The Last Word with Matt Cooper
The Week Trending: Catholicism, CMAT, & The Irish Language
22 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
So joining us for the week trending, Helene Burke, who of course is a regular with us on The Last Word.
for The Last Word on TV and streaming every Monday and also occasionally on Matters Technology. And also Cahola Sullivan, who is a 98FM producer and a podcast co-host on the show Gay Lynn. So thank you all very much for being with us. We heard there in the news headlines about Taoiseach Micheál Martin visiting the Vatican to meet the Pope, Pope Leo.
Chapter 2: What happened during Taoiseach Micheál Martin's meeting with Pope Leo XIV?
And it did strike me about how things have changed, Elaine, in that decades past, the idea of a Taoiseach going to Rome and meeting the Pope, getting an audience, would have commanded an enormous amount of coverage. Now it's just the fifth item on the news.
Yeah, and it's just kind of meeting of a politician with someone who's, you know, significant sway over a community. And it's just kind of a par for the course kind of thing, as opposed to something seemingly hugely significant to the Irish populace. But I will say. I love this Pope.
Big fan because he could probably teach me anything or two about speaking truth to power and holding your values very high and sticking with them. The statements that he has come out with in terms of like he's spoken very forcefully on being anti-war and things like that, not radical positions.
But these days it is attracting a lot of negative attention his way from very powerful people in the US and he's sticking to it.
Very powerful people, including President Donald Trump.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who wants to preach him on theology, which is ironic.
Although I think it's fair to say, isn't it, that the Pope hasn't responded to any of them by name. And he did meet with Marco Rubio recently, the U.S. Secretary of State, who I think came back perhaps concerned that, not quite with a flea in his ear, but he actually didn't get the sort of welcome that he might hope for.
Yeah, and it's interesting, I suppose, the talks that are currently ongoing with Micheál Martin are to do with, I suppose, the Middle East and kind of the ongoing attacks, like, and including Christians in the West Bank and Jerusalem and stuff like that. And I know Elaine says there, like, I suppose this man is speaking kind of his truth and all this.
But it's very interesting to see, like, I suppose, like you say, Matt, A lot of people of years gone by would have been so interested in this and like, of I suppose my parents' generation would have been very interested and my grandmother's would have been very interested in what was going on with the Pope.
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Chapter 3: How has public interest in the Pope changed over the years?
But now this Pope just maybe, is he going to be somebody who might attract some Catholics back to the fold, perhaps?
Like, I don't know if you know this, but there's a big Catholic movement happening online amongst young people in social media. I do, I do know that, yes. Yeah, well, I know, but I just see it amongst, like, I see people making TikToks going to mass now. And what's wrong with that? Nothing, absolutely. Everyone is absolutely allowed to express their religious beliefs and I suppose follow that.
But I suppose... For a 27-year-old man living in Ireland now, I look at the Pope as someone who has previously condemned an LGBTQ plus lifestyle as something that I suppose... As he was Pope. He hasn't spoken about it since he was made Pope, but he has previously when he was, I suppose, working in South America, he said it's totally at odds with the gospel and what we teach and it is a sin.
And like, absolutely... That is his belief. But I suppose for someone who is now to, I suppose, be a leader of young people around the world, I don't necessarily know if people are going to follow him
I take it back. I don't like this pup.
You're so easily swayed along, aren't you?
Well, my values, I hold them very dear and that is against them. And that trend towards Catholicism, also like a profit making industry as well, like Gwen Stefani has like a pay to pray app partnership going on. Yeah. Did you think that that combination of words would happen? Yeah. Essentially, yeah.
I mean, pay to pray is the disparaging way to describe it, but essentially you invest in this subscription app in order to get your prayers heard, I guess. Yeah.
I suppose it's the modern version of plenary indulgences.
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Chapter 4: What did CMAT say after winning the Ivor Novello Award?
They're not going out there and seeking it, whereas the likes of social media is going to help with that, Matt.
OK, one listener says the biggest foreign language in evening classes in the UK at present is the Irish language.
Yeah, it's the biggest, the fastest growing language or something like that in the UK is the Irish language. Now, obviously, there's a lot of Irish people in the UK and they're probably trying to be even more staunch where they're from. But, you know, I think there is like there is a surging interest.
And I do think that NECAP has a lot to say for that as well, because their music is very popular in the UK and Ireland.
Okay. The weather I'm looking out, it's not bright and sunny, it's warm out, but apparently heatwave, the first heatwave of the summer is hitting Europe. And in fact, I think a lot of Leinster and Ulster rugby fans who have gone to the European finals are experiencing that at present. I wonder, will people be complaining now, Elaine, if we miss out on the heatwave here in Ireland?
Guys, 25 degrees is a heatwave for me. I can barely operate over 20 degrees.
Is that what we're going to get over the next few days?
It's looking like it could reach 25 degrees early next week, according to Mae Aran. So that's the summer-like conditions that are forecast for the next week. They're really not kicking off during the weekend, unfortunately. It's more early next week that it's going to get the hottest. Maybe not to our highest recorded temperature in May, which was 28.4 degrees in 1997 in Kerry.
And I don't want to be there if it's 28.4 degrees, because across Portugal, Spain, France and the UK, they're expected to see over 30 degree weather in May, which is intense. 32 degrees in Paris, 35 degrees in southwest France, highs of up to 38 degrees in regions of Spain. So like they're dangerous temperatures once you're getting into those high 30s.
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Chapter 5: How does CMAT's music reflect societal issues?
Slather yourselves in Factor 50 for the love of God, you're pasty Irish people.
I think though that's probably an awful lot of rugby fans going to the match. It's the last thing they think of. And when you add in all the beer, you're going to actually have as well a large degree of dehydration. So much sunstroke going to happen.
Well, I think we'll see that here at home as well next week. When I think of sunny weather, I think of Dublin kind of in the heat, down at the Barge, here more recently on Drury Street. But I suppose people won't be necessarily able to do that now.
This is the clampdown on outdoor drinking.
Yeah, that's something I suppose has been a big talking point amongst me and my pals recently.
Oh, I suspect we'll be talking about that next week.
Victimless crime.
Thank you very much, Colin O'Sullivan, Elaine Burke, for being with us on The Week Trending.
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