It hardly needs to be repeated that the world is an uncertain and scary place right now. A certain amount of kudos is therefore due to Kieran Cuddihy for bringing a sense of perspective when the deceptively chirpy-sounding host asks, on Monday’s edition of The Hard Shoulder (Newstalk, weekdays), “Are we all going to be wiped out by an asteroid in 2032?”
Anyone expecting the kind of reassuring answer suggested by Cuddihy’s jaunty tone will be disappointed by David Moore of Astronomy Ireland. “This is the problem: we just don’t know for sure,” replies Moore, who reports that an asteroid being tracked by Nasa has a 2.2 per cent chance of hitting Earth. “And Ireland could actually be a bit in the firing line,” he adds. Cuddihy gasps at this information, although whether jokily or genuinely is hard to tell.
More describes the worst-case scenario of a 100m-wide asteroid striking Ireland: “If it hits Dublin, everything is gone.” Admittedly, there are those for whom the sudden disappearance of the capital mightn’t be regarded as an entirely negative development, but Moore emphasises that any impact would be “very bad news for the whole country”, triggering earthquakes elsewhere. Even should the asteroid miss and land in the Atlantic, it could trigger a massive tsunami.
On the plus side, the asteroid’s exact trajectory will be unknown until 2028, so we can relax for now. Still, while Cuddihy initially pitches this as an outlandish story, it’s worth noting that the 50:1 odds of an asteroid hitting Earth are astronomically shorter than those of winning Newstalk’s much-touted Cash Machine competition, which may explain the host’s chastened mood as the piece ends. “On that cheery note, we’ll take a quick break.”
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The alarming revelations don’t notably alter Cuddihy’s priorities when it comes to his material. Not only does he spend more time on Monday’s show discussing the previous day’s random knife attacks in Stoneybatter – understandable, given that they’re in the headlines – but he also pays more attention to Ireland’s Eurovision entry being awarded to the Norwegian singer Emmy, despite his own professed lack of interest. “I find it really hard to give too much of a toss about anything to do with the Eurovision,” Cuddihy confesses to his colleague Tom Dunne during his show’s second conversation of the day on the subject.
Even more frivolously, Cuddihy opens Wednesday’s show by deliberating over Channel 4’s decision to put a trigger warning on an episode of Father Ted, the kind of micro-controversial story about woke excess that reliably triggers supposedly unoffendable anti-woke warriors. The newspaper columnist Ian O’Doherty decries fragile contemporary sensibilities, albeit in jaded rather than outraged manner, while the songwriter Ciara Lawless delivers a more nuanced take. That the issue warrants any coverage is mildly perplexing: such oversensitivity about a beloved sitcom may be annoying, but it’s hardly the end of the world.
[ Seán Moncrieff’s on-air persona cracks, and a dishwasher meltdown followsOpens in new window ]
For all that, Cuddihy deals with these inconsequential items in lively fashion. He also has an easy confidence that lets him discuss more pressing concerns seriously yet accessibly. He is empathetic when speaking to Sarah Drennan about the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision to appeal the concurrent sentence for the man who killed her brother Joe in a hit-and-run in 2023, with the interview capturing the hurt that can be caused by the exigencies of the justice system.
He adopts a more casual approach when talking to the trade unionist Brendan Ogle, but it’s still an absorbing encounter, moving from the intractable nature of the housing crisis – which Cuddihy’s guest blames squarely on the Coalition parties – to the toxic social-media blowback in far-right quarters in the wake of violent incidents such as the Stoneybatter stabbings.
If Cuddihy comes across as a substantive presence who doesn’t take himself too seriously, Shane Coleman and Ciara Kelly, presenters of Newstalk Breakfast (weekdays), sometimes contrive to appear more flippant than their news brief otherwise merits.
On Wednesday, for instance, the duo cover topics such as hospital overcrowding, a possible US-EU trade war and the fragile Gaza ceasefire but devote their opening debate to comments by Dublin City Council’s waste-management head that people littering in the capital having no sense of pride. It’s not as if this is an unimportant issue – untidy streets negatively affect people’s daily quality of life – but Coleman and Kelly’s huffing has an almost rote air.
Coleman, in fairness, sounds properly annoyed by the bags of rubbish he regularly encounters near his home in Phibsborough, in the north of the city, calling illegal dumpers “absolutely disgusting”. At the same time he suggests landlords should be responsible for waste-disposal facilities at their properties, saying some of the problem lies with multi-apartment rental accommodation.
Kelly agrees that “people who throw their crap on the street have a lack of civic pride” but disagrees that landlords should have to provide more amenities: she claims such measures could be the last straw that drives “mom and pop” owners from the rental market. “Ah, Ciara,” Coleman says with a sigh.
In playing up their differences in front of the microphone, Coleman and Kelly are merely following their time slot’s venerable formula, which dates from the tenure of Ivan Yates and Chris Donoghue. But the routine is a bit shopworn now, especially when the pair have to drum up a new point to argue over every day.
In contrast to the stagy quarrels, Kelly strikes a tentative tone during her interview with the Hamas official Dr Basem Naim. Asked why Hamas has stopped releasing Israeli hostages, Naim talks about Palestinians being unable to return to their homes and basic humanitarian aid being blocked by Israel.
Kelly is sombre throughout, though not as assertive as she could be. Then again, it’s unclear whether such an approach would work on her guest. At one point Kelly airs Donald Trump’s threat that “all hell is going to break out” if hostages aren’t released, prompting Naim to reply that “Palestinians are already living in hell”.
This may be true, but it also suggests a certain disregard towards the civilians who will be in the firing line if fighting resumes. Either way, it’s a reminder that we don’t have to wait for incoming asteroids for cities to be levelled.
Moment of the Week
He’s only back in the White House a month, but after a four-year absence Donald Trump has already comprehensively reoccupied the headlines, and indeed our heads. Not everyone sounds overjoyed about this, with Pat Kenny (Newstalk, weekdays) particularly vocal in his disdain. On Wednesday, while discussing the US president’s response to the fracturing truce in Gaza, Kenny plays a recording of Trump’s take on the crisis. “Hamas is bullies. The weakest people are bullies.” As the clip ends, Kenny remarks: “He must have been looking in the mirror when he said that.” They have little in common, but both men speak their mind.
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