Moncrieff

It was this month 60 years ago that Ireland got its first soap opera. Tolka Row focused on two families in an imaginary housing estate in north Dublin and ran for 5 years in the 1960s. Sean was joined by Eamon Bohan, Curator of the Irish Pirate Radio Archive in DCU, has been investigating its origins for the current edition of Ireland’s Own and he joins me now... Image: SuperannRTÉ

The comedian and actor Katherine Ryan has disclosed in a newspaper interview that she and her husband schedule their sexual encounters. So, is ‘booking it in’ a good idea or does it take the romance out of it all? Sean was joined by Caroline West, sex educator and relationship columnist with the Irish Independent...

You might have seen videos online of plans trying to land at various airports across the UK and Ireland last night during Storm Isha.  Anyone who’s been in that unfortunate situation knows that now only is it a hair-raising experience, but it can mean the flight is diverted to anyone city where the conditions are more favourable.  So how are those decisions made? How many attempts does a pilot make before aborting? Sean was joined by Kevin Byrne, retired Lieutenant Colonel, airport safety and security auditor...  

There’s the old saying opposites attract, but sometimes we can’t help but look for the traits we like about ourselves in our prospective partners.  So if you’re an Alpha, you’d be a leader, opinionated, ambitions. Could it work if you were partnered with someone quieter, more contemplative, ie a Beta?  Tanya Sweeny is writing about this in today’s Irish Independent and she joined Sean to discuss...

The hovercraft route between the south of England and the Isle of Wight is currently the only year round scheduled service using this mode of transport. But there are now increasing signals that the hovercraft may well be about to enjoy a resurgence. Sean was joined by Ben Avery, Chief Hovercraft Pilot with Griffin Hoverwork...

One of the writers of the latest season of True Detective has gone public with her criticism of people ‘review bombing’ her show in order to skew the audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the popular review aggregator website. But what is review bombing and is it symptomatic of broader problems with this platform? Sean was joined by Brian Lloyd, Movies Editor at Entertainment.ie and Movies and Booze panelist...

A Chinese mum live streamed her 9 year old son to make sure he is doing his homework, and so she can concentrate on her housework.This got us thinking about housework and who does it in your house?Sean was joined by Henry McKean to discuss...

A new interiors trend called ‘bookshelf wealth’ is all the rage but what is it and is cultivating a bookshelf taking precedence over the actual reading of the books in the first place? Sean was joined by Avril Murphy Allen, Artist and interior designer to discuss...

Scone or scon? It has divided counties and nations for decades, but it seems both are correct.  Countdown presenter Susie Dent has said the dictionary allows for both pronunciations, but surely one of them is correct? Aren’t there rules for how words are to sound in certain combinations of letters?  Dr Stephen Lucek (loo-check) is Assistant Prof in Linguistics in UCD  

An incident in a pub in the UK, in which a child was refused a champagne flute for her soft drink, has triggered a conversation about when and how we introduce alcohol to young people. Rosamund Hall, a wine consultant and writer, has been looking at this for the UK Independent and she joined Sean on the show today...