Skip to content

E19: Ireland's kids hate it here

September 25, 2026 · 1 h 3 min

Show notes

www.johnandsarah.ieThis week: Ireland's young people hate life in Ireland, objecting to housing shortages, joblessness, and lots more. We discuss in depth. Also: Ebun Joseph fixes your school; Nick Delehanty closes his business; Holly Cairns gets maternity leave for some reason, and have you heard about the Lesbians in America?00:00 - Episode intro and the week’s big topics02:07 - Why so many young people want to leave Ireland04:16 - Policy choices, housing, and the “liberal progressive society” argument07:47 - The emotional and social cost of young adults being stuck at home10:50 - Why the crisis is bigger than a mood and harder to fix politically14:33 - How collapsed nightlife feeds loneliness and weaker dating culture18:03 - The lockdown effect on teenage social development20:02 - What government could do now, from policing to city-centre culture22:23 - Why fewer risks and fewer nights out change how young people grow up24:51 - Why some people leave temporarily and still plan to come back26:55 - David Higgins and the “milestone recession”28:34 - Nick Delahanty’s business closure and the Irish Times reaction30:09 - The reality of starting and running a small business in Ireland36:02 - Labour’s miscarriage leave proposal and the cost to employers41:41 - Holly Cairns, maternity leave, and political virtue signalling45:32 - Exclusive: the Convention on Education agenda in Sligo47:35 - Who gets to define school culture54:32 - Sunny Hostin and the shocking murder trial anecdote59:03 - A wider point about imported culture-war insanity62:30 - Wrap-up and closing remarks

All episodes of Something Different with John and Sarah

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.