Midway through the World Cup cycle, Sinead and Gav assess the health of the Ireland rugby team with an eye on the perennial question: Can we win a World Cup quarter final?

Optimism levels in rugby country are more subdued than usual following a lacklustre Autumn series, while the provinces, especially Leinster, are not inspiring confidence.

The pair discuss what needs to happen between now and October 2027 for Ireland to break through their glass ceiling.

Can Ireland blood enough exciting players to freshen up the team? Can Andy Farrell settle on his best 10? Are the lineout and scrum fixable? Is the unwritten rule that Ireland’s internationals have to play club rugby here a help or a hindrance in the modern game? Is Irish rugby suffering a Lions hangover, or is this World Cup cycle one too many for some key players?

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Mo Salah’s outburst after being left on the bench during Liverpool’s draw with Leeds on Saturday means the legendary forward has probably kicked his last ball for the Reds.

But is Salah right to suggest he has been thrown under the bus by the club he has served so well for eight years? Is it natural that he feels singled out when his drop in form has been replicated across Arne Slot’s expensively assembled squad?

Or has the Egyptian gone too far in his comments, and failed to grasp the coldly transactional nature of professional football?

Gav and Sinead get to grips with the biggest Premier League football story of the season, and in the process grapple with themes of loyalty, status, ego, envy and the challenge of succession planning in a game fraught with unforeseen and crazy events - some of which led to April’s free-scoring title-winning king of Anfield being deemed past it by September.

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Fans across the world are eagerly anticipating the finale of the Formula 1 season this weekend, but how much of that is down to the sport, and how much is due to the dramatisation of everything that is F1 on the Netflix series Drive to Survive?

This week Sinead and Gav marvel at how F1 has cracked America with the help of Netflix, and wonder what Irish sports and teams could benefit from a more open attitude towards documentary series makers.

They discuss which behind-the-scenes shows have been a success, and which have left the viewers feeling short-changed as subjects, such as David Beckham and Wayne Rooney, control their own narrative.

And, in the spirit of open access, Sinead and Gav consider how much they’d like it if a camera crew were given full access to The Journal and The 42 tomorrow.

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After Scotland’s remarkable qualification for next year’s World Cup, captain Andy Robertson gave an emotional insight into his grief following the tragic death of his Liverpool team-mate, Diogo Jota.

On this week’s podcast, Sinéad and Gavin discuss Robertson’s interview, and why it led to a wider media discussion about the continuing impact of Jota’s death on everyone at Liverpool.

With Liverpool enduring a terrible run of results on the pitch, they explore how to discuss the players’ on-field underperformance in the context of this grief. Is Jota’s death and his family’s grief at risk of being trivialised by being used by pundits and journalists to explain poor results on a football pitch? Or are we doing a disservice to the players involved by not acknowledging it?

And why do we not give space to our elite sportspeople to be human beings? Is this unfair on our behalf, or is it part of the contract between supporter and the well-paid football professional: that they are not allowed any room for escapism in what is our favourite form of escapism?

Get in touch - [email protected] and [email protected]

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It is another gloriously happy day, as Sinéad and Gavin continue to bask with the rest of you in the beautiful afterglow of Ireland’s victory in Hungary.

Gavin is back from Budapest and gives Sinéad the lowdown on how the whole, mad drama played out in the stadium. But truly it doesn’t matter where you watch Troy Parrott’s winning goal - what matters is that you are united with millions of Irish people in such total happiness.

Sinéad and Gavin dig into why Ireland’s wins mean so much to so many people. Is this merely proof that we are Football Country, rather than Rugby Country? Or is there something deeper at play?

How has the national football team become such a vital part of our national identity? Why is it so important that a whole generation of players and fans experienced this moment?

Basically - why are we so ludicrously happy?

Get in touch - [email protected] and [email protected]

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How many times has Sinéad asked Gav is it possible? Could we?... is there any way? She should have been asking Troy Parrott.

Ireland's stunning 3-2 win over Hungary is all anyone wants to talk about today. Unfortunately, Gav and Sinéad record on Tuesdays and Gav, naturally, is a wanted man elsewhere today. But we wanted to give our loyal listeners an extra treat - free access to The 42's Football Family podcast.

We will be back tomorrow to talk more football, and the impact of a week like we've just had. But until then, enjoy the insights from The 42's David Sneyd and Shane Keegan, alongside our own Gav.

If you like what you hear, and honestly, how could you not? You can subscribe to The 42 on a trial basis for just 1 euro a month at the moment. What a no brainer. We're in for a busy year!

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With the League of Ireland season over, clubs’ attention now turns to recruiting new players for next year, during which they will quickly run into the realities of Ireland’s housing crisis.

On this week’s show, Sinéad and Gavin explain how the crisis affects professional sport in Ireland, how it has come to define certain sports and competitions, and how these impacts articulate the wider issues felt by a whole generation of Irish people.

They then look at the reasons underpinning the crisis: do we simply not have enough houses? Or are there wider problems with the investment funds buying up the few houses that are put on the Irish market?

They then point to the incipient triumph of Ireland’s hosting of the Ryder Cup and ask whether politicians really believe this is a housing crisis, and whether they are committed as they claim to be when it comes to addressing it.

Get in touch - [email protected] and [email protected]

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The Irish language and hurling should be accessible and a source of joy to many. Has this always been the case? Is it even the case now? Or are they ring-fenced? Taught in specific environments - school and GAA clubs that happen to offer hurling, which are not so plentiful in much of the country?

But what could happen if the language and game of hurling were not restricted to these environments? How could they begin to thrive if attempts to make them more widely available were backed rather than thwarted?

These are some of the questions tackled by Ciarán Murphy of the Second Captains in his new book, Old Parish, where he takes up hurling in his early 40s.

Today, he chats with Sinead about the humbling effects of competitive hurling, and the life-affirming adventure of returning to his father’s club in the Waterford Gaeltacht to live, write and hurl.

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Gav and Sinead discuss the events of last week, when there were yet more job losses in Irish sports journalism.

This will affect sports fans in a number of ways, from there being fewer experienced people to hold organisations and individuals to account, to less depth and quality in the coverage of sport.

Why are some media organisations laying off their most seasoned journalists? Why is there less money in the fourth estate nowadays? How did the internet change the game and why did so many newspapers and websites fall foul of social media algorithm changes?

The pair ponder what’s next for the industry and Sinead explains why the future for media firms could be a return to more traditional journalistic practices.

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Why is it so hard to integrate the GAA, Camogie Association and LGFA? Why should it cost the mooted half a billion euro to do so, and why have the leadership of the GAA been so silent on the matter to date, with the vacuum being filled by naysayers?

Sinead and Gav address these and more issues around Integration, and consider how much of the €500 million project cost is down to the ‘centre of excellence culture’ which implores county boards to invest more and more money on land and facilities for players earmarked as elite.

Also, the FAI have been criticised strongly for not attending Oireachtas Committees. Why not the same volume of headlines for the GAA, Camogie Association and LGFA who have so far not engaged with elected representatives in public despite an invitation to attend Leinster House this month?

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