The Last Word with Matt Cooper

AN interesting set of results from the first quarter of the financial year for Ryanair as they see profits slide.Will this mean summer fares will be slashed?Plus Kildare village shopping centre makes the news with new ownership.

Clare became All-Ireland hurling champions for the fifth time in their history after they defeated Cork after extra-time at Croke Park.  Matt and Will O’Callaghan of Off The Ball & The Hurling Pod spoke to former Limerick hurler Joe Quaid and former All-Ireland winner with Clare Jamesie O’Connor about the result.Press the ‘Play’ button on this page to listen to the chat.

On Sunday, Joe Biden announced he is to step down from US presidential election.Matt was joined by Marion McKeone, US Correspondent with the Business Post, nationally syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, Law Lecturer at the University of Galway Larry Donnelly, and Anthony Scaramucci from The Rest is Politics US podcast to discuss what lies ahead in the remaining 4 months of the election campaign.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Frank Greaney, Today FM courts correspondent, joins The Last Word to give details on the sentencing of taxi driver Raymond Shorten for the rape of a seven-year-old child.To hear the full discussion hit the 'Play' button on this page.

Matt is joined this week by Lise Hand and Ben Finnegan to discuss  the trending topics of the week. Should Politicians be photographed with pints? Why has Gaelic Football has been added to intangible heritage database?And why did the Parisian Mayor take a plunge in the Seine?

Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at University of Galway & Political Columnist with TheJournal.ie and US Correspondent with the Business Post, Marion McKeone, joined Matt to discuss how Joe Biden is facing calls to step down from the US Presidential race.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Barra Roantree from Trinity College Dublin and Minister of State for Financial Services, Neale Richmond join Matt to discuss the likelihood of any changes in inheritance tax in the 2025 budget.

Leading food economists say reducing herds is not the way to go in the fight against climate change.Food economist Ciaran Fitzgerald and ecologist Padraic Fogarty join Matt to discuss the issue.

Dermot O’Leary, General Secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union, joined Matt to discuss a number of antisocial incidents that have recently occurred on bus routes in Co. Limerick, and what can be done to help drivers in such situations.Click the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the full conversation.

Gearoid Farrelly joins Matt for this week's Culture Club ahead of his show at the Paddy Power Comedy Festival.

Should blockbuster movies that feature extreme weather events focus more on explaining the effects of climate change? That’s a question commentator John Gibbons asked on this week’s environment slot.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Andy O'Donoghue explains why learning coding is beneficial for kids and gives a run down of the best Apps to learn coding and how your kids can begin with creating their own Apps.To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button below.

Marion McKewon and Cal Thomas join Matt Cooper to discuss a busy week in American politics, including the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump and the addition of JD Vance to the republican presidential ticket

Ian Guider of the Business Post joins Matt to discuss the top business stories of the day include a spike in office spaces being rented in DublinThe Last Word on Business with thanks to Forvis Mazars, the next exciting chapter for Mazars. Same local team, new global reach.Press the 'play' button below to catch up on the full conversation...

After gardaí were called to investigate an alleged assault at an under-15 hurling match in Co. Waterford this week, former President of the GAA Liam O’Neill said that not enough is being done to tackle violence at GAA matches.He and Sinéad O’Carroll, Editor of TheJournal.ie, spoke to Matt about the issue.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Following violent protests that broke out at the former Crown Paints factory location in Coolock yesterday, 30 have been arrested and 19 charged in relation to public order offences.Conor Lally, Crime and Secutrity Editor of the Irish Times, joins Matt to discuss what took place today in the aftermath of the incident.Trina O'Connor, Criminologist and Lisa Chambers, Fianna Fail Senator and Leader in the Seanad join the Last Word to discuss yesterday's incident further.To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button below...

"Trump has become the victim of the violence he did so much to fuel. But his shooting won't make him think twice about his approach to politics" Irish Times columnist, Fintan O'Toole joins Matt, to discuss the fall out from the attempted assassination former president Trump. Larry Donnelly and Marion McKeone also join us to discuss Biden's statement on the events.

Where should you be jetting off to?Sarah Slattery has all the best deals on the market for your next summer break!

The State is due to spend €1.5bn annually on defence by 2028, but should that figure be increased? According to Fine Gael TD & Minister of State for European Union Affairs and Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, it should. She and People Before Profit - Solidarity TD Mick Barry joined Matt to discuss the idea.Press ‘Play’ on this page to hear the conversation.

Matt is joined by James Lawless, the new Minister for State at the Department of Transport.The Junior Minister is on to speak about Drew Harris’ recommendation for graduated penalty pointsHow can the Department deal with rising road deaths?Hit ‘play’ to find out more

The government has announced that a ban on XL bully dogs will be implemented in two phases from October 2024 and February 2025.Matt spoke to Fianna Fáil senator Erin McGreehan and Martina Kenny from My Lovely Horse Rescue about the decision.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the discussion.

Have businesses successfully adopted the 4 day working week? Are there really any benefits for businesses?Matt speaks to Margaret Cox the Director of ICE Group and Peter Cosgrove the MD for Futurewise about the benefits and pitfalls of scheme.

Nelofer Pazira-Fisk, documentary-maker and author discusses Night of Power, The Betrayal of the Middle East, written by her late husband, Robert Fisk

John Gibbons is with us for The Last Word on the Environment.Trump is looking likely to win the US election in November, so what will that mean for climate change and environmental protection?Some good news; Ireland managed to reduce its carbon emissions by almost 7% last year.A fire at the world's biggest wetland is spreading, but how will that impact Ireland?Hit 'play' to get all the latest.

