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In the wake of the resignation of Pope Benedict’s resignation, Geoffrey Robertson QC say the Pope will be remembered primarily for the Vatican’s covering up of child abuse and Prof Eamon Duffy of Cambridge on where the Catholic Church goes from here

Diplomatic tensions have significantly increased following North Korea’s third nuclear test with Barack Obama describing it as a ‘highly provocative act’.

North Korea earlier said it had successfully carried out its test underground which they described as ‘safe and perfect’.

So how significant is this development and what will the global ramifications be?

Pat was joined on the line by John Swenson-Wright who is Senior Consulting Fellow of the Asia Programme at Chatham House in London.

These are difficult and troubling times for an Garda Síochána. The murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, the closure of over 90 rural stations and the decision by two organisations representing the force, the GRA and the AGSI, to stay outside the Croke Park extension, has kept this issue of state security in the headlines.

So is now the time fo9r a rethink for how the force operates and is it in need of a total overhaul?

Pat was joined by Conor Brady a former member of the Garda Ombudsman Commission and editor of the Irish Times and Richie Culhane, a former Special Branch detective, who is a Fine Gael Councillor on Drogheda Corporation.

It’s a long way from children’s TV to Shakepeare but my next guest took that very route. Starting his acting career in the early 90s with Pajo’s The Whole Shebang on RTE he went through time as a stand up comic, to a place on the cast of the one and only Scrap Saturday.

But it was probably his major role as hooky businessman Paul Dooley in Ballykissangel that brought him to the attention of the masses. That said his multi award winning career treading the boards means his is a familiar face to theatre goers. His latest incarnation is in the Abbey’s production of King Lear, where he plays the eponymous lead role.

Owen Roe joined Pat this morning.

By Ralph Bulger (and Rosie Dunn) (Published by Sidgwick & Jackson)

The image of James Bulger we all remember is from the grainy CCTV footage that shows him being led away to his death by two ten-year-old boys. But the image his father, Ralph, wants the world to remember is of the bright and happy little boy, a ‘living, breathing bundle of energy’. Twenty years on from the crime that shocked Britain and the world, Ralph has relived his horror in a searingly honest new book, dedicated to his son, called My James. He reveals his darkest moments after his learned of his son’s death and the release of his killers. But he also hopes that, by sharing his cherished memories of James, the world will see beyond those CCTV images.

Canadian songstress Amelia Curran returns to Ireland with her eagerly awaited new album Spectators. Amelia’s acclaimed 2009 album Hunter, Hunter won her the much sort after Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album. With her new album, Curran returns to the scene with ten tracks that raise the bar on her signature lyricism. Originally from Newfoundland, Amelia’s music sits very well on this side of the pond. We were delighted to have her in studio with us this morning.

What do Prince, Van Gogh and 2fm’s Rick O’Shea have in common? They all have, or in Van Gogh’s case had, epilepsy. There are 37,000 people living with epilepsy in Ireland. Yet, according to research by Epilepsy Ireland nearly 20% of people if given the choice would not employ someone with epilepsy. 45% of people said they knew someone with epilepsy and 50% of them admitted there is still a stigma amongst the public attached to the condition. Epilepsy is characterized by a tendency to have recurring seizures.

For children the stigma and the uncertainty about what is happening can be particularly stressful.

John Verling’s 10 year old son, Freddie, has very unstable epilepsy. Pat was also joined by Dr Amree Shahwan, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist, at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.