The Last Word with Matt Cooper

The Nakba, also known as 'Catastrophe', occurred between 1947 and 1949, and saw 15,000 Palestinians killed and more than 700,000 displaced from their homes by Israel. On Tuesday, Matt was joined by author Fintan Drury to discuss his new book ‘Catastrophe: Nakba II'.The book is an analysis of the oppression that Palestinians have faced for decades, and argues that Israel's retaliation to the Hamas attack in October 2023 has been disproportionate.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

An Irish MEP used AI to write a letter about Gaza which quoted Swedish House Mafia. Why are we seeing more bad behaviour at airports? Should smoking be banned in parks and on beaches?Sarah McGuinness, political correspondent with the Irish Daily Mail, and Dave Hanratty, host of the No Encore podcast, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending stories.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

On Friday, Richard Satchwell was found guilty of the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in 2017.Ms. Satchwell's skeletal remains were found in their home in October 2023. Mr. Satchwell had pleaded not guilty to murdering her at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co. Cork in March 2017.Jamie O'Hara, Today FM Court Reporter and Brenda Power, columnist with the Irish Daily Mail and the Sunday Times, spoke to Matt after the verdict.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the piece.

Political journalist Gavan Reilly joins The Last Word to chat all about how Irish politics really works, as outlined in his new book 'The Secret Life of Leinster House'. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button!

Irish company Brightflag, which uses artificial intelligence to help legal firms manage their finances, has been sold.Founded by Ian Nolan and Alex Kelly, it has been sold for €425m cash.Ian Guider, columnist with the Business Post, joined Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the chat.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about plans to lower the environmental standards of hundreds of rivers across Ireland.This would mean that over 400 stretches of water would be classified as “heavily modified water bodies”John Gibbons explained the significance of this on Thursday.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the chat.

Writer Andrew Meehan, author of Best Friends, joins The Last Word for the Culture Club. Hear all about his favourite music, movies, tv shows and more by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The Trump administration has suspended new visa applications for foreign students to give US embassies around the world more time to vet applicants and also prepare to carry out deeper checks on their social media history.Larry Donnelly, law lecturer at the University of Galway, and Chris Clifford, president of AMLÉ, the union of students in Ireland, join The Last Word to discuss this latest news and what it could mean for Irish students heading to the US. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Donald Trump is considering imposing further sanctions on Russia as it continues its large scale attack on Ukraine.The US President's relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin appears to have soured with Trump saying that the Russian president has 'gone absolutely crazy'.Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone join The Last Word to discuss Trump's changing attitude toward Putin and more of the latest news from the United States.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Lorraine Keane was one of the first women to break the taboo around discussing perimenopause and menopause in Ireland.She joins The Last Word to discuss why she feels it is so important for women to talk to their family and friends about the changes they are going through.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The Premier League season concluded on Sunday amid huge celebrations at Anfield after Liverpool were crowned champions.With Arsenal securing their place in next year's Champions League last weekend, several teams were battling it out to make the final 3 spots.In the end, there were few surprises as Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle all qualified for Europe's biggest competition for 2025/2026.Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer with The Independent and Off The Ball's Will O'Callaghan spoke to Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear their chat.

Sarah Slattery from the travelexpert.ie joins The Last Word to chat about all of the best things to see and do in Las Vegas. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Bono: Stories Of Surrender is set for release on Apple TV+ this Friday, May 30th. Directed by Andrew Dominik, the documentary received a seven-minute long standing ovation at the Cannes film festival.Joe O'Shea and Elaine Burke talked to Matt on The Last Word on TV & Streaming.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the chat.

'La-Z-Boy' recliner among requests for TD's Leinster House office; controversial robot trees are removed from Cork City; and Government signs off on plans to celebrate Ireland's Norman history. Lorcan Nyhan, head of training at the Communications Clinic, and Laura Byrne, voices editor and podcast producer with The Journal.ie, join The Last Word to discuss all of the week's trending stories.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The latest cost estimate for building Dublin's Metrolink was approximately €23 billion. However, could that figure now be too low?Work is set to start in 2026, with its completion estimated to be in the mid-2030s.Dr. Sean Sweeney, Programme Director of Metrolink spoke to Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

Wallet trackers, power banks and UV scanners, Andy O'Donoghue had a run down of the best travel tech to make planned summer trips as easy as possible.To catch the full conversation, press the play button on this page.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of committing white genocide as the country's president Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House.Meanwhile, two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night.Marion McKeone and Larry Donnelly, Law Lecturer at University of Galway & Columnist with TheJournal.ie, spoke to Matt on Thursday.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear their conversation.