Andy O'Donoghue is with us to discuss the big Summer tech products.Carry-on luggage is getting an upgrade, now you can charge your phone with your carry-on bag,The Pocket Talk S Translator is here to save you from awkward moments abroad,To hear all this and more press 'play' now.

With the planned release of Roscommon woman Tori Towey, International human rights lawyer David Haigh joined The Last Word to discuss the real dangers of Dubai.

Sarah McGuinness has this week’s business news.Are first time buyers getting choosing variable or fixed rate mortgages?We get an update on the Aer Lingus pay dispute.Hit 'play' and find out the latest in Irish business news

Playwright Enda Walsh is the latest inductee into the Culture Club, where he picked his favourite music, TV, films, books and loads more.Click the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear his choices.

Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae talks about his impassioned plea in the Dáil yesterday, where he said 'derogatory' images of his late mother were put online.To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button below.

Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone join Matt to discuss Biden's call into MSNBC to stop rumours that he is stepping down. Could he be replaced?And if so, by who?

Nicki Minaj turned up nearly 90 minutes late to her gig at Malahide Castle and only performed a 45 minute set.Fans are outraged and calling for refundsDee Reddy and Dave Hanratty join Matt to give us the inside scoop.

The government has published its Summer Economic Statement, indicating that €8.3bn will be available for spending in October’s budget.Minister for Finance Jack Chambers spoke to Matt about today’s announcement.Press the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute has found that disruption and mess associated with retrofitting residential properties impacts homeowners’ willingness to undertake such projects.Professor John Curtis, Research Professor with the ESRI, joined Matt to explain the findings of the report.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the chat.

Roderic O'Gorman has just been appointed the fourth ever leader of the Green Party in Ireland. He joins Matt to discuss his new role and the state of the party.

Today FM courts correspondent Frank Greaney discusses the updates within the ongoing case of the taxi driver Raymond Shorten as new information has arisen.

Limerick’s bid for a historic 5 All-Ireland hurling titles in a row came to an end on Sunday when Cork defeated them in the semi-final on a 1-28 to 0-29 scoreline. They’ll play Clare in the decider in two weeks’ time after the Banner defeated Kilkenny on Saturday.Matt was joined by former Limerick hurler Joe Quaid and Will O’Callaghan from The Hurling Pod to chat about the games.Matt and Will also reacted to the news that Mickey Harte will step down as Derry manager after one season in charge, and they paid tribute to former Mayo, Leitrim and Galway manager John O'Mahony, who died on Sunday aged 71.Click the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the full conversation.

This week Sarah Slattery, from the travelexpert.ie, is taking us to Norway, Finland and other places to escape extreme heat.To catch up on the conversation, click the 'play' button below...

Sarah McGuinness, Assistant News Editor with the Business Post and environmental commentator John Gibbons joined Matt for the Week Trending.They covered the BBC’s and Channel 4’s coverage of the UK general election, Dublin’s traffic plan and a controversial Newsweek article questioning Taylor Swift's credentials as a role model.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the full chat.

Nick Ferrari, presenter of Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC Radio, joins The Last Word to discuss Labour's landslide victory in the UK general election.Matt is also joined by journalist Amanda Ferguson to outline Northern Ireland's election results and Daniel McConnell, editor of The Business Post, to discuss what all of the results could mean for Anglo-Irish relations.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Have you heard of the new app No Place?Andy O'Donoghue reveals all about the app that's reached number 1 in the app store as well as all tech tech updates to home gym equipment.

New Report says that people are aware of climate change but there is no urgency to do anything about it.John Gibbons joins Matt to discuss the findings from the report.Plus we're busting the myths around electric vehicles.

New figures released by Drinks Ireland have shown that the sale of non-alcoholic beer grew by 18% in 2023, which is an almost 100% increase in market share over the last four years.Ian Guider, Columnist with the Business Post, joined Matt for Thursday’s daily business news.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the full chat.

Mat Fraser, star of Loudermilk and American Horror Story, talks about the world premiere of Unspeakable Conversations, a play at this year's Galway International Arts Festival.To catch the full conversation press the 'Play' button below.

Matt is joined by best-selling author Lucy Foley on her latest thriller, Midnight Feast.

What updates are there to the investigation into this assault?Security and crime editor for the Irish Times Conor Lally, and Janet Horner, Green Party councillor for Dublin’s North Inner City join Matt to discuss these updates.

Hospitality groups are calling on the Government to reinstate the 9% reduced VAT charge for food services to help them manage increasing costs.Pat Crotty, chief executive of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, and Owen Reidy, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, join The Last Word to debate whether hospitality businesses should be on a lower VAT rate.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Revolut has indicated that it will begin offering mortgages in Ireland from as early as next year.In this week’s personal finance slot, Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent, explained what this could mean for customers.Click the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

John and Dee are chatting all about the amazing list of artists performing over the summer! But will any of them come close to the hype of Taylor Swift?

Marion and Cal join Matt to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court 'immunity' ruling for Trump.Plus what is the fall out after the leaders debate and will the democrats replace Biden after his performance?

A new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute has shown that between 35,000 and 53,000 new homes will be needed to cope with population growth in Ireland.Matt was joined by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to discuss the findings.Click the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.