It’s a programme that has long thrived on fractious topics, so Kieran Cuddihy probably knew that taking over as host of Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) was never going to be a walk in the park.
But it’s unlikely he could have foreseen the way a small patch of green space in a Dublin suburb would become a political flashpoint.
Such is the brief of his new job, however – “If you’re talking about it, so are we,” the show’s tagline runs – that Cuddihy spends much of Monday discussing the controversial move to rename Herzog Park, tiptoeing around a metaphorical minefield in the process.
Following an unsuccessful attempt by Dublin City councillors to remove the name of Chaim Herzog, the late Irish-born Israeli president, from a park in Rathgar, Cuddihy hears the principal of the State’s only Jewish-ethos school describe how his students have been affected by anti-Semitic abuse.
“Students and young people feel they can’t express their identity when they leave the school,” says Nathan Barrett of Stratford College, who believes that the proposal to dename Herzog Park, which adjoins his school, has added to the Jewish communi
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.