The Pat Kenny Show
Newstalk
Pat brings you the sharpest analysis of news and current affairs on the radio and fresh perspectives on the issues that will define a generation. Breaking news is interwoven with reflective news features and reports from a variety of reporters based across the country. Experts are on hand to guide listeners on everything from consumer and employment rights and health issues to savvy holiday options. And Pat is joined by all the best personalities from the entertainment world.Listen and subscribe to The Pat Kenny Show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 17, 2025 • 14min
Imelda May singing through as Gaeilge
Imelda May may be known worldwide as an Irish singer, but that is likely a language you have never heard her sing in, because, up until recently, you would have found Imelda hesitating to even say ‘go raibh maith agat’.Those days are now gone as the Dublin singer has taken a journey to find not just the confidence to speak as Gaeilge but to sing through it.Imelda joined us on the show this morning.
Oct 17, 2025 • 6min
Liverpool v Manchester United: All eyes will on Anfield
The United Rugby Championship starts up again this weekend and Leinster will once again host Munster in a derby match at Croke Park. Elsewhere in the Premier League, old rivals Manchester United will face off Liverpool on Sunday in Anfield. The Formula 1 returns for the US Grand Prix as the teams for next year were announced.Colm Boohig from Off The Ball looks ahead to a very busy weekend of sport.
Oct 17, 2025 • 20min
Majority of children aged 8 to 12 have access to mobile devices overnight
The writing has been on the wall for some time with experts globally warning about a child’s unfettered access to a smartphone yet it doesn’t seem to be getting through. Today new research shows that now a majority of children aged eight to 12 have access to mobile devices overnight.To get reaction and to discuss further Pat spoke to Stella O’Malley, Psychotherapist and author and parent Adrian Barry, Managing Editor with Off The Ball.
Oct 17, 2025 • 17min
Ben Schott discusses his new book Schott's Significa
Secret languages surround us from graffiti writers, gondoliers, and gym rats to spies, sneakerheads, and Swifties. Every group creates a private lingo of jargon and gestures that eludes the rest of the world. Best selling author and British writer, Ben Schott discusses his new book Schott's Significa, which is an indispensable field guide to the hidden lore and language of our modern age.Ben joined Pat on the show to chat further about his book.
Oct 17, 2025 • 8min
Photos emerge of Catherine Connolly with militia leader
Photos have emerged of independent presidential candidate Catherine Connolly meeting militia leader behind war crimes against Palestinians in Syria Catherine Connolly was on a trip to Syria in 2018. We get the latest on this with Ronan McGreevy Irish Times journalist and author,
Oct 16, 2025 • 10min
Ireland has a proud tradition in the hammer throw
Ireland has a proud tradition in the hammer throw dating back to ancient times. Cú Chulainn supposedly invented the sport long before Games took place in the religious sanctuary at Olympia. Ireland’s first-ever back-to-back Olympic champion Pat O’Callaghan claimed his golds in the hammer throw; but perhaps the most extraordinary episode in the sport’s history took place in Cork in 1984. Off The Ball’s Cameron Hill can tell us more:
Oct 16, 2025 • 18min
Are young people less resilient these days than past generations?
Are young people less resilient these days than past generations? Does the increased availability and awareness of mental health support help young people? Or are young people being held back by overbearing adults who are ‘democratising’ parenting? All to discuss with our panel this morning. Joining Pat was Siobhán O’Neil White of Mums.ie, Newstalk researcher Meghan O’Halloran, who’s in her early 20s and also Brendan Kelly Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, and Consultant Psychiatrist at Tallaght University Hospital.
Oct 16, 2025 • 14min
The fragile peace in the Middle East
The fragile peace in the Middle East could already be in jeopardy. President Donald Trump has warned Israel could resume fighting if Hamas breaches the ceasefire and neglects to return the bodies of Israeli hostages. Speaking to Pat this morning was military analyst, former fighter pilot, and co-host of the Red Matrix Podcast, Séan Bell, to examine the situation in the Middle East.
Oct 16, 2025 • 9min
Science with Luke: Making a star in a bottle
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing a huge amount of energy in the process. It happens naturally in stars under extreme pressure and temperature. Scientists are trying to bottle that same process inside special machines (like tokamaks or stellarators). That’s why people call fusion “making a star in a bottle:. All to chat with Luke O'Neill Professor of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin.
Oct 16, 2025 • 19min
The complicated history of one of Irelands Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores is up there with Ryanair and Guinness as one of the most successful Irish enterprises created. Opening its first store in 1944 on Cork’s St. Patricks Street, its success spurred on by cheap clothing grew and grew until eventually in the 1960s it exploded in popularity as it brought the concept of the modern supermarket to Irish shoppers. Joining Pat this morning was Matt Cooper, Today FM presenter and author of a new book ‘Dynasty, Scandals, Triumph, Turmoil, and Succession at the Heart of Dunnes Stores’.
