The Hard Shoulder

The Hard Shoulder is looking back on 2025’s biggest moments in the news, and who were at the heart of it.The NFL came to Dublin this year, where the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings faced off in a game that practically took over the city for weeks…Joining Jonathan Healy to look back is Kieran O'Donovan from the Irish NFL Show.

Parents across Ireland are joining together in a growing movement to encourage their children to go smartphone free. It’s part of a global initiative to allow children to grow without the tech devices.To discuss this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Emer Carty of Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland.

From the overflowing bins that you try to ignore, to wrapping presents at the 11th hour on Christmas Eve, why do we procrastinate?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Life Coach and self-proclaimed procrastinator, Mark Fennell, as well as Broadcaster Meghann Scully.

For this week’s Tech Takeover, Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent joins Jonathan Healy to discuss new research on average screen time for adults, and the apps that are used the most.

How is Ireland being perceived abroad? And how much are our political stances influencing it?Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at UCG and Columnist with theJournal.ie and Dan Mulhall, former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.

It has been highlighted in the Dáil earlier today that marked blister packs, particularly for older people, may no longer be covered by the state in pharmacies in the new year.To discuss this, Jonathan Healy is joined by President of the Irish Pharmacies Union, Tom Murray, and Co-Founder and Director of the Irish Patients Association, Stephen McMahon.

The Department of Housing has removed a video from its social media channels which provided advice for adults forced to move back home with their parents.The department said the online commentary relating to the campaign has been negative, and it sought to protect the welfare and privacy of those involved…Natasha O’Brien is one such young adult living at home with her parents, and she joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

The EU is set to reach a decision on the rebranding of veggie products. Meaning that words such as ‘sausage’ and ‘burger’ can no longer be used for meat-based foods in Europe.To talk about the significance of this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Livestock Chair of the IFA, Declan Hanrahan, and Director of the Vegan Society of Ireland, James O’Donovan.

Every week for The Ultimate Guide on The Hard Shoulder, Fionn Davenport takes a closer look at some of the fantastic destinations to visit around the world.This week, Fionn joined Jonathan Healy to give the ultimate guide on Cape Town in South Africa!

A new campaign by the Data Protection Commission is warn­ing people against the dangers of ‘shar­ent­ing’, sharing images or videos of your child online. It has gained a mil­lion likes and has hit global headlines, and fea­tures a young girl being recog­nised by strangers in a shop­ping centre after she fea­tured in her par­ents’ social media posts.Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is former Miss World and mum of three, Rosanna Davison.