The Hard Shoulder

RTÉ have confirmed it will broadcast coverage live from the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. Kieran was joined by Nial Ring, Dublin City Councillor and former Lord Mayor and Noel Cunningham, Ambassador for The Harvey’s Point Hotel in Donegal to discuss...

Bonnie Greer, author, playwright, columnist with the New European joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the events commemorating her death in the past week...

The ESB group tripled its after-tax in the first half of the year reaching €390 million, amid customers facing soaring costs for energy bills. Should these increased profits be used to offset costs incurred by other electricity suppliers? Paul Deane, research professor at University College Cork joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

Yesterday on The Hard Shoulder, Kieran spoke to Linda Bowdler, a mother-of-five with Stage 4 terminal cancer. Linda spoke to Kieran about the financial strain having cancer has had on her family. Roisin Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats joined Kieran on the show to discuss scrapping inpatient charges for cancer patients and those suffering from other illnesses. Dr Ilona Duffy, Monaghan b...

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chart the history of bus lanes...

A lot of Irish people are in denial about their drinking habits, with many “binge drinkers” not realising they are drinking dangerous levels of alcohol. A published report from the Health Research Board, concludes that that two in three individuals fail to recognise when their consumption of alcohol is at an excessive level. Kieran was joined by Sheena Horgan, CEO of Drink Aware , to discuss...

What happens when films have to be recast on the fly? How might your favourite movies and lead characters looked had they been cast differently? To discuss some of Hollywood’s all-time casting “what ifs”, Kieran was joined by John Fardy, presenter of Screentime on Newstalk...

John Mark McCafferty, Member of the Commission on Taxation and CEO of Threshold joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to respond after Leo Varadkar said parts of their report were out of the Sinn Féin manifesto...

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Second is happening on Monday, with the mourning period continuing up until that day. Soon after that, final decisions will be made surrounding the currency, and the changing of notes depicting the Queen’s head, to King Charles III’s head. Peter Oakes is a business consultant, formerly of the Central Bank, joined Kieran on the show to discuss the process...

The special VAT rate for hotels, restaurants and pubs is set to be hiked as part of the Budget. The 9% has been in to support the hospitality sector since the pandemic began. Reports suggest that Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe thinks it’s time to bring things back up to 13.5%. Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, chairperson of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation and JP McMahon, chef, author and restaur...

Helen Dixon, Data Protection Commissioner joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss the latest fine of €405m imposed on social media site Instagram, for their breach of GDPR in relation to children...

Linda Bowdler is living with Stage 4 incurable cancer and she joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to tell him about the struggle she has in paying charges for cancer treatment. Kieran was also joined by Rachel Morrogh, Director of Advocacy with the Irish Cancer Society...

Young people on TikTok are going viral by blaming energy drinks for their heart problems. It comes a few weeks after the Welsh government floated the idea of banning sales of these drinks to under-16s on health grounds. Kieran was joined by Ciara Wright of Glenville Nutrition to discuss...

Kieran was joined by Bobby Kerr, presenter of Down to Business on Newstalk from Austin, Texas at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year CEO Retreat...

Retrofitting has become a focal point of recent discussions on energy efficiency measures. Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Brendan Donlon to discuss the process of retrofitting his home…

Sarina Bellissimo, presenter of The Bellissimo Files on Spin 103.8 joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss the best royal TV and movies...

Complaints have been flooding in all week in Rathmines over a new billboard with LED lights. Apparently the light is so bright people are struggling to sleep. Diana O’Dwyer lives next to it and she joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder alongside Ian Lumley, who is the Head of Advocacy with An Taisce...

According to CSO figures released today, the rate of increases in property prices have fallen again. For more on this, Kieran was joined by Seamus Coffey, economics lecturer at University College Cork and Conor O’Connell, Director of the Irish Home Builders Association...

Yesterday, King Charles visited Northern Ireland and ran into a spot of bother with a leaky fountain pen. It begs the question, does anyone still write with a fountain pen?  Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Liz Maguire Creator and curator of Flea Market Love Letters...

As we head towards the end of the year, the time will come for Leo Varadkar to become Taoiseach, but also the plan is for Michael McGrath to become the new Minister for Finance. This will likely mean that Paschal Donohoe has to also step down from his position as President of the Eurogroup. Shane Ross is the former Minister for Transport joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss..

With winter coming, school's considerations around heating and electricity in their classrooms are coming into sharper focus. There have been calls for extra funding in this month’s budget through increased capitation rates or ancillary grants. Kieran was joined on the show by Paul Moroney, Scartlegen National School, County Kerry and Noel Loftus, Principal, St. Attracta's National School, Ballagh...

Figures have shown there was a 55pc increase last year in the number of people attending support services at Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland. Early detection and effective treatment are the best chance at recovery, unfortunately, depending on where you live, access to certain services can vary. Kieran was joined by Harriet Parsons,Psychotherapist and training and development...

Claire McKenna, Presenter of 'Alive and Kicking' cycled into studio and joined Kieran to discuss how she found her new commute...

Ukraine has said it aims to liberate all of its territory. They’ve driven Russian forces back in the northeast of the country in a rapid offensive. However, they have called on the West to send more weapons in order to back them up. Kieran was joined by the former British army officer and diplomat, and CEO of Henderson Risk Group, Duncan Bullivant...

Aisling Larkin TV Chef and mindful eating coach joined Kieran to take a closer look at energy costs in the kitchen and tips and tricks how to save money when cooking...