The Hard Shoulder

Some of Ireland’s biggest road projects, including the M20 Cork to Limerick transport project, could be delayed due to funding constraints.The Chief Executive of TII, Peter Walsh, is among those calling for a multi-annual funding allocation for road infrastructure.Joining Kieran to discuss is Cathal McSweeney, Director of Public Affairs at Cork Chamber.

Irish Athletics Champion, Rhasidat Adeleke, joins Kieran Cuddihy to reflect on her time at the Paris Olympics, and discuss what’s next for her.

It’s International Lottery Day - a day where we celebrate the life changing moment of what it feels to win the lotto. Newstalk’s Henry McKean has never won the lotto, but keeps trying, and joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss.

Broadcaster and Actor, Spencer Matthews has spent the last 30 days running 30 marathons in the Jordanian dessert to raise money for Global’s Make Some Noise.Today is the final day of his Great Desert Challenge and Spencer joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss the experience.Image: @spencermatthews on Instagram

It’s that time of year, the children are back at school which means the dreaded evenings helping with homework are back! But, is it a waste of time? And should we scrap it all together?Joining Kieran to discuss is Gemma Maher, Principal of Rathcoole Educate Together and parent of 2 and Mary McCarthy, Columnist for the Irish Independent.

As the summer draws to a close, how has the Irish tourism industry fared this year?To give a rundown, guest host Mandy Johnston is joined by Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Chief Executive of the Irish Tourism Industry.

E-scooters are to be banned onboard public transport amid safety concerns from October, according to the National Transport Authority.What will this mean for e-scooter users and commuters in Ireland? Joining guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss is Jason Cullen, Chairperson of the Dublin Commuters group.

Irishman Alex Ryzhuk who went to Ukraine to fight in the war is still missing in action after reports on Thursday.Who is Alex? And what does he stand for?Ayman Al-Frihat of Combat War Footage joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.Image: FinnHouse Films

More than 27,000 American tourists were in Dublin to watch the opening fixture of the US college football season on Saturday.But is this event set to become even bigger in the future?Neil Naughton, Co-Chairman of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Series, joined Mandy Johnston to discuss.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, back to school chaos is set to kick back in, so we look at how you can best manage the cost of it all.CEO of Fair Stone & Founder of Ask Paul, Paul Merriman joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Yesterday the controversial transport plan in Dublin went into action that blocked certain road usage around Dublin’s quays.How has the plan gone? And what will be the effects of this decision?Ger Hyland, Driver Operator and president of the Irish Road Hauliers Association and Brian Caulfield Professor in Transportation at the School of Engineering at Trinity College join guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Apparently, we are living in an age of vanity, that’s according to JJ Clarke, Assistant Producer of the Irish Independent.Is that true? Has social media made us acutely aware of how we are perceived in the world?JJ Clarke as well as Alexandra Ryan, Founder of Goss.ie join Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Today saw the passing of former England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Sven had a wide career from managing in Italy during the height of the Italian game and, of course, in England, managing the national team for 5 years.Football Journalist, John Brewin joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

The Gallagher brothers are set to let sleeping dogs lie and possibly reunite after posting cryptic teasers on their Twitter accounts.But, why did Oasis split in the first place? And how fraught were the tensions between Liam and Noel?Pat Carty, Music Journalist, joins guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss.

Rent prices in Cork have reached new heights, as a Daft.ie survey has recently revealed that the average rent in the city now costs €2,000 a month.This is a worrying statistic, especially for the new academic year - with many students still struggling to seek accommodation in the midst of Ireland’s housing crisis.Joining guest host Mandy Johnston to discuss is Maurice Deverell of the Irish Property Owners Association and Cork City Councillor Laura Harmon - Executive Director for the Irish Council for International Students and voluntary board member at Threshold.

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…

Now American College Football is hitting Dublin tomorrow as Georgia Tech face Florida State in the Aviva tomorrow at 5pm.To discuss the event, Kieran is joined by the voice of Florida State Football and Director of Broadcasting for the Seminoles Sports Network, Jeff Culhane.

Aisling Larkin, Mindful Eating Coach and TV Chef joined Kieran to look at some delicious ways you can use peaches.

