Ryan Tubridy

At this time of the year all eyes are on Lisdoonvarna as the matchmaking festival kicks off for another year, but spare a thought for those matchmakers working hard all year round! In studio with Dave is Gus Martin, his wife Olive & Olive's father Tom Feeney who are all matchmakers from Trim in County Meath.

“Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go.." - So says the lyrics of a well-known pop song & who could disagree? Most of us have been the victim of a difficult break up, or are perhaps planning one for the near future. Whatever the case, Rena Maycock of Intro Matchmaking joins Dave with her guide to the five phases of breaking up.

From the gateway of Asia to the heart of the Middle East, Irishmen are trending quite heavily this week. In Turkey & Abu Dhabi; In Beijing athletes were trending in victory & in defeat. And tragic events in Virginia, posted on social media, led to widespread shock. Dave is rejoined by Abie Philman-Bowman & by Stephen O’Leary of Olytico Analytics.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival draws to a close this weekend. It began in 1947 when some companies that hadn’t been invited to the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival - decided to turn up & perform anyway. Since then the Fringe has grown into the largest arts festival in the world. Abie Philman-Bowman is in studio with Dave.

When people attend music shows & festivals, they just concentrate on the gigs & not the work that goes into putting them on, the pre-post productions teams, people who make it all happen behind the scenes & some travel the world, producing shows & managing tours. In studio this morning are Tour Managers, Paddy McPoland & Suzie Shorten.

Many of us might dream of chucking in our nine-to-five jobs to travel the world but very few of us actually do it. Johnny Ward is a young Irishman who’s done just that & Dave spoke to him from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo last week . Johnny's website is OneStep4Ward.com / Twitter at @onestep4ward.

The death of a spouse is a traumatic event for anyone but when you & your partner have divorced, moved on, maybe remarried & had children with other people, the death of an ex-husband/wife while upsetting , presents you with a lot of questions. In studio with Dave is author Laurie Graham who recently wrote a newspaper article about her experience.

Tanya Sweeney is a freelance journalist & .broadcaster & if you were to ever take a look at her Facebook page you’d be forgiven for thinking she is living life to the full, close with her family, friends, holidays, fun & all that! But behind this Tanya fights with depression & the stigma with taking anti-depressants.

Over the past few weeks you will have heard a lot of talk on TV & Radio about the Ashley Madison extra marital affairs website. Millions of users had their personal details leaked onto the internet, details that are buried in what's called 'the dark/deep web'. To explain more about this cyber psychologist Ciaran McMahon joins Dave in studio.

It is often misunderstood as excessive vanity, but in fact, is a serious psychiatric condition that causes torment for the sufferer, affects a small percentage of people, mostly young adults but that figure is growing. In studio with Dave is Colette Kearns, Snr Cognitive Behavioural Therapist at St Patrick's Mental Health Hospital in Dublin.

When we hear the word Gaeltacht, we think of teenagers spending 3 weeks in the summer learning Irish, céili dancing & making friends. Is it the same experience if you return later in life? Dave is joined by Michael McCaughan who has just completed a 3 week adult Gaeltacht experience & he joins us from our Galway studio.

Swimmers Michael O'Reilly & Brendan McEvilly were with us last month as they were about to embark on their trip around the country to find the top 40 best swimming spots on the coast of Ireland. Michael & Brendan are in studio with Dave before heading to Eniscrone in Sligo this weekend.

To go from being relatively unknown to a viral star overnight, a dream for many, a reality for Cork singer songwriter, Stephanie Rainey. Her song 'Please don't Go' has so far been watched by over a quarter of a million on YouTube & Stephanie joins Dave from our studio in Cork.

Joining Dave this morning from our Belfast studio is Brenda McCleary & her 13 year old daughter, Darcy Brittain-Dissont, who is being hotly tipped as Ireland's next top model.

Media analyst Stephen O’Leary joins Dave now to look back at what’s been trending during the week. Tanya Sweeney has also joined us & Pat Fitzpatrick in Cork stays with us.

With the birth of twins on the rise, it is no longer odd to see double-buggies all around the towns in Ireland. Joining Dave this morning is a twin himself, journalist Pat Fitpatrick is in our Cork studio.

We have all heard of it, but is it just a myth or does it really exist? Sinead Moriarty's new novel 'The Way we Were' details a husband's mid-life crisis & how it affects his wife & children & possibly changes their life forever. To tell us a little more about the book, Sinead joins Dave in studio.

In studio with Dave is Ferdia MacAnna, tv & film director, novelist, screenwriter & occassional rock & roller who will be playing in his Rocky de Valera guise in Dublin's iconic Toner's pub for the first time in 35 years!

Although experts warn that chasing beauty through costmetic surgery is a mark of low self-esteem or could even be a psychological disorder called Body Dysmorphia. Yet many young women continue to use cosmetic procedures to enhance their looks. Joining Dave in studio is Dr. Peter Prendergast, Director of Venus Medical cosmetic surgery, Dundrum.

Ireland has a proud history in cycling, Stephen Roche, Sean Kelly, Dan Martin & Nicolas Roche but it you think the 2000km 3 week Tour de France is tough, Ultan Coyle from Dundalk has just completed the Transcontinental - 4300km in 11 days. Ultan joins Dave from a UK studio.