RTÉ - The Business

Did you ever wonder how the fabulously wealthy spend their holidays? The answer involves private castles, helicopters on standby, lavish surprises and perfectly planned little details. Siobhan Byrne of Adams and Butler runs a luxury travel agency that's rolled out the red carpet for the likes of Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.

Let's take a peek behind the hotel reception desk. Siofra Mulqueen explores some of the bold and brilliantly odd requests that have had hospitality hosts doing a double take.

Amid tariff talk and rising costs, is Ireland still a draw for overseas visitors? Americans in particular. To get an idea of what's happening on the ground, Sean Lally, co-owner Hotel Woodstock in Ennis and Eoghan O'Mara Walsh join us on the programme.

With surprise moves on Canada and Brazil, a wobbling dollar, and fresh pressure on EU-US relations, where does it all leave Ireland? Patrick Honohan, Honorary Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin joins the programme to look at what's been happening and where it might all be heading.

With all the tariff turmoil in the air, you'd be forgiven for feeling a little drowsy, which brings us to the noble art of the afternoon nap. A little lie-down, a strategic snooze — call it what you like. Louise Campbell now considers the lure of the sneaky siesta.

What does the "big beautiful bill" mean for America in terms of their national debt, for billionaires, those on the breadline and the consequences for Ireland? Tony Foley, Associate Professor Emeritus of Economics at DCU Business School and Journalist Marion McKeone join to discuss.

Dolan's of Limerick is marking 30 years of doing business on the docks of Limerick. Mick Dolan and Neil Dolan join the program.

The woman behind the dating app Bumble declared this week that dating apps are "feeling like a thing of the past." Is she right? If so, why? Elaine Burke of the For Tech Sake podcast joins the program to discuss.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, was pictured crying at Prime Minister's Question Time. Commentators called her "unprofessional and wrong." This level of criticism begs the question - are we tougher on female leaders? Professor Brendan Kelly of Trinity College Dublin and Mary McAuliffe, Director of Gender Studies at UCD join the program

With summer holidays in full swing, some have the bags and the dog in the boot for the ferry trip to France. For those staying at home, it seems that Irish hotels are upping their game in welcoming our furry friends. Dog love rand travel writer Rosalyn Dee has the scoop.

After a summit tailor made for President Donald Trump, NATO members (except for Spain) agreed to an historic ramping up of their defence spending. Dan O'Brien, Chief Economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs and columnist with The Currency joins us on the programme.

Donald Trump caused jaws to drop when used the “F word” in an interview on the White House lawn. Was it a case of his inner dialogue bursting out, is it ever appropriate to use such language. Comedian Anne Gildea has been giving it some thought.

As Pride celebrations take place all over the country, our next guests are a young, soon to be married, gay couple who both run their own businesses. Rob Kenny of Rob Kenny PR and Dr. Shane Cassidy, Music therapist, join us today.

After nearly four decades at the helm, Dame Anna Wintour has stepped down as Editor-In-Chief of Vogue magazine. What was it like to work for the formidable editor and what does her stepping down mean for the industry? Jane McDonnell, Co-Founder and publisher of The Gloss magazine joins us to discuss.

Lauren Sanchez Bezos debuted her wedding gown on the magazine's front cover, revealing how the top 1% do weddings. With $2 million being spent on the wine and champagne alone, how does this level of wealth translate to everyday terms? Consumer journalist Siobhán Maguire joins us to discuss.

What is it like to work on yachts of the super rich? That was Patrick McVeigh's life before he set up two Dublin restaurants Featherblade and Mister S. We caught up with him to hear all about it.

A 1981 Thin Lizzy performance marked the beginning of Slane Castle's rise as a world-renowned music venue. The driving force behind it all was the visionary aristocrat and entrepreneur, Lord Henry Mountcharles, who passed away this week. Harry Crosbie and Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press join the program to discuss.

Starting out as an apprentice, Joseph Birchell of gifts.ie, ventured abroad, trying his hand at a variety of roles, eventually sparking a business that bloomed from spare-time effort to full time success.