According to a new study, if you love to ‘doomscroll’ to solve your boredom, you are wasting your time as it only makes you more bored!Why is this? And how do you kick yourself out of the loop if you get stuck scrolling through your feed?Joining Kieran to discuss is Brendan Kelly, Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and author of Resilience: Lessons from Sir William Wilde on Life After Covid.  

Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action…

Earlier this morning, 65 parents walked to the Department of Education in protest due to a lack of places in schools for their children with additional needs.Greg Lewis was at the protest, as his son Sam is still without a school place, and joins Kieran to discuss.

Comedian Jim Elliot joins Kieran Cuddihy fresh off the boat from the United States. They discuss how there seems to be a weird intersection happening between the worlds of rap and politics, especially at the Democratic National Convention.

Instagram has added a new option allowing users to add a tune to their profiles.Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Tech Correspondent, joins Kieran to discuss.Image: Instagram

With the Leaving Certificate results coming out today, many teens were excited (and nervous!) to see what they got.Newstalk’s Henry McKean joins Kieran Cuddihy to discuss the big day for many, and share what he’s heard from students.

This week, Broadcaster Maia Dunphy put out a tweet arguing that Dublin has very little activities to keep young children entertained.Is this true? And what more can be done to make our cities more kid friendly?Joining Kieran Cuddihy to discuss this is Newstalk’s own Simon Tierney and Mairéad Hurley, Assistant Professor in Science Education at Trinity College.

PETA have called for paint company Farrow & Ball to change their paint names such as ‘Dead Salmon’ and ‘Potted Shrimp’.But, how do companies even name their paint colours?Joining Kieran to discuss is Jade Tyldesly, Digital Media Director in the Paint Hub Carlow.

The Kuhner Report on WRKO AM680 Radio in Boston is hosted by Jeffrey T. Kuhner, "Liberalism's Worst Nightmare," he is a conservative nationalist, who champions God, country and family.He joins Kieran to discuss his thoughts on the apparent lack of policies pushed by current Vice President and candidate Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), despite a strong showing otherwise.Image: Reuters

A recent UK survey shows that many shoppers have admitted to using self-service tills to steal from stores.Whether it be not scanning an item, or keying in a different product code, theft from self-service checkouts can prove a burden to businesses.Joining Kieran to discuss is Consumer Journalist Siobhán Maguire.Image: Retail Solutions

The final night of the Democratic National Convention will take place this evening in Chicago, the week has been full of surprises with appearances from the Obamas, Bill Clinton and Oprah…Joining Kieran to discuss their experience is someone who’s been at the convention all week, former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.Image: @leovaradkar on Instagram

Ahead of this year’s inevitable general election, Newstalk’s Political Correspondent, Sean Defoe, has been taking a look at what the major parties actually stand for.This week, he joins Kieran Cuddihy to profile both Labour and the Social Democrats, learning where they stand on certain topics.

Yesterday Brendan Gleeson joined Kieran Cuddihy to talk about Bewley's Big Coffee Morning, which is taking place on September 26th, and he spoke about the importance of hospice care.Kieran’s guest got in touch after hearing Brendan speak and wanted to put the other side across: assisted dying.Audrey Farrelly joins to discuss…

A recent post on X (Twitter) has gone viral, encouraging women to leave chore lists for their bewildered male partners.But, is this a good idea for relationships? And do men weaponise their own ‘incompetence’ to avoid jobs?Joining Kieran to discuss is Peter Finn, AKA Pete the Builder And Content Creator Holly Carpenter.

It’s time for the Shopping Trolley Hotline! Where we review the same product from various stores and brands.Newstalk’s Simon Tierney joined Kieran to compare different options for chocolate mousse!

Kieran Cuddihy chatted with legendary actor Brendan Gleeson, who is supporting Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice. They discuss Brendan’s life and career, and why hospice care is so important.Register to host a coffee morning on Thursday, September 26 – or on a date that suits you – at hospicecoffeemorning.ie or call 0818 995 996. If you cannot host or attend a coffee morning, you can make a donation at hospicecoffeemorning.ie/donate

Minister for Education, Norma Foley, and Minister for Special Education and Inclusion Hildegarde Naughton , have today launched the first year of a new scheme which will see free schoolbooks and classroom resources provided to Junior Cycle students in post-primary schools.To explain it all, Kieran Cuddihy is joined by Minister Norma Foley.

Hugs are often given to others as a wholesome display of affection, but can it be overused and have its meaning watered down? Freelance Journalist Niamh O’Reilly joins Kieran to discuss.

