Newstalk Weekend

This weekend tourists are flocking to Ireland and the hospitality industry is in massive demand. Joining Anton to discuss how things are going for the hospitality sector and how 'Square' plays its part is Hugh Hourican owner of The Boar’s Head bar and lounge in Capel Street, Dublin, and John O'Flynn, General Manager of the five-star Fota Island Resort in Cork.

Joining Anton to chat through what’s on for the Bank Holiday Weekend is Darragh Doyle, Head of Marketing at Dublin City Council Culture Company, and custodian of the @Ireland Twitter account.

Joining Anton to go through some of the biggest stories from throughout the week is Susan Bradley from Newstalk’s 'It’s All Relative' podcast & Daniel Murray, political correspondent at The Business Post.

Joining Anton to help kickstart your weekend is Shay Brady, Waste Management Services Coordinator at Dublin City Council.

Of course, it’s St Patrick’s weekend and over in the States last night President Joe Biden met with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for the traditional shamrock ceremony at the White House. Newstalk’s political correspondent Sean Defoe has been following the action and he joins Anton live from Washington DC to give us the latest.

A forensic accountant was appointed this week to look into RTÉ’s finances. It comes as RTÉ’s Director General told the Public Accounts Committee that the non-disclosure of payments has created “one of the most shameful and damaging episodes in the organisation's history”. Joining Tommy Bowe to discuss what RTÉ’s future funding model might look like is Garrett Harte, Strategic Communications at Harte Media PR and former Newstalk Editor-in-Chief.

Joining Anton for this week's installment of Ask The Expert is Pete The Vet!

You may have seen earlier in the week, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan managed to make a call to his Mum using deep-fake audio. And while on the surface this is all quite novel and funny, it belies a much more troubling problem, one that we’ll need to face up to in the months to come. Adrian Weckler, Tech Editor of the Irish and Sunday Independent joins Anton to discuss.

Making an apology can be tough enough at the best of times but how can we make sure we're making a good one? Joining Anton to discuss this as well as some of the worst apologies ever recorded is Marjorie Ingall, journalist, and co-author of ‘Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies’.

It's been three years since the Irish government took the unprecedented step of shutting down the country to control the spread of Covid. Joining Anton to reflect on the last three years and where we are now is Dr Margaret Harris, Spokesperson for the World Health Organisation & Professor Cliona O’Farrelly, Chair in Comparative Immunology at Trinity College Dublin.

This awards season has been a historic one for the Irish, with 14 Academy Award nominations, including 25% of acting nominations going to Irish actors. To celebrate we sent Henry McKean to LA where he stopped off at the Hollywood Walk of Fame and sent us this report.

Joining Anton to go through some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines this morning is author and broadcaster, Stefanie Preissner & Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor in political science at DCU.

Joining Anton to help Kickstart your weekend is Gráinne Mullins, Pastry Chef & Founder of Grá Chocolates.

The BBC's 'Match Of The Day' programme will go ahead without its presenter, Gary Lineker, and fellow pundits, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, following Lineker’s removal for comments made on Twitter regarding the UK government's controversial position on asylum seekers entering the country. Joining Anton to discuss this are Off the Ball's Ger Gilroy & Roy Greenslade, journalist; author; and former Professor of Journalism, City, University of London.

Even among the most well-known and well-off people in the world, if the price is right, there is simply nothing some people will not do to get a few extra coins in their pocket. From Matt Damon's recent nauseating, “Fortune Favours the Brave” FTX crypto ad, to Michael Jordan defying the laws of gravity for Coca-Cola, there are plenty of examples of iffy celebrity endorsements to pick over. Screentime’s John Fardy joins Anton to discuss.

Anton is joined by Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth. Together they discuss the government's response to the refugee crisis, the quality of accommodation afforded to those fleeing the war, combatting the rise in far-right protests across the country, and the pressures that may be coming down the line as the housing crisis continues.

Joining Anton to answer some of your most pressing medical questions for this week's installment of Ask the Expert is Dr. Eleanor Galvin.

Joining Anton to help kickstart your weekend is sports commentator, Des Cahill.

While Seachtain na Gaeilge is upon us once more, should we be concerned for the survival of our Irish-speaking regions and indeed of the language itself? Newstalk's Sarah Madden reports from the Ráth Chairn Gaeltacht in Co. Meath to speak with native speakers there about the strength of the language in their area and what the future might hold for Gaeilge as a whole.

Joining Anton to go through the top stories from throughout the week is Brenda Power, columnist with the Sunday Times and The Irish Daily Mail & Lauren Boland, Reporter at The Journal.ie.

Joining Anton to discuss Boris Johnson and his current fight for his political career following the Commons Privileges Committee report which shows fresh evidence suggesting he was in contempt of parliament is writer, consultant, and former adviser to Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell.

Joining Anton for another installment of Ask the Expert is Jennifer Rock aka 'The Skin Nerd'.

New sex education classes for children will see parents have the right to withdraw their children from them with gender identity and pronouns now on the curriculum. Joining Anton to discuss this is Suzanne Graham who is an SPHE teacher & co-ordinator as well as a child protection development officer and school chaplain, alongside Catherine from Dublin who has considered withdrawing her son from SPHE.

Niall Breslin has become a determined and industrious campaigner for mental health in Ireland and in a parallel universe he could have been lining out for the Ireland rugby team in Rome today. Instead, he joins Anton to chat about bringing his podcast 'Where Is My Mind?’ to the 3Olympia Theatre and much more.

