The Pat Kenny Show

Houses are crumbling due to the presence of pyrite or mica in concrete blocks from certain quarries. The Defective Concrete Block Grant Scheme is meant to help homeowners repair or rebuild, but only 7% of the nearly 2,900 applicants have had their homes fixed since the scheme began in 2020. To discuss this further Pat was joined on the show by Founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group and a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon and grant recipient. 

After weeks of political pressure over Donald Trump’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, the US Justice department has released a transcript of an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. We discuss this and more with Terry Sheridan, Senior Director of News Public Radio and also Greg Swenson, Chair of Republicans Overseas UK and Ireland.  

The weekend was packed full of action, It was a successful opening game for Ireland in the women’s rugby world cup. Co-captain Edel McMahon's return from injury helped with Ireland's impressive 42-14 win against Japan.  As the Premier League continues, Everton fans enjoyed a first win in their brand-new stadium with the help of former man city star Jack Grealish. However, Man United continued with a winless game in a draw against Fulham. Cathal Mullaney, Broadcaster with Off the Ball looks back on the busy weekend of sport.

Many young farmers are feeling forgotten as the IFA and the ICMSA call for the reopening of the long established Young Farmers Scheme. To discuss this with Pat was Dennis Drennan, President of the ICMSA.

Some small primary schools could remain closed from Thursday this week as caretakers and secretaries are set to begin an indefinite strike for parity in public sector pensions and employment conditions. Andy Pike, Head of Education at Fórsa

Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to “to push Russia to peace” as Kyiv marked its Independence Day yesterday.  Barry Ward, FG TD and Chair of EU Affairs Committee is currently in Kyiv at the invitation of Verhova Rada, the speaker of the parliament, he is due to meet president Zelensky later today. Barry Ward spoke to Pat ahead of this meeting.

Gary Gannon, Social Democrats TD and Spokesperson for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Tabitha Monahan, Political reporter for Irish Independent and Presenter on The Indo Daily Podcast and Neale Richmond, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora all joined Pat for this week's Friday Forum.

Today over 65,000 students got their Leaving Cert Result. Henry McKean visited St Mary's Girls Secondary School Baldoyle Dublin as students got their results.

Gareth Mullins talks through multi seeds flapjack, banana bread and carrot and walnut cake. A great lunch box fillers just in time for the kids heading back to school.

The anticipation of receiving your leaving cert results is stressful, and the results themselves can be disappointing, especially if you hold yourself to a high standard.  Adding to the pressure is the fact that grades have been “deflated” post-Covid, which will impact deferrals. We get all the detail and advice from Brian Mooney Guidance counsellor and columnist with The Irish Times.

Molly Martens and her father made international headlines when they beat Molly’s Irish husband Jason Corbett to death in his own home. 'A Deadly Marriage' the true story of Corbett’s killing and the aftermath. It's Author Brian Carroll joined Pat this morning.

Dating in your 30s is a brave new world from online and apps, to ghosting and meeting someone in a bar. Never mind those, but maybe you have a kid, a mortgage and any of the other regular pressures of being an adult. All to chat with comedian Stephen Mullan.

The UN-backed agency responsible for monitoring world hunger is today expected to declare a famine in Gaza City. The declaration comes as the Israeli cabinet approves a full offensive on the city. We get the latest on the situation there with Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations at London School of Economics.

Bus Eireann have been urged to relax its retirement age limit for drivers to accommodate more children on school buses.  Bus Eireann have mandated that all drivers must retire by 70. Pat discusses this further with Sean Canney, Minister of state with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports.

According to a new survey, more than one third of Irish employees have actively looked for private information about their colleagues or customers in the last year including information about their salary, home address and age. All to discuss with Mary Connaughton, Director of CIPD.

“The final tennis Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, is getting underway this week at Flushing Meadows in New York. This year marked the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe for whom the main tennis stadium in Flushing is named winning the Wimbledon men’s singles title. But it’s also 75 years this very week since the first African-American player was allowed enter the US Open Althea Gibson. To tell us more about this pioneering tennis star, is Cameron Hill from Off The Ball.

Windfarms, microwaves, and electric lights, we hear weird history of technological conspiracy theories. David Robert Grimes author and disinformation expert tells us all.

Labour Party grandee Fergus Finlay asked permission to run for president from the party’s leader Ivana Bacik. Instead, his party has chosen to support Catherine Connolly. It isn’t the first time he’s lost out on the nomination. Fergus spoke to Pat this morning on the show.

