The 42FM

WITH IRELAND KICKING off their November rugby internationals against New Zealand on Friday night, Gav and Sinéad debate the extent to which Ireland can really be called Rugby Country. Is rugby really a national obsession?The popularity of the provinces and the Irish national team is beyond question, but how has that fanbase grown given so few people play the game? Given the fact the Irish team is dominated by players produced by private schools, can the team be said to represent the country at large? And if not, does that even matter?The pair sift through some of the reasons underpinning the sport’s appeal -the violence, the success, the opportunities it affords for drinking - explain the amount of media coverage afforded to the sport, and ponder what, if anything, the sport’s popularity says about class divisions in Irish society.Get in touch with us - sinead@thejournal.ie and gavincooney@the42.ie

AS THE LEAGUE of Ireland season draws towards its nerve-shredding final day, Gav and Sinead discuss the boom in popularity of domestic football.Why have crowds increased so significantly this decade? And can the rising numbers be leveraged into that most elusive and long-desired of things: a thriving football industry in Ireland.The pair talk about what needs to happen next to make that aspiration real, from improved stadiums with greater capacity, to television deals with major international networks and an academy structure which provides a conveyor belt of elite level talent which can further improve the standard of the league and lead to more hefty transfer fees from wealthy overseas clubs.With Shelbourne one win away from an unlikely title triumph, the impact of Damien Duff is examined. What is it about the League of Ireland that so energises one of Ireland’s greatest ever players? He says he will never manage an Irish club other than Shelbourne, but could he step into the Ireland manager’s chair in future, despite his past differences of opinion with the FAI?

There is an election on the horizon - even though the government won’t tell us when it will be.Whenever the official election campaign swings into action, though, it’s a near-certainty that no politician will be asked about sport. Today Gavin and Sinéad wonder why that is the case: can we really be said to care about sport in any real way if it is never raised as an election topic?Gavin and Sinéad explain why Ireland’s parish pump politics has led to inequality in access to sports facilities in different parts of the country, and ask whether it is now changing for the better.Also, why don’t we invest more money in sport? And has the news media’s move to cover politics like sport caused more harm than good?Contact us: sinead@thejournal.ie and gavincooney@the42.ie 

GAA president Jarlath Burns last weekend floated the possibility that inter-county GAA managers could be put under regularised contracts, which brought back to the surface a persistent talking point in GAA: payments to managers.Despite the GAA’s amateur status, successive presidents and directors-general of the Association have acknowledged that managers are paid at club and inter-county level. On today’s show, Sinéad O’Carroll and Gavin Cooney reveal how much managers are making at club and inter-county level, and ask what it means for the GAA from a reputation and taxation point of view.Is the best remedy to regularise the payments, and if so, would that destroy the amateurism heart of the GAA? Or is that amateurism already dead?Contact us: sinead@thejournal.ie and gavincooney@the42.ie

Sinead O'Carroll and Gavin Cooney discuss whether Israel could face sporting sanctions.The pair examine why Israel has been judged differently than Russia by sporting bodies so far. They question where the moral and diplomatic lines sit - and detail how sport can be used for noble and nefarious purposes in an increasingly war-riven world.

Gavin and Sinéad are back for the second episode of The 42FM and they aren't alone!This week, Murray Kinsella drops into the studio to discuss the journey that Irish women's rugby has taken to get to the point where they have managed to beat New Zealand.Sinéad, Gavin and Murray analyse the structures of women's rugby in Ireland, discuss the commercial and moral reasons behind the increased focus on the women's game, and debate what is needed to push the sport on to the next level.Every Tuesday, The 42FM zooms out on the biggest sports story of the week, bringing the wider context and issues into play.

Today we launch a new podcast, The 42FM with Gavin Cooney and Sinéad O’Carroll.Building on the success of Olympics Daily with Cooney & O’Carroll, The 42FM will zoom out on the biggest sports story of the week, bringing the wider context and issues into play.Here, Sinéad and Gavin analyse and debate whether it is right that Limerick’s decorated wing-back Kyle Hayes was nominated as Hurler of the Year - in a year where he faced charges which could have led to him being jailed.Is it reasonable to expect GAA players to be role models?Should GAA leaders act as character witnesses in court?Has John Kiely adequately addressed questions around this case and the culture of this Limerick team?Who has spoken up for the victim of the crime, in the way John Kiely has spoken up for Kyle Hayes?

Cooney & O'Carroll are back!Off the back of their incredible success with Olympics Daily, Gavin Cooney and Sinéad O'Carroll are back with brand-new podcast The 42FM, an epic handshake between The Journal and The 42!Every Tuesday, they will zoom out on the biggest sports story of the week to explore the wider context and issues at play - it’s sports meets news, current affairs, society and pop culture.If you have any suggestions for future episodes, contact gavincooney@the42.ie or sinead@thejournal.ie.