The Irish Postmasters' Union has warned that without funding of €15 million per year for the next five years, post offices around the country face “rapid, unrestrained closures”.Ian Guider, Columnist with the Business Post, joined Matt for Wednesday's business news.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

Author Pat McCabe was this week's entry into the Culture Club as he celebrated the release of his new book ‘Golden Glove'.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear all his choices.

Earlier this week, a report by Daft.ie found that the average rent in Ireland has now exceeded €2,000 a month, which is almost 50% higher than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.This, along with high insurance premiums, increasing TV and broadband prices, and the cost of nights out also rising means that low to mid-range earners have less and less disposable income available every month.Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent and Sarah McGuinness, Political Correspondent with the Irish Daily Mail joined Matt for an extended personal finance slot on Wednesday to discuss the financial difficulties that young people face today.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

In 2018, author Jeanine Cummins published her novel American Dirt to a fanfare of praise and expectation. It didn't take long for online opinion to turn on the author.The author was accused of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation of Latino cultures. Despite the criticism, American Dirt was a bestseller. Jeanine Cummins spoke to Matt about over coming being cancelled, her Irish and Puerto Rican roots, and her new novel, Speak To Me Of Home.To catch the full conversation, press the play button on this page.

Cal Thomas, nationally syndicated columnist, and US Correspondent with The Business Post, Marion McKeone, join Matt the go through all the latest in US politics.With Joe Biden being diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and the Russia-Ukraine peace talks taking place – this week has been more than eventful in the White House.Listen here to get all the latest.

The All-Ireland Gaelic football championship sprung to life at the weekend as Dublin reminded everyone of their credentials by beating an in-form Galway side by a point at Pearse Stadium, Kerry had a comfortable win against Roscommon, and Cavan earned a superb win over Mayo in MacHale Park to put Kevin McStay's side on the back foot for their remaining fixtures.In hurling, Limerick stormed to a 16-point victory over league champions Cork, while Tipperary confirmed their place in the knockout rounds by beating Waterford at Semple Stadium.To discuss the weekend's football, Matt was joined by former Roscommon footballer Paul Earley and Galway's Ray Silke, while former Limerick hurler Joe Quaid and former Tipperary manager Michael Ryan covered Sunday's action.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the piece.

Joe O'Shea, Editor at Cork Beo, and Today FM's own Alison Healy are here to give all the latest in this week's TV and Streaming news.A curious Eurovision saw Ireland gave Israel the maximum 12 points in Eurovision semi-final and 10 points in the final, raising some eyebrows in the country.Everybody's talking about the Netflix documentary covering the murder of Jason Corbett, A Deadly American Marriage, and the guys also get in their Picks of the Week.Listen here to get all the best conversation on this week's TV and streaming.

David French, brother of Valerie French Kilroy who was murdered by her husband James, outlines his family's campaign to have the parental rights curbed for those who kill their spouses. David remembers his sister Valerie and writes about the aftermath of her murder in his book, For Valerie.

New figures released by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland have shown that in the final quarter of 2024, almost €200m was borrowed to fund car purchases.Loans for home improvement projects also hit highs never seen before.However, given the current economic climate, should borrowers exercise more caution when deciding to take out a loan?Matt spoke to Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent and independent economist Austin Hughes about this on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

People who live near golf courses are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease, due to pesticides used on the lawns.That's according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which looked at data from 27 counties in Wisconsin and Minnesota.John Gibbons joined Matt for Thursday's environment slot.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

