The Hard Shoulder

A certain advert in Ontario has caused US President Donald Trump to end trade talks with Canada.Mark Carney, the Prime Minister, is trying to strike a deal to ease US tariffs, but Ontario premier Doug Ford has been behind this new advert, which uses excerpts of a national radio address from former US President Ronald Reagan in 1987.Was Trump justified? Or might he be thin-skinned?  What do you think?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Brian Lilley, Chief political columnist for the Toronto Sun.Image: Reuters

The last 12 months saw the highest number of first-time buyer mortgages since 2007. What does this say about the current housing market?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Dr Rory Hearne, Social Democrats TD for Dublin North-West and author 'Gaffs: Why no one can get a house’ and Karl Deeter, Financial Analyst.

The Dublin Marathon is taking place this Sunday, in what is sure to be a busy weekend in the capital following the Presidential election! Will you be running?One person who is taking part is Newstalk’s own John Fardy, the Presenter of Screentime! He joins Ciara to discuss why he loves running marathons.

Bon Jovi are set to play in Croke Park next summer!Henry McKean, as well as Newstalk Reporter Emily Keegan, were at the press conference for this big announcement, and even met with Jon Bon Jovi himself! Henry joins Ciara to discuss.

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…

Novelist Cauvery Madhavan joins Ciara Doherty for this week’s Thursday Interview!

Today is the last day for our Presidential hopefuls to make their case to the public as to why they should be in the Áras, but what do kids think?Newstalk’s Henry McKenry paid a visit to South City Community National School in Dublin for another edition of Kidstalk!

Kayla is 16 years old, and has autism and an intellectual disability. She has previously struggled in school due to suspensions and changing teachers, having had 3 different ones so far this school year.Ciara Doherty is joined by Kayla’s mum, Aisling, to talk about the challenges facing her daughter, and what can be done to help her.

A number of Gardaí have sustained injuries over the past two nights, as violent scenes have continued at Citywest. How Gardaí are being treated and targeted has been called into question.Ciara Doherty is joined by Assistant General Secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Tara McManus, to discuss this further.

Do you know how to read a payslip? As tax season is now upon us, many people struggle with understanding and managing their own finances.To talk about why this is the case, Ciara Doherty is joined by Emer Kirwan, of Jigsaw Business Solutions.

A verdict returned today has found Soldier F not guilty of the charges against him from Bloody Sunday.The Paratrooper, whose identity has remained anonymous, was charged with committing two murders and five attempted murders in Derry on the 30th of January 1972…Freelance Journalist Amanda Ferguson joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

A ‘super casino’ has been granted planning permission in Cork, despite strong push back from members of the local community. To discuss this issue in a bit more detail, Ciara Doherty is joined by Cllr Joe Lynch, a Sinn Féin Cllr from the local area, and Patrick Hughes, who ran hotels in Las Vegas for over 20 years.

Should the harp and uilleann pipes be performed for foreign heads of state at the Áras?Well, uilleann piper Eamonn Walsh thinks so. He joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

Five men have been charged with public order offences following violent clashes outside a Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers.The men, two of whom are aged in their 50s and three in their 40s, appeared before the Criminal Courts of Justice on Wednesday morning.It comes after disturbances at Citywest overnight.Plenty of families, and particularly children, will be more than aware of what happened last night, and what could still happen in turns of protests.So, how do you explain what is happening to young ears?Chris Tennyson is a Clinical Psychologist, and joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Ciara Doherty to discuss the Department of Education and Youth’s published guidance for AI in schools.

Ahead of the Presidential election on Friday, Ciara Doherty is joined by Presidential candidate, and former Minister and TD for Cavan-Monaghan and North Meath, Heather Humphreys.

Family members of Jozef Puska have been given jail terms for offences connected to the murder of Ashling Murphy in 2022.Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Newstalk’s Court Correspondent, Frank Greaney.

It's now the final countdown until the Presidential election, but how will rural Ireland and the farmers vote?Henry McKean met farmers at the Kilcullen Mart in County Kildare, and sent in this report.

