On this week's podcast, Sinead and Gavin toast the extraordinary work of Jim Gavin and his Football Rules Committee, which has successfully saved Gaelic football.

They discuss how the FRC pulled off the job, and where it stands among other ingenious rule changes in other sports.

They then make the point that if Gaelic football can be saved, then anything is possible: what lessons can the government learn from the FRC in tackling the housing crisis, or regulating Big Tech?

And, if the GAA can fix Gaelic football in less than a year, why can't they accelerate the process of integration?

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

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An estimated one in five Irish households access live sport using a dodgy box - on this week’s show, Sinéad and Gavin explain the crackdown on their use, and the potential punishments for any user caught with a dodgy box.

They discuss the appetite among Gardaí for this crackdown, and how some broadcasters are seeking to take things into their own hands.

They also debate the moral question - why do so many people feel it is not wrong to use a dodgy box? Has it become unreasonably expensive to pay for sport legitimately? And can dodgy boxes ever really be fully stamped out?

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

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David Beckham has completed a career ambition with the bestowing of a knighthood by King Charles.

On this week’s podcast, Gavin and Sinéad discuss why Beckham wanted a knighthood so badly, and detail his 20-year campaign for the honour. They look back at his career, assess his legacy, and consider the controversies.

Do we underrate him as a player? Why did the English media establishment get Beckham so wrong for so long? Would sport and celebrity culture so enmeshed today had it not been for the trailblazing figure of Beckham?

And what next for Beckham and his family? Have they become an ersatz royal family for the benefit of America?

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

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Sinead spent the weekend at Croke Park, watching her beloved Kildare hurlers complete a stunning rise to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, and earn promotion to compete among Leinster's elite in the Liam McCarthy Cup next year.

On this week's pod, we discuss how Kildare completed their rise, and then discuss the GAA's biggest single failing of their history: the failure to grow hurling across the country.

We discuss why hurling is a minority sport, look at its biggest single impediment - Gaelic football - and explain what the GAA have got wrong, and what they are now trying to do to make it right.

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

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On this week’s episode, Sinéad and Gavin look ahead to the biggest events of the summer, previewing storylines and the likely winners and losers. What the hell is Fifa’s Club World Cup, and why is Gianni Infantino a collectible in the official sticker album? Can Rhasidat Adeleke or anyone else on Team Ireland win a global medal at the world athletics championships? Why do we all get so inexplicably caught up in the British and Irish Lions? Can Ireland actually win a quarter-final, this time, at the women’s Rugby World Cup? And what kind of absurdity will break out at the Ryder Cup?

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

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Imagine first experiencing the thrill of scoring a goal or kicking a point at the age of 51.

That's the unlikely and thrilling turn life took this year for Laura Byrne, The Journal's Opinions Editor.

This week Laura tells Sinead O'Carroll about her upbringing on the side of a GAA field in 1980s Wicklow. Football was hugely important in family life, but it just wasn't something girls played in her experience. As a result, an antipathy to Gaelic games developed - until Laura had kids of her own and they began to play hurling and football. Then, in recent times, Laura was talked into giving the 'Mothers and Others' programme a go at her local club.

After years of being on the outside looking in, Laura is now an enthusiastic participant, chasing the thrill of the next score, while remembering not to apologise to opponents for tackling them. Her sporting story is poignant and uplifting and underscores the truth that it is never too late to lace up the boots and savour the joy of being part of a team.

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

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On this week’s pod, Gavin and Sinéad discuss Gary Lineker’s early exit from the BBC, after he shared a social media post that included an anti-semitic trope.

They discuss how Lineker found his political voice, and why his challenging of the BBC’s impartiality rules made him a controversial figure.

They explain what those impartiality rules are, and how they are not appropriate for the coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

They then also look at how sports bodies are using this language of impartiality to justify not ostracising Israel from international sport, as they did with Russia.

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

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Gav dials in from Quail Hollow where Rory McIlroy begins his new quest - to become the first golfer of all time to win a calendar Grand Slam.

He and Sinead consider the long odds against such a feat yet ponder whether a freewheeling and easy McIlroy can at least take the next step at the golf course with which he has a cherished relationship.

Also, the pair discuss Shane Lowry’s chances after a heartbreaking weekend at the Truist Championship.

And what legacy are the Irish pair providing back home, where playing numbers - already high - have taken an upswing on the back of their exploits?

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18 All-Ireland medals and 11 All-Stars across camogie and LGFA - few people are as qualified to speak on the skort controversy as Rena Buckley.

The Cork woman tells Sinead O’Carroll that players’ wishes should be respected, but there are more pressing issues facing camogie - such as the failure to promote the sport to a wider audience and the slow pace of integration.

Rena sets out how the big sports story of this week is a lightning rod for the more general sense of frustration felt by camogie players, from county to club level. She sets out what needs to change for the sport to truly thrive.

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

This week’s episode of The42 FM is brought to you by An Post Money.

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The GAA enacted a revolution a couple of years ago in introducing the split season, bringing forward the All-Ireland finals to July to allow for a defined season for the benefit of the club player. But as Meath’s shock win over Dublin was lost to many on a busy Sunday of GAA and other sport, Gavin and Sinéad ask if the GAA have made a mistake in so dramatically changing the season’s schedule.

They look into the reasons for the split season’s introduction, and debate whether the GAA have over-corrected in addressing legitimate issues. Plus, why does criticism of the split season somehow make you less of a True Gael, and whatever happened to the GAA’s founding principle: paranoia.

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