Joining Anton to discuss the INMO authorising balloting for industrial action in workplaces considered to be unsafe, what the government's plan is for the healthcare system as a whole across 2023, as well as the latest Fianna Fáil poll figures is Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly.

This week marked one year since the invasion of Ukraine. Some Ukrainians joined the army or territorial defense, others fled to Poland and beyond, and some stayed in their cities and learned to live with the threat. All across the week, Newstalk's Sean Moncrieff has been bringing us scenes of ordinary life still ongoing in Ukraine. When he was in Kyiv last week, he went to the capital’s zoo just 20 mins from the city centre. Sean met with Director Kyryl Partin, who explained how some of their new inhabitants came into their care from the worst affected provinces of Ukraine along the south and southeast.

Joining Anton to go through the top stories from throughout the week is Gina London, leadership communications expert, and Sunday Independent & Barbara Scully, author, and broadcaster.

Joining Anton to help Kickstart your Weekend is Colm Tóibin, Laureate for Irish Fiction & 'Ireland Reads Day' Ambassador. Newstalk's Henry McKean also took a trip out to St. Laurence O'Toole's CBS in Dublin to hear how important reading is to the young boys there, and to us all.

'As I Remember It: Bertie Ahern & the Good Friday Agreement' is a new podcast that tells the story of the Good Friday Agreement as told by those who negotiated it and marks the first time all those involved have reunited to reflect on the negotiations in 25 years. Head to newstalk.com/goodfridayagreement.

Joining Anton to discuss some of the best and worst TV and Movie reboots is Brian Lloyd, Entertainment.ie Movies Editor

Joining Anton for this week’s instalment of Ask the Expert is Dr Mary O’Kane, Lecturer in Psychology and Early Childhood Education

Joining Anton to discuss the national solidarity march aiming to mobilise against “division of the far right” is People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett.

Joining Anton to discuss the prevalence of medical gaslighting in our society is Dr Marieke Bigg, author of ‘This Won’t Hurt: How Medicine Fails Women’.

Joining Anton to go through the main stories hitting the headlines throughout the week is presenter Maura Derrane and Executive Editor of DMG Media Ireland, John Lee

Joining Anton to help Kickstart Your Weekend is Hugh Wallace, judge on Home of the Year.

Joining Anton to discuss personal insolvency on the back of DJ Carey’s compromise with AIB, is personal insolvency practitioner, Colm Arthur.

Joining Anton for this week's installment of Ask the Expert is Sonia McEntee, Principal Solicitor at Sonia McEntee Solicitors and chair of the Law Society PR Committee.

Joining Anton to preview the titanic Six Nations clash between Ireland and France today and to chat about just what goes into hosting such an event is Martin Murphy, Aviva Stadium Director.

Authorities in Western Australia say they have found a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing last month, but there are many more extraordinary lost items that remain out there in the ether - from pieces of Moon rock in a Finglas landfill to the Irish Crown Jewels. Joining Anton to chat through some of those is journalist, Fionnuala Jones.

Joining Anton to discuss her calls for a national public information campaign to be launched to counter the heightened levels of disinformation regarding refugees in Ireland is Fine Gael, Senator Regina Doherty.

Retiring in your 40s might seem like a dream for many people out there they actually manage to make it a reality. But how do you go about setting yourself up to retire young and are there any negative aspects? Joining Anton to discuss is David Cox of the 'I Retired Young' blog who retired at the age of 47.

Joining Anton to go through the main stories hitting the headlines throughout the week is campaigner, Ailbhe Smyth & Fergus Finlay, columnist with the Irish Examiner.

Joining Anton to help Kickstart Your Weekend ahead of Super Bowl Sunday is Ty Henry, Quarterback with American football team, ‘The Dublin Rebels’.

We all know that we should be getting at least 3-5 fruits and vegetables per day for a healthy, balanced diet. And if you look at this on a weekly basis, that roughly translates to 30 per week. But the crucial thing is that they need to be 30 different fruits and vegetables. Anton spoke about this on The Hard Shoulder recently and our very own Sean Defoe decided to give it a go. He joins Anton along with Nutritionist, Gaye Godkin, to chat about it all.

Joining Anton to answer all of your gardening questions is Brian Burke, RTÉ Super Garden Judge & Woodie's DIY and Gardening Expert.

Joining Anton to discuss her lived experience with autism is Chloé Hayden, actor, disability rights activist, and author of 'Different, Not Less'.

As residents of a Dublin apartment block march for an extension to the eviction ban alongside Peter McVerry today, the housing crisis is still top of the agenda, with Ibec calling it a ‘critical barrier’ to our economy’s development. Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Fein Housing spokesperson and TD for Dublin Mid-West, joins Anton to discuss.

It's the very first February Bank Holiday weekend with St. Brigid coming to the rescue after a long January. To go through some of the best events that are on all across the country this weekend is Maeve Lee, lifestyle journalist with the Examiner.

It's that time of year again when the daffodils are just beginning to show signs of life and the Six Nations Championship is back! OTB’s Aisling O’Reilly takes a call from Anton to preview Ireland's titanic game against Wales taking place in Cardiff this afternoon.

Joining Anton to go through the top stories hitting the headlines this week is Daniel Murray, Political Correspondent with the Business Post & Brenda Power, Columnist at the Sunday Times & Irish Daily Mail.