The prospect of a United Ireland is becoming an increasingly regular point of discussion, with the concessions that must be made for a new Ireland being central to this.One such concession being dual citizenship on the island, as protected under the Good Friday Agreement for those of Northern Irish birth.If this right is afforded to those born in the six counties, should it also be granted to those born in the remaining twenty-six?Paul Gosling, author of ‘A New Ireland: A Five Year Review’ and Emma De Souza, Writer and Political Commentator join Ciara Doherty to discuss.

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 Ciara Doherty to give his tips on getting the cheapest flights possible!

Former Prime Minister Borris Johnson told a Covid inquiry this morning that the Covid rules “probably did go too far" particularly when it came to the impact on children and young adults.  Ciara Doherty was joined by TNT Presenter, Enda Brady to discuss.

Singer Flo McSweeney, joined Ciara Doherty to discuss some of her favourite books....

Ciara Doherty was joined by  Holocaust Survivor, Stephen Kapos and by Jonathan Folwer, from UNWRA, to discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza

Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been many calls for support and aid. The latest comes from Irish citizen and Ukraine native, Luba Healy, who is set to journey to the region later this year. Ciara Doherty spoke to Luba on the Hard Shoulder about her journey.

As the Justice Minister, Jim O Callaghan, gets approval for Jennie’s Law, which seeks the establishment of a Domestic Violence Register. Ciara Doherty is joined by  Dr Caroline Forde, member of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, and by David Hall Former CEO of Sonas Domestic Abuse Charity for reaction.

As a man is charged with sexual assault of 10 year old girl, Ciara Doherty is joined by Conor Lally, Crime and Security Editor for The Irish Times with the latest update.  

With Halloween next week, you may have heard of an increase in fireworks and bangers in your area, but how do you ensure your pets are protected during these weeks?Ciara Doherty was joined by Pete Wedderburn to discuss this.

Following the launch of new bus connects services in recent days across Dublin, several commuters in the Finglas area feel the issues they are facing are more than just teething problems with the routes, urging the NTA to review the rollout immediately.  Ciara Doherty was joined by Brian Caulfield,  Professor of Engineering at Trinity College Dublin and by Finglas resident Cathy Benvin,  to discuss the issue.

Reports are suggesting that police are facing a race against time to recover priceless objects stolen by thieves in a heist at the Louvre museum in Paris.The world-famous museum was forced to close yesterday, and remained closed today after thieves accessed a gallery containing the French Crown Jewels at around 9.30am local time.CBS Correspondent for Paris, Elaine Cobbe, joins Ciara Doherty with the latest.Obviously, this isn’t the first famous heist – there have been plenty of famous ones through the years. Irish Times Journalist and Historian Ronan McGreevy also joins to discuss some of them with Ciara.

The European Union Court of Justice ruled last week that pets can be considered as baggage. This was in response to a case where an airline lost a dog, and paid out €5,000 in compensation to the owner.To discuss this, Ciara is joined by Co-Founder of My Lovely Horse Rescue, Martina Hickey and Eoghan Corry, Travel and Aviation Journalist at TravelExtra.ie.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Ciara Doherty is joined by Aoife Lee, Parenting Coach at ParentSupport.ie, to discuss how you can handle bedtime anxiety with your children.

Yesterday evening, Fine Gael posted a video on its X account where it questions Catherine Connolly’s previous career as a Barrister. Titled ‘Catherine Connolly’s hypocrisy’, the video shows some of Connolly’s Dáil dealings when working on housing and the banks in a legal capacity.Many in opposition have criticised this type of video and type of politics…Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Louse Burne, Political Correspondent with the Irish Examiner, and later to give his reaction, Barry Ward, Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire.

Figures from TUSLA show that it inquired into less than one-in-five referrals it received about child welfare issues in parts of Dublin earlier this year.What does this say about the system? And, what needs to change?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Jennifer Whitmore, Social Democrats TD for Wicklow and Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection.

