Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

The country is moving on from the protests that dominated the national discussion over Easter, even as what the protests actually meant continues to generate debate.

Leo Varadkar poured more fuel on the fire by telling rural dwellers that, far from them being the backbone that holds up the country, it is their city cousins who pay all the bills. Could these events mark the start of deeper urban-rural divide in politics? It seems very possible the protests will be looked back on as an important step in Ireland’s political evolution, wherever that leads.

Today Hugh is joined by UCD political economy lecturer Michael Byrne and political correspondent Ellen Coyne to talk about what the events of April 2026 have revealed about Irish society, Irish politics and how Irish people look at democracy, protest and the urban-rural divide.

You can read Michael Byrne’s Substack blog on housing here.

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Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

· There were renewed questions about the future of Micheál Martin’s leadership in the aftermath of the fuel protests and the resignation of former Independent minister Michael Healy-Rae from Government. Fianna Fáil TDs James O'Connor, Ryan O’Meara and Albert Dolan outlined their “real and deep concern” with the Government’s response to the protests in a statement on Wednesday. However, any momentum behind a challenge to Martin had faded by Thursday night as Fianna Fáil Ministers and TDs rallied behind him.

· Another consequence of the Government’s response to the fuel protests has been the potential impact on Fianna Fáil’s relationship with rural Ireland. Will Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan’s announcement last week that the Army was being called in to clear fuel protest blockades come back to haunt the party?

· And President Catherine Connolly will meet her Council of State next Monday to consider the constitutionality of the recently passed International Protection Bill.

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

· US vice-president JD Vance takes issue with Pope Leo, excitement builds (mainly Pat’s) ahead of the Munster senior hurling championship, and how Irish energy prices compare amid the shock to oil and gas prices.
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Hugh, Pat and Ellen are joined by columnist Gerard Howlin to talk about a tumultuous day in Leinster House that capped a terrible week for the governing coalition:

The Government faced down a confidence challenge, as expected. But the loss of now-former minister of state Michael Healy-Rae, along with the support of his backbencher brother Danny, cut its majority and underlined how the fuel protests have emerged as its biggest political challenge since the general election.

The speed with which hundred of millions of euro were found to fix the problem has not been lost on every other interest group in the country. Further militant protests and renewed public sector pay demands are likely to follow. Is the Dáil lacking voices calling for fiscal restraint?

Rural disillusionment is a slow-burning crisis for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, with rural voters feeling abandoned by the big parties.

Jim O'Callaghan's stock has fallen within Fianna Fáil over his handling of the crisis.

And with the Government lacking a clearly articulated plan to steer citizens out of a painful cost of living crisis, the deep unhappiness on display over the past week is likely to persist.
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All agree that the scale of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s defeat in yesterday’s general election is hugely significant, for Hungary, Europe and beyond. But what exactly does the result mean? To find out Hugh talks to two journalists covering Hungarian affairs, Daniel Nolan and Ivan Nagy. They discuss how Orbán's populist playbook ran out of steam, why JD Vance's recent visit backfired and why Hungary now faces a painful economic reckoning.
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Ellen Coyne and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

It was becoming clear towards the end of last week that protests over the price of fuel were coming. But the scale of what has unfolded seems to have caught the Government by surprise. Then there were missteps in the handling of the situation throughout the week. Now the battle lines have been drawn and positions have been given time and space to harden. Has the State’s authority been undermined?

Jack and Ellen take us inside a week of crisis for the country and the coalition.

Some opposition politicians showed enthusiastic support for the protests in their early stages, but the mood has become much more cautious as the scale of the impact on daily life has become clear.

Donald Trump has claimed the two-week Iran war ceasefire as a victory for the US. In reality, the outcome is anything but.

Plus the panel pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week, including the nuances of court reporting, Paris’s anti-Emily in Paris movement and the childlike wonder inspired by the Artemis mission to the Moon.
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