The Hard Shoulder

Comedian Al Murray is coming to Vicar Street next year for his ‘All You Need is Guv’ tour! He joins Jonathan Healy to chat ahead of the gigs…

The Oireachtas Committee on Remote Working will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the future of the Right to Request Remote Working Legislation. This follows the public consultation held by the Government to get views on how the legislation is working. To discuss all this, Jonathan Healy is joined by Co-Founder of Grow Remote, Tracy Keogh and Sinn Féin TD and Spokesperson for Enterprise, Tourism & Employment, Rose Conway Walsh.

With just over two weeks until Christmas, many people around the country are preparing to host. But is it ever okay to ask your guests to chip in, and if so, where is the unspoken line? Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Mary McCarty, Columnist with the Irish Independent and Michelle Harding, Etiquette Coach and Founder of School of Life Ireland.

For this week’s Kids Health Check, Jonathan Healy is joined by Sleep Expert Lucy Woolfe to discuss how to handle the amount of sleep your children might be getting with all the excitement around Christmas.

It was revealed on Friday that Netflix, already the world's biggest streaming service by market share, had agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery's TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming division. But, why has there been some push back in Hollywood to the move? And why has US President Donald Trump said that there could be a problem over the deal? Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is US-based Entertainment & Business Correspondent for Reuters, Dawn Chmielewski.

A fire at a house in Co Offaly in which two people died was “designed to kill inhabitants” - this is according to the Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan. A murder investigation has been launched after the deaths of a woman and a child at a house on Castleview Park in Edenderry at around 7:45pm on Saturday. Joining Jonathan Healy to give the latest updates is Dublin Reporter from the Press Association, Grainne Ni Aodh, and to discuss gang violence, Paul Williams, Crime Journalist with the Irish Independent.

The nominees for the Golden Globes have been announced, with the event taking place on January 11th in Los Angeles. How did Ireland fare, and what kind of winners should we expect? Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Entertainment Journalist Brian Lloyd.

Trevor Deely was last seen 25 years ago today, walking home from a Christmas party in Dublin city centre. Answers are still being sought by his family, who believe there is more information about that night still out there… To discuss, Jonathan Healy is joined by Trevor’s brother, Mark Deely.

Women should be offered smaller portions than men at restaurants, that’s according to the head of the Government’s obesity programme in the UK… On Lunchtime Live, Professor Naveed Sattar said that menus should be adapted to include smaller versions of meals that contain fewer calories as a way of tackling obesity rates. Is that a sensible approach? Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Ballymaloe Cookery School Founder, Darina Allen.

An emergency meeting of the Oireachtas National Security Committee will be held this week to examine the sighting of drones near the flight path of Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy when he visited Dublin last week. Gardaí are investigating reports that an Irish navy ship spotted up to five drones operating near the flight path of the Ukrainian President's plane last Monday… Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell and Mark Price from the Irish Anti-War Movement join Jonathan Healy to discuss.

This week, Jonathan Healy was joined by Eimear Hallihan from Red FM and Joe O’Shea, Editor of CorkBeo.ie to look back on the week that was, but with a few twists…

Comedian Russell Howard joins Jonathan Healy to talk about his upcoming tour: ‘Don’t Tell The Algorithm’!

Quiet quitting, or in other words - doing the bare minimum required of a job or task and putting in no more time, effort or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary, is all the rage in 2025. But, should we quietly quit at Christmas time? Should we just take a massive step back and enjoy the festivities for what they are? Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Irish Times Columnist and Host of the Conversations with Parents podcast, Jen Hogan, as well as Aideen Finnegan, Presenter of the Early Edition podcast from The Irish Times.

The deadline for the Children’s Hospital has now been broken for a 16th time… Will it ever be finished? Paul Davis is a Lecturer in Public Procurement in DCU, and joins Jonathan Healy to discuss.

Off The Ball's Eoin Sheahan joined Jonathan Healy on The Hard Shoulder to review the week in sport and look ahead to the weekend action. Image: Sky Sports

Taxi Drivers Ireland have announced a suspension of their 6-day national shutdown protest “pending the outcome of a meeting at Government Buildings scheduled for next week”. The protest comes at one of the busiest times of the year for drivers and users as we approach the Christmas period. Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Sean Canney, as well as taxi drivers.

The Grinch has stolen Christmas on tonight's Late Late Toy Show. But what are the big toys this Christmas? Henry McKean went backstage and met Patrick Kielty and visited the toy shop Nimble Fingers where it all started 50 years ago today…

Chef Louise Lennox and Mairead Carty are both parents in Greystones whose children are still awaiting school places, despite repeated calls for a change to the system, which they say is simply not working... They join Jonathan Healy to discuss their situation.

Ireland has signed a formal agreement with Australia social media regulators to study its social media ban for under 16s. This comes after a recent study by the RCSI found that body dissatisfaction and sexting are strongly associated with poorer mental health and increased risk of self-harm among Irish teenagers. Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss is Irish Independent’s Tech Editor, Adrian Weckler.

Shifting demographics and mass migration to the eastern seaboard of the island represents an “existential threat” to the GAA. That’s the warning from National Demographics Committee chairman Benny Hurl who painted a concerning picture at the launch of the GAA’s report on the issue. With 78% of GAA clubs located in areas with “declining populations” this complex issue may spell trouble for the future of our national sports. Joining Jonathan Healy to discuss this is Jamesie O’Connor, former All Ireland winner with Clare and former GAA President, Nickey Brennan.