Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: · Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Thoughts now turn to the election of his successor and whether they will be viewed to be as tolerant and progressive as the late pontiff. · Minister for Education Helen McEntee has her work cut out fo…

The now infamous 7-1 forward split on the bench hit the headlines once again recently when World Rugby announced they would not be outlawing the practice. The innovation, first used by South Africa and made more prominent by France in the recent Six Nations, is controversial in some quarters . While not quite at culture war levels, the use of extra…

Cork-based author Pádraig Óg O'Ruairc joins Hugh Linehan to discuss his new book 'Burn Them Out; a history of fascism and the far right in Ireland’. He argues a line can be drawn directly between the far-right and, in the case of the Blueshirts, openly fascist movements of the 1920s and 1930s and the Dublin riots of 2023. Ó'Ruairc objects to the Ir…

The Champions Cup is not the competition it used to be. For all Munster’s recent trips to France provided a feel-good window of sport at its best, plenty of dead rubber ties reminded us that it is difficult to get the best of the best facing off in truly competitive ties. That the pool stages have featured too many hammerings on the scoreboard to b…

This episode was first published in October 2023. Naomi Klein shot to fame with her first book, No Logo, which offered an acute critique of how powerful corporations in the 1990s had profited off exploitation in a globalising world. Her later books have examined a range of subjects including crisis capitalism, militarism, and climate change. Klein …

Pat Leahy and Harry McGee analyse the latest Irish Times / Ipsos B&A poll results, which show that Sinn Féin has regained its position as the most popular party in the Republic while Fine Gael has slumped to a record low in the series. The new data also show voters have little enthusiasm for the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independent Coalition. Hosted o…

On any other day, an Irish provincial coach leaving his job with immediate effect would be front page news. As it happens, on the same day Pete Wilkins announces his departure from Connacht, Leinster revealed their next big name signing. Out goes Jordie Barrett this summer, in comes Rieko Ioane, his All Blacks centre partner. Gordon D’Arcy and John…

Cliff Taylor joins Pat Leahy to assess the latest developments in the trade war initiated by US president Donald Trump that threatens to upend the global economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watching the Champions Cup rugby action over the weekend, Gordon D’Arcy was taken by young Henry Pollock. The 20-year-old England flanker scored twice for Northampton in their quarter-final win over Castres, a result which tees up a last four trip to Dublin to take on Leinster. But which familiar face closer to home does Pollock remind D’Arcy of? I…

As the head of an organisation called Labour Together, which despite its name '"was all about dividing the Labour party and defeating the left", Irishman Morgan McSweeney handpicked Keir Starmer as the leadership candidate to take on Jeremy Corbyn and the party's left wing in 2020. That is according to Patrick Maguire, co-author of Get In, an enter…

On Friday afternoon Taoiseach Micheál Martin talked to Hugh and Pat about a range of issues: On tariffs, the Taoiseach says he "suspects" a US decision on pharmaceuticals may be incorporated into overall trade negotiations, to Ireland’s advantage. He says that Ireland will resist any move by the EU to apply new taxes to US tech firms and supports t…

Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: · The ‘Golden Age of America’ came and went over the course of a week as US President Donald Trump decided on Wednesday to pause his reciprocal tariffs for most countries for the next 90 days. · The status of suspended Social Democrat TD Eoin Hayes was up for deb…

Munster’s reward for their victory in La Rochelle is a Champions Cup quarter-final tie away in Bordeaux. Their former outhalf, Joey Carbery, started for the French side last weekend against Ulster. The coach leading their famed attack, is another man with Munster roots, the Co Clare native Noel McNamara. Irish Times rugby writer John O’Sullivan joi…

The podcasters turn away from the heavy news agenda of tariffs and economic upheaval to examine a lighter, more enjoyable but still important topic: the 2025 Irish presidential election. What makes a good president? What makes a good presidential candidate? And who are the candidates in the running at this late stage? From big party nominees like F…

The weekend’s rugby action brought a result to remember for Munster in their first competitive outing against La Rochelle, coached by their former outhalf Ronan O’Gara. With wins elsewhere for Leinster and Connacht, plus a valiant defeat for Ulster, John O’Sullivan and Gordon D’Arcy join Nathan Johns to pick through the weekend’s action. How did Mu…

Why does it take so long to build infrastructure in Ireland? If you consider the amount of red tape needed to secure approval for something relatively simple like the upgrade of Dublin's bus lanes, it is hardly surprising, says Barra Roantree, Assistant Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin. He talks to Hugh Linehan about the costly bott…