Highlights From Lunchtime Live

A Dublin priest is promising to ban the "glorification of criminality" during funeral masses in his church.Fr Bill O'Shaughnessy, who is based in Tallaght, said that the church should never be a place of "such blatant anti-Christian activity" after witnessing incidents including someone wearing a balaclava while entering the church carrying a coffin, and floral arrangements of alcohol, screwdrivers and cars.Do displays like these at gangland funerals glorify crime?Crime Reporter Michael Doyle, Mick Duff, Independent Councilor in Tallaght Central, Michael Kelly, Director of Public Affairs with Aid to the Church in Need and more join Andrea to discuss.

Every Friday, as part of our ‘Ask Me Anything’ series, we put your questions to people from interesting backgrounds or working in different careers.This week, Andrea was joined by Casting Director Shauna Griffith to answer any of your movie and TV questions!

What does your profile picture say about you? If you have it as a selfie, are you more likely to be self centered?That’s the question posed by Journalist Áilín Quinlan in Echo Live this week.She and Life Coach Mark Fennell join Andrea to discuss.

‘School reunions are LinkedIn with gin and tonics – do I really want to go to mine?’ So asks Tanya Sweeney, Columnist with the Irish Independent.She recently got an invitation to her school reunion and joins Andrea and more to discuss whether they’re worth going to.

Are you doing enough to prepare for your retirement?A survey from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission shows that one in 10 people between the ages of 45 and 64 don’t have a pension, but is just having a pension even enough?Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at CCPC joins Andrea to discuss.

From the Northern Lights to flying GAA players home for championship – Joe Caulfield from the Newstalk Newsroom joins Andrea to share some of the stories from around the country this week you may have missed!

Touchscreen controls in modern cars pose a road safety risk, that is according to the Euro NCAP - the consumer organisation that gives safety ratings on cars.Touchscreens, they say, which are used for the radio, air conditioning temperature and some driver controls are taking drivers’ eyes off the road.Should you be allowed to have touchscreens in cars?Andrea is joined by Shane O’Donoghue, Editor of Completecar.ie and more to discuss.Image: Tesla

From getting the perfect balance between house plants and jungle in your room, to how to keep them alive – the Home Squad are here to help make houseplants work for you!Pat Keville from PlantStore.ie and Emma Delaney, Senior Interior Designer from April & the Bear join Andrea to discuss.

Actor Mark Ruffalo hit out at the Irish Green Party this week, weighing in on Irish politics. The actor claimed that the party is ‘about to do something really terrible to the environment’ by accommodating fracking.The Green Party have said it’s a ‘very misleading account’ of what is included in new legislation about liquified natural gas (LNG).How bizarre is something like this, from someone like him?Andrea is joined by Kendra Becker, Editor of Goss.ie and Aimmé Millar, Senior Public Affairs with Carr Communications to discuss.

Hurricane Milton has done incredible damage to Florida overnight, so what is it like on the ground for those living there?Andrea is joined by listeners in Florida to discuss.

A love of reading is something all parents want to instil in their children, but a new survey from BookTrust shows a drop off in reading once children progress to secondary school.Joining Andrea to discuss this is Mary McCarthy, Columnist with the Irish Independent, Darina Molloy, Senior Executive Librarian based in Castlebar and Sarah Webb, Children's Author.

From the Chilean miners to John Denver, Ciaran O’Connor from 98fm joins Andrea Gilligan to rewind the clock!

Dublin City Council have launched their new plan to breathe life back into the city's night time economy. The new Dublin City Night-time Economy Strategy aims "to create a dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant nightlife" for both citizens and tourists.What, do you think, would revitalise Dublin’s nightlife?Ray O'Donoghue was appointed Dublin's Night Mayor back in April, and joins Andrea and more to discuss these plans.

For this week’s Ask the Expert, Andrea Gilligan is joined by Joey Donnelly, owner of Crofton Motors in Dublin, to answer any of your car-adjacent questions!

7-foot-tall Andrew Day talked in the Telegraph about how being so tall can lead to some pretty big disadvantages.Everything from hobbies and holidays to clothes and shoes ends up costing him a fortune because of his height.Are you on the taller side? What disadvantages do you face because of your height?Andrea is joined by listeners, including Ireland’s tallest man, Shaun Aisbitt, to discuss.

(Some details of this story could be distressing for listeners.)Donegal woman Danielle McLaughlin was backpacking in India when she was murdered.That was in 2017, and although someone was arrested at the time, there has still been no trial.Her family have been waiting for justice for seven years, and her mum Andrea Brannigan joins Andrea Gilligan to discuss.

Travelling solo can be an incredible adventure, but is it worth the cost? From higher accommodation prices to missing out on group discounts, solo travellers often pay a premium.Andrea is joined by frequent solo traveller, Pippa Meehan, Ariana Dunne, Host of the Solo Powered Podcast, Rory from Rory’s Travel Club and more to discuss.

Lunchtime Live's Reasons to be Happy looks at some of the news stories that you might have missed that will leave you feeling more optimistic.Rebecca Shekleton, Presenter of 98fm’s Big Breakfast joined Andrea this week to share all the things to make you smile!

Earlier on Newstalk Breakfast, Dr Richard Hogan, Family Psychotherapist, said that you have to be careful that children understand the value of the money they are getting...When it comes to pocket money, are children losing the value of money?  Andrea is joined by listeners, including Siobhan O’Neill white from Mams.ie, to discuss.

Welcome to The Pod Squad!We review podcasts every Tuesday so you always have something new to listen to.Sarah-Jayne Tobin, Editor of rollercoaster.ie and Off the Ball’s Cameron Hill joined Andrea to review ‘Broomgate: A Curling Scandal’!Image: CBC