Today saw the loss of one of Ireland’s most prominent feminists and journalists, Nell McCafferty.Nell famously took part in the contraceptive train in 1971 and paved the way for legalisation of contraception here in Ireland. Eamonn McCann, Activist and Journalist and Ailbhe Smyth, Activist and Campaigner join Kieran Cuddihy to discuss her impact.

Saint Killian’s Cork is a school which provides education and care to children with acute, learning and neuro-developmental disabilities.Children with these conditions require therapeutic hours and this service is crucial for their development.However, since 2019 Saint Killian’s has been without any therapy services for their children and has been excluded from a recently announced pilot project bringing therapies back to schools.To discuss, Kieran is joined by Sue Linehan, Principal of St. Killian’s Special School in Mayfield Cork and Fiona Coughlan from Parents Unite, a group of parents advocating for their children with additional needs.

The RSA latest ad and campaign ‘Lose Your Licence, Lose Your Independence’ has come under fire, with claims of ableism.Joining Kieran Cuddihy to discuss is Neasa Hourigan, Green Party Finance Spokesperson and Louise Williams, Coordinator of Monthly Cycles.Image: RSA

If Irish rock star Phil Lynott was still alive, he would have been 75 today. Newstalk’s Henry McKean met Thin Lizzy super fans celebrating the date, remembering the Irish music legend.

Musician, Broadcaster and founding member of ‘The Hothouse Flowers’, Fiachna Ó Braonáin joined Kieran to put his favourite book on The Hard Shoulder’s Bookshelf!

Shamrock Rovers, in a statement yesterday, hit out against national TV broadcasters for failing to broadcast big European matches in recent weeks.They state that “The club exhausted every avenue” to get the games broadcasted.Kieran is joined by John Martin, Chief Executive of Shamrock Rovers F.C to discuss.

The curtains will soon be drawn, and the winner crowned, as Tralee prepares for the live final of The Rose of Tralee competition tonight. Steeped in tradition, and met with its fair share of scepticism, there is a lot to love about the show that has been aired across our television screens for decades. Here with me now to discuss is Chef and Radio Broadcaster Edward Hayden and Olivia Fahy, Editor of ‘Geek Ireland’.

Earlier today, Kieran Cuddihy was told that his son won’t be seen by the dentist until sixth class; he is currently in fourth class…This is due to the extreme staff shortages in dentists all over Ireland, causing a backlog so long some children aren't seen by a dentist until secondary school.Joining Kieran to tell more about the dentist shortages and waiting lists around the country is Chair of the GP committee of the Irish Dental Association, and owner of Kiwi Dental in Carlow, Caroline Robbins.

It has been a number of years since an Irish public figure took a British Honour title, like Sir Bob Geldof, but has Ireland fallen out of love with British titles? And should we consider implementing our own?To discuss, Kieran Cuddihy is joined by Gerard Craughwell, Independent Senator and John Gilligan, the Former Mayor of Limerick.

The Democratic National Convention gets underway today in Chicago. What can we expect?Joining Kieran from the DNC to discuss is Bob Mulholland, Delegate and Member of the Democratic National Committee for California.Image: Reuters

Is the requirement to fill out a personality test to secure a house viewing the latest bizarre element of renting in Ireland's housing crisis?To discuss, Kieran Cuddihy is joined by Meghan from Newstalk and Peter Dooley from the Dublin Renters Union.Later, Kieran is joined by Dr. Rory Hearne, Assistant Professor of Social Policy at Maynooth University to discuss how the market has gotten to this point, and what needs to be done to change things.

Now, the new gambling bill is set to be published this autumn and will hope to curtail advertising as well as protect children from gambling.Joining Kieran to help explain what the bill is and how it has gotten to this point having faced considerable lobbying is Minister of State Department of Justice with responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice and Fianna Fail TD for Wexford of Justice James Browne.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Kieran is joined by Iseult White, Psychotherapist and Author to discuss whether or not you should use reward systems with your children.

With alcohol consumption in Ireland dropping by almost a third in the last two decades, a move towards sobriety is becoming a popular choice for many.But, with our deep-rooted drinking culture still so prevalent in the country - are there enough spaces for non-drinkers to socialise?Joining Kieran to discuss is Resilience Coach, Expert Psychotherapist and best-selling author Siobhan Murray.