The Hard Shoulder

Minister for Education and Youth, and Fine Gael TD for Meath East, Helen McEntee, joins Kieran to discuss current SNA numbers, and the Presidential race as it stands.

Joining Kieran is Randall Plunkett, Barron of Dunsany and Founder of Dunsany Nature Reserve in county Meath to discuss his new book ‘Wild Thing’. He is a reluctant aristocrat who decided to dedicate a third of his County Meath estate to become Ireland’s first vegan rewilding project.

US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire deal for Gaza. Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of the Gaza peace plan, which will see hostages returned from Gaza. As a result, Israel says a ceasefire is expected to begin within 24 hours. Bel Trew, Chief International Correspondent with The Independent and Reham Mahdi Al Jarrah, Christian Aid Ireland’s local partner in Gaza & the Women’s Affairs Centre, whose whole family have been displaced because of this conflict, join Kieran to discuss.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly shared her experience of public transport on social media - criticising how overcrowded her train was, to the point of being dangerous.How widespread of a problem is this in public transport, and do we need to tackle overcrowding?Louise joins Kieran, as well as Barry Kenny, Head of Corporate Communications at Iarnród Éireann, to discuss.

Protein shakes for breakfast, flexing at lunch and barbells for dinner - more and more Irish teenagers are making getting ripped a goal.So, what are the positives for our growing number of pro-teens?And are those benefits out-wheyed by the cons?Newstalk's Sarah Madden reports

On January 4th there will be a special dedication concert to Phil Lynott in the 3Arena. Darren Wharton, who you may know as a member of Thin Lizzy, will be performing, and joins Kieran to discuss.

Life can be full of confusing things, but no need to worry! Every Wednesday, Simon Tierney will be showing you ‘How to do Stuff’ - bringing his best tips for those things you might not think about.This week, Simon joins Kieran to discuss how you can get your kids to fall asleep at a normal time!

From midnight last night, the VAT rate applied to the sale of completed apartments was reduced from 13.5% to 9%, but will this kickstart the construction of apartments which we’re being told has all but stalled?Joining Kieran to dig into this is Ollie Lyons, Director and Head of Land Development at JLL and Orla Hegarty, Architect and Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy…

Kieran is joined by Financial Advisor, Broadcaster, and Columnist, Eoin McGee, who’s here to talk about his new show ‘How To Tackle Your Finances’, which gives important financial advice in an ever-shifting world.

Polling day in the Presidential election is rapidly approaching.With just over two weeks of campaigning left, Kieran is joined by candidate Catherine Connolly to discuss recent events, and her thoughts on the campaign so far…