The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy the best Last Word Culture Club moments from 2023.

Dave Hanratty, Host of the No Encores Podcast, Brianna Parkins, Columnist, Eoghan Tomas McDermot, MD of The Communications Clinic, and Journalist Lise Hand all joined The Last Word for a special news review of 2023.Catch the entire discussion by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Will the decision to ban the sale of vapes to those aged under 18 really stop children from vaping?Professor John Crown, Consultant Oncologist, and Joe Dunne, Director at Hale Vaping joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Brian Lloyd and Roe McDermott joined The Last Word to give their ecommendations for the best movies available to watch on TV and streaming this Christmas!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Paul Healy, Crime Correspondent for The Irish Daily Star joined The Last Word to give details on the court proceedings of the recent Parnell Square stabbings which took place today.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Andy O’Donoghue joined us for the last Tech Thursday of 2023, to discuss last minute tech gifts for Christmas day!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Could average house prices in Dublin realistically fall below €300,000 in the near future?Eoin O’Broin, Sinn Féin TD and Housing Spokesperson, and Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, Fianna Fáil Housing Spokesperson, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Following a statement made by Leo Varadkar on the rules and regulations around applying for asylum in Ireland, Immigration Lawyer, Cathal Malone joined The Last Word to discuss the process in detail.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Are you covered for festive incidents at home this Christmas?Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with The Irish Independent joined The Last Word to discuss.

John Caddell and Dee Reddy join The Last Word for the final music slot of 2023. We're looking back at some of the music from this year.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Caelan Doris has signed a contract extension with Leinster until 2027.He joined The Last Word for a chat.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The Democrats have started to compare Trump with Hitler, but is this a step too far?Our weekly US slot with Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The European Commission is challenging X, formerly known as Twitter, over its online behaviour.To explain, Tech Journalist Andy O'Donoghue and Dr. Johnny Ryan from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties joined The Last Word.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Joe O’Shea and Elaine Burke joined The Last Word to discuss the best telly and streaming to get stuck into this Christmas!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The EU has taken it's first formal steps towards bringing legal action against social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk. Lorcan Allen, Business Editor for The Business Post joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Sarah Slattery form Travelexpert.ie, joined The Last Word for our final Travel segment of 2023, and this time we're going to Vienna!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Conor Lally, Security and Crime Editor for The Irish Times, and Catherine Connolly, Independent TD for Galway-West, joined The Last Word to discuss the latest on a lengthening list of arson attacks taking place around the country.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Shari Irfan, President of the Irish Second-Level Students Union, joined The Last Word to discuss the decision to allocate the first week of secondary school Easter holidays to the Leaving Certificate oral exams.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

According to a study published in The Irish Medical Journal, dog bites have risen by a half in the last decade. Tanya Clarke, Head of Adoptions & Dog Trainer at the DSPCA joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Lineker defies BBC rules, Zara recalls ads, and Trump cuts up and sells his suit.Roe McDermott, Irish Times Advice Columnist, and Mick Clifford, Special Correspondent with The Irish Examiner joined The Last Word to discuss the biggest stories of the week!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Mick O’Connell, Master of Wine and Owner of Neighbourhood Wine, joined The Last Word with a list of great bottles you can get your hands on for Christmas!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst for Social Justice Ireland, and Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive with The Restaurants Association of Ireland, joined The Last Word to discuss Ireland's 12% increase in minimum wage, and the possible affect it will have on businesses.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Who better to discuss sustainable gift ideas than our own John Gibbons for this week's Last Word on The Environment!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Andy O’Donoghue joined The Last Word with his predictions for tech trends to come in 2024!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Buying your first home may seem impossible sometimes, and you may find yourself asking questions like; how can I show savings when rent is so expensive?How far back will I have to go when showing my bank statements?What if there are loads of “nights-out” transactions on those statements?Will I get approved to buy a doer-upper?Buying your first home can be an incredibly overwhelming experience, but we’ve got just the ticket if you’re one of the many thousands of first-time buyers trying to put your foot on the property ladder in Ireland.Today FM and EBS recently held a brilliant event where we spoke to top mortgage experts from EBS, who broke down what is needed when it comes to getting the keys to your very own front door in your hands.Today FM’s Dara Quilty was joined by Mortgage Expert Naomi Battle from EBS and by Shay Lally, a quantity surveyor and the man behind the very popular Instagram account House to Restore to field some burning questions from first time buyers.Catch the full chat by pressing the Play button on this page, and be sure to pass this along to anyone you know who is looking to buy a home in 2024.

