About this podcast
In Path to Power, experienced broadcaster Matt Cooper and guests bring their individual points of view to a lively weekly discussion that sets the agenda and examines all the political and current issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 152 episodes
- Tracksuits in D1 and D4 · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 148Daniel McConnell and John Lee join Matt to talk about private security as well as Gardaí being used to police O'Connell Street and inner-city Dublin. The difficulty in finalising…
- Paul Howard: A Nation Once Again · 57 min · Season 1Author and satirist Paul Howard, famous for the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly novels, has a new character: Fiach O'Bric, a civil servant charged with the responsibility for a secret…
- Fine Gael Worries if It’s Too Woke · 60 min · Season 1 Episode 147As Fine Gael considers a conference motion that it is “too progressive” and needs to reject woke, its former TD John Deasy and Brenda Power join Matt to debate this. With Fine…
- Tech Threats and the Triple Lock · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 146Shane Coleman and Lise Hand discuss Ireland’s failure to tackle climate change, growing opposition to data centres, and our economic dependence on big tech. They examine the…
- Pay Disputes and Dirty Big Data Centres · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 145Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and entrepreneur Áine Kerr join Matt to discuss the reasons for, and the impact of, the public sector pay disputes and how inevitably they will get…
- O’Donovan vs Bakhurst: The Latest RTÉ Fight · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 144Daniel McConnell and John Lee join Matt on yet another remarkable week for RTÉ, as Media Minister Patrick O'Donovan withholds €20 million of promised funding from the state…
- From Lansdowne Road to the Garvaghy Road · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 143Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and entrepreneur Áine Kerr join Matt to reflect on a tumultuous week for Irish football, whether the Israel games should have been cancelled, what…
- Young, Irish and Ready to Leave · 1 h 3 min · Season 1 Episode 142John Deasy and Brenda Power join Matt to discuss whether prosperous Ireland is a country for young people. They compare emigration now with the nineties and debate whether young…
- An Orange Republican · 1 h 3 min · Season 1 Episode 141Lise Hand and Shane Coleman join Matt to discuss the fallout of Donald Trump's visit to Ireland and how he unexpectedly emerged as a United Irelander. They discuss his…
- Budget Dilemmas Shaped by Trump’s Iran War · 55 min · Season 1 Episode 140Daniel McConnell and John Lee join Matt to look ahead to the budget and discuss the options and how they will be influenced by the economic upheaval caused by Trump's Iran war…
- Carbon, Commuting, and Corruption · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 139Matt is joined by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Áine Kerr to discuss carbon taxes, whether they should go up in the budget and whether they should be there at all. They…
- Bananas and Nuts · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 138British Prime Minister Andy Burnham rules out a United Ireland referendum; John Deasy and Lise Hand join Matt to discuss the Sinn Féin reaction, how happy Taoiseach Micheál…
- Our Crime and Punishment Crisis · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 137Daniel McConnell and John Lee join Matt to discuss the political response to the outrageous and horrific crash on the M9. They focus on Jim O'Callaghan’s pronouncements and the…
- Rating the Cabinet · 1 h 5 min · Season 1 Episode 136John Deasy joins Matt to offer a person-by-person assessment of the performance of each member of the Cabinet. Who’s good and who’s not so good, even bad? Brought to you by The…
- Wanting a United Ireland · 50 min · Season 1 Episode 135Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Sinn Féin’s Senator Conor Murphy, a former NI economy minister, join Matt for a full discussion about the possibilities of a united Ireland. Is…
- The Streisand Effect · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 134In hiding a cost-benefit analysis for the Ryder Cup in Limerick next year, is the Government in danger of drawing more attention to the costs of subsidising the event? Lise Hand…
- Overselling Simon · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 133Simon Harris' income tax promises: John Deasy and Brenda Power join Matt to debate the political benefits to the Fine Gael leader of making promises he may find hard to deliver…
- Mary Lou and Micheál's Enmity · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 132Lise Hand and John Lee join Matt to discuss Mary Lou McDonald and Micheál Martin's true feelings for each other after the Sinn Féin leader calls her Fianna Fáil counterpart and…
- From Count Binface to Conor McGregor · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 131Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Áine Kerr join Matt to address the challenge to Nigel Farage being posed by a comedy candidate in the Clacton by-election. They give suggestions…
- Sex, Alcohol, and Irish Politics · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 130Matt is joined by Danny McConnell and John Lee, who distinguish between Jeffrey Donaldson's illegal acts and his inappropriate ones, but ask how often inappropriate acts by Irish…
- Donaldson's Depravity and His Toxic Politics · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 129Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Áine Kerr join Matt to discuss Jeffrey Donaldson's appalling crimes and what he put his victims through by denying his guilt. They look at his…
- Remembering Veronica Guerin · 1 h 7 min · Season 1 Episode 128Lise Hand joins Matt to remember their great friend who was murdered 30 years ago in June 1996. They recall their friendships with Veronica, how they got to know her, and her…
- The Racists Among Us · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 127Lise Hand and Shane Coleman join Matt to discuss the race riots in Belfast and how racism is also a major issue throughout the island, how fire bombings have not been restricted…
- From Here to Maternity · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 126Brenda Power and John Deasy join Matt to discuss the controversy about hospital consultants employed by the State doing private work in public hospitals. Two bulls in a Kerry…
