Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Labour’s Ivana Bacik looked on course to top the poll in the Dublin Bay South byelection since tally figures on Friday morning put her on 30%. She went on to top the first count more than 1,000 votes ahead of Fine Gael’s James Geoghegan. Bacik’s win gives her party its first moment of electoral good news in a decade and leaves the government parties licking their wounds.Hugh gets the analysis from The Irish Times political team at the count centre: Pat Leahy, Cormac McQuinn and Harry McGee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Government is coming under increasing pressure from all angles, as it wrestles with the toughest decisions for months on how to manage the pandemic. The hospitality sector desperately wants indoor dining to resume on July 19th, but there is growing concern among public health advisers at the prospect of a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant. Meanwhile, all eyes are on England as Boris Johnson ploughs ahead with his country's reopening. Hugh is joined by Paul Cullen, Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss the difficult decisions facing the Government in the coming days. Plus: The final analysis of the runners and riders in the Dublin Bay South byelection, before polls open on Thursday morning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Thursday July 8th, voters in Dublin Bay South will cast their votes in a byelection, triggered by the resignation of former Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy. What might the results tell us about the wider political picture here in Ireland and will this be an early indicator for the next general election? To take a look back through some pivotal byelections and their impact over the years, Harry McGee is joined by Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics at DCU and author of the forthcoming Charles Haughey biography. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The DUP will have its third leader in the space of two months when Jeffrey Donaldson is officially appointed on Saturday. Can he lead the party out of crisis? Pat Leahy talks to editor of the Slugger O’Toole website, Mick Fealty, about the challenges he faces. But first, Pat is joined by Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones to discuss the threat posed to the July 5th reopening by the rise in Delta variant cases here and the latest in the ongoing saga over who owns, and who governs, the National Maternity Hospital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 years on from her book Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People, Susan McKay revisits the lives of that community in her new book Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground. She talks to Hugh about the strong forces now acting on northern Protestants, Unionists and Loyalists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five months on from the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation, controversy still surrounds the methodology used by the three inquiry members, the treatment of witness statements and the conclusions reached regarding the culpability of church and state. Members of the commission have not replied to calls to appear before an Oireachtas committee, despite the appearance of Prof Mary Daly at an online Oxford seminar last week. In today’s episode, Hugh is joined by Pat, Jen and archivist Catriona Crowe to talk about the shortcomings of the investigation and what needs to happen next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Historian Niall Ferguson’s new book 'Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe' offers a sweeping compendium of the many appalling catastrophes that have befallen mankind, and how we have dealt with their aftermath. He talks to Hugh about his book, Covid and the possibility of a war between China and the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Dublin Bay South byelection looking likely to take place in early July, Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray join Hugh for a deep-dive on the competitive constituency, as parties vie for the seat left vacant by the former housing minister Eoghan Murphy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today the team take a look at what role Sinn Féin will play in forming the next government. Although there is a widespread assumption in political circles and elsewhere that Mary Lou McDonald’s party will take the majority, will their path to power be that straightforward? And if there is a Sinn Féin led government, what will it look like and how will they tackle issues on their change agenda? Joining Hugh to discuss this is Jen, Pat and Aidan Regan, Associate Professor of Political Economy at UCD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Bray, Pat Leahy and Kevin Cunningham join Hugh to talk about how the government is struggling to come up with a coherent response to the housing crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.