

The Hard Shoulder
Newstalk
The Hard Shoulder Podcast with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman is your essential drivetime companion—bringing fresh perspective and energy to your drive home. CONVERSATION THAT COUNTS | Ireland’s national independent talk station for news, sport, analysis and entertainmentListen to Newstalk at http://newstalk.com/listenlive | Download the GoLoud app now, the new home for Newstalk
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 20, 2025 • 10min
Hilary Devlin on her journey playing visually-impaired rugby
Hilary Devlin joins Seán Defoe to discuss her journey playing visually-impaired rugby.

Nov 20, 2025 • 14min
The Thursday Interview: Dylan Bradshaw
Dylan Bradshaw, award-winning Hairstylist and owner of Dylan Bradshaw Salon joins Seán Defoe for this week’s Thursday Interview!

Nov 20, 2025 • 7min
Specialists call for diagnostic clinic rapid access for pancreatic cancer
November 20th is World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day, and specialists along with Pancreatic Cancer Ireland are calling for rapid access to diagnostic clinics, as it is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030…Joining Seán Defoe to discuss this is Professor Tom Gallagher, Consultant Surgeon at the National Surgical Centre for Pancreatic Cancer at St. Vincent’s University Hospital.

Nov 20, 2025 • 12min
How financially under pressure are schools?
A primary school in Louth has been forced to send emails to Government representatives detailing how under pressure the school is financially.In this instance, the school asked parents to ensure students bring in their own toilet roll and their own hand towels to school due to insufficient funding…Joining Seán Defoe to discuss is Eoin Dolan, Principal of Mother of Divine Grace National School in Finglas and Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin TD for Donegal and Spokesperson on Finance, who raised this issue in the Dáil.

Nov 20, 2025 • 10min
Special Report: the problem roads around Ireland's National Maternity Hospital.
Bringing a baby into the world should be a blissful time of nurture, calm and care - but for the women travelling to the National Maternity Hospital and enduring the traffic, potholes and lack of parking in the area, the experience can be anything but that. Newstalk's Sarah Madden reports.

Nov 20, 2025 • 7min
Darragh O’Brien on COP30 & Dublin Airport
Minister for Transport and Climate Darragh O’Brien joins Seán Defoe from COP30 in Brazil to discuss what progress is being made there, as well as matters at home such as the situation in Dublin Airport.

Nov 20, 2025 • 12min
Ireland’s World Cup playoff draw - does it look good?
Ireland’s pathway to the World Cup has been confirmed this morning, following a playoff draw at FIFA headquarters…So, does it look good for team Ireland?Joining Seán Defoe to discuss is Cameron Hill from Off The Ball. Also joining is Travel Journalist Eoghan Corry, to discuss your options on getting to the Czech Republic game.

Nov 20, 2025 • 4min
Plane crash in Waterford - what we know
A light aircraft has crashed on the Waterford coast, as multiple units of emergency services attend the scene.Joining Seán Defoe to discuss is Ralph Riegel, Southern Correspondent for the Irish Independent.

Nov 20, 2025 • 14min
How should you deal with grief?
Grief is something we’ve all experienced, and it was pushed into the spotlight on Tuesday night when Scotland player Andy Robertson was immediately interviewed after his country qualified for the World Cup, and talked about his friend and former teammate, Diogo Jota.Joining Seán Defoe to discuss the grief process is Founder of Shapes of Grief, Grief Educator and Psychotherapist, Liz Gleeson.

Nov 20, 2025 • 10min
How to do Stuff: Walking on a Red Carpet
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 Ciara to discuss how to properly walk the red carpet!