Penguin and Club bars can no longer be described as chocolate biscuits as they contain more types of oils than cocoa. So, what is really chocolate? And how can people know if what they’re buying isn’t actually chocolate?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Chocolate Expert, Shobitha Ramadasan.

Breege Quinn, the mother of Paul Quinn, a 21-year-old man who was murdered in County Monaghan, is appealing for “justice” on the 18th anniversary of his death…She joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

Co-Creator and star of the hit Netflix TV series ‘Adolescence’, Stephen Graham, has launched a new project asking fathers to write letters to their sons about what it means to be a man, to form a book about masculinity. Due to technology, Stephen Graham says “There is arguably an even bigger disconnect between fathers and sons than ever before.”Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss this is Comedian and Father, Joe McGucken and Comedian and Father, Steve Cummins.

This week, Jonathan Healy was joined by the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis and Saoirse Hanley, Feature Writer with the Irish Independent to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

While the show is broadcasting from Croke Park, it would be remiss for Jonathan not to visit their GAA Museum!He’s joined by Tour Guide Gerry McGarry to get the VIP treatment and see what’s on show!

Aisling Larkin, Mindful Eating Coach and TV Chef joins Jonathan Healy to discuss how you can mix up the classic roast dinner!

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. Bernard Jackman, former Leinster and Ireland international also joins to discuss the upcoming Leinster and Munster match.

The Hard Shoulder is broadcasting from Croke Park, and while we are looking ahead to tomorrow’s Leinster vs Munster game this weekend, we also should discuss Ireland’s historic Six Nations win over England in 2007!Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Shane Byrne, former Ireland Player and Ryle Nugent, who was Commentator on the day...

Jonathan Healy is joined in Croke Park by the most capped player in Ireland’s Women’s Rugby History, a Hall of Famer, and currently the Head of Women’s strategy with the IRFU, Lynne Cantwell to discuss her current role and more.

We talk a lot in this country about the culture around underage drinking in this country, as kids become teenagers, invites to house parties become more common. These parties often have a drinking element, either with or without the parents’ knowledge…But, do they put parents in an awkward position, and is underage drinking a bit of an inevitably in our culture?Joining Jonathan Healy from Croke Park is Columnist with Irish Independent and Columnist, Mary McCarthy and Columnist with the Irish Examiner, Jane Cowan.

John Fardy, Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk and Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast joined Ciara Doherty on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

Claims have been made against Prince Andrew in a posthumous memoir of sex-trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre.Giuffre wrote that, on Epstein’s Island, the Prince believed having sex with her “was his birthright”...Mark Paul, London Correspondent for the Irish Times joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

The Arts Council currently does not recognise Comedy as an artform, which means comedians receive no funding as result. However, the Comedy Amendment Bill is going to the Dáil on October 23rd to try and change this.Comedian Ailish McCarthy has been campaigning on this issue for many years, and joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.

Former Ireland International and two-time Six Nations winner Fiona Hayes joins Ciara Doherty for this week’s Thursday Interview!

Over the last few weeks, several Irish citizens have been detained in Israel after the flotilla they were on was intercepted on their way to deliver aid in Gaza.One of those was Irish author and activist Naoise Dolan who was aboard one of the Thousands Madleens vessels.She joins Ciara Doherty to discuss her experience on the Flotilla, her detainment by Israel and the current peace deal in place.

With many homes having their Halloween decorations up and festivities ready to get underway, we’re going to look at the connection between Halloween and Ireland.To discuss, Ciara Doherty is joined by Brinsley McNamara of Weird Ireland.

Speaking today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU will look to relax state-aid rules to increase the supply of affordable housing.In her speech, she highlighted the number of EU countries experiencing housing crises, and said they will begin working on the first ever European Affordable Housing Plan.But, how would a plan like this be implemented across such different countries with such different issues?Joining Ciara Doherty to discuss is Senior Housing Lecturer at Technological University Dublin, Lorcan Sirr.