The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Electric Picnic sells out, Enoch Burke returns to school and young viewers flock to The Rose of Tralee. Dave Hanratty, host of the No Encore Podcast, and Laura Byrne, column editor and podcast producer with The Journal, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending news stories. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Author Paul Howard has released the final installment of the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly series, ‘Don’t Look Back in Ongar’. He spoke to Matt about why he’s decided to end the series after 24 novels. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation

'It End With Us', a new film starring Blake Lively based on the hit novel by Colleen Hoover, has been plunged into controversy following its release earlier this month. Roe McDermott, movies editor from Hot Press, joins The Last Word to explain the controversy surrounding the movie and discuss the week's other movie news. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz delivered his acceptance speech on night three of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Oprah Winfrey were also among the guests on Wednesday. Lorcan Nyhan, Head of Training at the Communications Clinic, joined Matt to assess their performances. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

John Gibbons was back for this week’s environment slot and he spoke to Matt about how a study from the Lancet Public Health journal suggested that the number of deaths caused by extreme heat and cold could rise in the future. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Mobile phones could be banned in secondary schools under plans being considered by the Minister for Education Norma Foley. Rachel Harper, principal of St Patrick's National School in Greystones, and Jennifer Horgan, secondary school teacher and columnist for the Irish Examiner, join The Last Word to discuss the proposal. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page?

Ahead of the release of the latest album from The Devlins, Peter Devlin joined Matt to talk about his favourite music, movies, books, TV shows and more. To catch the full conversation, press the play button on this page.

VHI has announced it will increase the price of its health insurance plans for the second time this year. It follows a similar price increase announcement from Laya Healthcare. Dermot Goode, head of the Healthcare Division at Lockton Insurance Brokers, joins The Last Word to explain what's going on in the private health insurance market. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this pa...

Ailbhe Smyth, feminist and LGBTQ+ activist, joins The Last Word to discuss the legacy of Nell McCafferty who has died aged 80. There are also excerpts from a 2018 interview with the journalist and feminist campaigner who spoke to The Last Word ahead of the abortion referendum. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Minister for Education Norma Foley spoke to Matt about free school books, teacher shortages and her plans to ban smart phones in secondary schools. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Journalist, author and activist Nell McCafferty has died aged 80, her family has announced. Born in Derry in 1944, McCafferty was a founding member of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement and spent her life campaigning for women’s rights and against social injustices. She spoke to Matt in 2018 about why she was voting ‘Yes’ in the abortion referendum. Revisit the interview here by hitting the ‘Pl...

Comedian Shane Daniel Byrne spoke to Matt from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he is debuting his show Trouble Denim, before it comes to the Peacock stage in September. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

US President Joe Biden has passed the baton to the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in an emotional farewell speech at the party's national convention. Marion McKeone, US correspondent with the Business Post, and Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at University of Galway and political columnist with The Journal, join The Last Word to discuss the Democratic National Convention and more news stories from...

Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Turn2Me, joined Matt to discuss the signs of working in a toxic environment and how it can impact an employee’s wellbeing. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Miguel Delaney and Mark Lawrenson join The Last Word to review the first weekend of the Premier League season. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Ahead of the 2024 Budget, Kevin McPartlan, CEO of Fuels for Ireland joins Matt to discuss how 8 cents per liter could be added to some fuel prices For the full conversation, hit the 'play' button below...

On this week's edition of our travel slot, Sarah Slattery from thetravelexpert.ie joins Matt to delve deeper into Brooklyn as well as to point some brand new attractions that might pique your fancy across the Big Apple

As the Premier League returns, Tony Cascarino, Mark Lawrenson and Miguel Delaney join The Last Word to look ahead at the coming season. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Young people could be offered €750 to stay in Ireland, the world's worst breakdancer breaks her silence and Liz Truss is upstaged by a lettuce (again). Sarah McGuinness, assistant news editor with the Business Post, and Lorcan Nyhan, head of training at the Communications Clinic, join The Last Word to discuss the week's biggest trending stories. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on...

To further your education on inflammatory bowel disease and the differences between it and irritable bowel disease, Ciaran Davis and Victoria Spillane, board member with Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland and person with Crohn's Disease join The Last Word To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button below...

Are you one of those people who has sworn you’ll learn a new language but just never have the time to get to a class, or do you want to help your kids with their Spanish or French lessons? Andy O’Donoghue had this rundown of the best language learning apps, online resources and smart translators on the market. To catch the full conversation, press the ‘play’ button below.

Ireland’s first e-scooter sharing scheme has been launched in Wexford. The scheme is a collaboration between e-scooter sharing platform Bolt and Wexford County Council. Aisling Dunne, head of public policy with Bolt, joined The Last Word to explain how the scooter rental works. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

On this week’s environment slot, John Gibbons talked to Mario Rosenstock about Electric Picnic’s aims to go green and why Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s interview was described as “the dumbest climate conversation of all time”. Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Bill Whelan, the composer of Riverdance, joins The Last Word to discuss his favourite music, books, tv, movies and more. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

New food trends are constantly popping up on social media and while some are super useful, others can be a complete food fad. Russell Alford from the Gastrogays joins The Last Word to discuss the trends that are worth the hype and what should be ignored. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!