The Hard Shoulder

True Crime content is never too far from our screens these days, and many are in the throes of the new Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix. But how accurate is the show’s portrayal of the notorious case? Anne E Schwartz – then working as a crime reporter for the Milwaukee Journal - broke the story back in 1991. She has since authored the book: "Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders", and she joined Kieran to talk about the case.

Roisin McCafferty, physio and Donegal goalkeeper joined Kieran to discuss suffering three concussions and how protocol can be improved in the women's game...

Writer and broadcaster Manchán Magan, joined Kieran to discuss his new book, ‘Listen to the Land Speak’, a book that sets out to trace our ancestors, uncovering myths that have defined the Irish identity...

Electricity demand from data centres here is expected to reach almost 30% by 2031. That is according to EirGrid, the semi-state company that manages Ireland's electricity transmission network. The largest growth comes from the data centre and new large energy users, and an increased uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Kieran was joined by Conor Skehan, Sunday Independent Columnist and Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD, to discuss if a ban on these centres would be the best way to avoid a crisis...

More and more cafés, restaurants, bars and hotels are becoming pet friendly. In 2017 the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that rules banning domestic animals from food premises had been repealed. With dog ownership booming during the pandemic, many pet owners are welcoming a change in policies by some businesses to allow animals to enter. Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie has been looking into this trend.

Shane Ross, former minister for Transport and columnist with The Sunday Independent, joined Kieran on the release of his new book 'Mary Lou McDonald – A Republican Riddle'...

Purported "grievous breaches” of the Irish Dancing Commission’s code of conduct are now under investigation amid a slew of competition-fixing allegations. Kieran was joined by Sarah Burns of The Irish Times, Cora Somerville, former member of the CLRG for 40 years, as an Irish dancing teacher and adjudicator and Pat, a parent of a former Irish dancer...

Sarina Bellissimo, presenter of the Bellissimo Files on Spin 103.8 joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chat through famous pop stars turned movie stars...

Last night viewers were moved by the ITV documentary ‘Putting up with Parkinsons’. The veteran journalist opened up about his battle with the illness, after his diagnosis in 2011. To give an insight into the disease Kieran was joined by Padraig Barry who is living with Parkinson and Lisa Wynne, a specialist Parkinson's Nurse...

The Coronas’ new album ‘Time Stopped’ is released this Friday, and is available for pre-order from right now. It is their 7th studio album, and frontman Danny O’Reilly joined Kieran to talk about the new album, the pandemic and performing for home crowds...

Elon Musk has put is deal to buy Twitter back on the table. He originally intended to buy the platform earlier in the year before that fell through, but it seems after many legal battles he has made yet another U-turn. To talk us through the developments, Kieran was joined by Newstalk’s Tech Correspondent, Jess Kelly...

The Oireachtas Health Committee has heard today that the new National Children’s Hospital has so far cost over €1.1bn. Along with that, the completion of works is now expected by March 2024. Kieran was joined by the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Roisin Shortall, who is also part of the Oireachtas Health Committee...

Boy B has withdrawn his appeal against his conviction for the murder of Ana Kriègel. The now 18-year-old was just 13 when he became the youngest convicted murder in the history of the state. Kieran was joined by Frank Greany, Newstalk's Court Correspondent to discuss...

Today, October 5th 2022, marks International Do Something Nice Day. Kieran was joined by Dr Mark Rowe, GP and author of ‘The Vitality Mark’ to discuss the benefits of being nice...

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar dismissed concerns from business and employers' groups over the government's plans to bring in paid leave for victims of domestic violence. Speaking at the Committee on Enterprise Trade and Employment this morning, he doesn’t see how evidence would be needed. Kieran was joined by Fianna Fáil Senator, Lisa Chambers and Richard Grogan, Employment Law solicitor to discuss...

The Brazilian elections are still running, with no winner yet decided. And one of the images of the weekend was the amount of Brazilians that took to the streets on Sunday to queue and cast their vote. Brazilians have been coming to Ireland for years, but why? Julia Tereno, Account Manager for ClearStory International and Edu Giusante, CEO and founder of E-Dublin joined Kieran to discuss why they moved to Ireland and the growing population of Brazilians throughout the country...

TV Chef, Mindful Eating Coach and Wellness Advocate, Aisling Larkin joined Kieran to discuss all things mushrooms...

