The Hard Shoulder

More and more restaurants have been imposing a ‘one table, one bill’ rule, especially in tourist hotspots such as Mallorca and Malaga, but consumers aren't happy. With the rise of Revolut and their ‘split the bill’ option, they couldn't have made it easier, so what's everyone complaining about? Is getting the waiter to split the bill really in their job description? Joining Kieran to discuss is Al...

John Fardy, Presenter of 'Screentime' and Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

Over the past week we’ve been hearing about how the cost of living is affecting families right across the country, meaning some go without food so their kids can eat, or some families go without heating. Reporter Meghan O’Halloran joined Kieran in studio to look a little deeper into this and spoke with families, those providing support to these families and also to Stephen Moffat, CEO of Barnardos...

Next month marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of The Liberator, Daniel O'Connell, and a number of events are being planned to commemorate his life and legacy. At the end of this month, a major two-day conference is taking place in Trinity College Dublin, organised by the Trinity Long Room Hub in partnership with The Bar of Ireland, Dublin Cemeteries Trust, and Diageo, entitled 'Liberty, Demo...

Katriona O’Sullivan, Psychologist and Writer joins Kieran for this week's Thursday Interview!

The cap on nighttime flights at Dublin Airport has been increased from 65 to 95 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Flights will also now be allowed to take off and land on the North Runway until midnight and after 7 a.m. However, aircraft that exceed the noise limit won’t be allowed at night. This appears to contradict An Comisiún Pleanála’s draft decision from last September, which stated that the North...

If you are struggling to keep your kids entertained this summer, we have got you covered. Kieran is joined by Lorraine Levis, author of ‘Once Upon a Reader: Raising Your Children with a Love of Books’ to discuss how you can get your kids into reading.

How much do you know about money? Surveys suggest that Irish adults are more confident in their financial literacy than they should be. Financial Adviser Padraic Kissane joins Kieran to give advice on how to get back on track with spending and saving.

It was announced today that the voting age is to be lowered to 16 in the UK by the next general election. 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in all elections as part of changes, including easier voter registration and a crackdown on foreign interference. Recently, the National Youth Council of Ireland released a statement for the voting age to be lowered to 16 in Ireland. They believe that y...

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about. This week, Simon joins Kieran after the string of good weather to discuss how you can mow your lawn perfectly!

The Dáil ends this week – so who are the biggest winners and losers of this Dáil term? Sarah McGuinness, Political Correspondent for the Irish Daily Mail and Ireland Editor for the Irish Independent, Fionnan Sheahan, join Kieran to discuss.

Whether it’s putting spare change away, finding the best deal or examining what subscriptions you really need, technology can be a great tool to help you save money. For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Kieran to give all of her money saving tech tips!

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, while congratulating Katie Taylor on her recent victory over Amanda Serrano, said that she would like to see a fight take place in Croke Park. Katie Taylor has been non-committal on her future so far, but if Croke Park became an option for a fight, would that mean we’ll see another one? Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn joins Kieran to discuss.

Recent abortion figures were covered on the show yesterday, which showed that the number of women who had abortions in Ireland last year rose to 10,852, which is the highest they’ve been since abortion was legalised in 2019. This has brought up questions surrounding contraception. In Ireland, women aged 17-34 can avail of the Free Contraception Scheme, which offers a range of contraceptive service...

EU cash for farmers or the Common Agricultural Policy could reduce or change in the next EU budgetary cycle in 2028. But, what would this mean for Irish farmers who receive over €2 billion in payments. Will farmers be able to keep the lights on if the money dries up? Henry McKean has been out to a mart speaking to farmers, and joins Kieran to discuss.

A Co. Down cricket club has cancelled its plans to host a cross-community summer sports club after online criticism of its decision to include children who play GAA. Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong joins Kieran to discuss why a children’s sporting event became so contentious.

The HSE is not being given funding to tackle vaping or nicotine pouch addiction under current quit smoking programmes, despite a rise in people trying to quit e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches who had never smoked tobacco. Do we need to revisit this to tackle the issue? Joining Kieran to discuss is Professor Luke Clancy, Director General of the TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland and Tom Gleeson...

Temple Bar has been named as the third worst tourist trap in the world – only behind Fisherman’s Wharf in the US, and Las Ramblas in Barcelona in Spain. And, while many will complain at how expensive the likes of Temple Bar is, are tourist traps just part of a thriving city? Joining Kieran to discuss is Elaine Cobbe, CBS Correspondent in Paris and Ana Rosa Butler, Writer based in Spain.

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, Fionn joined Kieran to give his travel tips and recommendations if you ever plan on taking a cruise!

Blood Bikes, a nonprofit that delivers medical essentials to healthcare facilities across Ireland, is advocating for its volunteers’ right to use bus lanes. The Department of Transport does not support this request, and claimed in a statement that having more vehicles in bus lanes will reduce the lanes’ efficiency. Ambulances are able to use bus lanes and are exempt from road tolls. However, Sinn...

Scientists have detected the biggest ever merger of two black holes. Astronomers have recorded gravitational waves that have caused ripples within space and time. The black holes, each more than 100 times the mass of the Sun, began circling each other long ago and finally slammed together to form an even more massive black hole about 10 billion light years from Earth. The merger was detected by th...

One of the memos brought to Cabinet today was to approve the making of the ‘Team Ireland’ trade mission, an annual event to be held every October in a key market. It’s as multiple senior Ministers are set to travel this October to a trade mission. Peter Burke is the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Fine Gael TD for Longford-Westmeath, and joins Kieran to discuss.

After Tánaiste Simon Harris’ calls for asylum seekers with jobs to pay towards their accommodation, Kieran was joined by Cathal Malone of Thomas Coughlan & Co Solicitors to learn what asylum seekers actually get when they arrive in the country. Today, Cathal returns to discuss what rights someone has after they have been granted asylum.

Off the Ball’s Eoin Sheahan joins Kieran to place his favourite book on The Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

The 77th Emmy Awards will take place on the 14th of September this year, but who is up for the awards? The nominations are hot off the press, and Brian Lloyd, Entertainment Journalist and Film Critic joins Kieran to break them down. Image: HBO