Lunchtime

From live gigs, comedy, theatre, to festive family fun at key Dublin attractions right across the city – there's something for everyone in Dublin this winter.

Every week we will be discussing some of the magical experiences that you can enjoy this winter in Dublin!

This week Dara Quilty walks us through some of the magic Christmas spots around Dublin, including a very Christmassy Dublin Bus Tour.

Catch the full chat by pressing the Play button on this page.

VisitDublin.com is your one-stop-shop to find out everything that’s going on and start planning your Winter in Dublin trip.

It may have been a GAA hall disco, Irish college in the summer, the back of the school, on the edge of a pitch, a house party but wherever you got one did you ever consider where it all started? Today, Muireann O'Connell spoke to Darach Ó Séaghdha who is on the hunt for 'the shift' and is desperately in need of your assistance. He is a journalist, author of Motherfocloir : Dispatches from a not so dead language and curator of the hugely popular Twitter page @theirishfor and he wants to find the origin of the word "shift" Ireland has a well documented list of slang terms in our everyday language, but the one for kissing is one of the most celebrated Does it come from an Irish word? The Irish word ‘sioft’ meaning a trick or a move. Darach has a few theories from his digging but needs more help. Just press the play icon to listen back      

Fancy a Line of O’Kane? From twirling around the ballroom floor to providing belly laughs on stage and TV, it seems there's nothing Deirdre O'Kane can't do! The Drogheda born comedian has made quite the come back to comedy with her sell-out A Line Of O'Kane show. Now she's bringing the show to the Vodafone Comedy Festival on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th July. Deirdre joined Muireann in studio to talk about watching Love Island with her son and daughter, what is was like to work with Curtis on Dancing With The Stars and her love of the Vodafone Comedy Festival. Muireann also challenged her to a game of Deirdre's Deals! If you'd like to see Deirdre at the Vodafone Comedy Festival in Iveagh Gardens you can find ticket information here. To listen to the full chat click the Listen button above.   View this post on Instagram   That is a serious nights comedy @vodafonecomedy You CANT miss that !! 💃🏻 A post shared by Deirdre O'Kane (@deirdreokane123) on Jun 21, 2019 at 12:38pm PDT

Freya Ridings has entered the music scene with a bang. 2018 was a huge year for the London-based singer-songwriter with her single Lost Without You putting her on the map. She was nominated for The Times Breakthrough Award and even had her songs featured in Love Island! Freya's soulful vocal tone soon had listeners hooked. With two live albums and a studio EP already under her belt, plus a Glastonbury performance, fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of her debut studio album. Muireann got to catch up with the 25-year-old on the day of her very special debut studio album release. Freya told Muireann all about the album, how it felt to have Taylor Swift compliment her vocals and how much of a massive Hozier fan she is! Freya Ridings self-titled debut album is available today, July 19th, and has already entered the Irish and UK iTunes chart at number 1! You can listen to the full chat by clicking the Listen button above.     View this post on Instagram   I can't believe I finally get to say this... My debut album is OUT NOW! Thank you to every single person who has supported me over the years. You made this happen ❤❤❤ A post shared by Freya Ridings (@freyaridings) on Jul 19, 2019 at 12:07am PDT

Poor Val got in contact with the show: So, obviously we called her back and got her on air today. Nobody on The Muireann O'Connell show had any idea what the story involved. Boy, are we glad we called her back!! Wow. It's grim. She is STILL not over it and it haunts her to this day. This story involves dressing up to the nines at a new job, a baby elephant, bin bags and a very embarrassed young woman. Just press on the play icon to hear Val's story

