The Hard Shoulder

Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action...

There will be no live animals featured in the Christmas Nativity crib outside the Mansion House for the first time in 27 years. Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy brought the issue before the council yesterday and the decision has been met with disappointment from many. Kieran was joined by Farmer Fionn Sherlock whose family have been providing livestock for the crib since its beginning and Gerry Boland,...

Elon Musk has completed his US$44 billion (€44.10bn) takeover of social media platform Twitter. Jess Kelly, Newstalk's Technology Correspondent to chat to Kieran about the takeover and the future of the platform...

Well the bank holiday weekend is upon us and many people will be heading out to eat. The issue of charging for no shows at restaurants has been an issue raised in recent weeks when a diner claimed they were charged 250 for missing a reservation. Oliver Dunne, Restauranteur at Cleaver East and Pink has joined me to discuss how prevalent this issue is…

Lynsey Bennett, the CervicalCheck campaigner, has died at the age of 34. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2017 following the alleged misinterpretation of smear slides. And last February, she settled a case with the HSE over it. She spoke to Kieran on The Hard Shoulder following that settlement. Gillian O’Mahony, the solicitor who represented Lynsey in that case joined Kieran on the show.....

CervicalCheck campaigner Lynsey Bennett has passed away. The 34-year-old was diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in 2017, following the alleged misinterpretation of smear slides. Due to the delay in diagnosing it, she sued the HSE and the US lab that analysed her slide. She joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder in February 2021 after her settlement was agreed.

As expected, The European Central Bank raised interest rates again today. In a series of complex moves, the ECB raised its deposit rate by 75 basis points to 1.5%, as expected, taking the total increase to 2 percentage points over three meetings. How will this affect people who are having to pay the hikes? Kieran was joined by Caitriona Redmond, Cost of Living Expert for the Irish Examiner...

Hector Ó hEochagáin joined Kieran in studio to chat about his new travel series, taking over the podcast world and Hector tested Kieran his Gaeilge...

What is Ireland's Greatest Moment of the last 100 years? Over the next few weeks, The Hard Shoulder will look at some of the 20 shortlisted moments and discuss why they deserve the title of 'Ireland's Greatest Moment.' Dave Fanning, broadcaster & journalist joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss U2's release of their iconic 1987 album 'The Joshua Tree'...

Various trade unions have joined together today to launch the ‘Keep Water Public’ campaign. The campaign calls on the Government to confirm a date for a constitutional referendum on the public ownership of water services. Brendan Ogle, the spokesperson for the Right2Water campaign and Barry Ward, Fine Gael Senator joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss...

Michael McDowell, Senator and former Justice Minister, says that 'Dublin’s planners are failing to help our capital to flourish.' Senator Michael McDowell joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss this further...

Michaela McCollum was jailed for two years in Peru, when she and Melissa Reid were found with €1.6 milion worth of cocaine in 2013. Her BBC docuseries ‘High: Confessions of an Ibiza Drug Mule’ was released on Netflix at the weekend. Kieran was joined by Ali Ryan CEO and founder of Goss.ie and Ian O’Doherty Columnist with The Irish Independent to discuss...

Sarina Bellissimo, host of The Bellissimo Files Podcast joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to take a look behind the screens at the role of Superman and those who portrayed the iconic superhero down through the years...

The 2005 World Snooker Champion, Shaun Murphy was speaking on a podcast during the week about his gastric sleeve surgery. For more on this, Kieran was joined by Leanne Kendellen and Susie Birney, both of whom had gastric bypass surgery...

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 delved into the different options of butter on the shelves...

Exactly 60 years ago today, 26th October 1962, The Rolling Stones stepped into the recording studio for the first time. Pat Carty from Hot Press joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chart the band's history and success...

Research out today show that people speaking loudly on their phone is the most annoying thing other commuters do. Other bug bears include, people not giving up their seat for those who need it more and someone putting their bag on the seat beside them. Loud sniffers and passengers with body odour were also listed as the most annoying things about public transport. Kieran was joined by Andrea Gilli...

What is Ireland's Greatest Moment of the last 100 years? Over the next few weeks, The Hard Shoulder will look at some of the 20 shortlisted moments and discuss why they deserve the title of 'Ireland's Greatest Moment.' Former Ireland Boxing Head Coach, Billy Walsh, who now heads up Team USA, joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss Katie Taylor winning Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games...

Lewis Capaldi has recently told fans that he has Tourette's syndrome. His announcement along with a similar announcement from singer, Billie Eilish, has brought it in the public eye. James Mac Inerney, Irish makeup artist, finalist of Netflix and BBC show The Glow Up, joined Kieran to discuss what it's like to live with Tourette's...

The ECB are meeting tomorrow in Frankfurt, where they are expected to hike interest rates for the third time since the summer. And they will say it’s all in the name of avoiding a recession. Kieran was joined by consumer expert and presenter of The Home Show Sinead Ryan and Aidan Regan, who is the Associate Professor of Political Economy in the School of Politics and International Relations in UCD...

Kieran was joined for The Final Furlong LIVE from London by Comedian, John Meagher, Sarah Duffy, Presenter & podcaster and Peter Flanagan, Comedian...

Kieran was joined in studio by Fine Gael Senator, Regina Doherty, and Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry. For the next few weeks, in a brand new series called ‘Common Ground’, they will debate some of the biggest, most divisive topics around. The new series continued with a discussion around lowering the voting age to 16...

Justice Minister, Helen McEntee joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss new late licensing laws for pubs and nightclubs and the current accommodation crisis facing Ukrainian refugees...

Countdown's Susie Dent joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss her fascination of words, 40 Years of Countdown and her new book 'An Emotional Dictionary: Real Words for How You Feel, from Angst to Zwodder'...

A piece in today's Irish Independent, explored the virtues of seaweed as a food source. To discuss the benefits of seaweed as a staple in your diet, Kieran was joined by Anne O’Hagan, owner of Ebb & Flow,an artisan producer of seaweed food products, based in Dun Laoghaire...