The Last Word with Matt Cooper

Eoin Hayes suspended from the Social Democrats, Donald Trump is Time's Person of the Year and the real-life Succession plans.Breda Brown, communications director at Unique Media, and Lorcan Nyhan, head of training with the Communications Clinic, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending stories.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The Climate Change Advisory Council has proposed reducing emissions in Ireland by 67% by 2040, stating that the country has failed to rise to the challenge of tackling climate change.Environment commentator John Gibbons spoke to Matt about this warning on Friday’s The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the conversation.

Michael Foley, Sportswriter with The Sunday Times and Chief Sportswriter with the Irish Daily Star, Kieran Cunningham, joined Matt to look back at the best sports books that were released in 2024.Among their choices were “The Racket” by Conor Niland, “Unladylike” by Hayley Kilgallon and Johnny Sexton’s “Obsessed”.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear the rest of their picks.

Andy O'Donoghue joins The Last Word to talk through his top picks for sound tech, phones and tablets for gifts this Christmas.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe and journalist Lise Hand were back once again for The Last Word’s review of the best non-fiction books of the past 12 months.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear their choices.

Actor Simon Delaney is the latest inductee into the Culture Club.The author of new novel 'Watching Over You' joins The Last Word to discuss his favourite music, movies, TV and more.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Credit unions' mortgage and business lending capacity are set to treble in the coming years under proposals from the Central Bank.Ian Guider, columnist with the Business Post, joins The Last Word to discuss what this means for customers and more of the day's business news.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.

On Wednesday’s The Last Word, Vaughan Yates, founder of The Virgin Mary Bar, gave his choices of non-alcoholic drinks for you to enjoy throughout the Christmas period.Hit the ‘Play’ button on this page to hear what he picked.

Authors Edel Coffey and Kevin Power joined Matt on Wednesday for The Last Word’s annual Fiction Books of the Year slot.Edel’s choices included Ferdia Lennon’s “Glorious Exploits” and “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney, while Kevin picked “The Proof of My Innocence” by Jonathan Coe and Colin Barrett’s “Wild Houses”, among many others.To hear their full list of choices hit the ‘Play’ button on this page.

Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon, AKA the GastroGays and Restaurant Critics with the Sunday Times, had their choices of just some of their favourite cookbooks published in 2024.To listen to the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.Cook: Traditional Irish Cooking with Modern Twists by Graham HerterichSaladology by Theo Kirwan (Sprout & Co)Simply Jamie by Jamie OliverWhole Catch by Aishling MooreSeason by Mark MoriartyCooking with Anna Haugh: Modern Home Cooking With Irish Heart by Anna Haugh A Compendium of Irish Pints by Ali DunworthThe Home Sommelier by Brigid O'Hora