The Hard Shoulder

For this week’s Kids Health Check, guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by Mairead O'Keeffe, CEO of the Children's Grief Centre to discuss how to help your child navigate grief…

Voting day in the Presidential election is less than two weeks away, and polls so far have indicated a lead for Independent Catherine Connolly. With Jim Gavin’s drop out, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys still trails in the polls, but how much can we take from these polls, and much change is likely before election day? Guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by Politics Lecturer at TUD and Founder of Ire...

In the aftermath of a ceasefire deal being agreed by Israel and Hamas, US President Donald Trump said today that “...we are going to have hope, harmony, opportunity and happiness here”. Questions still remain over how the peace plan will be implemented, and whether the ceasefire will hold. Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss it all is Oliver McTernan from Forward Thinking and Paul Brandus...

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has today announced the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, which includes a legal framework for both domestic and international surrogacy. It aims to protect the health and wellbeing of the child, surrogate, and the intended parents of the children born through surrogacy. Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss is Lawyer Annette Hickey.

In the current housing crisis, many people are house sharing much later in life than they may like to, but how can you house share well, and are our attitudes to it wrong? Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss is Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with The Irish Independent.

We are all well aware of the costs of our groceries and how much they have increased in recent years. However, the price of milk has fallen over the past few days, and now consumers are wondering: will more products be next? Newstalk Reporter Josh Crosbie has been looking into these reductions and he joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss.

This week, guest host Jonathan Healy was joined by the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis and Off the Ball’s Ger Gilroy to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

Irish international rugby player Jack Conan joins guest host Jonathan Healy to talk all things Leinster rugby ahead of their upcoming matches!

It's World Mental Health day today, and one thing to look at are the mental health supports available in schools. Newstalk's Josh Crosbie has been investigating, and joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss.

MTV is withdrawing its music channel broadcasting outside of America, marking an end to its founding idea of broadcasting music 24/7… So, what made MTV such a cultural force? Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to look back is Producer of the ‘Culture Pigs’ podcast, Dee Reddy.

Brendan Farrell’s father Liam died in suspicious circumstances in County Leitrim in 2020. This week, Brendan has met with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan in his pursuit of an investigation into the death. Brendan joins guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss.

Off The Ball's Eoin Sheahan joined guest host Jonathan Healy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action.

As energy prices continue to rise and questions are raised over energy supply, it’s being wondered if Ireland should explore nuclear power… To discuss this, guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by Co-Founder of 18 for 0, Denis Duff, and Barrister and Environmental Campaigner, Neil McCann.

Today is World Egg Day, and to celebrate, guest host Jonathan Healy is joined by Food Writer and Founder of Flavour.ie , Kate Ryan, to talk about why eggs are such a staple in the Irish diet!

The Israeli military confirmed today that a ceasefire began in Gaza at noon local time, as the “first phase” of a peace deal agreed by Israel and Hamas comes into effect. The agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, and a withdrawal of Israel’s troops from Gaza to an agreed line, after more than two years of war. But, will it hold? Sean Bell is a...

Since 2022, two hundred million free bus journeys have been made by those under the age of 22 in Scotland since they made bus travel free there for them. And, following the budget this week, Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien stated that he can't rule out public transport fee increases in the future. So, should we explore free public transport measures? Joining guest host Jonathan Healy to discuss...

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and Chris Wasser, Arts Journalist and Sunday Independent Film Critic joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

They’ve joined Kieran on the show before, and the hosts of award-winning The Irish Stew podcast are with him again now. John Lee and Martin Nutty are currently on a tour of Ireland, and have popped into the studio to discuss how life has changed in the United States…

Drag Queen Davina Devine joins Kieran for this week's Thursday Interview!

Luke Combs has been announced as the headliner at Slane Castle next summer as part of his ‘My Kinda Saturday Night’ Tour of Europe and North America, making him the first country music star to headline the iconic venue. Pat Carty, Entertainment Journalist, joins Kieran to discuss. Image: MBC PR

Minister for Education and Youth, and Fine Gael TD for Meath East, Helen McEntee, joins Kieran to discuss current SNA numbers, and the Presidential race as it stands.

Joining Kieran is Randall Plunkett, Barron of Dunsany and Founder of Dunsany Nature Reserve in county Meath to discuss his new book ‘Wild Thing’. He is a reluctant aristocrat who decided to dedicate a third of his County Meath estate to become Ireland’s first vegan rewilding project.

US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire deal for Gaza. Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of the Gaza peace plan, which will see hostages returned from Gaza. As a result, Israel says a ceasefire is expected to begin within 24 hours.  Bel Trew, Chief International Correspondent with The Independent and Reham M...

Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly shared her experience of public transport on social media - criticising how overcrowded her train was, to the point of being dangerous. How widespread of a problem is this in public transport, and do we need to tackle overcrowding? Louise joins Kieran, as well as Barry Kenny, Head of Corporate Communications at Iarnród Éireann, to discuss.

Protein shakes for breakfast, flexing at lunch and barbells for dinner - more and more Irish teenagers are making getting ripped a goal. So, what are the positives for our growing number of pro-teens? And are those benefits out-wheyed by the cons? Newstalk's Sarah Madden reports