The week that really was

The Week That Really Was" offers a different and distinctive take on the events of the week of a kind that you won't find anywhere else in Ireland. It is presented by Gript Media Editor John McGuirk, and Barrister at Law and Media Personality, Sarah Ryan.

A backpack of invisible privileges

Title: A backpack of invisible privilegesBlurb: John and Sarah discuss the implications of the surrogacy bill; The slow motion car-crash that is the children's hospital; Michael D. Higgins' continued abuse of his office; and the very very bad verdict on Sinn Fein from the doorsteps

05-31
01:04:47

Stick up your posters and see what happens

With two weeks until polling day, John and Sarah take stock of the state of the EU and local election campaign. Also: Will recognising palestine help the Government? And Sarah argues that young women are in "a crisis".

05-24
56:19

Nobody hates you like somebody who loved you

PODCAST: Are Sinn Fein irretrievably done for with working class voters who feel betrayed? Did we over-react to the Dublin Portal hijinks? And Sarah explains why she'd always prefer a man to a bear.

05-17
51:21

Doomsday Views

John and Sarah discuss whether there's merit in chemical castration for paedophiles; What to make of Bambie Thug and Eurovision; Javier Millei's astonishing success in Argentina; and general European and Local election chat.

05-10
55:26

Perfidious Albion

 John and Sarah review the week, including Ireland's renewed - if conveniently timed - war with Britain on immigration; reflections on the battle of Newtownmountkennedy; whether the polls are to be believed; and is the cost of living being ignored?

05-03
55:31

The Elephant in the Room

Sarah Ryan explains to John McGuirk why she has decided to manage Niall Boylan's EU election campaign. Also, they talk about events at the Oireachtas committee on immigration, Helen McEntee's bad week, and are smartphones the new "microchipping"?

04-26
54:45

The Cass Report, with Helen Joyce

Bestselling author, Journalist, and now campaigner Helen Joyce joins John and Sarah to explain the contents of the Cass Review into the treatment of "transgender" children, and the wider implications of transgender ideology on western society.

04-19
01:08:57

Satan Lives

John and Sarah discuss Simon Harris's cowardly reshuffle, the desired return of Kate O'Connell to frontline politics, the Cass Review, and the state of abortion politics, stateside.

04-12
50:07

Two stuttering wafflers who say nothing

John and Sarah talk JK Rowling's defiance of the Scottish Government, The Government's incestuous relationships with journovisors, the costs of a United Ireland, Sinn Fein's loss of "middle finger status", and checking in on Trump v Biden.

04-05
01:11:45

Identity Crisis

John and Sarah discuss how the week-long debate on the Hate Speech Bill underlines the identity crisis facing Ireland's politicians; The possibly permanent loss of Sinn Fein's mojo; and why Assisted Suicide absolutely is a slippery slope, and one that cannot be escaped. 

03-29
01:04:10

The Harris ascendancy

The fall of the House of Varadkar is set to leave the country in the hands of Simon Harris, at 37, the youngest Taoiseach Ireland has ever had. John and Sarah talk through Varadkar's legacy, and are divided on the prospects for Harris as leader.

03-22
59:45

Tent City

John and Sarah discuss the tent city on Mount Street and the collapse of Irish immigration policy, as well as the Taoiseach's comments on Saint Patrick, Dylan Mulvaney's hot new music video, and the sudden decline of the Late Late Show.

03-15
59:15

You're not alone

In a special reaction episode, John and Sarah analyse the Government's crushing defeat in the referendums on the 39th and 40th amendments. Their takeaway? "A lot of people who felt very alone now know that they're not the ones in the minority at all".

03-10
39:05

Driven two Spirits

John and Sarah discuss the Government's new sex education reforms, including the new gingerbread person. Also: Final referendum predictions, Sinn Fein's continuing woes, and the Government, if it will do nothing else for us, will at least kill us off before the end.

03-08
54:09

Double Standards

John and Sarah talk about an epidemic of double standards in Ireland: The lack of any concern about the attack on Carol Nolan's office, as opposed to the horror at the NWCI receiving mean tweets. Also: FF's selection mess, crazy cat killing women, and the perils of canvassing.

03-01
55:59

The Taoiseach takes flight

John and Sarah recap an eventful week, from the Taoiseach's flight and fight attitude to Gript, the continuing chaos of the referendum campaigns, a sausage festival in Belfast, and the competing scandals in a Limerick hospital.

02-23
01:00:41

Verifiable lies and boiled tits

In this week's edition, John and Sarah discuss being male, pale, and stale, per an FG MEP, as well as the mounting Children's hospital disaster, Simon Harris's latest bright idea, and Michael McDowell's palpable fury over Government misinformation in the referendum campaign.

02-16
59:12

Expensive women and fast czars

John and Sarah discuss the funding of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, which Sarah insists doesn’t represent her. Also: The Sinn Fein polling slump is real, Euthanasia breaks new frontiers in Holland, and Joe Biden is now talking to the dead. 

02-09
01:09:05

Crime and no punishment

John and Sarah review some of the sentences from the Irish courts in January, and conclude that it’s a good time to be a criminal in Ireland. Also: Is politics putting women off dating, and are Sinn Fein in serious decline?

02-02
01:07:43

A carnival of nonsense

A dumb new RTÉ funding plan, a stupid controversy over the Oscars, confusion from the electoral commission, and a covid enquiry that won’t blame anybody: The week was a carnival of nonsense, says Sarah Ryan, and John finds it hard to disagree.

01-26
01:04:58

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