The Last Word with Matt Cooper

From bike lights with built in radar to smart helmets with integrated lights, Andy O'Donoghue joins The Last Word to run through some of the best high-tech cycling safety gear on the market. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Representatives from school management bodies have called for a full review of the Hot School Meals Programme as they claim that a failure to properly resource the scheme is undermining its potential and overburdening schools. Dr Emer Nowlan, chief executive of Educate Together, and Regina Halpin, principal of Divine Mercy Senior National School in Balgaddy, Co Dublin, join The Last Word to discus...

Co. Cork musician Joe Philpott is the latest inductee into The Last Word's Culture Club. Hit the 'Play' button on this page to hear all of the choices that shaped him which includes music, TV, films and authors.

Research conducted by Switcher.ie has found that a switch to own-brand products could save a family over €2,000 a year. With grocery prices rising at a rate of 6.5pc, consumers continue to feel the pinch in early 2026. Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent, speaks to Matt on The Last Word. Hit the 'Play' button on this page to hear the piece.

US President Donald Trump has said that "the day of reckoning and retribution is coming" for Minnesota as the state is suing his administration over its immigration crackdown following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone join The Last Word to discuss this and more of the latest news from the United States. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this...

On Tuesday, Diageo confirmed that it will increase the price of its pints from February 2nd. The cost will increase by 7 cent per pint (excluding VAT), which is the 5th time the company has done so in three years. Pat Crotty, CEO Vintners Federation expressed his disappointment to Matt on The Last Word, saying that publicans are “being hit from all sides” and that they “cannot continue to absorb t...

Judge James O’Donohoe reduced a €50,000 damages award by 80% to a cyclist who suffered a brain injury when he collided with a motorbike, saying that cyclists in Dublin have become a “nightmare”. Dr Damien O’Tuama, National Cycling Co-Ordinator at the Irish Cycling Campaign and Tony Toner, freelance motoring journalist and advanced driving instructor, reacted to these comments on Tuesday’s The Last...

Brighton’s 2-1 defeat of Manchester United in Sunday’s FA Cup third round fixture at Old Trafford means United will play just 40 games in the 2025-26 campaign. It will be their shortest season since 1914-15. Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer with The Independent and former Ireland International Tony Cascarino speak to Matt about the weekend’s results. Plus, they reacted to the news that Real M...

Douglas Farah, President of IBI Consultants, a national security consulting firm based in Washington DC and former Washington Post journalist, was a participant in US war games in the Pentagon for the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. Having worked in South America as a Washington Post reporter for many years, he was asked to take part with other experts to 'game out' how the end of the Madu...

The Traitors Ireland stormed into the top 10 most-watched TV shows in Ireland last year, with The Late Late Toy Show once again claiming top spot with an audience of over 1.5m people. Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley picked up the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes on Sunday night for her performance in the widely acclaimed Hamnet. On Monday’s The Last Word, Joe O’Shea and Elaine Burke look at Buckl...

Sarah Slattery from thetravelexpert.ie joins The Last Word to run through some of the best travel deals to be found in the January sales. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

This week on The Week Trending Matt is joined by Broadcaster and Author Aoife Barry and Sports Broadcaster Cathal Mullaney to discuss the week's biggest trending stories. This week they discuss controversy over AI 'Nudification' tools, Scotland getting a new bank holiday for their World Cup campaign and more Hit Play on this page to listen now

Ireland has a great reputation for its hospitality both at home and abroad, and part of it is built on the appeal of the Irish pub. So, what appeals to us the most about going to the pub? Is the future of the pub – particularly in rural Ireland – under threat due to the increase in the cost of a drink? Donal Fallon, Historian, Presenter of the Three Castles Burning podcast & author of ‘The Dub...

This week on The Last Word on the Environment John Gibbons joins Matt to discuss Ireland's decision not to back the EU's Mercosur trade deal with South America. They also discuss the Taoiseach's promise to remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport Hit Play on this page to listen now

Protests have taken place across the US after a 37-year-old woman was shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. Reacting to the incident, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said “We’ve been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt.” Larry Donnelly, lecturer...

In the New Year many of us may be making lifestyle changes to improve our health, for some of us that may be taking supplements To find out the pros, cons and whether we should be taking these supplements at all Matt is joined by GP Dr Illona Duffy and Registered Dietician and Founder of Eat well Sarah Keogh Hit Play on this page to listen now

Andy O'Donoghue has been researching foldable phones, the latest of which is the Samsung Galaxy Z tri-fold phone, with a price tag of almost €3,000. Andy runs through all it's features, and the pros and cons of other foldable phones on the market, which are phones, tablets and laptops all in one. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Architect and Room To Improve presenter Dermot Bannon is the latest inductee into the Culture Club. In this longer version of the interview, Dermot talks to Matt about his favourite music, TV, films and why walking around cities without a plan is one of his favourite things to do. To catch the full conversation, press the play button on this page.

With the news that the world's leading chip maker Nvidia is unveiling a new tech platform for self-driving cars and London set to introduce self driving taxis the Last Word looks at where Ireland is at with this technology Matt is joined by Professor in Transportation at the School of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin Brian Caulfield, Motoring Editor with the Irish and Sunday Independent Geral...

Matt is joined by Professor of Law at Queens University Belfast Aoife O'Donoghue to discuss the current state and future of international law in the wake of US intervention in Venezuela and ongoing threats to Greenland . They discuss what international law means in 2026, whether what the US is doing is against it and and more Hit Play on this page to listen now

Research conducted by insurance company Royal London Ireland has found that quitting smoking – and vaping – can reduce the cost of your life insurance by half. Ireland has seen a rise in e-cigarette use, with 8% of the population now using them daily in comparison to just 3% in 2016. However, there are concerns that many people don’t realise they’re considered a smoker when using e-cigarettes and...

From Confessions On A Dance Floor Part 2 to Charli XCX's Wuthering Heights inspired release, Dee Reddy and John Caddell run through the most anticipated albums of 2026. To catch the full conversation, press the play button on this page.

A new study from AIB shows that women disproportionately lack confidence in their long term financial planning and most do not feel confident enough to invest Matt is joined by Financial Planner and Founder of Life Planning Kelly-Anne Quinn and Founder of paygap.ie Jennifer Keane to find out why this confidence is lacking and how we should be doing our financial planning Hit Play on this page to l...

This week on The Last Word on the US Matt is joined by syndicated columnist Cal Thomas and Journalist Marion McKeone to discuss the fallout from US intervention in Venezuela and what Trump may do next They also discuss Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's refusal to rule out US military intervention in Greenland and more Hit Play on this page to listen now

Coimisiún na Meán has raised concerned with the European Commission about social media site X’s AI tool Grok being used to create sexually explicit images of women and children online. The watchdog has also encouraged users to report illegal content to the site, as social media companies are required to act on such instances. Cormac O’Keeffe, Security Correspondent at the Irish Examiner and Ruth B...