- Climate Targets and Immigration Politics · 1 h 6 min · Season 1 Episode 125Danny McConnell and John Lee join Matt to discuss the concession that our 2030 climate targets will be missed, and ask if we need to apply the Tony Blair analysis for Britain…
- Ireland's Racism Issues · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 124The death of Yves Sakila on a Dublin street - is this the Irish version of George Floyd, but do enough people care? Brendan Ogle joins Matt, and they have a wider conversation on…
- Analogue Bertie Hobbled by a Digital World · 50 min · Season 1 Episode 123Matt is joined by Lise Hand and Shane Coleman to discuss the controversy involving former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his views on immigration, as expressed to a voter who…
- Ireland’s Antisemitism Debate · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 122John Deasy and Brenda Power join Matt for a spirited exchange about Patrick Kielty’s Late Late Show comments and how they have sparked wider allegations that Ireland is…
- Why Not a Mini Budget? · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 121Matt is joined by Danny McConnell and John Lee to discuss the changing government generosity towards Ukrainians and how this may have been influenced by the by-election in Galway…
- How Protest Should Be Done - The Expert’s View · 56 min · Season 1Long-time protest activist Brendan Ogle takes issue with the conduct of the diesel protests and the government’s capitulation to unlicensed protesters. He details his own…
- Leo's Rural-Urban Divide · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 120Shane Coleman and Lise Hand join Matt, and they start with the suggested split in the Healy-Rae dynasty. They discuss all the issues related to the rural-urban divide, with…
- PTP America: J. Edgar Boozer, Pulp Fiction, and a Raccoon's Penis · 1 h 1 min · Season 1As Trump continues his suspension of the assault on Iran, Matt and Marion divert to the case of Kash Patel's sobriety, Pete Hegseth's use of a Pulp Fiction script as scripture…
- Powder keg Politics and Protests · 1 h 4 min · Season 1 Episode 119Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and former political correspondent Áine Kerr join Matt to analyse the politics of the past fortnight, dominated by the diesel protests. They look at…
- Fuelling the (Ire)land · 55 min · Season 1 Episode 118Driving the protesters off the blocked roads: Brenda Power and John Deasy join Matt to discuss how the government has to confront threatened anarchy. Carbon tax increases…
- Everything Goes Off the Rails · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 117Lise Hand and John Lee join Matt to discuss if the MetroLink project may be derailed by the untimely departure of its boss, Seán Sweeney, and if the government finances become…
- How Many TDs to Change a Lightbulb? · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 116Danny McConnell and John Lee join Matt and open with a discussion on the proposal to limit the number of TDs. They discuss the 18th delay to the handing over of a National…
- The Price Donald Trump Makes Us Pay · 1 h 5 min · Season 1 Episode 115Matt is joined by Brendan Ogle and Larry Donnelly to look at Irish reactions to Trump's Iranian assault. They rate and review Micheál Martin's Oval Office visit as much for what…
- Micheál Martin's Mission: Impossible · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 114Lise Hand and Shane Coleman join Matt to assess the perilous nature of Micheál Martin's visit to the Oval Office: what sort of Trump will he find, can he safeguard Irish…
- How the Iranian War Impacts Ireland · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 113Brenda Power and John Deasy join Matt to discuss America's assault on Iran and what Ireland's position on it should be. They assess what Micheál Martin should do in Washington…
- Sinn Féin Under the Microscope · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 112Matt is joined by John Lee and Danny McConnell to discuss Sinn Féin's prospects in the Dublin Central by-election, its position on Ukraine, Mary Lou McDonald's memories of…
- Children and Babies and Providing for Them · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 111Matt is joined by Áine Kerr and Shane Coleman to discuss the importance of SNAs in our schools and our government's mishandling of potential changes. Why is the government…
- Banged Up Abroad · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 110Former Fine Gael TD John Deasy and Irish Daily Mail Columnist Brenda Power join Matt to discuss the wider implications for Irish emigrants to the US of the Seamus Culleton case…
- The Rain Blame Game · 50 min · Season 1 Episode 109Danny McConnell and John Lee examine the consequences of Ireland’s repeated failure to deliver flood defences and critical infrastructure. They ask whether the Social Democrats…
- Get the Fliuch Out of Here · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 108As Storm Chandra wreaked havoc on the country, Shane Coleman and Lise Hand discuss who is really responsible for making sure appropriate weather warnings are given. Fianna Fáil's…
- A Bowl of Shamrock and a Billion Dollars for Trump · 58 min · Season 1 Episode 107As Donald Trump pushes his Board of Peace idea, would it be wise for Ireland to join and if we say no, could the squeeze be put on us? John Deasy and Brenda Power join Matt, and…
- Naughty Micheál, Nudie Grok, & Paschal's Silence · 1 h 9 min · Season 1 Episode 106Matt is joined by Danny McConnell and John Lee to unpack the continuing Mercosur fallout inside the government and with the EU. The foreign challenges for Micheál Martin in 2026…
- The Guns of January · 1 h 4 min · Season 1 Episode 105Brenda Power and Larry Donnelly join Matt for a wide-ranging discussion starting with the Irish government's position on the Mercosur deal. What Micheál Martin was up to in…
- Simon Harris & His Many Opinions · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 104Lise Hand and Shane Coleman join Matt to assess the many newspaper interviews given by Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris over the Christmas period. They discuss the…
- Tally-Ho to 2025 & Tales of Trump · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 103Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin coalesce to save fox hunting. Danny McConnell and John Lee join Matt to discuss left unity and who Sinn Féin will really end up in…
- Teflon Taoiseach 2.0 · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 102Danny McConnell and John Lee join Matt to discuss not the gang who couldn't shoot straight, but the gang who couldn't even get a shot off, and yet Micheál Martin is injured, but…
