Moncrieff Highlights

You may remember the extremely problematic reality show ‘There’s something about Miriam’, where contestants did not know that the woman they were hoping to end up with was transgender. A new Channel 4 documentary has been released about this woman called ‘Miriam: Death of A Reality Star’. Luned Tonderai is the Series Director, and joins Seán to discuss. Image: Channel 4

Asylum seekers have been moved from tents at the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin’s city centre to State accommodation in Citywest and Crooksling in southwest Dublin. There were more than 200 tents in the streets and laneways surrounding the office, all occupied by male asylum seekers. To discuss the asylum seeking process in detail with Séan is Principal of Sinnott Solicitors Dublin, as well as Founding Member of the Irish Immigration Lawyers Association, Carol Sinnott.

There seems to be a new trend every single day that never fails to shock people. Pee-stained jeans are the latest fashion trend...or disaster. Are these crazy pieces created just to get publicity, or are we just not fashionable enough? Laura Mullett is a journalist and fashion expert and joins Seán to discuss the latest ‘fashion’ trends.

As the government rolls out the hot school meals scheme to more and more primary schools across the country, is it fit for purpose? Or should it be done in a more environmentally friendly way? Joining Seán is Ruth Hegarty, Food Policy Consultant to discuss.

It’s the first of May, and for many people out there – the official start to summer. But for others, it’s all a lie - and summer won’t start until June! Discussing one of the greatest debates in the Irish calendar with Seán is Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather.

With a small - but significant community of Irish people living in Israel, what are their views on how the Irish government, and Ireland in general, have been dealing with the current conflict in Gaza? Joining Seán to discuss is John Costello, a Dubliner living in Tel Aviv, who has been writing about these issues in today’s Irish Independent. Image: John Costello

There’s a new festival in West Cork coming from a galaxy far, far away – you guessed it, the Feel the Force Festival will be celebrating all things Star Wars and superfan Nuri Albakri is the man behind the event and joins Seán to discuss.

With continental European summers getting hotter and drier, is it time for Ireland to step up to the mark and adopt wine agriculture on an industrial scale? The Brits are already at it... Joining Seán to discuss is Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, Farmer and Journalist, who has been writing about this in her column in the Irish Independent.

Despite much scholarship on the subject, there is little agreement on just how many people actually died during the Civil War in 1922 and 1923. However, a new project at UCC aims to change this. Joining Seán to discuss is John Dorney, Research Assistant on the Irish Civil War Fatalities Project and the author of The Civil War in Dublin. Image: National Library of Ireland, HOG54.

Passing down recipes from generation to generation is crucial to our culture but it seems that it has faded in recent years, most likely due to finding a recipe within seconds online. An Irish woman started collecting old Irish recipes in 2020, and now has 3,000 of them! Roisin Hynes is a writer at oldirishrecipes.com, as well as that collector and joins Seán to discuss. Image: Old Irish Recipes

Seán’s guest Susan grew up in a unique household in 1980s Dublin, where her mother ruled the roost as a dominatrix, to make a living after falling on hard times. Susan Bluechild even did a stint herself at 16, assisting her mother with her unusual profession. She joins Seán to talk about the experience.

We’ve all heard the saying ‘like father like son’ but how accurate is that statement? New research has been carried out to investigate how much of our personality we inherit from out parents. Joining Seán to discuss the findings is the lead author of the study, Dr René Mottus, Reader at the University of Edinburgh and Professor at the University of Tartu.

The Epic Museum in Dublin has put together an exhibit called ‘Look Back to Look Forward: 50 Years of the Irish in Britain’ that collects stories of Irish people living in the UK. Seán is joined by the CEO of the Irish in Britain Organisation, to discuss the exhibit and our history.

In the last year, sales of Guinness 0.0 have surged by nearly 50%, highlighting the increased interest in non-alcoholic drinks in recent years. Joining Seán to discuss the drink’s rise in popularity is the Guiness Guru himself, Darragh Curran. Image: Guinness/Diageo

Household chores can be a divisive subject in any relationship, with one person often picking up the slack and subsequent frustration in the process. How do you divide your chores at home? To discuss the topic is Broadcaster, Keith Walsh, who joins Seán.

As unpredictable weather and summer droughts increase due to climate change, there is now a growing trend for people to use so-called ‘grey water’, rather than fresh tap water, when watering their gardens. But how does this process work? Joining Seán to discuss this is Michael Kelly, Founder of GIY in Waterford.

There’s much debate online on whether it’s important to teach your child to play alone and entertain themselves, or whether you should suck it up and play with them. Irish Times journalist Tanya Sweeney recently wrote an article on this and joined Seán to discuss.

The world’s first AI beauty pageant has been launched, with over 1000 entries so far. The winners are set to be announced next month. Sally-Ann Fawcett is one of the ‘Miss AI’ judges and the author of ‘Misdemeanours: Beauty Queen Scandals’, and joins Seán to discuss the event.

Seán’s guest managed to complete the London Marathon the other day with a little help from an unusual source...wine! Tom Gilbey, a sommelier and wine professional, did a wine tasting at every mile marker during the event, and even managed to get most of the blind tastings correct. He joins the show to talk about the experience - and the most important question: why?

Whether you’re a parent of young children or not, you’ve most-likely heard of the children’s cartoon Bluey, which is taking the world by storm! The cartoon has become the Taylor Swift of children’s television, with its last surprise episode causing numerous discussions online. Joining Seán to chat about all things Bluey is 98fm’s Suzanne Kane. Image: BBC Studios