Opinions Matter with Adrian & Jeremy

A Balbriggan housing estate is in bits over one house flying an Israeli flag out of a bedroom window — and a listener says the neighbours are “going ballistic”, the guards won’t act, and the owners are basically laughing at complaints online.

Adrian and Jeremy ask: is it their right to fly whatever they want on private property… or is this pure trolling in the middle of a genocide row and the Ireland vs Israel matches?

Callers and voicenotes kick off fast — accusations of racism and anti-Semitism, “keep foreign flags out”, comparisons to Palestinian flags and even swastikas, and a full-on shouting match on air.

A listener from North County Dublin is raging after her husband failed Garda Vetting for their son’s football club… because of a cocaine possession conviction from 20 years ago. He’s had no trouble since, has a job, a family, and just wants to help coach the kids — so is the system a complete joke, or is it “do the crime, do the time” forever?

Micheál Martin says Ireland hasn’t been “overrun”, crime is actually down in key areas, and he’s not opposed to publishing crime stats by nationality. So the lads ask: would that calm the debate… or pour petrol on it?

Adrian says people are obsessed with where a criminal is from instead of what they did, and challenges listeners to prove immigration has led to more crime.

Then the calls kick off. John insists the CSO figures are “made up”, claims everything is being covered up, and says the country is in “rag order”.

Laura, Anthony and Martin jump in — from paranoia accusations to “dossiers” of court cases — and the whole thing spirals into a row about “truth”, social media, and whether you can “spot a Somalian a mile away”!!

After watching the Virgin Media show on the “Lucky Dip” gang and the M9 joyriders, listener Seaney messages the lads raging: Ireland needs a proper juvenile prison — “Mountjoy for kids” — because Oberstown is “like a holiday camp”.

Adrian and Jeremy ask the blunt question: do we bring back something like St Patrick’s Institution, or would that just create even more hardened criminals?

Callers are split. Some want tougher, more secure lock-up and real consequences. Others argue prison is a training ground, and the focus should be prevention, family support, and intervention before kids end up in court.

A Lucan family are left shaken after a “lucky dip” gang hit their home twice in a month — and the second time, five masked men turned up at 4:30am with a hammer and bolt cutters, roaring “get in your house” as the alarm blared.

Karolina tells Adrian and Jeremy how her motorbike, tools and her brother’s mountain bike were taken in horror attach.

The lads launch a fundraiser to replace the young lads mountain bike.

A listener we’re calling “K” tells Adrian and Katie she’s just made the extremely difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy — but she’s furious at Ireland’s mandatory three-day waiting period. She says it didn’t change her mind, it just dragged out an already brutal situation, and she wants the “patronising” rule scrapped.

(Thumbnail Image © Clodagh Kilcoyne for Irish Times)

It’s the weekend “Get It Off Your Chest” episode — which means one thing: pure, unfiltered randomness from Adrian and Jeremy.

Adrian tells a mad Alzheimer’s nursing home story about being recognised after 30 years…

Then it’s revealed Jeremy has basically never had coffee, the lads go down a rabbit hole on Tesla/Elon Musk, and they dig up an unbelievable Late Late Show clip of Gay Byrne explaining condoms on live TV.

And yes… it somehow ends up with a Virgin Megastore “condoms through a hatch” story and a latex allergy revelation.

After our last episode’s “name and shame” of racist comments aimed at the new Drogheda Gogglebox girls, Adrian and Jeremy get a message that brings it into the real world: one of the men called out has been dragged in by management and given a formal warning.

But is a warning enough?

Today’s debate asks the bigger question: should there be real-life consequences for online hate — including losing your job — especially when you work alongside black colleagues and your employer is publicly linked to your profile?

Callers clash over free speech, employment law, double standards, and where “a joke” stops being “incitement to hatred”.