The Hard Shoulder
Newstalk
The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk. Join us every weekday afternoon from 4-7pm for a round-up of the day’s events, interviews with the people at the centre of the stories – and a bit of craic along the way. 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
Oct 23, 2025 • 10min
Movies and TV: Springsteen, IT Welcome to Derry, Nobody Wants This
Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and David O’Callaghan from the Here and Back Again podcast joined Ciara Doherty on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…
Oct 23, 2025 • 18min
The Thursday Interview: Cauvery Madhavan
Novelist Cauvery Madhavan joins Ciara Doherty for this week’s Thursday Interview!
Oct 23, 2025 • 6min
Kidstalk: The Presidential Election
Today is the last day for our Presidential hopefuls to make their case to the public as to why they should be in the Áras, but what do kids think?Newstalk’s Henry McKenry paid a visit to South City Community National School in Dublin for another edition of Kidstalk!
Oct 23, 2025 • 10min
Girl with autism struggling amid lack of supports
Kayla is 16 years old, and has autism and an intellectual disability. She has previously struggled in school due to suspensions and changing teachers, having had 3 different ones so far this school year.Ciara Doherty is joined by Kayla’s mum, Aisling, to talk about the challenges facing her daughter, and what can be done to help her.
Oct 23, 2025 • 9min
GRA not happy with treatment of Gardaí in Citywest
A number of Gardaí have sustained injuries over the past two nights, as violent scenes have continued at Citywest. How Gardaí are being treated and targeted has been called into question.Ciara Doherty is joined by Assistant General Secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Tara McManus, to discuss this further.
Oct 23, 2025 • 9min
Soldier F found not guilty of Bloody Sunday charges
A verdict returned today has found Soldier F not guilty of the charges against him from Bloody Sunday.The Paratrooper, whose identity has remained anonymous, was charged with committing two murders and five attempted murders in Derry on the 30th of January 1972…Freelance Journalist Amanda Ferguson joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.
Oct 23, 2025 • 7min
How to do your taxes
Do you know how to read a payslip? As tax season is now upon us, many people struggle with understanding and managing their own finances.To talk about why this is the case, Ciara Doherty is joined by Emer Kirwan, of Jigsaw Business Solutions.
Oct 23, 2025 • 10min
Can casinos work in Ireland?
A ‘super casino’ has been granted planning permission in Cork, despite strong push back from members of the local community. To discuss this issue in a bit more detail, Ciara Doherty is joined by Cllr Joe Lynch, a Sinn Féin Cllr from the local area, and Patrick Hughes, who ran hotels in Las Vegas for over 20 years.
Oct 22, 2025 • 10min
Should Irish instruments be performed for foreign heads of state?
Should the harp and uilleann pipes be performed for foreign heads of state at the Áras?Well, uilleann piper Eamonn Walsh thinks so. He joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.
Oct 22, 2025 • 12min
How do you explain the Citywest riots to younger ears?
Five men have been charged with public order offences following violent clashes outside a Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers.The men, two of whom are aged in their 50s and three in their 40s, appeared before the Criminal Courts of Justice on Wednesday morning.It comes after disturbances at Citywest overnight.Plenty of families, and particularly children, will be more than aware of what happened last night, and what could still happen in turns of protests.So, how do you explain what is happening to young ears?Chris Tennyson is a Clinical Psychologist, and joins Ciara Doherty to discuss.