A new survey from the Residential Tenancies Board has found that the average cost of rent has risen significantly in the last three years.Lorcan Sirr, Senior Housing Lecturer at Technological University Dublin, and Pat Davitt, Chief Executive at the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Emmet Murphy from The Rademon Estate Distillery joined The Last Word with a list of the best whiskeys and gins to enjoy this Christmas!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Are we about to see a price war in energy prices?Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with The Irish Independent, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Ciara Carty,  Director of Services at Focus Ireland, and James Flanagan, Focus Ireland Service User, joined The Last Word to discuss the homelessness crisis and the near 4,000 children affected by it as we move closer to Christmas.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

One of Ireland's most popular festivals has revealed it's headliners for 2024!John Caddell and Dave Hanratty joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Why are the Republicans trying to impeach Joe Biden?Cal Thomas, Nationally Syndicated Columnist, and Marion McKeone, US Correspondent with The Business Post, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Journalist Lise Hand, and Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe joined us in studio for their annual rundown of the best non-fiction books of the year!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Research has found that two fifths of Irish people surveyed believe hate is on the rise.Professor Amanda Haynes, Co-Author with Professor Jennifer Schweppe of Public Understandings of Hate Crime: Ireland, North and South, joined The Last Word to discuss.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Novelists Edel Coffey and Kevin Power joined The Last Word with a list of the best fiction books of 2023 that you can read over the holidays or give as gifts!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Retailers are expecting to make about €1.1 billion extra on Christmas spending this year, up 5% on last year.Ian Guider, Business Columnist with The Business Post joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Sarah Slattery from Travelexpert.ie joined The Last Word to discuss some great ideas for travel related gifts this Christmas!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Priscilla Lynch, Clinic Editor for The Medical Independent joined The Last Word to discuss the recent rise in RSV cases in children's hospitals.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Vaughan Yates, Founder of TVM, and Alex Morrell, Beverage Director at TVM joined The Last Word to discuss the best non-alcoholic drinks for your festive season!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Hundreds gather to say goodbye to Shane MacGowan, Swift named person of the year, and baseball caps for Gardaí.Aoife Barry, Journalist and Author of Social Capital, and Lorcan Nyhan, Head of Training at The Communications Clinic joined The Last Word to discuss for The Week TrendingCatch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Gavin Cooney, Journalist with the42.ie , and Michael Foley, Sports Writer with The Sunday Times and Author of The Children of Croke Park, joined The Last Word to discuss the best sports books of 2023!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Due to an explosion in the population of deer in Ireland, the Government has given the go-ahead to culling in an attempt to control the unsustainable growth of this wild animal.John Gibbons joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland  has estimated that a couple would need a combined salary of €127,000 to buy a house in Dublin in 2023.Edward McCauley, Director of Practice & Policy at the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, and Cian O’Callaghan, TD and Housing Spokesperson with the Social Democrats joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Andy O’Donoghue joined The Last Word for Tech Thursday, to discuss the best tech for pet owners!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Should tobacco sales be phased out entirely?Mark Murphy, Advocacy Manager for Environmental Health and Tobacco with the Irish Heart Foundation, and Colm Burke, TD and Health Spokesperson for Fine Gael, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Russell Alford & Patrick Hanlon from Gastrogays & The Sunday Times Ireland, joined The Last Word with their recommendations for the best Christmas cookbooks to get your hands on this festive season!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

A new survey suggests that many people in Ireland expect to work until the age of 70 before they can afford to retire.Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with The Irish Independent, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Member of Paul McCartney's Wings, and co-founder of Moody Blues, Denny Laine has died aged 79.John Caddell and Dee Reddy joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Judith Boyle, Beverages Lecturer at TU Dublin joined The Last Word with some fantastic beer recommendations for the festive season!Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Liz Cheney has claimed that if Donald Trump is reelected, the United States would be 'sleepwalking into dictatorship'.Cal Thomas, Nationally Syndicated Columnist, and Marion McKeone, US Correspondent for The Business Post, joined The Last Word to discuss.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

Enda O’Neill, Head of Office for UNHCR Ireland, and Daniel McConnell, Editor of The Business Post joined The Last Word to discuss a new weekly payment increase for for asylum seekers who have not yet been accommodated.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page,