It’s under 50 days until the World Cup in Qatar. With human rights issues still being discussed, and the football calendar being turned on its head for the sake of it, why is the public seemingly accepting it? Author and journalist Dermot Lacey joined Kieran to discuss this further...

Anti-social behaviour orders go hand in hand with increased community policing, according to the Justice Minister. Helen McEntee has asked the Garda Commissioner to examine their effectiveness and how to improve the use of orders. Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Fine Gael Senator, Barry Ward and People Before Profit Councillor for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh, Hazel de Nortúin to discuss...

Life Coach, Mark Fennell joined Kieran to discuss work place relations and the importance of having boundaries and how to avoid and resolve conflict...

Taxi drivers are waiting up to 8 months to get their licenses. Despite a shortage of taxi's there is a 226-day wait, on average, between passing an S-P-S-V skills test and a license being issued. Kieran was joined by Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fail senator and member of the Oireachtas Transport Committee and Sunil Sharpe, Spokesperson for Give Us The Night...

One Dublin City Councillor attended a council meeting in Dublin last night, only to come out and see that his e-bike had been stolen. Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey joined Kieran alongside Conor McGrane, GP and cyclist to discuss...

Deirdre Molumby, pop culture and entertainment expert joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to chat through some of the best and worst movie sequels out there...

A growing number of young child-free men are getting vasectomies, according to doctors, with one clinic reporting a tenfold increase in patients aged under 35 during the past five years. Kieran was joined by Jonathan Balog, who spoke about why he got a vasectomy in his early thirties...

The Ballinasloe Fair and Festival in Co Galway has kicked off and is celebrating its 300th year. There’s everything from animals, music, food, and even fireworks but at the very heart of it, the fair is all about the horses. Newstalk reporter Josh Crosbie is in Ballinasloe to capture the atmosphere.

Louise Bayliss, Spokesperson for Spark (single parents acting for the rights of kids) and Keith Walsh, Writer and Broadcaster joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss some newly released statistics that found Ireland ranks 2nd worst in the OECD for parental leave...

The Special Criminal Court has heard a former Sinn Féin councillor has implicated others in the Regency Hotel murder and is willing to testify at the upcoming trial. Jonathan Dowdall was also due to stand trial for the murder of David Byrne but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge last week and is now in protective custody. For more on this and the trial of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, Kieran was joined by Paul Williams Author of ‘The Monk: The Life and Crimes of Ireland's Most Enigmatic Gang Boss’...

In his latest column for the Irish Examiner, Bernard O’Shea has described journaling as one of the ‘best things he’s ever done’. What are the benefits? And could we all do with doing a bit of journaling? Clinical psychologist Tara Logan Buckley joined Kieran to discuss the benefits of journaling...

Krissy Gibson, Ireland AM Baker & Owner of Take The Cake and Jackie Buckley, Owner of Jackie B’s Cafe in Wicklow Town joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss making the decision to close their businesses due to the rising cost of living...

UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced a u-turn on the 45p tax rate as part of the UK's mini-budget. It has now been decided that it won’t be abolished, after much uproar over it over the last 10 days. LBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty joined Kieran on the show to discuss...

We’re into October, and if you look around your estates, you may well see Hallo’ween decorations starting to go up. Is it too early to get into the Hallo’ween mood? Journalist Jen Hogan and Chairman of the Communications Clinic, Terry Prone joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss...

"Your call is important to us". How many of us have heard that on a loop recently? Newstalk's Sarah Madden has been looking into the increasing presence of on-hold music in our lives and she sent us this report.

Is Irish Public Transport accessible for all? Disability activists don’t think so. Access for all staged a demonstration at Clontarf Dart Station to draw attention to the lack of reliability and accessibility on Irish Public Transport - Newstalk's Sarah Madden went down to the protest and she sent us this report.

The term time traffic is back, and with it all those extra cars and carbon emissions we’re supposed to be reducing. However, one Dublin school is piloting a novel scheme to get families on two wheels instead of four – Newstalk’s Sarah Madden reports.

Ireland’s least curable cancers are set to double in the next 30 years. That’s the troubling statistic from Breakthrough Cancer Research who say research trials and treatments are the only way to achieve lifesaving results. In this report, Newstalk’s Sarah Madden speaks to the experts, the medics, the patients and their families to hear why research can make more survivors. You can find more information on Breakthrough Cancer Research and links to donate to vitally needed research on the charity’s website; breakthroughcancerresearch.ie .

Donal Fallon from the Three Castles Burning podcast, and regular contributor here on to On The Record, has released a book based of the podcast called 'Three Castles burning – A History of Dublin in Twelve Streets' Kieran and Donal take a look at two of the important ones, James Joyce Steet and Parnell Street East...

The budget measures will insulate most households from rising prices this winter. That’s according to the Director of the ESRI Alan Barrett, who joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss Budget 2023...

Sean Defoe, Newstalk's Political Correspondent joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder ahead of Fianna Fáíl's Ard Fheis beginning in the RDS tonight...

At an event at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday to mark national breastfeeding week, Sabina Higgins yesterday called on the HSE to let new mothers spend a longer time in hospital learning how to breastfeed. In fact, she said that mothers sometimes get ‘thrown out too early’. Kieran was joined by Mary Brosnan, who is the Director of Midwifery at the National Maternity Hospital to discuss...

A US study from the National Assessment of Educational Progress has found the number of children who read for fun has declined from 35 per cent in 1987 to just 17 per cent now. You won’t be surprised to hear that the finger has been pointed squarely at the onset of social media and technology in modern life For more on this, Kieran was joined by author and presenter Meghann Scully and Calodagh McCumiskey, Corporate Wellbeing specialist...

Three former Irish rugby stars are to sue IRFU over alleged concussion injuries. Kieran was joined by Shane Phelan, Legal Affairs Editor, Irish Independent for an update on the allegations. He was joined alongside Ed Daly, Lecturer at Atlantic Technological University and Co-founder of the Irish Concussion Research Centre...

Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has been returned to prison after being arrested by detectives early yesterday morning as part of an ongoing investigation into the Hutch crime group. Nicola Tallant, Investigations Editor, Sunday World joined Kieran to discuss the arrest, and the future of the Kinahan organised crime group...

Coolio, the American superstar rapper has died at the age of 59. He was a fan of Ireland, and on one of his trips to these shores, he made an appearance on the ‘Talking Bollox’ podcast and The Black Forge Inn in Crumlin. Kieran was joined by Calvin O’Brien, one half of the ‘Talking Bollox’ podcast and Liam Flynn, Manager of the Black Forge Inn to chat about their memories of Coolio...

Kieran was joined on The Hard Shoulder by Former Conservative MP, Matthew Paris to discuss the UK's mini-budget and the future of Prime Minister, Liz Truss..

Ireland is the third highest producer of cheese internationally, per capita. Kevin Ireland, Cheesemonger with Fallon & Byrne joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss and try out some Irish cheese..

The United Nations Secretary-General has called on Iran to refrain from using “unnecessary or disproportionate force” against protesters. It comes as 41 people have died in the country as unrest over a young woman’s death in police custody spread across the country. Kieran was joined by Nasrin Parvaz who spent time in custody in Iran...

The reaction has continued over the last 24 hours to the announcement of Budget 2023. One of the things we noticed was that the Universal Social Charge, once described by some as ‘Ireland’s Most Hated Tax’, is still there, with the band increasing in the latest Budget to salaries of just over €22,000. Should we still have a USC? Mick Barry, Socialist TD for Cork North Central, joins me now and economist Jim Power joined Kieran to discuss...

The new Netflix movie ‘Blonde’ based on the life of Marilyn Monroe arrives today. The much anticipated biopic has been called highly controversial for its graphic descriptions of her sex life and her attempts to conceive. Simon Tierney joined Kieran to discuss Marilyn's 1956 visit to Ireland, when she had a layover in Shannon airport and her other Irish connections...

Former Sinn Fein Councillor, Jonathan Dowdall, has pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in 2016. Paul Williams, crime correspondent from the Irish Independent joined Kieran to discuss Dowdall's involvement in the murder, and the future of the Kinahan organised crime group...

The EU has said leaks in two major gas pipelines from Russia to Europe were caused by sabotage. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has not transported any gas since August when Russia closed it down. Barry Andrews, Fianna Fáil MEP for Dublin, joined Kieran to discuss...