As the US PGA gets into full swing, Andy O'Donoghue joins The Last Word to talk about all the best new golf tech.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Conductor David Brophy joins The Last Word for the Culture Club!Hear all of his favourite musical and cultural picks by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Goldman Sachs's is considering launching its online retail bank Marcus in Ireland, a move that could give Wall Street access to billions of euros in deposits from domestic households.Ian Guider, columnist with the Business Post, joins The Last Word to discuss how the banking giant could shake up the Irish market and more of the latest business news.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

A new report from UNICEF has found that Irish teenagers are among the least happy in high-income countries despite leading in academic performance.Aibhlín O'Leary, head of advocacy with UNICEF, and Dr Colman Noctor, child and adolescent psychotherapist, join The Last Word to discuss why teenagers in Ireland are less happy and what can be done to help them.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

A survey by Laya Life has found that raising a child in Ireland now costs €15,000 per year, which is an increase of almost 40% in the last 10 years.The first year of the child's life and teen years have been found to be the most expensive, with the cost of pocket money increasing by 86% since 2015 to an average of €1,196 per year.Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor with the Irish Independent, spoke to Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the chat.

US President Donald Trump has claimed it would be "stupid" not to accept the gift of a free Qatari plane, described as a "palace in the sky", to replace Air Force One.There has been much criticism of Trump's plan to accept the gift, even amongst his MAGA supporters. Cal Thomas and Marion McKeone join The Last Word to discuss this and more of the latest news from the US.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Jacqueline Connolly, author of Deadly Silence, joins The Last Word to talk about her quest for justice for her sister Clodagh Hawe and her three nephews who were murdered by Alan Hawe in 2016.She explained why she wants the review into the investigation of their murders to be published.Listen back to the full conversation by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

The Vintners Federation of Ireland is calling on the government to introduce a 40% tax rebate in excise on pints of draught beer sold in pubs.The association said the move would be helpful for rural pubs who are struggling with increasing costs.Pat Crotty, Chief Executive of the Vintners Federation of Ireland and Sheila Gilheany, Chief Executive of Alcohol Action Ireland, spoke to Matt about this on Tuesday's The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the chat.

The future of the provincial football finals has been a source of debate in recent years due to Dublin's dominance in Leinster and Kerry's in Munster.But after Donegal won back-to-back Ulster titles and Louth were crowned Leinster champions for the first time in 68 years, along with a hugely entertaining Connacht final between Mayo and Galway last weekend, have the new rules breathed life into the provincial championships?Michael Foley, Sportswriter with The Sunday Times and former All-Ireland winning captain Ray Silke, spoke to Matt about this on Monday.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear their chat.

Earlier this year, Samantha Cookes was sentenced to three years in prison for multiple counts of theft and deception. She was found to have posed under numerous fake identities and convinced people she was a victim of discrimination due to her diagnosis of Huntington's disease.‘Bad Nanny', a new two-part documentary on RTÉ One, hears from victims who were conned by Cookes across Ireland and the UK.Alan Bradley, director of Bad Nanny and one of Cookes' victims, Lynn McDonald, joined Matt on The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.

Sarah Slattery from the travelexpert.ie joins The Last Word to chat all about her recent trip to Utah in the United States.Listen back by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Leo XIV becomes the first North American pope; RTÉ demands 'discussion' on Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest; and Tánaiste Simon Harris calls for a social media ban for children under the age of 16.Joe O'Shea, editor of Cork Beo, and Jennifer Horgan, Irish Examiner Columnist and secondary school teacher, join The Last Word to discuss the week's trending stories.Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!

Irish film director Lorcan Finnegan spoke to Matt about working with Nicolas Cage for his new film, the Australian set, psychodrama, The Surfer. To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

Andy O'Donoghue previewed the best e-readers and audiobook apps for every price point!To catch the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.

‘Zombie' traffic lights are to be installed on Tara Street in Dublin City in a bid to get people who are distracted by looking at their mobile phones to pay attention to oncoming traffic.Is this a good idea, or an indication that we've become too dependent on our devices?Adrian Weckler, Tech Editor at the Irish & Sunday Independent and Aoife Barry, author of Social Capital, spoke to Matt on Wednesday's The Last Word.Hit the ‘Play' button on this page to hear the conversation.