Her brother has been parachuted into the Love Island villa and we wil get to meet him tonight, but who is Greg O'Shea? We know that he's 24, he's from Corbally in Limerick, plays sevens rugby professionally for Ireland, studied Law and likes a bit of Pilates. Laura is his older sister and says he's a clean freak like his Mammy! He's also just out of a 4 year relationship and is not afraid to put himself out there especially with the other girls in the Villa. Here he is in action:   View this post on Instagram   Good weekends work ☝🏽 A post shared by Greg O’Shea (@gregoshea) on Jul 25, 2018 at 12:01pm PDT He also loves a pair of budgie smugglers:   View this post on Instagram   Smugglin’ 🏄🏽‍♂️ A post shared by Greg O’Shea (@gregoshea) on Jun 25, 2018 at 11:21am PDT But, we need to know more and who better to chat to than his lovely sister Laura. She spoke to Muireann O'Connell about how the family knew absolutely NOTHING about Greg going on the show and they found out like the rest of us when they sat down to watch the show last night. Just press the play icon to hear the chat    

[audio mp3="https://media.radiocms.net/uploads/2019/07/10123205/PJ-GALLAGHER-YOUNG-OFFENDERS-KIERAN-EXTRA-USE1.mp3"][/audio] The stand up superhero who is also known as the ray off sunshine  Barry Walsh in The Young Offenders told Muireann about filming series two and the hunt for extras to take part. The lads are currently filming the new season and were only recently hanging out in the hallowed turf of Turner's Cross: That's some mic biy!!   The action is underway at Turner's Cross. pic.twitter.com/erf0zO8ocu — Andrew Horgan (@AndrewHorgan) July 8, 2019 Here's some classic Barry cock blocking! dump your idiot boyfriend this father's day #TheYoungOffenders pic.twitter.com/2H5O0uAXFR — BBC Three (@bbcthree) June 16, 2019 If you're a feen or a beour and fancy being a part of season two...Just send your name, address and phone number to [email protected] Muireann also spoke to Kieran who was an extra in a movie directed by RON HOWARD. However, he nearly got thrown off set for continually singing the 'Happy Day's theme at Ron while he was directing...it only added to the weirdness that a big-bearded Kieran was dressed like Jesus at the time! Click the play button above to hear the whole chat.

Irish girl Hayley Ryan is blowing up Twitter with her uncanny impressions of this year's Love Island contestants. The 21-year-old from Cork has already hit over 1 millions views on the videos, and has brought much joy to fans. Muireann got to go live to Maura, Curtis, Amber, Anton and Molly-Mae through the amazing talents of Hayley. She is brilliant! We were particularly blown away by her take on Molly-Mae. You can listen to the full chat by clicking the Listen button above. Over on Twitter people were quick to point out just how accurate she gets them, especially fellow Irish girl Maura. Maura is spot on! — Maz C (@Maz_569086) July 7, 2019 Hayley also gave us a great laugh with her takes on Lucie, Amber, Molly-Mae and Amy. The mannerisms and voices are unmistakable. She even managed to nail Curtis and the Scottish twang of Anton. I had to watch your lips with the Maura one to see if it was actually you and not Maura — Shy.ovo (@ShyonGredley) July 8, 2019 We're hoping she'll keep the impressions coming with the rest of the Islanders. You can check out the videos below. Love Island 2019 Impressions ❤️ (Part 2/2) #LoveIslandpic.twitter.com/NtQEWplkuL — Hayley Ryan (@hayls_ryan) July 7, 2019

It’s lunchtime so what better time to chat about food! Mairead Ronan is in for Muireann all this week and today she spoke to a woman who is a professional 'Competitive Eater.' Her name is Leah 'Shuteater' Shutkever who is 29. Not only has she the Official Guinness World Record for the fastest burrito eaten, she also holds the record for fastest Chocolate Orange! Leah is also a fitness freak and sems to be able to burn off the calories pretty fast. She says, "I have very little fat so nothing is pressing down on my stomach so it can expand for these challenges. It takes lots of practice and I'm good at it so I just want to get better." Here she details how to approach a challenge and then proceeds to inhale A DOZEN KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS. She has also cained a 40z burger called 'The Beast' Tonight on Channel 4 is a film called ‘Battle of the Super Eaters: 3000 Calories a Minute’ which follows three competitive eaters.  

Kevin O'Brien is from Cork and had his bike stolen a few weeks back. He spotted it online for sale and then concocted an intricate sting operation to get it back. It included false names, emails and a team of crack individuals to pull off this mission! Here he is with the spoils of his sting operation.