Moncrieff

With continental European summers getting hotter and drier, is it time for Ireland to step up to the mark and adopt wine agriculture on an industrial scale? The Brits are already at it...Joining Seán to discuss is Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, Farmer and Journalist, who has been writing about this in her column in the Irish Independent.

Despite much scholarship on the subject, there is little agreement on just how many people actually died during the Civil War in 1922 and 1923. However, a new project at UCC aims to change this. Joining Seán to discuss is John Dorney, Research Assistant on the Irish Civil War Fatalities Project and the author of The Civil War in Dublin.Image: National Library of Ireland, HOG54.

Passing down recipes from generation to generation is crucial to our culture but it seems that it has faded in recent years, most likely due to finding a recipe within seconds online. An Irish woman started collecting old Irish recipes in 2020, and now has 3,000 of them! Roisin Hynes is a writer at oldirishrecipes.com, as well as that collector and joins Seán to discuss.Image: Old Irish Recipes

Seán’s guest Susan grew up in a unique household in 1980s Dublin, where her mother ruled the roost as a dominatrix, to make a living after falling on hard times. Susan Bluechild even did a stint herself at 16, assisting her mother with her unusual profession.She joins Seán to talk about the experience.

We’ve all heard the saying ‘like father like son’ but how accurate is that statement? New research has been carried out to investigate how much of our personality we inherit from out parents. Joining Seán to discuss the findings is the lead author of the study, Dr René Mottus, Reader at the University of Edinburgh and Professor at the University of Tartu.

The Epic Museum in Dublin has put together an exhibit called ‘Look Back to Look Forward: 50 Years of the Irish in Britain’ that collects stories of Irish people living in the UK. Seán is joined by the CEO of the Irish in Britain Organisation, to discuss the exhibit and our history.

In the last year, sales of Guinness 0.0 have surged by nearly 50%, highlighting the increased interest in non-alcoholic drinks in recent years. Joining Seán to discuss the drink’s rise in popularity is the Guiness Guru himself, Darragh Curran.Image: Guinness/Diageo

Household chores can be a divisive subject in any relationship, with one person often picking up the slack and subsequent frustration in the process. How do you divide your chores at home? To discuss the topic is Broadcaster, Keith Walsh, who joins Seán. 

As unpredictable weather and summer droughts increase due to climate change, there is now a growing trend for people to use so-called ‘grey water’, rather than fresh tap water, when watering their gardens. But how does this process work? Joining Seán to discuss this is Michael Kelly, Founder of GIY in Waterford.

There’s much debate online on whether it’s important to teach your child to play alone and entertain themselves, or whether you should suck it up and play with them. Irish Times journalist Tanya Sweeney recently wrote an article on this and joined Seán to discuss.