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. Listen and subscribe to The Hard Shoulder 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
Sep 26, 2025 • 9min
Jack de Bromhead Equine Centre opens - Henry McKean Reports
Henry and Heather de Bromhead and their daughters Mia and Georgia, opened The Jack de Bromhead Equine Centre located on the campus of ChildVision in Drumcondra.The new indoor equine therapeutic centre, is named after 13 year old Jack who died at a race meeting in 2022.Henry McKean visited the new equine centre to see how Jack de Bromhead's legacy will help children for generations to come…
Sep 26, 2025 • 9min
Is there any hope for health insurance costs?
Health insurance continues to be an issue for many people, but what are the latest increases set to look like, and what can you do to keep costs down?Kieran is joined by Health Insurance Expert with Health Insurance.ie, Dermot Goode, and Health Economist at UCC, Brian Turner, to discuss.
Sep 26, 2025 • 12min
How do you get noticed in a Presidential election?
If you’re one of the three Irish Presidential candidates, what is the best way to make an impact? How do you get the public excited to vote for you?Paul Allen, a PR professional, who has worked on four Presidential campaigns, joins Kieran to discuss.
Sep 26, 2025 • 11min
Does it matter if House of Guinness isn’t accurate?
There’s been a lot of discussion over how accurate the new Netflix show ‘The House of Guinness’ is, or rather how inaccurate it is. So, we’re going to look into how close it is to real history, and whether or not that matters…Joining Kieran to discuss is Historian, Dr Kevin Egan and Presenter of Screentime on Newstalk, John Fardy.
Sep 25, 2025 • 16min
Movies and TV: Slow Horses, One Battle After Another, House of Guinness
Sarina Bellissimo, Broadcaster and Presenter of the Bellissimo Files Podcast and David O’Callaghan from the Here and Back Again podcast joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the latest TV and movie releases…
Sep 25, 2025 • 13min
Are we living in a ‘post-literate’ society?
Has our reliance on technology and AI meant we have lost our literacy skills? Is this problem getting worse?Joining Kieran to discuss is Aidan Regan, Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations in UCD and Thomas Kenny, of Kennys Bookstore in Galway, and later Terry Prone, Chairman of the Communications Clinic.
Sep 25, 2025 • 11min
Will we see any tax relief in Budget 2026?
We’re edging closer to budget 2026 but if you’re hoping for a bit of relief in terms of taxes, you should probably lower expectations….it is the first budget of the new Government term after all!Joining Kieran to look into the crystal ball of what we can expect is Dr Tom McDonnell, of the Neven Economic Research Institute and Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst at Social Justice Ireland.
Sep 25, 2025 • 9min
The dangerous side of the NFL - David O’Connor Reports
There’s huge excitement in Dublin as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings face each other this Sunday in Croke Park. It’s the first regular season NFL game to take place in this country.Newstalk Reporter David O’Connor has been looking at all aspects of the sport, including merchandising and safety, and joins Kieran to discuss.
Sep 25, 2025 • 10min
Explaining the Angela Kerins saga
Former Rehab CEO Angela Kerins has submitted €2.1 million euro in legal costs as a result of the court action she took against the Houses of the Oireachtas...It’s a saga that, in total, has lasted for more than a decade now.For more on this, Kieran is joined by Martin Wall, Public Policy Correspondent for the Irish Times.
Sep 25, 2025 • 17min
Senator Chris Andrews on board the Spectre flotilla
Chris Andrews, Sinn Féin Senator, is on board the Spectre boat in the flotilla that is destined for Gaza when it was attacked by Israeli drones and struck four times on Tuesday night…Chris joins Kieran from the boat to discuss and give the latest updates. Also joining to discuss is Dr Muhamed Shaallan, a Surgeon who was in Gaza…
