Highlights From The Pat Kenny Show

Limerick native, Conor Murray, is an Irish Rugby Union legend who made his name as an all-conquering scrum-half for Munster, Ireland and the British and Irish lions. His journey from Patrickswell to Landsdowne road placed him at the pinnacle of rugby. now, in his new book “cloud nine”, subtitled “My life in Rugby”, Murray reflects on the highs and lows of his career.

Depaul this morning launches its 2024 Impact report highlighting the almost 10,000 people it helped last year among 50,000 interventions. Their CEO, David Carroll highlights the figures and what needs to be done to improve the current situation.

Auto-enrolment is a new pension savings scheme for certain employees who are not paying into a pension. They will be automatically included in the scheme but can opt out after 6 months.  The introduction of the auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme, called my future fund, will start from 1 January 2026. To explain all the details and to answer listeners queries was Keith Dundon, Head of financial services at SYS Financial.

Is the part time job dying? How important is a part time job? Are young people looking for them or are they relying on the bank of mum and dad? Do they offer financial independence and build confidence or are they a distraction from study? Henry McKean sent us this report.  

The social media platform where people share videos from tales to trends. But the latest addition to the app, Tik Tok shop Ireland, has allowed Irish businesses to boom. But how exactly does it work and what does it do for Irish businesses? All to chat with Katey McElroy from TikTok Shop Ireland and Denise Buckley, Founder of Sugar Plum Sweetery.

Since the introduction of project math in 2012, the proportion of females getting a H1 has declined significantly, with roughly two-thirds of H1’s going to males and just one-third to females. New research from the Tuition Centre and the Society Of Actuaries in Ireland found out why girls are underperforming at leaving cert higher level math compared to boys. Joining Pat to discuss these findings further Eoghan O'Leary, Head of Math's at the Tuition Centre.

As the campaign for the presidential election begins to heat up, the focus on the office often tends towards the domestic role of An Uachtarain. However, ever since Sean T. O’Kelly became the first Irish president to undertake a state visit abroad, the office has frequently made an impact on the world stage. Reporter Simon Tierney has been investigating and he joined Pat this morning

Leo Varadkar, Former Taoiseach joined Pat this morning to chat about his book 'Speaking My Mind'.

Pope Leo criticised corporate pay packages that offer executives much higher salaries than their employees in excerpts from his first media interview released on Sunday, citing Tesla's recent $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk. The Pope was speaking to Elise Ann Allen, Senior Correspondent in Italy for the Crux, for her new book 'Leo The Sixteeth, Citizen Of The World, Missionary Of The Twenty first century'.

We take a look into the presidential race as the battle continues this morning for independents as they look for support to become the latest presidential candidate. Today has been described as “super primary” day with eleven councils due to hold special meetings so they can consider nominating another candidate. But the latest news surrounding the presidency is Conor McGregor’s withdrawal from the contest. All to discuss with Harry McGee, Political Correspondent with The Irish Times.

Jennifer Whitmore TD, Wicklow, Social Democrats. Spokesperson for Climate, Energy and Biodiversity; and Spokesperson for Agriculture, Fionnán Sheahan, Ireland Editor of Irish Independent and also Shay Brennan TD, Dublin Rathdown, Fianna Fáil was our Friday Forum today. 

Created by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, the Enhanced Games, which are set to take place in Las Vegas from the 21st to the 24th of May next year, will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subjected to drug tests. This begs the question, what exactly does this mean for traditional “clean” athletes going forward?  All to discuss with Kieran Cunningham, Chief Sportswriter for the Irish Daily Star.

We now look ahead to what promises to be a busy weekend of sport, with the Irish women’s rugby team set to take the field for their World Cup Quarter Final, a 28 person strong Irish squad in Tokyo for the World Athletics Championship, and the return of the Premier League with a Manchester derby set for Sunday.Shane Hannon previews all the sport happening this weekend.

Gareth Mullins talks us through two slow-cooked comforting French dishes. On the menu today is Lamb Shank and Duck Leg.

Ireland and Britain’s relationship is as intertwined as it has so often been violent and traumatic. In these Divided Isles, the award-winning author and journalist Philip Stephens charts the dramatic century since the political leaders David Lloyd George, Michael Collins, Winston Churchill and Éamonn De Valera alongside those of millions of Irish emigrants.  With the complicated relationship between Ireland and Britain, could it ever end up with a United Ireland? All to discuss with Philip Stephens - Writer, Historian and Author of 'In These Divided Isles'.

Japan's biggest convenience store is looking to employ robots. It comes as the country faces a serious worker shortage in the country as a result of an ageing and shrinking population. The robots will be able to stack shelves and even clean windows. For more on this Pat was joined by Anthony Cuthbertson is deputy Tech Editor and Correspondent at the independent.

In the UK this morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss troubles legacy issues as well as support for Ukraine.  Peter Mandelson writes a letter to the US embassy staff after being sacked for his close connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We get all the UK news updates with Enda Brady, International TV News Anchor, TRT World.

Residents of local authority flat complexes in Dublin are appealing for improved living conditions.  They say there are issues with overcrowding, dampness and unmaintained facilities.Our reporter Josh Crosbie has visited some of these developments and he reported back to Pat this morning. 

Task is an American crime drama television miniseries created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO starring Mark Gruffalo. John Fardy gives us his take o the series.

The rabbit-hole of wellness conspiracy theories of harmless hacks that quickly became dangerous in this week's disinformation slot.  All to discuss with David Robert Grimes.