Apple TV+  American sports comedy TV series Stick starring Owen Wilson as a former professional golfer features in this weeks Boxed with John Fardy. 

With the recent F1 success of Alex Dunne, the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ and the Formula One movie with Brad Pitt. Motor racing is even back in Vogue. So we decided to send Henry McKean to Mondello Park.

Israel gives final approval for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two. We get reaction to this with Paul Kearns, Irish journalist based in Tel Aviv and also Zahra Legris, Mental Health Activity Manager for Médecins Sans Frontières.

 A new survey had found that 85% of Irish professionals say they would consider a job that contributes to climate in the future. Sustainability journalist  Jo Linehan looks at the findings and explains how people can train, upskill and more into a green sector in the coming years as the market for climate jobs grows.

The government is under pressure from investigators after new forensic evidence identifies two suspects in the Guilford pub attack and other IRA bombings. The suspects are now in their 70s and 80s. But what does this new evidence mean and what will happen now? Pat discusses this with John Ware, Journalist, Author, and Investigative Reporter, former BBC Panorama Reporter.

Nearly two-thirds of students questioned in an educational program believed that using contraception can cause infertility. Much of the misinformation that they’re exposed to comes from online sources, like social media and Chat GPT.  Debunking the Myths, a sexual education programme based at The Rotunda Hospital, provides accurate and reliable sex education without judgement. Pat was joined on the show by Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Rotunda Hospital and Lead doctor on the new programme.

Debt can come in many forms from a credit card repayment, a car loan or a long-term loan. Unfortunately, for many, debt problems can cause substantial distress and worry. This financial worry may be unavoidable, but how can we best deal with it? And just why do we overspend on what we can’t afford to repay? Paul Merriman, Financial Advisor and Founder of ASKPAUL.ie.

A Swedish church weighing 672 tonnes is being moved five kilometers over two days so that Europe’s biggest underground mine can expand.  It’s taken eight years of planning and more than €45 million to get to this point, which is part of a larger multi-decade process to move the entire Arctic town of Kiruna. We more on this fascinating story with Philip O'Connor a freelance journalist based in Sweden. 

An Irish company has designed a next-generation luminous paint that could be shining on a road near you soon if a trial in Co. Sligo is successful. Luminous paint isn’t a new idea but with modern materials and manufacturing it does look as if it might now be useful for road markings. The Irish company behind this one is called called LuminousFlux. Conor Faughnan Transport Commentator tell us more.

The tale of atomic seeds captures the paradox of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. It was both a marketing gimmick and a genuine scientific endeavour. It was propelled by a sincere belief that new technology could banish hunger and improve lives, and by a taste for novelty and spectacle. It bridged the lab and the lawn, the scientist and the housewife, the promise of a better tomato and the hope of a better world. All to chat with Diarmuid Gavin, award winning Garden Designer.  

It’s that time of year where you may be preparing to get the kids back in school. But for many kids, this can be a very difficult time; putting up a fuss with the idea of getting back in the classroom. This even has a term in psychological term called Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA. Pat discusses this further with James Callaghan CAMHS experienced CBT Therapist, EMDR Consultant and mental health nurse lecturer and author behind Leo Roars: A brave lion’s guide to overcoming panic attacks.

Evyatar David was abducted from the Nova music festival on Oct 7th and is one of 50 hostages still in Gaza, of whom 20 are still believed to be alive. Hamas released footage of the emaciated 24-year-old Evyatar David on Saturday, Aug 2nd. Evyatar’s brother Ilay David is advocating for his immediate return home and he spoke to Pat this morning.

This week on Inside Hollywood, we continue our look at The Perfect Movie and Lisa Cannon breaks down the artistry of The Godfather.

In the Green Scene this week we hear how virtual reality can actually trigger the brain’s own pain suppression mechanisms to deal with chronic pain. Also new research has revealed that plain-body octopuses can be fooled by a version of the famous rubber-hand illusion, a psychological trick first observed in humans. This is the first time scientists have seen evidence of this kind of body ownership in a non-mammalian species.All to discuss with Dr Ruth Freeman Director of Research for Society For Research Ireland.All with thanks to Repak.

A group of 26 people banded together to buy a pub in the Co. Limerick town of Kilteely to keep it from closing after the previous owners retired. The former Ahern’s pub has now been rebranded as The Street Bar.  Pat spoke to gardener and one of the pub investors Noel O’Dea.

