The Hard Shoulder

Mícheál Ó Foighil, manager of Coláiste Lurgan has criticized Norma Foley and the government for their neglect of the language. He said the level of Irish student acquire after 14 years of education just isn’t good enough. Kieran was joined by general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, Julian de Spáinn and Diarmuid Lyng, Owner of Wild Irish Treats to discuss…

Thousands of police in Germany carried out a series of raids today against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state in an armed coup. Officials said 25 people were detained. Kieran was joined by Emmanuelle Chaze, Political Correspondent and reporter for Deutsche Welle and France 24.

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran for the new 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 took a look a the different brands of cheese and onion crisps...

Today marks 50 years since Apollo 17. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last men to set foot on the moon, this day 50 years ago. Kieran was joined by Off The Ball Presenter, Shane Hannon to discuss...

Online platforms such as Airbnb will be fined up to €5,000 if they advertise lettings which have not been registered with Fáilte Ireland. Tourism Minister, Catherine Martin joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss this and also further discussions on suggestions around banning career breaks for teachers...

A protest has been taking place this afternoon to mark 5 years since the completion of the Oireachtas Housing Committee’s ‘Safe As Houses’ report on defective apartments. The Construction Defects Alliance says that people are living in up to 100,000 apartments that still aren’t totally safe. Kieran was joined by Pat Montague, Construction Defects Alliance spokesperson and Jill Kellegher, apartment...

Career breaks could be suspended under plans being considered by Government in response to chronic teacher shortages. But would be this be an effective measure? Or just further demoralize an already stretched workforce? Kieran was joined by Peter, a primary school teacher in County Meath and Katrina in Clonmel to discuss...

A new report from the EPA has shown high levels of waste is making it difficult to maintain or increase recycling rates. The EPA said Ireland needs to move to a circular economy where resources are re-used, repaired or recycled as much as possible, and the generation of waste is minimised. Mindy O'Brien Chief Executive of VOICE and Claire Downey, Policy and Research Director with the Rediscovery C...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Clare McKenna, presenter of Alive and Kicking on Newstalk, to discuss the best wellness gifts to give loved ones this festive season...

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary 'Harry & Meghan' will air this Thursday on the streaming service. LBC Presenter, Shelagh Forgarty and Broadcaster Sophie Corcoran joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

Kieran Cuddihy was joined in studio 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 discussion around 'Is Europe a force for peace?'..

Brazil put the rest of the world on notice that they are worthy favourites for the World Cup after hammering Japan 4-1 last night. Today sees the final last 16 games play out to determine the full set of quarter finalists. Dion Fanning, associate editor with The Currency joined Kieran on the show...

Strep A is being “actively considered” as a possible cause of death after a four-year-old child passed away. Kildare Based GP, Brendan O'Shea joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss Strep A and how it presents in patients...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Sarah Kitchen. Sarah and her family planned the trip of a lifetime to Orlando, Florida after husband had been given the all clear after a cancer diagnosis. However, upon arriving at Belfast City Airport, Aer Lingus informed them that the connecting flight to London was overbooked and Sarah's two children, aged 16 and 18, would have to fly alone to Orlando...

Croatia has announced its intention to ban shopping on Sundays, so retail employees can have a break. Kieran was joined by John McGuirk, editor for Gript media and Richard Guiney, CEO, Dublin Town to discuss what it would mean to introduce this in Ireland...

Do you have a neighbour from hell or could you possibly be a neighbour from hell? We spotted something in one of the papers earlier of how one woman feels she is now this person. It turned out her neighbour had to call the police after her alarm was going off for five hours, while she was out. So it got us thinking what are some of the worst experiences out there for people and how can they be res...

This week, 100 years ago, the Irish state came into being… To discuss this in detail, Kieran was joined by Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times journalist and author of 'Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP'...

With the cost of living crisis still affecting many people, the Christmas season doesn’t offer a huge amount of respite. Conor Pope is the Pricewatch Editor with the Irish Times and he joined Kieran to discuss what saves you can make this festive period...

1 in 10 people in Ireland under the age of 35 have attempted to take their own life, new research has shown. The Healthy Ireland Survey, which engages over 7000 people every year, shows that figure drops to less than one percent for those 65 and older. The research also shows 32 percent of people who have consumed alcohol in the past 6 months have been binge drinking. Kieran was joined by the new...

A poll from ARINS and The Irish Times has shown that Republicans would be unwilling to change either or national anthem or our flag in the event of a united Ireland. Kieran was joined by Fine Gael TD, Neale Richmond and Robbie Whyte, Editor of An Phoblacht and the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin...

The Government has received a recommendations for encouraging greater physical activity amongst women and children. Kieran was joined by Shane Smith, sports scientist and primary school teacher and Derval O’Rourke, author and Olympian to discuss the current offering of public sports facilities in Ireland and what can be done to improve them...

Labour would aim to abolish the UK's “indefensible” House of Lords “as quickly as possible”, ideally within its first term, UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has said. The debate around the idea of abolishing Seanad is ongoing for years in Ireland, with the failed referendum in 2013. So, should we get back to the idea of scrapping the upper house? Kieran was joined by Dr Eoin O'Malley, Lecturer...

According to The Star 42% of people say sorting the Christmas dinner guest list is their most stressful task during Christmas. Kieran was joined by Ambassador for The Harvey’s Point Hotel in Donegal, Noel Cunningham to tell us how to be the host with the most this party season and eliminate the Christmas dinner anxiety...

Aisling Larkin TV Chef and mindful eating coach joined Kieran to dive into some winter salads to try your hand at for the festive season...

All ten hours of a secretly recorded conversation between Gerry Hutch and Jonathan Dowdall will form part of the deliberations in the Regency Hotel murder trial. It’s after the judges of the non-jury court decided to allow it into evidence, despite eight of those hours being recorded across the border in Northern Ireland. Newstalk's Courts Correspondent, Frank Greaney joined Kieran on The Hard Sho...