Highlights From The Hard Shoulder

A week after angry protests took place in Coolock where gardaí were injured following clashes with protesters, Kieran took a visit out too Coolock and spoke with some locals there.

Alan Whelan, President of Catholic Secondary School’s Parent’s Association, and Simon Lewis, who is the Primary Education Officer for Education Equality Ireland joined Kieran on the show for debate.

Newstalk's own, Simon Tierney joined Kieran for the series 'The Shopping Trolley Hotline'. The series will give listeners pause when they’re filling their trolleys, to consider their options. This week Simon shared result of his deep dive into the price of shopping on this island.

As Kamala Harris looks set to run as the Democratic Nominee for the next President of the United States , Kieran was joined by David McCuan, Professor and Chair in the Political Science Department at Sonoma State University and by Tom Del Beccaro Former vice chairman of the California Republican Party and author of lessons of the American civilisation to discuss her chances of winning the upcoming election

Every week Kieran Cuddihy will be joined by writer and broadcaster, Keith Walsh and Saoirse Hanley, Features writer at the Independent to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

Clare and Cork face each other for the All-Ireland Hurling Final this weekend. So, who do we expect to win, and what level of play will we see on the field?To discuss, Kieran is joined by Colm Galvin, Former Clare Player, All-Ireland winner and All-Star, and Jimmy Barry Murphy, Cork’s 1999 All-Ireland SHC winning Manager.

Aisling Larkin, Mindful Eating Coach and TV Chef joined Kieran to show the true power of our humble potato!

With carry-on allowances and flights getting smaller and smaller, Travel Writer and Broadcaster, Melanie May joins the show to tell you how to pack smarter for the holidays.

Off The Ball's Ger Gilroy joined Kieran Cuddihy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action…

A Covid inquiry is to be announced and its personnel appointed before the return of the Dáil in September, but what should we be looking to gain from it?To discuss, Kieran is joined by Regina Nolan, member of Care Champions Ireland and John McGuinness, Fianna Fáil TD and Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.

As the final leg of July approaches, it is safe to say that this Irish Summer has been a damp squib.What has been the general assessment of the weather, and what effect does bad weather have on you?Comedian Jim Elliot, Mary McCarthy, Columnist with the Irish Independent and Iseult White, Psychotherapist and author join Kieran to discuss.

IT systems worldwide were hit today by an outage as a result a bug in an update by Cybersecurity giant Crowdstrike.It caused havoc the world over from grounding flights, TV stations stopped broadcasting, transport was delayed and some banking systems had difficulties.To discuss the impact, Kieran is joined by Paul Delahunty, Chief Information Security Officer at Stryve and in studio Jess Kelly, Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent. 

This Sunday, Clare and Cork face off in Croke Park to decide who gets to lift the Liam McCarthy Cup.Joining Kieran to discuss the excitement is Broadcaster and Presenter Jacqui Hurley and Newstalk’s own Henry McKean, who was out gauging interest from the public.

For a news update from the United States, Kieran Cuddihy is joined by Jeff Kuhner.The Kuhner Report on WRKO AM680 Radio in Boston is hosted by Jeffrey T. Kuhner, "Liberalism's Worst Nightmare," he is a conservative nationalist, who champions God, country and family.They discuss Biden’s chances at winning following new polling and how health reasons may be reason for an ousting in the Democratic Party.Image: Reuters

Newstalk Reporter Josh Crosbie joined Kieran on The Hard Shoulder to discuss some of the people he’s met at the Republican National Convention, including those who witnessed the attempted assassination, student Republicans and even a Trump impersonator!Image: Megan Smith

Keir Starmer and Simon Harris met yesterday to discuss strengthening ties between the UK and Ireland. One thing on their agenda was the ‘Legacy Bill’ and Labour's plans to reform it... How do victims feel about this scrapping of the bill? Is it performative? Or will justice be served?Joining Kieran to discuss is Joe Campbell, whose Father was a Catholic RUC officer shot dead in Cushendall, and Raymond McCord, Victims Advocate for both Unionists and Nationalists.

There have been multiple stories over the last few days of Strictly Come Dancing dancers being axed from the show...Well, new footage has emerged from 2006 of former Strictly pro James Jordan training actress Georgina Bouzova, and following, the BBC have now announced every partnership will have a chaperone, and the show will be hiring 2 welfare producers.Joining Kieran to explain what is going on is Founder and CEO of Goss.ie, Alexandra Ryan. Image: Zara McDermott, Instagram

The TV licence fee is to be retained and topped up by exchequer funding. This is the deal being agreed on by the cabinet regarding the future funding of RTÉ.Joining Kieran to give the latest on what’s being agreed is Seán Defoe, Newstalk’s Political Correspondent.

What can we expect from Ursula Von der Leyen’s second term as President of the EU Commission?To discuss, Kieran is joined by Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union to discuss.

Early signs are that the government will look to expand incentives and alternatives to driving such as the bike to work scheme in a hope to break Ireland’s car addiction.Is this a realistic hope to transition from cars to bikes? And is the current biking landscape safe and fit for purpose? Newstalk Reporter Bella Finn gets reactions from the public.To discuss, Kieran is joined by Brian Caufield, Professor at the School of Engineering in Trinity College Dublin, Transport Commentator Conor Faughnan and Newstalk’s Technology Correspondent, Jess Kelly.