The Hard Shoulder

Following another tragic weekend on Irish roads, what needs to be done to improve road safety?David Martin, Media Relations Manager at the RSA joins Ciara to discuss.

“A third of the population lives in a rural community, yet we have one of the worst public transport networks in Europe. That’s not by accident; it’s a political choice”. So says Writer Emma De Souza.What needs to be done by the Government to support rural communities?Emma joins Shane and Martha Gilheaney, Lecturer in Dublin, to discuss.

This week, Ciara and Shane were joined by the presenter of Weekend Breakfast on Today FM, Alison Curtis and Off the Ball’s Ger Gilroy to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

He may be better known as Dr Derek Shepard at the Seattle Grace Hospital, but since departing our screens on Grey’s Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey has turned his attention to slightly darker, more sinister roles. His latest venture is that a photocopier salesman and father… but has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. And he is also a hitman…‘Memory of a Killer’ is out now on Amazon Prime and Patrick joins Ciara to discuss!

Off The Ball Senior Producer Mick McCarthy joined Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action…

The United States Supreme Court has struck down the majority of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The court, which has a conservative majority, saw two of the conservative justices side with their liberal counterparts to strike down the tariffs in a six three ruling.Joining Ciara to discuss is David Smith, Washington Bureau Chief with The Guardian, Dr Nora Strecker, Associate Professor of Economics at UCD and Pat Rigney, owner of Shed distillery, which makes Drumshanbo whiskeys and gins.Image: Reuters

After week one of cheating on and off the ice, what are the big stories of week two of the Winter Olympics?Joining Ciara and Shane to discuss is Barry Kenny, Communications Manager with Iarnród Éireann, and Olympics superfan!Image: Reuters

This week the National Bus and Railworkers’ Union called for high visibility clothing for cyclists and e-scooter users to reduce the risks for both drivers and riders, but is this more of an enforcement issue given that high vis clothing is already supposed to be worn at night time?Joining Ciara to discuss is Jason Cullen, of the Dublin Commuter Coalition.

John Fardy, Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk and Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast joined Ciara and Shane on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…

The headline in the UCD paper, The University Observer reads: ‘UCD Fails to Safeguard Against Image-Based Sexual Assault’ after image of student who had been raped sent to staff and students”.The article outlined the incident of a medical student in UCD who had a “nude, bruised and unconscious image of herself shared and circulated to a significant number of UCD staff email addresses and then some months later to a student WhatsApp group.The issue was raised in the Dáil by Ruth Coppinger; the People Before Profit TD stated that “The image was procured after she was raped by a student, a rape that she chose not to report”.Earlier in the show Shane spoke to the in question student, Katelyn, which is not her real name.For more on this, Shane is joined by Ruth Coppinger of the People Before Profit Solidarity & Rachel Morrogh, Chief Executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.