Highlights From The Pat Kenny Show

Jess Kelly Newstalk's Technology Correspondent reviews reviews the OneSonic Studio Pro headphones, from the independent Irish audio brand OneSonic.

Neutrality has been a long-standing position of Irish foreign policy but is it performative?  Pat asked two guests, Colin Sheridan, is an Irish Examiner journalist and a former UN Peacekeeper and also Daniel Mulhall, Former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.

Christmas hotel breaks are still popular, despite costs and inflation. Dozens of hotels do them, and some have even sold out for 2025. This week Pol O'Conghaile takes a look at some of the breaks on offer this Christmas season.All with thanks to Ryanair.

Hurricane Melissa is slowly inching its way towards the island as a category five hurricane with sustained winds of up 282km/h. Residents have been urged to get to higher ground to shelter ahead of the expected landfall today. Terry Sheridan brings us up to date on this and more news from across the pond including Donald Trump floating a third term once more.

A new political figure is making headlines all across the UK and its not Nigel Farage.  Zack Polanski is the new leader of the Green party and for a political party that rarely made a splash in the ocean are now making waves. We look at the rising popularity of the new leader of UK Green party with Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary, University of London.

With the cost of living rising more and more people are turning to buy now, pay later options. Shoppers can purchase anything from a takeaway to a new couch and delay payments or pay in installments. But what are the risks and is it going to grow in popularity? Our reporter, Josh Crosbie found out. 

Hate speech is “fuelling hatred and escalating tensions” in Ireland and some politician's reactions to events are partly to blame as well. That’s according to a new report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance which says new legislative measures punishing hate speech must be introduced as a matter of priority. Pat discusses this further with Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri Chairperson, Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council.

In Madrid in March 2005, the career of David Gillick was put under a new spotlight – he had just become the European 400m Indoor Champion. A feet he would go on to repeat two years later in Birmingham. But a career on the world stage of athletics is always much more than the medals  we may be aware of – the good days. ‘The Race’ is David Gillick’s account of his rise in athletics to where he is today on our TV screens and all that happened in between. David chatted to Pat on the show this morning.

The first recorded powered flight lasted for 12 seconds and covered a distance of 120 feet. ICAO and IATA define ultra long-haul flights as routes lasting more than 16 hours, often spanning 13,000 kms or more. These nonstop journeys connect cities such as Singapore and New York or Perth and London  During World War II, Qantas operated the aptly named “Double Sunrise” route, connecting Perth with Sri Lanka in a time of between 27 and 33 hours. We hear about the ultra long-haul flights with Kevin Byrne, Retired Lieutenant Colonel.

Though the presidential election is over, government parties are still feeling the fallout of their loss. With Fianna Fáil attempting to quell a confidence motion against Micheál Martin, and Seán Kelly accusing Fine Gael of ‘shafting’ him, what’s next for the government after this defeat? Sean Defoe, Newstalk Political Correspondent and Host of Let me Explain Podcast, joined Pat to discuss.

Henry McKean looks back at the biggest events and meet the people who made a huge impact in the year 1997!From the death of Princess Diana to Michael Flatley's massive Riverdance success to the band Steps being established, there is plenty to look back on!

An NBA head coach and player are among 31 people who were arrested yesterday in the US in connection with two major federal gambling investigations which include illegal sports betting and allegedly rigged poker games. Terry Sheridan, Senior Director of News, WSHU Public Radio joined Pat Kenny to discuss all news stateside.

Four our Friday Forum Pat was joined by Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at the University of Galway, Christina Finn, political editor with The Journal, and Naomi O’Leary, Europe Correspondent for the Irish Times to discuss the week’s biggest headlines.

From over 200,000 Instagram followers and now to an An Post Irish Book Awards-nominated book, Mollie Guidera is on a mission to make our native language fun and invigorating to learn. Mollie Guidera, Creator of Irish with Mollie joined Pat Kenny on the show.

Gareth Mullins talks us through Halloween sweet treats to barmbrack cake, spooky ghost cookies and witchy cupcakes.

Sean Defoe, Newstalk’s Political Correspondent joined Pat to bring us the latest on voter turnout for the Presidential election.

It's estimated that Ireland generated 835,000 tonnes of food waste in 2023. But with so many people in need of food, what can be done to reduce surplus products? FoodCloud works with charities to redistribute millions of meals around the world. Our reporter, Josh Crosbie has been following the journey of this food to find out the impact it is having…

Last night protestors returned to CityWest after two nights of rioting.  A smaller crowd attended as Gardaí maintained a significant presence. However, Gardaí are expecting four more nights of disorder at CityWest.   Conor Lally, Security and Crime Editor with The Irish Times and Dr David Robert Grimes, Author and Disinformation expert joined Pat Kenny on the show to discuss.

Munster face off with Connaught, Shamrock Rovers hopeful they will finally secure the league title, and the Premier League back again this weekend.  Colm Boohig, Broadcaster with Off The Ball looks ahead to the weekend in sporting action.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Benjamin Netanyahu just almost two weeks since the ceasefire in Gaza began. The meeting comes as Trump warns Israel would lose ‘all support’ from the US if it annexes west bank. JD Vance supported trump’s words as he also said it would be ‘very stupid’ Israeli vote to annex the West Bank. Pat was joined by Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent with The Economist to discuss.