In 2018, author Claudia Carroll appeared on The Pat Kenny Show to speak about her novel, The Secrets of Primrose Square. Producer Pat Moylan happened to be listening to the radio at the time and called Claudia after the interview to ask if she would be open to adapting the book into a play. The stage adaptation opens at the Gaiety Theatre under the same title as the book on Sept 9th. Both Claudia and Pat came into studio this morning,

As talks take place across the globe over the fate of Ukraine, there remains an uncertainty for the people of Ukraine over what these peace talks may bring. More specifically, what could be gained or lost in the event of a peace deal with Putin's Russia. Lara Marlowe, has been talking to people on the streets of Kyiv, to understand the real feeling of those in the Ukrainian capital. 

Music generated by artificial intelligence, which can take only two minutes to produce, has sparked ethical concerns in the industry.  Tech Editor with the Irish and Sunday Independent Adrian Weckler looks at easy it is to create music with AI. 

Couples tend to argue about a handful of common themes that come up again and again in relationships. Research shows the top five things couples fight about. What are they these themes. All to discuss with Stephanie Regan, Clinical Psychotherapist.

According to the Economic and Social Research Institute, if the home ownership continues to fall at its current rate, the poverty rate among over-65s will more than double from 14 to 31 per cent. This begs the question how are older renters able to afford these average rents? Pat discusses this further with Lorcan Sirr Senior Housing Lecturer, Technological University Dublin and also 70 year old Brendan O’Neill who spent 18 years as a renter in Dublin.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, has agreed to face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal in Ukraine. We discuss the historic White House meeting that took place with Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University and also Emmanuelle Chaze, Ukraine correspondent for France24.

Scaled back India Day celebrations went ahead this past weekend following a number of attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland. But our two countries have a lot more in common. Starting with our nations’ origins both after independence from Britain. Cauvery Madhavan, a Kildare based author discusses her and her family’s experience of moving to another country that has such a similar origin story to the one she was leaving.

Irish Rail is in the process of planning and executing massive expansions and updates to its services, with levels of demand for timely and efficient public transportation at an all-time high. What can we expect from our public transport in the next 10 years? All to discuss with Irish Rail Chairman Steve Murphy.

We’re all making weekly trips to the local deposit return machine to claim back our 15 or 25 cent for bottles and cans used. But a certain group of people in the capital have turned collecting into an enterprise, picking through public bins and recycling for a profit. So, is the rising re-turn industry good or bad for Dublin city? Newstalk’s Sarah Madden reports:  

We’re constantly being told that the State is one of the richest in the world but we don’t make the cut among The Economist’s list of 178 countries. We discuss this further with Economist  Austin Hughes. 

Obtaining a mortgage is often stressful, even for people who have the traditional requirements for securing one. It can be even more difficult when you’re self-employed or seeking a second-time mortgage.  Margaret Barrett, Managing Director of Mortgage Navigators answered your mortgage-related questions.

Recent debates question whether the President of Ireland should be expected, if not required, to be fluent in Irish. As the national figurehead, the President is expected to promote Irish culture and language. However, should fluency in Irish trump their other values when considering who to vote for? Pat discusses this with Aodhán Ó Deá, Director of Development at Conradh na Gaeilge.

Standing Desks are becoming more and more common in workplaces. But is there a health benefit to using them? And should we be considering using them more? All to discuss with Jenny Brannigan, Chartered Physiotherapist and Peter Cosgrove, MD of Futurewise.

The past number of years has seen a surge in people getting diagnosed with ADHD. While doctors warn of overdiagnoses, there are a number of people living undiagnosed for years.   One woman who waited until she was 26 to get diagnosed as she didn’t present with the stereotypical symptoms.   So how do symptoms vary from each individual and how can it impact day to day life? All to discuss with Molly Roberts a Content Creator. 

Espionage and ‘destructive ideologies’ are among main threats to State, says Garda report. Ireland may be target for foreign spies' intent on stealing intellectual property and sensitive information. Pat discusses this further with Cathal Berry, former Defence Forces Member.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will today, along with a host of European leaders, meet with Donald Trump in Washington to discuss a potential path to peace. It follows Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. We discuss this further with Rosie Birchard, Brussels Correspondent, DW News and Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at University of Galway, Columnist with The Journal.

The weekend was packed full of action, with the round of 16 fixtures taking place in the FAI Cup. Scottie Scheffler claims his fifth win of the season at the BMW championship, and of course the opening round of Premier League fixtures. All to chat about with Colm Boohig, Broadcaster with Off the Ball.