The Hard Shoulder

This evening the Dáil continued to hear statements in relation to the riots and violence in Dublin City Centre on Thursday last. Kieran was joined by Alan Farrell, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal and Labour Party Senator, Marie Sherlock...

With winter days growing shorter and nights darker, road safety should become even more important. Cyclists and e-scooterists who neglect night lights and high-visibility gear put themselves at a greater risk. Should laws be put in place to mandate reflective gear for cyclists on public roads at night?  Kieran was joined by Joe O’Shea, Columnist for the Irish Mirror and Una Morrison, Chairper...

Cuán – that is the most perfect town in the world to live in. Never heard of it? Well it is the anonymised Irish town that Daniel Miller, professor of anthropology from University College London, relocated to for 16 months.   Daniel Miller joined Kieran to discuss. We have a hunch what town ‘Cuán’ might be and have assembled a panel of Cuán-siders to tell us what they love about their town.&n...

Sinn Féin and Social Democrat representatives have both said they have no confidence in Helen McEntee, Minister of Justice.  Kieran was joined by Newstalk's Seán O’Regan and Fionnán Sheahan is the Ireland Editor for the Irish Independent to discuss...

Labelling the mob from Dublin riots last Thursday as a ‘far-right’ faction only serves to give validation”.  Those are the thoughts of Paul Williams Crime Journalist with The Irish Independent... 

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.   Victor Bayda, Language Planning Officer for South Kerry Gaeltacht joined Kieran to continue the challenge...

The fallout is ongoing following the riots that hit Dublin’s streets last Thursday.  We’ve had calls for the Minister of Justice to step down, we’ve had fierce criticism of the Garda Commissioner as well as threats and rumours of more riots.  But one of the common denominators in much of the commentary has been talk about a ‘far right’ element to the riots.  Joe Brolly, barrister an...

COP28 kicks off in the UAE later this week. Is COP a worthwhile exercise or a waste of time?  Environmental activist and Guardian Columnist George Monbiot joined Kieran Cuddihy to discuss...

Talks on a new public sector agreement get under way this evening.  The scale of any possible deal will hopefully become a bit clearer by later this evening.  Kieran was joined by John King, SIPTU’s Deputy General Secretary with responsibility for the Public Service and Kieran Mulvey, Former Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission...

There is a GAA player’s charter from a club doing the rounds on social media the weekend with quite a strict set of rules for its players.   Some of these rules include five months of no holidays, no drinking and no trips to Australia, US or Canada. This begs the question, are clubs becoming too strict and will rules like this harm the passion of players?  David Brady Former Mayo Fo...

Every week Kieran Cuddihy will be joined by writer and broadcaster, Keith Walsh and the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists..

The capital city is attempting to get back to normal today after the horrific stabbing of three children and one woman yesterday which were followed by hours of rioting and looting.  Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described last night’s riots as “disgraceful” and said a  'hooligan faction driven by far right ideology' contributed to the unrest. Kieran was joined in studio by Ray McAdam,...

It’s one of life’s age old questions – how to make the perfect steak. Well one physicist thinks he has cracked the code – and it involves a microwave.  Physicist George Vekinis who has published books about the science involved in cooking and Gary O’Hanlon Chef consultant to the O’Sullivan’s Group in Paris joined Kieran to discuss...

Three young children have been injured in a ‘serious incident’ in Dublin city centre. The suspected stabbing happened shortly after 1:30 pm this afternoon Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East. One young girl has suffered critical injuries, while two other children are being treated for less serious injuries. A woman is also being treated for serious injuries. Kieran was joined on...

Three young children have been injured in a ‘serious incident’ in Dublin city centre. The suspected stabbing happened shortly after 1:30 pm this afternoon Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East. One young girl has suffered critical injuries, while two other children are being treated for less serious injuries. A woman is also being treated for serious injuries. Kieran was joined on...

CEO of An Post, David McRedmond is this years recipient of EY’s Special Recognition Award, and he joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder...

The Hard Shoulder was LIVE from the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in Powerscourt. Kieran was joined by Frank O’Keefe, EY Ireland’s Managing Partner and Bobby Kerr, Presenter of Down To Business on Newstalk...

The government is proposing legislation to change the Triple Lock.   These purposed changes could mean that the Government can react quicker to deploying Defence Forces aboard, but does this challenge our neutrality?  Kieran was joined by People Before Profit TD for Dublin South West, Paul Murphy and Fianna Fail Senator and Leader of the Seanad Lisa Chamber to discuss..

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 week Simon and Kieran put a variety of children's yoghurts to the test...

Just 3,000 homes across Ireland have been found liable for the new Vacant Homes Tax.   That is despite over 50,000 homes being initially identified as potentially liable by Revenue as of 20th November.   Labour Leader Ivana Bacik and Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin TD and Party Housing Spokesperson joined Kieran to discuss...

It is 60 years ago today that John F. Kennedy had died after being shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.  The Kennedys have historically left an indelible mark on US politics, but what about now?  Is the Kennedy family still the force it once was?  Larry Donnelly, Law lecturer in University of Galway and co-director of the Kennedy Summer School joined Kieran to discuss...

Today marks the publication of the Healthy Ireland Survey for 2023, which is the eighth annual survey by the Department of Health. The survey looks at general trends across multiple factors on the health of the Irish nation. It looks at issues such as general health, smoking, alcohol, GP visits, and mental health. The survey found a decline in people reporting good health and an increase in the us...

According to Israel’s Channel 12, Irish-Israeli girl Emily Hand is one of 50 hostages that will be released by Hamas in an exchange for 150 Palestinians held by Israel.  It comes as a 4 day pause on the conflict is due to come into effect tomorrow.  Kieran was joined by Shona Murray, Europe Correspondent at Euronews and Sean Bell, Retired former fighter pilot and current defence consulta...

Irish-Palestinian man Ibrahim Alagha has spoken to Kieran a number of times on The Hard Shoulder while stuck in Gaza amongst the ongoing conflict.  Ibrahim and his family have since managed to leave Gaza and return home.  Ibrahim Alagha joined Kieran Cuddihy in studio…

Kieran Cuddihy was joined by Fine Gael Senator, Regina Doherty, and Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry. Continuing the series, ‘Common Ground’, they will debate some of the biggest, most divisive topics around. The series continued with a debate on 'Can society do more to combat violence against women?'...