The 42FM

Sinéad and Niall welcome Mark Horgan of the Second Captains/BBC podcast 'Where is George Gibney?' to reflect on the paedophile's criminal conviction and sentencing 33 years after he was first charged in a Dublin court.

The trio talk about where journalism fits into the decades-long story and why the global nature of podcasting was a key feature in bringing it to a conclusion that previously looked impossible to the swimming coach's victims.

They delve into what sports journalism should be, including why and how smaller impacts are just as motivating.
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Paul Howard joins Sinéad O’Carroll and Niall Kelly to talk about how sport would work in a united Ireland.

This is a subject Paul has spent a lot of time thinking about during the research and writing for his new novel, A Nation Once Again.

The book centres on a secretive civil service department tasked with preparing for a unified country.

As sports fans know, the union of the Republic and North and IFA and FAI could be among the most tricky diplomatic challenges for a fledgling state.

What would be an acceptable flag, anthem and home ground for such a team? What happens to the collective memories of both fanbases? Would it even matter to the younger generation, who would quickly replace what’s been with their own, new reality.
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Sinead O’Carroll and Niall Kelly are joined by the much-admired sportswriter for a far-reaching chat.

Vincent talks about the privilege and pressure of covering the Olympic games across the decades for the Irish Independent.

And he explains how the GAA has changed - from being an organisation where a journalist such as himself could sit in a dug out for an All-Ireland final, to one where access is tightly controlled by cautious managers.

Vincent explains what has been lost by the culture of secrecy, how it became harder to do the job to the desired standard, and why the reader and supporter of Gaelic games has suffered in that they do not know the players, in all of their colour and contradictions, like previous generations.

Yet he remains an optimist, and says the best sports writers are at work today - and given just a little access, can turn around work which stands the test of time.
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Sinéad O’Carroll is joined by David Sneyd, who has returned from a tumultuous few days in Debrecen with the Ireland football team.

There is much to discuss, including the curious suggestion of this being a ‘media-created’ story.

How will the team and Gavin Bazunu be received on Thursday night at the Aviva Stadium?

Is there a chance that this Sunday’s game, Ireland’s ‘home’ tie with Israel in Serbia, could be boycotted by Ireland players? Or is the appetite for more tension-filled days and nights in the meantime not there?

Also, did agents lean on players to fulfill the fixture last Sunday? Why was the game refereed so leniently? And was the football unimportant, or did it matter in the end?
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Ireland will play Israel twice in the coming weeks, despite widely articulated concern and protest over the fixtures. Niall Kelly and Sinead O’Carroll discuss the background to these games, how they came about, and why they will go ahead despite the misgivings of many supporters.

The pair discuss previous stories that have been at the intersection of sport and news and politics and explain why this is by far the most contentious in recent decades.

With Uefa, the FAI and Irish government opting against making a stand or ruling on the fixtures, the responsibility for protest has cascaded down to the players. We ask if it is fair or realistic for a professional footballer to become the face of dissent against these games going ahead and, as a consequence, the highest profile sporting opponent of Israel.

We detail how the media has decided to cover the games, and the policy of The 42 and The Journal.
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