The Hard Shoulder

Today is safter internet day and according to Cyber Safe Kids, more than half of children are at risk from online contact with strangers. In this major study, over 3,300 children and 1,700 parents were surveyed nationwide. And 25% of parents say they “do not understand” the games & apps their child uses. Henry McKean had a conversation with 6th class in The Harold School in Glasthule, Dublin,...

France is set to send letters toa ll 29-year-old citizens, as a reminder to ‘have a baby while you can.’   The move is part of the government’s 16-point plan to increase fertility rates. The letter will be sent to men and women and will remind them  that fertility is a shared responsibility between both sexes.     So, should the Irish government follow suit? Are we do...

Shane was joined by pulitizer winning Photographer, Deanne Fitzmaurice on the launch of her book of photographs, ‘On Dublin: Reflections on the Irish Capital’ in conjunction with The Little Museum of Dublin.   Shane also spoke to her work as a war photographer, and of course the powerful portrayal of Saleh, a young Iraqi war victim was the Pulitzer Prize winning photography in 2005.

She is well known for her role as the iconic Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald, and now, has joined the cast of Fair City as Lilly, the long-lost mother of Gwen Connolly Shane was joined by Beverely to talk about starting in Fair City, having been known for so long from Coronation street.

Nial Ring, Former Lord Mayor of Dublin and City Councillor joined Shane ahead of a meeting calling for ‘immediate’ action on pedestrian street safety in Dublin city centre following last week's fatal Dublin bus crash.

A new trend of asking ChatGPT to make a caricature based on you has gone viral, but the more sinister side of things is that it is based on the data AI has on you. How worried should we be?   Joining Shane to explain was Ciara O'Brien , Irish Times business and technology journalist.  

Calls have intensified for the British Prime Minister, Kier Starmer to resign amid the fallout from the revelations contained in the Epstein files. With the Leader of the Scottish labour party Anas Sarwar, calling for him to step down. Kier Starmer apologized for believing Peter Mandelson’s “lies” and his decision to appoint him to the role of Britain’s ambassador to the US, Joining Shane with the...

From fillings to falling out, what can we do to improve our children’s dental hygiene? Well, to discuss this, Shane was joined  chair of the gp committee of the Irish dental association, and a dentist at kiwi dental in Carlow, Caroline Roberts

A survey has revealed that grocery prices have risen nearly 7% since this time last year, the fastest climbing rate in almost two years.   The data from Worldpanel by Numerator found that inflation rose to 6.8% in the last 12 weeks to the end of last month, from a rate of 6.25 the month before.   Consumer Affairs Correspondent for the Irish Times Conor Pope and Damian O’Reilly, Lecturer...

As day three of the Winter Olympics is well underway and Shane was joined by Barry Kenny, Head of Communications with Irish Rail to give us an insight for all the events that we can look forward to in the week ahead.

Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is appearing virtually today from prison via videolink before the US Congress in an Epstein probe. Joining Shane with the latest was David Smith, Washington Bureau chief of The Guardian and Yasmine Meyer, Lawyer representing Epstein victims.

The highly prestigious Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland Awards are being hosted in Dublin today for the first time since they began in 1974. A ceremony of this magnitude of course brings with it a lot of excitement Joining Shane to discuss this further is JP McMahon, Chef, author and restaurateur, and Dr Mairtin Mac Con Iomaire, Chef, lecturer and the first person in Ireland to get a PHD...

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has announced that the Dublin Airport passenger cap’s abolition will go to cabinet tomorrow.   The controversial cap currently sits at 32 million passengers, but the proposed bill will allow for amendment or removal, and block planning authorities from reimposing it. What should be considered in this move?   Joining Shane was Resident of St Margaret...

This week  Shane was joined by the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Alison Curtis Presenter, TodayFM and Ger Gilroy  Off The Ball  

It’s time to talk everything sport and an exciting weekend as the League of Ireland is back Stephen Doyle from Off the Ball joined Shane to preview the first games and the season ahead.

The world of Peppa Pig is tackling an important issue... Peppa Pig’s younger brother George will be revealed to be moderately deaf and fitted with a hearing aid in a new storyline set to tackle childhood hearing loss. Joining Shane to discuss the importance of representation in Children’s TV shows is Danielle Mc Laughlin, Director of Advocacy and Communications at CHIME, Ireland’s National Charity...

It’s Opening Ceremony Day in Italy for the Winter Olympic games. Over the next two weeks we will be treated to skiers careering down the slopes at motorway speed, the smooth elegance of figure skating and the carnage of short track speed skating. We heard yesterday from the Team Ireland camp…but who are the other international stars we need to look out for? Sinéad O’Carroll, Editor of The Journal...

The European Commission has accused TikTok of creating an "addictive design" in its app which could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of minors and vulnerable adults.   Joining Shane was Ollwyn Moran, Neuro Development Therapist & Founder of Cogni Kids

President Donald Trump has shared a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in a late-night Truth Social posting spree which has sparked outrage in the US   Shane was  joined by Anthony Zurcher   BBC North America correspondent &   James Carville, US political consultant, author and commentator  

A new survey shows that one in seven homes have fallen into arrears on their electricity bills The State’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has found that almost 300 thousand homes were behind with their electricity bills at the end September. This is all while energy costs in Ireland continue to be one of the highest in Europe   Joining Shane  Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein TD fo...

Super Bowl Sunday will see The New England Patriots take on the Seatle Seahawks, with Bad Bunny taking on the iconic half time show   For more on this Shane were joined by Susan Culleton Hayes, Host of Taking Stock and The Positive Economist & Ali Ryan, Founder and CEO of @ goss.ie

Joining Shane   on what can we expect for the rest of the day and into the weekend, was Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather. Also joining the programme was Josh Crosbie  Newstalk Reporter who has been asking people if our weather warning system is up to par

Last week we spoke to Sheila Gilheaney, CEO of Alcohol Alliance Ireland following a report published on youth drinking take a listen... Following that discussion psychotherapist, Michelle Whelan Kennedy got in touch with the show saying she felt that the argument on raising prices or increasing tax on alcohol is overly simplistic.   “As a therapist and also as a mother, I see how raising the...

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and John Fardy Presenter of Screentime joined Ciara and Shane to review the latest TV and movie releases…

A group of Labour TDs are calling for the Government to introduce paid miscarriage leave and paid leave for those going through IVF treatment. It is estimated that miscarriage affects thousands of women in Ireland every year, with The Miscarriage Association estimating that one in every five pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Shane and Ciara joined Labour Spokesperson for Health Marie Sherlock and Roi...