare services in 2022 - a 13% rise on the previous year. So, what is the reality of the State care situation, and how can children be helped going forward? Anne Rabbitte is Minis...

Kieran was joined by environmental activist and Guardian Columnist George Monbiot to discuss impending food systems collapse and what is or isn’t being done to tackle this crisis by people in power…

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran Cuddihy for the series 'The Shopping Trolley Hotline'. The series will give listeners pause when they’re filling their trolleys, to consider their options. This week Simon and Kieran take a look a some of the options for Custard Creams on the shelves...

Next month the special 9 percent VAT rate for tourism and hospitality, introduced as a COVID support, is due to be scrapped. But is this yet another blow to the tourism and hospitality sector and should we look to extend the 9 percent rate? Kieran was joined by Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, Chairperson Irish Tourism Industry Confederation and Barra Roantree, Economist at the ESRI to discuss...

With constant delays, cost overruns reaching billions and now a lawsuit launched against the main contractor - most people have left in otter bewilderment at the current state of the National Children’s Hospital. So how far along is the construction and is there an end in sight? Paul Davis, Lecturer in Public Procurement joined Kieran to discuss...

Is it acceptable to wear sports jerseys outside the home or a match? This was part of a discussion that was had on OTBAM where some arguments were made around grown adults wearing jerseys as everyday wear. For more on this, Kieran was joined by Off The Ball's Colm Boohig and Journalist and Celebrity Stylist Laura Mullett to discuss...

Diageo confirmed today that the price of a pint of Guinness is going up by four cents in August. They have been citing higher input costs as a reason for the increase. Kieran was joined by Michael O’Donovan, owner of The Castle Inn in Cork, and Chair of the Cork City and Cork County Branch Vintners Federation of Ireland and Adrienne McCarthy, owner of McCarthy Bar in Castletown Bere in West Cork t...

Ireland are opening the Women's World Cup with a fixture against tournament hosts Australia in Sydney tomorrow, with a record crowd of 82,500 people expected. Kieran was joined by Off The Ball’s Kathleen McNamee, Presenter of COYGIG Podcast and Neil O’Riordan, Chief Sports Writer with The Irish Sun to discuss…

Kieran Cuddihy was joined by Fine Gael Senator, Regina Doherty, and Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry. Continuing the series, ‘Common Ground’, they will debate some of the biggest, most divisive topics around. The series continued with a debate on 'Should we still be building data centres?'

Every week for Tuesday Travel on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, Fionn joined Kieran to give him tips for a trip to beautiful Boston...

This Thursday Aslan will release their first single since the passing of the great Christy Dignam. Their cover of 'The Fields of Athenry' will be released on Thursday, their last single featuring Christy. Aslan’s Billy McGuiness joined Kieran to discuss...

There was a notable drop in the number of TV licences issued in the first week in July compared to the same time last year. Just over 11 thousand licences were issued compared to just over 15 thoudand in 2022. The fall in TV licence numbers comes as the controversy continues over with RTE over Ryan Tubridy’s earnings. Kieran was joined by Economist Colm McCarthy and Independent TD for Clare, Micha...

Today, Met Éireann have published a summary of Ireland's latest climate averages, from 1991-2020. The key findings have revealed that Ireland is warmer and wetter now than 30 years ago. Met Éireann said the average yearly air temperature in Ireland stands at 9.8 degrees, an increase of 0.7 degrees from the previous 30-year time frame. Kieran was jonied by Mary Curly, Climatologist and the project...

Yesterday on The Hard Shoulder, Johnny Healy Rae joined Kieran to respond to the changes being made to the King Puck tradition at the Puck Fair. Instead of remaining up in the tower for the duration of the three-day festival, the King Puck goat will only be hoisted up for one hour the first day and one hour the last day. Healy-Rae thinks these changes are disappointing and believes the goat comes...

Is it time to increase Ireland’s sugar tax? In 2018, the sugar tax was introduced to make high-sugar drinks more expensive in an attempt to tackle obesity. But with the lack of price difference with and without the tax, is this goal possible? Irish Independent Columnist Mary McCarthy joined Kieran to discuss...

There was a notable drop in the number of TV licences issued in the first week in July compared to the same time last year. Just over 11 thousand licences were issued compared to just over 15 thoudand in 2022. The fall in TV licence numbers comes as the controversy continues over with RTE over Ryan Tubridy’s earnings. Kieran was joined by John McGuirk, Editor of Gript.ie and Dr Eileen Culloty, ass...

A new drug has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer's, with experts hailing it as a "turning point". Donanemab was shown to reduce cognitive decline by up to 35 percent, if the disease is detected early. Roger Highfield, Science Director at the London Science Museum joined Kieran to discuss...

Earlier, Kieran spoke with Dr Catherine Day, chair of the Advisory Group on Direct Provision, and former Secretary General of the European Commission. She spoke about the shortfalls of the current Direct Provision system, and what can be done to address some of the issues. One of those suggestions was around engagement with communities, and how much planning might be done before asylum seekers arr...