This week's Euromillions draw with a prize fund of a quarter of a billion euro made headlines and sparked big questions. Who bought the winning Cork ticket? What would you do if that kind of fortune came your way? Professor of Psychiatry Brendan Kelly now considers the price of wealth and the impact of suddenly striking it rich.

This week, the EU pulled the plug on its annual trade talks with China. Tensions are flaring over tariffs on electric vehicles, restrictions on rare-earth exports and China's pushback on European goods. What's behind all of this, and what does it mean for Europe? Andy Bounds, EU Correspondent with the Financial Times joins to discuss.

Siofra Mulqueen scoops the world of ice cream and discovers 99 reasons to love summer.

News broke overnight that Iran launched scores of missiles on Israel in response to Israel's series of well orchestrated coordinated attacks on Iran on Thursday night. Dr. Brendan Flynn, Head of Discipline Political Science at the School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway joins us on the programme to discuss.

A County Wicklow woman is preparing for a massive 3,500-nautical-mile solo transatlantic race, while also running her business, Ripple Racing. Pamela Lee joins us on the programme.

How do people working in tense, detail oriented, stressful jobs cope under pressure? Siofra Mulqueen finds out.

Will the unrest in the Middle East further force European Countries to increase their military capabilities? Dr. Patrick Bury, Senior Associate Professor in Security in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies at the University of Bath joins us to discuss.

Sometimes you might feel the need to tune out of all the world events. A spot of daydreaming could be just what you need. It may seem quaint to get lost in thought, but it can have surprisingly positive benefits. Aidan Fitzmaurice gets lost in a daydream.

Marion McKeown joins the programme to discuss the fallout between the World's Richest Man and the World's Most Powerful Man.

Is Donald Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a “disgusting abomination,” and a “debt slavery bill?” David McWilliams, author of “Money: a story of Humanity,” which was named the FTs Economics book of the year, joins the programme to discuss.

Ronan McCabe left the world of accounting to join Zig and Zig for twenty years. He has since moved into the world of more well behaved cartoon characters as CEO of Animation Ireland.

Who owns the data from our brains? Ruth Freeman of Research Ireland joins to discuss how new technology could impact our neurorights.

Is it difficult to create a whole new character on page or on the screen? What goes into creating goodies and baddies. Siofra Mulqueen has been finding out.

Since losing his friend and business partner, Eddie Jordan, Keith O'Loughlin has written a book called FTB, Lessons from Eddie Jordan, Inspiration From a Life Lived at Full Throttle.

Is being bold a good thing for business or in the workplace? Clinical psychologist, neuroscientist and professor of Psychology at Trinity, Ian Robertson is finding out.

Pulitzer prize winning science journalist Deborah Blum, who is also the Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT in Boston, says that American food standards have already been impacted by the new Trump administration.

Billy Alexander has always loved ferns but it took him 30 years to give up the day job and make a business out of his hobby. He's just back from the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show where he won gold again and he's at Bloom in the Phoenix Park this weekend where we caught up with him.

What will the proposed 50% tariff on all EU goods coming into the US mean for Irish businesses? PJ Rigney, founder of The Shed Distillery in Drumshambo and producer of Drumshambo Gunpowder Gin joins the programme to discuss.

Along with the proposed 50% tariff on EU goods, President Donald Trump has also threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Apple phones not manufactured in the US. Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China, believes it will be difficult for Apple to leave China, where the company has a long history of manufacturing iPhones.

Lafcadio Hearn is a name not widely known to many of us, but for Keith Guinan, tour guide at Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens in Tramore, the name is synonymous with bringing Japanese culture to Ireland.

This father/daughter duo's family business has been burying the dead in Galway City for almost 200 years.

Siofra Mulqueen has been finding out what inspires people to dedicate hours to crafting intricate miniature models, one tiny detail at a time.

President Donald Trump's tariffs are all part of a plan to bring more trade back to the United States but Ben Chu, author of Exile Economics, is not convinced the plan will work. He joins the programme to talk about the global shift towards self sufficiency and away from international economic cooperation.

Darina Connolly is a Cork woman who began her career as an intern at MTV. She has since worked with Apple, TikTok and Sony. She is now general manager of music label Rhino UK.