Moncrieff

Seán’s guest grew up surrounded by ghost stories, and has now written one for kids. But, can spooky tales be good for children, and what role do these stories actually play in our lives?Eilish Fisher, author of ‘The Waters and the Wild’, joins to discuss. 

Have you thought about changing your name?Laurence Watkins from New Zealand is the Guinness World Record Holder for the longest name, which takes longer than twenty minutes to say…He joins Seán to discuss!

Today is World Anaesthesia Day, which marks the first successful demonstration of the inhalation of ether vapour as a means of overcoming pain of surgery.It happened on October 16th, 1846 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during a surgery performed by dentist William T. G. Morton.Ireland followed suit with a second successful trial, which was administered on an 18-year-old girl during the famine.Consultant Anaesthesiologist Dr. Patrick Seigne says today is an important opportunity to celebrate a practice that is often taken for granted, as well as Ireland’s contribution to the field. He joins Seán to discuss.

While we may say that we love and treasure old buildings, the reality is that many of these are torn down and demolished with new, better fit-for-purpose office buildings or build-to-rent blocks built instead.So, as one building per minute is demolished in Europe, just why is this the go-to strategy?Futurist and Urbanist Ludwig Engels is involved with HouseEurope, a European Citizens’ Initiative dedicated to refurbishment over demolition, and he joins Seán to discuss ahead of his Open House architecture talk…

Is there any escape from charity chuggers or energy switchers showing up at your door?Doctor and Columnist with the Irish Independent, Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, says that people in Ireland find it easier to spend an hour entertaining salespeople or fundraisers rather than simply saying “No”...Irish generosity is world-renowned, but must we be pestered into giving?Máire joins Seán to discuss.

The Government is being called on to create a National Wills Register, in line with the policies of some other EU countries. But, what would be the point of this, and would it help to make the retrieval and division of assets easier, or is it just more unnecessary bureaucracy?Joining Seán to discuss this is John Lowe, from MoneyDoctors.ie…

Are you in a family WhatsApp group? If so, what are the criterias to be included? Is there a group for the core family, one for extended relatives and one for the annoying ones you put up with? And, what happens when those annoying people find out about your hidden chats?Newstalk's Henry McKean has been out in the public investigating, and joins Seán to discuss.

While every Irish schoolchild has traditionally been taught that our most famous book originated on the island of Iona, an argument has now been put forward that challenges this assumption…Joining Seán to discuss is Victoria Whitworth, author of ‘The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma’...

Around Ireland and in Europe, the gay rights movement has had extraordinary success. Many would argue that there is more work to be done.However, Ronan McCrea, Professor of Constitutional and European Law at University College London argues that it's time for the movement to possibly take a step back, or risk unravelling all that's been achieved…He is author of ‘The End of the Gay Rights Revolution: How Hubris and Overreach Threaten Gay Freedom’, and joins Seán to discuss.

Roughly 30,000 Irish emigrants return to Ireland each year to live. But, this process is both bureaucratically and emotionally challenging. Now, there are calls for a dedicated government agency to be established to help the diaspora return.Joining Seán to discuss is Karen McHugh, Chief Executive of Safe Home Ireland…