Grey Matters

What happens when the dream of living out your retirement years sailing around the world turns into a nightmare? Terry Prone sits down with regular contributor Valerie Cox to examine the stranded Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship, the realities of residential cruise ships, and how a €98 travel policy saved Valerie €320,000.

Would you leave your marriage if there were no financial consequences? We surveyed people entering the last third of their lives, and the answer surprised even us: over one in four women said they’d seriously consider divorce, compared to just over one in ten men.
Terry Prone and Fergus Finlay are joined by Valerie Cox to ask why. They discuss temptation, duty, and the real price of doing the laundry.

Loneliness, and a withdrawal from the community organisations that keep older people connected, are among the biggest challenges facing older people in Ireland today, according to author and former TD Liz McManus.
This week Liz joins Fergus to talk about her short story collection Tiny Bruises and a life that has taken in architecture, politics and writing.

Comedy expert Brendan Balfe joins Terry and Fergus this week to explore what makes great comedy, share some of his favourite comedians and discuss his career, humour, and talent behind a truly good laugh.

Tony Murray and his son Conor join Fergus on this week's episode of Grey Matters to discuss what it means to be an older parent, and a sibling, of an adult with an intellectual disability, and why they believe the State’s approach to housing and care must change.