The Hard Shoulder

Former President of Ireland and Chair of the Elders, Mary Robinson joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to give her verdict on the COP28 deal...

This morning Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland Eamon Martin was on Newstalk Breakfast to discuss his comments on Safe Access Zones for women seeking abortions  People Before Profit TD Dublin South Central Brid Smith has condemned his comments saying they were deeply offensive to women and pregnant people who were seeking to vindicate their right to bodily autonomy.  Kieran...

Some of you may already be digging into Christmas flavoured crisps.  Companies like Walkers bring out new flavours for a variety of reasons, and some of its Christmas choices were ‘pigs in blanket’ flavour, festive turkey and sweet and spiced Christmas pudding.  So how do companies pick their crisp flavours?  And what tends to work and what doesn’t?  Tom Keogh, founder and managing...

A draft law on the use of facial recognition technology - known as FRT - will be published by the Government today. The proposed legislation would allow Gardaí use the technology when searching CCTV footage, which the Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said is vital when it comes to investigating serious crime. Kieran was joined by Barry Ward, Fine Gael Senator and Lorna Bogue, Leader of An R...

Threads, the social media platform that Meta hopes will rival Twitter has finally arrived in Ireland today.  Kieran was joined by Leigh Mc Gowran, Journalist with Silcon Republic... 

Ahead of a major EU leaders summit, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said today that the EU has lost credibility due to the Unions fragmented response to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.   So how is the reputation of the EU holding up given the major challenges it faces?   Kieran was joined by John O’Brennan Professor of European Politics at NUI Maynooth and Jean Monnet Chair of...

Businessman JP McManus is to donate €1 million to each GAA County Board in Ireland to support grassroots investment across all Gaelic games. For more on this, Kieran was joined by Darran O'Sullivan, former Kerry Football captain and Labour Party Senator Annie Hoey...

Anti-social behaviour and shoplifting was the topic of conversation at the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment with many retailers decrying the “explosion of shoplifting” being experienced at the moment.  Kieran was joined by Tony Gallagher, Risk, security and event manager with Ashtree risk group, Former Garda inspector and Sheila Clarke Runs Clarke’s XL shop in Bal...

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran Cuddihy for the series 'The Shopping Trolley Hotline'. The series will give listeners pause when they’re filling their trolleys, to consider their options this festive season. This week Simon and Kieran put a variety of mince pies to the test...

Anti-social behaviour and shoplifting was the topic of conversation at the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment with many retailers decrying the “explosion of shoplifting” being experienced at the moment.  Kieran was joined by Michael O’Sullivan, the proprietor of a "convenient shop” on Talbot Street and Tara Buckley, Director General of the Retail Grocery Dairy and A...

The FAI was infront of the Oireachtas  Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht this afternoon in regards to CEO’s Johnathan Hill’s pay.  Kieran was joined by Newstalk's Aidan Delaney and Christopher O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for the Cork South West constituency and member of Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.  

After days of negotiations, member states at the UN climate summit in Dubai have agreed a deal calling on all nations to transition away from using fossil fuels.  Other pledges and commitments were also made over the two weeks of the climate change talks.  Kieran was joined by Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Marie Donnelly and CEO of Fuels for Ireland, Kevin McPartlan...

Ireland needs to introduce an honours system, according to Green Party TD Patrick Costello who was speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning.  Gerard Craughwell Independent Senator and Ronan McGreevy Irish Times Journalist, Historian and Author of the book “Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP” joined Kieran to discuss...

Every week for Tuesday Travel 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 him tips for travelling in 2024...

Dublin Airport is experiencing it’s busiest time of the year as passengers arrive and depart for Christmas travel. However, residents living near the Airport are still highlighting what they say is “unbearable noise” from the planes. A protest has taken place this evening and our reporter, Josh Crosbie, met with those in attendance.

Kieran was joined by Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty and Socialist TD for Cork North Central, and member of the Oireachtas Enterprise, Trade and Employment Committee, Mick Barry for Common Ground. Due to the Dáil ending, and other things, this will be the last one of the year.  Kieran, Regina and Mick took a look back some of the debates that we found Common Ground on this year...

The Government today has agreed to reduce welfare benefit rates and to put limits on State accommodation for new arrivals from Ukraine to 90 days.   The current rate of €220 per week will be reduced to €38.80 for the 3 months that Ukrainian people are in state accommodation. Kieran was joined by Deirdre Garvey, Secretary General for Irish Red Cross and Cathal Crowe, Fianna Fáil TD for Cl...

Details have emerged of a Russian Submarine that was chased from Cork Harbour by the British Navy after it positioned itself outside Cork Harbour 6 months ago. The submarine was just outside the 12-mile limit, so it didn’t break any international laws, but such events around the Irish coast are becoming more common. Kieran was joined by Independent Trinity Senator and Security Analyst, Tom Clonan&...

The UAE has been front and centre, as it has been promising to try to strike a deal at the COP28, with at-risk nations and Western powers rejecting a proposal that stopped short of phasing out fossil fuels.  The 13-day summit has been debating a first-ever global exit from oil, gas and coal.  So will a deal be done?  Caroline O’Doherty, Irish Independent Environment Correspondent an...

The apparent clampdown on “dodgy boxes” in continuing in Ireland – yesterday a Dublin man who sold 81 Android TV boxes was given an 18-month suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.  So is the day of the dodgy box coming to an end?  Kieran was joined by Jess Kelly, Newstalk's Technology Correspondent and Rob Hartnett CEO of Sport for Business...

This week, Henry McKean has had 3 punctures and the AA have helped 3 times. One front right and 2 back left. Why? Because Henry doesn't know how to change a tyre. Henry McKean joined Kieran to bring this report...

Following the recent riots in Dublin, it has been reported that the full pedestrianisation of civic spaces is being reconsidered.  This would possibly include allowing taxis into pedestrian areas, with the theory that they might act as some form of ‘passive surveillance’   Kieran was joined by Hazel Chu, Dublin City Councillor for the Green Party and Keith Gavin, Irish Parking...

Over the next few weeks, Kieran Cuddihy will be taking Irish classes as part of a 'Couch to Comhrá in 6 Weeks' challenge and each Monday he will be sharing his journey alongside some Irish speakers.   Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Cork All Ireland Winning Captain joined Kieran to continue the challenge...

Following the recent riots in Dublin, it has been reported that the full pedestrianisation of civic spaces is being reconsidered.  This would possibly include allowing taxis into pedestrian areas, with the theory that they might act as some form of ‘passive surveillance’  Kieran was joined by Columnist with the Sunday Independent Conor Skehan, as well as Catherine Stocker, Dublin City Co...

Comedian and Love Island narrator Iain Sterling joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder...