The Hard Shoulder

Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State at the Department of Health, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, joins Ciara Doherty in Kilkenny to discuss the Government’s drug strategy, and the problems the country is facing in relation to drugs.

Ciara is joined by the owner of the establishment The Hard Shoulder is broadcasting from today, Malzard’s Bar and Pub: Fred Malzard.He joins to discuss the history of the establishment, and how much support is needed for rural pubs today.

Ciara Doherty is joined by one of the best players of his generation, Kilkenny hurling legend, Paul Murphy.

The Hard Shoulder is today broadcasting from Malzard’s Bar and Pub in Stoneyford to chat all things Kilkenny, Christmas and more!Ciara Doherty is joined by TV Chef and Culinary Lecturer, Edward Hayden, Róisín McQuillan from the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and General Manager of Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, Colin Ahern.

John Fardy, Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk and Dee Reddy, Entertainment Journalist and Podcaster joined Ciara Doherty on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

What should you know when it comes to investing, and should you do it instead of saving?Robert Whelan, Managing Director of Rockwell Finance, joins Ciara to discuss.

Latest figures from the CSO have revealed that the annual rate of inflation has risen to its highest point since February 2024, at 3.2%.To chat about the significance of this, Ciara is joined by Economist at TU Dublin, Emma Howard.

Broadcaster, Gaeilgeoir and Presenter of new podcast ‘Labour of Love’ Síomha Ní Ruairc joins Ciara Doherty for this week’s Thursday Interview!

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee today unveiled a €1.7 billion defence spending plan that will run until 2030.The Minister described this plan as "absolutely essential". Its aim is to speed up the modernisation of the Defence Forces and improve defence capabilities across land, air, and sea, as well as online from cyber attacks.Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Paul Murphy, People Before Profit TD for Dublin South-West, Catherine Callaghan, Fine Gael TD for Carlow-Kilkenny and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security and Conor Gallagher, Crime and Security Correspondent for The Irish Times.

TV Presenter and Fashion Designer, Brendan Courtney joins Ciara to discuss the Irish Heart Foundation’s ‘12 Dips in December’ challenge, and why you should take part!

The suspension of the LUAS Green Line has caused chaos for many.But, is this just part of having a public transport network, that things will occasionally go awry, or should we be concerned?Sadhbh O’Neill is Project Lead for Feminist Communities for Climate Justice - a joint project of the National Women’s Council and Community Work Ireland, and she joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman, reversing a shift by Joe Biden’s administration to the less formal typeface, which Mr Rubio called “...wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of US government documents”.Should we care about the fonts we use?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Saoirse Hanley, Features Writer with the Irish Independent and Red FM’s Eimear Hallahan.

Under a Department of Children plan, more families could be eligible for higher childcare subsidies.Will this help the industry?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Elaine Dunne, Chairperson of the Federation of Early Childcare Providers and Averil Sheehan, owner of Care-a-lot Childcare, Upton, West Cork.

The Hard Shoulder is looking back on 2025’s biggest moments in the news, and who were at the heart of it.The NFL came to Dublin this year, where the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings faced off in a game that practically took over the city for weeks…Joining Jonathan Healy to look back is Kieran O'Donovan from the Irish NFL Show.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about.This week, Simon joins Jonathan Healy to reduce your waste around Christmastime!

Parents across Ireland are joining together in a growing movement to encourage their children to go smartphone free. It’s part of a global initiative to allow children to grow without the tech devices.To discuss this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Emer Carty of Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland.

From the overflowing bins that you try to ignore, to wrapping presents at the 11th hour on Christmas Eve, why do we procrastinate?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Life Coach and self-proclaimed procrastinator, Mark Fennell, as well as Broadcaster Meghann Scully.

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Jonathan Healy to discuss new research on average screen time for adults, and the apps that are used the most.

How is Ireland being perceived abroad? And how much are our political stances influencing it?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at UCG and Columnist with theJournal.ie and Dan Mulhall, former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.

The Department of Housing has removed a video from its social media channels which provided advice for adults forced to move back home with their parents.The department said the online commentary relating to the campaign has been negative, and it sought to protect the welfare and privacy of those involved…Natasha O’Brien is one such young adult living at home with her parents, and she joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

It has been highlighted in the Dáil earlier today that marked blister packs, particularly for older people, may no longer be covered by the state in pharmacies in the new year.To discuss this, Jonathan Healy is joined by President of the Irish Pharmacies Union, Tom Murray, and Co-Founder and Director of the Irish Patients Association, Stephen McMahon.

The EU is set to reach a decision on the rebranding of veggie products. Meaning that words such as ‘sausage’ and ‘burger’ can no longer be used for meat-based foods in Europe.To talk about the significance of this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Livestock Chair of the IFA, Declan Hanrahan, and Director of the Vegan Society of Ireland, James O’Donovan.

Every week for The Ultimate Guide 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 Jonathan Healy to give the ultimate guide on Cape Town in South Africa!

A new campaign by the Data Protection Commission is warn­ing people against the dangers of ‘shar­ent­ing’, sharing images or videos of your child online. It has gained a mil­lion likes and has hit global headlines, and fea­tures a young girl being recog­nised by strangers in a shop­ping centre after she fea­tured in her par­ents’ social media posts.Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is former Miss World and mum of three, Rosanna Davison.

Dr Peter Boylan, former Master of National Maternity Hospital and Chairman of Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and author of ‘In the Shadow of the Eighth’ joins Jonathan Healy to place his favourite book on The Hard Shoulder Bookshelf!

A new plan to improve the assessment of needs process was discussed today in Cabinet.It comes as autism campaigner Cara Darmody starts another 50-hour campout outside Leinster House.Waiting lists for assessments of needs have long surpassed times set out in the guidelines, which state the assessment must be carried out within six months…Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Minister of State for Disability and Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid West Emer Higgins, who brought forward this plan.

Each year, millions of online orders get lost due to incorrect delivery information. After customers receive a refund, undelivered packages were previously destroyed. During Covid, some Frenchmen came up with an idea to save the parcels, and sell them as mystery blind boxes!Henry McKean has been looking into this phenomenon, and joins Jonathan Healy to discuss…

It’s that time of year now where people start treating themselves to a Christmas sandwich, and one has caught attention at a Harrod’s in London, that’s costing £29! Seeing as there are many different ways to make this particular sandwich, what are the ingredients for a perfect one?To discuss, Jonathan Healy is joined by 98fm Producer and Sunday Times Restaurant Critic, Russell Alford.Image: Tesco Recipes

Comedian Al Murray is coming to Vicar Street next year for his ‘All You Need is Guv’ tour!He joins Jonathan Healy to chat ahead of the gigs…

The Oireachtas Committee on Remote Working will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the future of the Right to Request Remote Working Legislation. This follows the public consultation held by the Government to get views on how the legislation is working.To discuss all this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Co-Founder of Grow Remote, Tracy Keogh and Sinn Féin TD and Spokesperson for Enterprise, Tourism & Employment, Rose Conway Walsh.

With just over two weeks until Christmas, many people around the country are preparing to host. But is it ever okay to ask your guests to chip in, and if so, where is the unspoken line?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Mary McCarty, Columnist with the Irish Independent and Michelle Harding, Etiquette Coach and Founder of School of Life Ireland.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Jonathan Healy is joined by Sleep Expert Lucy Woolfe to discuss how to handle the amount of sleep your children might be getting with all the excitement around Christmas.

It was revealed on Friday that Netflix, already the world's biggest streaming service by market share, had agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery's TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming division. But, why has there been some push back in Hollywood to the move? And why has US President Donald Trump said that there could be a problem over the deal?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is US-based Entertainment & Business Correspondent for Reuters, Dawn Chmielewski.

A fire at a house in Co Offaly in which two people died was “designed to kill inhabitants” - this is according to the Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan.A murder investigation has been launched after the deaths of a woman and a child at a house on Castleview Park in Edenderry at around 7:45pm on Saturday.Joining Jonathan Healy to give the latest updates is Dublin Reporter from the Press Association, Grainne Ni Aodh, and to discuss gang violence, Paul Williams, Crime Journalist with the Irish Independent.

The nominees for the Golden Globes have been announced, with the event taking place on January 11th in Los Angeles. How did Ireland fare, and what kind of winners should we expect?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Entertainment Journalist Brian Lloyd.

Trevor Deely was last seen 25 years ago today, walking home from a Christmas party in Dublin city centre. Answers are still being sought by his family, who believe there is more information about that night still out there…To discuss, Jonathan Healy is joined by Trevor’s brother, Mark Deely.

Women should be offered smaller portions than men at restaurants, that’s according to the head of the Government’s obesity programme in the UK…On Lunchtime Live, Professor Naveed Sattar said that menus should be adapted to include smaller versions of meals that contain fewer calories as a way of tackling obesity rates. Is that a sensible approach?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Ballymaloe Cookery School Founder, Darina Allen.

An emergency meeting of the Oireachtas National Security Committee will be held this week to examine the sighting of drones near the flight path of Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy when he visited Dublin last week.Gardaí are investigating reports that an Irish navy ship spotted up to five drones operating near the flight path of the Ukrainian President's plane last Monday…Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell and Mark Price from the Irish Anti-War Movement join Jonathan Healy to discuss.

This week, Jonathan Healy was joined by Eimear Hallihan from Red FM and Joe O’Shea, Editor of CorkBeo.ie to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

Comedian Russell Howard joins Jonathan Healy to talk about his upcoming tour: ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’!

Quiet quitting, or in other words - doing the bare minimum required of a job or task and putting in no more time, effort or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary, is all the rage in 2025.But, should we quietly quit at Christmas time?Should we just take a massive step back and enjoy the festivities for what they are?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Irish Times Columnist and Host of the Conversations with Parents podcast, Jen Hogan, as well as Aideen Finnegan, Presenter of the Early Edition podcast from The Irish Times.

The deadline for the Children’s Hospital has now been broken for a 16th time…Will it ever be finished?Paul Davis is a Lecturer in Public Procurement in DCU, and joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

Off The Ball's Eoin Sheahan joined Jonathan Healy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action.Image: Sky Sports

Taxi Drivers Ireland have announced a suspension of their 6-day national shutdown protest “pending the outcome of a meeting at Government Buildings scheduled for next week”.The protest comes at one of the busiest times of the year for drivers and users as we approach the Christmas period.Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Sean Canney, as well as taxi drivers.

The Grinch has stolen Christmas on tonight's Late Late Toy Show. But what are the big toys this Christmas? Henry McKean went backstage and met Patrick Kielty and visited the toy shop Nimble Fingers where it all started 50 years ago today…

Ireland has signed a formal agreement with Australia social media regulators to study its social media ban for under 16s. This comes after a recent study by the RCSI found that body dissatisfaction and sexting are strongly associated with poorer mental health and increased risk of self-harm among Irish teenagers.Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Irish Independent’s Tech Editor, Adrian Weckler.

Chef Louise Lennox and Mairead Carty are both parents in Greystones whose children are still awaiting school places, despite repeated calls for a change to the system, which they say is simply not working...  They join Jonathan Healy to discuss their situation.

Shifting demographics and mass migration to the eastern seaboard of the island represents an “existential threat” to the GAA.That’s the warning from National Demographics Committee chairman Benny Hurl who painted a concerning picture at the launch of the GAA’s report on the issue.With 78% of GAA clubs located in areas with “declining populations” this complex issue may spell trouble for the future of our national sports.Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Jamesie O’Connor, former All Ireland winner with Clare and former GAA President, Nickey Brennan.

You may not have the time or energy to take care of a pet throughout the year, but what about offering temporary respite to an animal in need over the holidays?The newly formed National SPCA is launching it's annual fostering appeal to help clear out the shelters this festive season. Newstalk's Sarah Madden meets some of the good girls and boys looking for the gift of a foster home this Christmas.

Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and David O’Callaghan from the Here and Back Again podcast joined Ciara Doherty on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…