The Hard Shoulder

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Si King and Dave Myers, otherwise known as 'The Hairy Bakers' on the launch of their new book 'Brilliant Bakes' and Dave's recent cancer diagnosis...

Further and Higher Education Minister, Simon Harris joined Kieran to discuss sexual violence on college campuses, student protests and the viral video of the Irish women's soccer team singing 'Ooh Ah, Up The RA'...

The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford is over in Ireland for a couple of days for the ‘Ireland-Wales’ Forum. Discussions are taking place around trade, culture, education and more. The First Minister of Wales joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder...

4,685 people in Ireland are driving on learner permits more than a quarter of a century after they were issued with them. Kieran was joined by Leo Leigho, from the Irish Road Victims Association and Senator Gerard Craughwell to discuss...

Dublin City Council have rejected plans for a 24-storey office tower close to Tara Street. For more on this Kieran was joined by Eoin O’Malley DCU Associate Professor  in political science at the School of Law and Government at DCU and Frank McDonald, author and journalist, to discuss

To mark the death of Angela Lansbury, who portrayed Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote - Sarina Bellissimo, entertainment journalist and broadcaster, joined Kieran to chat through some of the best murder mysteries out there...

Over the past three years, there has been a 600% increase to the Samaritans helpline. Many of the callers have been from Irish prisons, and today Samaritans is celebrating its 20th anniversary of the Listener Scheme. This involves dedicated prisoners being available to chat with other inmates about their worries or concerns. Our reporter Josh Crosbie has been to the Midlands Prison today and cover...

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran for a new series 'The Shopping Trolley Hotline'. The series will give listeners pause when they’re filling their trolleys, to consider their options. Are we paying more for things when we could be paying less, but for a similar quality product? We want to explore the provenance and environmental impact of the everyday things we buy. To kick off the serie...

The FAI this afternoon apologised after a video of the women's national football team singing ‘Ooh ah, up the RA’ was shared widely on social media. Kieran was joined by Ciaran Cannon, Fine Gael TD for Galway East and Kieran Cunningham, Chief Sports Writer, Irish Daily Star...

Stoneybatter has been named as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out. Kieran was joined by Martin Quigley of the Dublin Ukulele Collective, Anthony Farrell, Publisher of The Lilliput Press and Katie Quinn, manager of Lilliput Stores to discuss…

A video emerged today showing the Irish women’s team’s celebrations upon reaching the World Cup next year, with the squad singing ‘Up The Ra’. The FAI, and the team’s management and players have since apologised. But what effect does this sort of chant have on those who have been victims of IRA attacks in the past. Colin Parry’s son Tim was killed in Warrington in 1993, and he joined Kieran on The...

The transit centre at Citywest is nearing capacity and the possibility of a pause on entry to new arrivals to Citywest due to a nationwide shortage of accommodation cannot be discounted.’ That’s according to Roderic O’Gorman the Minister for Integration. For more on this, Kieran was joined by Regina Doherty, Fine Gael senator to discuss...

One bus driver has been threatened with rape while driving her bus between Cork and Carrigaline. She shared this harrowing story at yesterday's National Bus and Rail Conference in Cork. Unfortunately, it is one of many experiences of anti-social behavior in public transport and reason to finally tackle this issue by establishing transport police. Kieran was joined by Kieran, an Irish Rail worker a...

Jen Hogan wrote a piece in the Irish Times today, where she spoke to parents of kids being kept on the sideline during sporting games. Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder to discuss this further by Shane Smith, Sports Scientist and Primary School Teacher...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Clare McKenna, presenter of Alive and Kicking on Newstalk, to discuss the latest craze of manifesting...

Aisling Larkin TV Chef and mindful eating coach joined Kieran to take a closer look at comfort foods; the most popular ones, ones from around the world and her favourite..

“Elderly” and “pensioner” are offensive ageist words that should be scrapped. That’s according to recommendations recently adapted by University of Manchester, where the staff was asked to use “mature individual” or “older people” terms instead? Is it another example of political correctness gone too far? John McGuirk, writer and political commentator, joined Kieran to discuss...

Ireland's 29 emergency departments will each be given individual plans by the HSE, to prepare them for the winter months. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has brought the overall Winter Plan to Cabinet today, that'll cost approximately 168 million euro. Kieran was joined by Priscilla Lynch, Clinical Editor for the Medical Independent and Tony O’Brien, former Director General of the HSE and Columni...

Dublin South County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council have both opted to maintain reductions in the Local Property Tax. Kieran was joined by Cllr Oisin O’Connor, Green Party Councilor and Cllr Melisa Halpin, People Before Profit Councillor for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to discuss...

The issues of keeping children on the sideline has cropped up again today, it comes off the back of a piece by contributor to this show, Jen Hogan in the Irish Times today, where she spoke to parents of kids being kept on the sideline. Kieran was joined by Shane Coleman, Newstalk Breakfast presenter and Siobhán O'Neill-White from Mams.ie to discuss...

Massive explosions have hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities today. They were apparently Russian revenge strikes as President Vladimir Putin declared retaliation after an explosion on the bridge to Crimea. They have been the most intense attacks since the beginning of the war.  Oleksiy Goncharenko is a Ukraine MP and Vice President of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons...

An Post and the Irish Red Cross have opened a fund for the community of Creeslough, called the Creeslough Restoration Fund. Across the An Post network, there have been reports of people all over the country in the 920 post offices queuing up to give to the fund. Henry McKean visited The GPO in Dublin and sent us his report. Kieran was also joined by Barry Whyte, our chief reporter, who caught up w...

The Happy Pear, a healthy Living platform launches today on iOS and Android, with the aim to support users on their journey of becoming healthier and happier people. The app will offer leading advice from experts and lifestyle practitioners. How will it support and inspire its users on the journey to healthier living? Kieran asked David and Steve Flynn, twin brothers, authors co-founders of the Ha...

Car lanes will begin to be phased out of College Green from next year as part of plans to remove traffic from Dublin city center. That’s according to the Green Party leader and transport minister Eamon Ryan. For more on this Kieran was joined by Hazel Chu Green Party Councillor and Jim Waldron of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association.

True Crime content is never too far from our screens these days, and many are in the throes of the new Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix. But how accurate is the show’s portrayal of the notorious case? Anne E Schwartz – then working as a crime reporter for the Milwaukee Journal - broke the story back in 1991. She has since authored the book: "Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders",...