The Hard Shoulder

Next month marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of The Liberator, Daniel O'Connell, and a number of events are being planned to commemorate his life and legacy.At the end of this month, a major two-day conference is taking place in Trinity College Dublin, organised by the Trinity Long Room Hub in partnership with The Bar of Ireland, Dublin Cemeteries Trust, and Diageo, entitled 'Liberty, Democracy and the Struggle for Human Rights'.So what exactly is the legacy of Daniel O’Connell?  And is it more complicated than some realise?Joining Kieran to discuss is the new Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, and presenter of Talking History here on Newstalk, Professor Patrick Geoghegan.

Katriona O’Sullivan, Psychologist and Writer joins Kieran for this week's Thursday Interview!

The cap on nighttime flights at Dublin Airport has been increased from 65 to 95 between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Flights will also now be allowed to take off and land on the North Runway until midnight and after 7 a.m. However, aircraft that exceed the noise limit won’t be allowed at night.This appears to contradict An Comisiún Pleanála’s draft decision from last September, which stated that the North Runway could only be used for departures between 6 and 8 a.m. Nighttime flights between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. were meant to be capped at 13,000 annually under this plan, which would amount to about 35 flights per night.Joining Kieran to discuss this is Eddie Wilson, Ryanair DAC, Dean Mulligan, Independent Cllr for Swords, Niamh Maher, Spokesperson for the St Margarets The Ward residents group and later Kenny Jacobs, CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority.

If you are struggling to keep your kids entertained this summer, we have got you covered.Kieran is joined by Lorraine Levis, author of ‘Once Upon a Reader: Raising Your Children with a Love of Books’ to discuss how you can get your kids into reading.

It was announced today that the voting age is to be lowered to 16 in the UK by the next general election.16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in all elections as part of changes, including easier voter registration and a crackdown on foreign interference.Recently, the National Youth Council of Ireland released a statement for the voting age to be lowered to 16 in Ireland. They believe that young people should have a greater say in decisions and actions that affect them and their community.To discuss this further, Kieran is joined by Political Commentator and former Sky News Political Editor and Bríd Smith, former People Before Profit TD.

How much do you know about money? Surveys suggest that Irish adults are more confident in their financial literacy than they should be.Financial Adviser Padraic Kissane joins Kieran to give advice on how to get back on track with spending and saving.

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 after the string of good weather to discuss how you can mow your lawn perfectly!

The Dáil ends this week – so who are the biggest winners and losers of this Dáil term?Sarah McGuinness, Political Correspondent for the Irish Daily Mail and Ireland Editor for the Irish Independent, Fionnan Sheahan, join Kieran to discuss.

Whether it’s putting spare change away, finding the best deal or examining what subscriptions you really need, technology can be a great tool to help you save money.For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Kieran to give all of her money saving tech tips!

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, while congratulating Katie Taylor on her recent victory over Amanda Serrano, said that she would like to see a fight take place in Croke Park.Katie Taylor has been non-committal on her future so far, but if Croke Park became an option for a fight, would that mean we’ll see another one?Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn joins Kieran to discuss.