The Hard Shoulder

The US-Israeli air war against Iran has expanded with no end in sight, with Israel attacking Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah, and Iran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states and a British air base as far away as Cyprus. Joining Ciara to discuss the impact this has on civilians and the current situation in Iran is Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former Iranian Ambassador to Germany & fo...

Every week for The Ultimate Guide on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world. This week, as part of his 12 best cities in the world, Fionn joined Ciara and Shane to give the ultimate guide to Paris!

A deaf couple, both in employment, are facing a €10,000 bill for hearing aids which they were penalised for working and "moving away" from the disability allowance. James Reardon and Ruth McSkane, who have three young children, say they struggle to raise the €10,000 required every five to seven years for new hearing aids… Joining Shane to discuss this is Danielle McLaughlin, Director of Advocacy a...

Two weeks ago on the Hard Shoulder, we spoke with Katelyn, a student at UCD, and she told us how images of her “nude, bruised and unconscious” after being sexually assaulted were shared and circulated to a significant number of UCD Staff and student body email addresses, and then some months later, to a student WhatsApp group… Over the weekend, doctors working within the Irish healthcare system ha...

While we all may be familiar with the iconic British Pathé logo adorning archive footage of Ireland pre nineteen sixties with an English accent narrating events, in the nineteen fifties, Gael Linn founded their own newsreel service, narrated as Gaeilge. The footage has now been digitised and is available to view online, and Ronan McGreevy, News Reporter with The Irish Times joins Shane to talk abo...

“My parents moved into my one-bed apartment to help me through breast cancer treatment – and we actually had a great time”. Those are the words of Caroline Kay, Singer-Songwriter Caroline Kay and her dad, Donal Keating. They join Ciara to share their experience.

Iarnród Éireann has paid out almost €150,000 in compensation to passengers in the first 10 months of 2024 alone due to issues such as late trains, rude staff, cancellations or cleanliness issues. Joining Shane to discuss this is Barry Kenny, Head of Communications with Irish Rail and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, European Transport Committee MEP, who obtained these figures.

The Taoiseach has warned against price gouging as the price of energy soars due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. For more on this, Ciara is joined by Brian Ó Gallachóir, Professor of Sustainability and Associate Vice-President of Sustainability at University College Cork. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission need to quickly look into and establish if there is price gouging...

From finding love to landing a job, being more candid and saying too much may be the key to getting ahead. Joining Ciara and Shane to discuss this is Leslie John, Harvard Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of ‘REVEALING: The Underrated Power of Oversharing’ who had these findings.

According to new research from the National Transport Authority (NTA), the number of people in Dublin using bikes daily has risen by 50% in just the past two years. This begs the question: is our cycling infrastructure good enough to accommodate this rise? Do we need more cycle lanes? Joining Shane to discuss is Ciarán Cannon, President of Cycling Ireland.

(Most) of Ireland is basking in the sun! When the weather has been so bad recently, how do we make the best of it when the day is dry and sunny? Henry McKean has been out asking the public, and joins Ciara and Shane to discuss.

We are now on day four of the war between the US and Israel against Iran. Iran yesterday hit Tel Aviv killing 10 and wiping out entire streets and buildings. The Israeli Defense Forces announced earlier today that it has begun a large-scale wave of strikes on Tehran, having earlier announced its strikes on Beirut. Netanyahu has also approved a military ground incursion into the southern part of Le...

The Irish Farmers Association have ended their sit-in protest at the Bord Bia offices in Dublin. This is after the board agreed to an independent, expert-led governance review into its operations, where Chair of the board Larry Murrin will not be involved. Francie Gorman, President of the Irish Farmers' Association joins Ciara to discuss.

It’s normal to lose 50 to 150 hairs per day. That may seem like a lot, but most people have about 100,000 hairs on their heads at any given time. So, when should you start to worry? Joining Shane to discuss is Trua Trichologist, Sarah Cummins…

On Friday it was reported that the University of Galway was proposing to discontinue and replace its general arts course due to an international downward trend in its popularity. However, the college later on Friday emphasized that they were not cutting the course, but just looking at reimagining them. Despite the many quips that may be made about arts courses, do they still have an important plac...

For this week’s Kids Clinic, Ciara and Shane are joined by Dr Arthur Cummings, Consultant Eye Surgeon at the Wellington Eye Clinic and Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Beacon Hospital to discuss the common eye conditions that affect kids, and how to know if they might need an eye test.

If you commute into Dublin every morning, it’s impossible to ignore the growing levels of congestion and traffic across the city. Commutes are taking longer and making workers late as they spend hours frustrated on buses moving at a snail's pace, and tomorrow cabinet is set to discuss a variety of plans to address traffic and congestion around the country, including congestion charges in the city....

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Defence and Fine Gael TD Meath East Helen McEntee joins Shane to discuss the situation in the Middle East, and what Irish people stranded and living there should do.

New research from Flyefit has found women are leaving the gym and giving up their routine at a much higher rate than men, with the top three reasons cited being intimidation, loss of interest and lack of motivation. For more on this, Ciara is joined by Nathalie Lennon, Personal Trainer & Content Creator.

Over recent days we have seen the government roll back on reforms to reductions in SNAs in schools around the country. Parents had been left angered and concerned as some schools received letters informing them that their SNA numbers would be cut from September. Fianna Fáil TD Catherine Ardagh has written in the Independent today about her experience as the mother of a non-verbal autistic child an...

New research has found that Gen Z value sustainable habits in dating as much as they value good looks. Research carried out by Too Good To Go, an anti-food waste app found 70% of daters looked for an interest in sustainability in a long-term partner. Joining Ciara and Shane to give her opinion on the matter is Freelance Journalist Kate Henshaw.

Iran's retaliatory strikes have so far targeted 500 sites linked to the US and Israel in the Middle East, Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said. For more on this, Ciara is joined by Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi, Senior Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History at University of St Andrews in Scotland. Also joining to discuss is Kevin McPartland, CEO of Fuels for Ireland. Image: Reuters

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with Irish independent and Ger Gilroy from Off The Ball to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

Yesterday on the programme, we spoke to the manager of The Temple Bar Pub in Dublin’s Temple bar, Tom Cleary, in relation to the controversial statue of Saint Patrick that the pub had erected on the side of its building. As you may be aware at this stage, that statue has now been removed and we have a short statement from Dublin City Council on that matter saying they became aware of the installat...

Off The Ball Senior Producer Mick McCarthy joined Ciara and Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action…