In The News

Jeffrey Donaldson took the stand in Newry Crown Court on Thursday at his trial on charges of historical child sex abuse.It was the 13th day of the trial, and he was questioned by the defence barrister about the specific allegations made by the two complainants.The former DUP leader told the jury that he does not accept any allegations that he sexually abused two women while they were children. He did admit infidelity; that he had had an affair with a woman in London nearly 20 years ago. That was in the morning.Then in the afternoon the prosecution began its cross-examination, and that will continue on Friday and perhaps into next week.So what did he say when the 18 charges were put to him? And what next for this trial?Irish Times Northern eEditor Freya McClements was in court for Donaldson's testimony.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abusers convicted of serious domestic violence will have their names included on a publicly available register under a new law designed to allow those with concerns to check whether their partner has a violent past.The proposed legislation will be known as Jennie's Law in honour of Jennifer Poole, a 24-year-old mother of two who was murdered by her former partner Gavin Murphy in 2021. Poole did not know he had a history of abusive behaviour, including a conviction for assaulting a former partner.The Poole family believe that had Jennifer known about Murphy's previous convictions she might still be alive. They have campaigned for the new register since her murder.So how will it work? What offences will be covered? What information will be on the register? And are there any unintended consequences for such a register – particularly for victims?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The event that sparked the racist riots in Belfast on Tuesday evening happened on Monday night in the north of the city. A Sudanese man, named in court as Hadi Alodid, is alleged to have brutally assaulted Stephen Ogilvie in a street knife attack that was filmed by a bystander. Ogilvie lost an eye and is in hospital with other serious injuries. The 30-year-old Alodid has now been charged with knife crimes and attempted murder and is remanded in custody for four weeks. So how extensive was the damage in the city? What role did anti-immigrant agitators, including from outside Ireland, play in the riots? What has been the official response? And is the city set for more nights of rioting? Irish Times audio producer Andrew McNair lives in Belfast and saw first-hand the damage caused by the rioters. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 24-year sentence handed down to Sean McGovern in the Special Criminal Court prompted gasps in the packed courtroom.It will also have sent shock waves through organised crime in Ireland and all the way to the Dubai prison where Daniel Kinahan is awaiting extradition back to Ireland and an appointment in the same court.McGovern was a senior Kinahan cartel figure, formerly based in Dubai before his extradition in 2024, and his jail term is among the longest gangland prison terms.He was convicted of directing the murder of Noel Kirwan and the attempted murder of James “Mago” Gately. The evidence against him – including incriminating conversations with other gang members on phones they believed to be deeply encrypted – prompted his guilty plea.So how did the judge explain the 24-year sentence? And what does this mean for the Kinahan cartel? Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains.Also last month, Lally came into the In the News studio and, in the episode “Nobody is Stopping Until They Are All Dead”, explained the background to this case and how the Garda built their evidence through a mixture of sophisticated data mining and old-style policing.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past 18 months, Dublin City Council has been keeping track of a worrying trend: an increase in the number of vacant council houses being targeted in racist attacks. The criminal damage, which happens just before the council moves a new tenant in, ranges from racist graffiti to making the house uninhabitable.So where is this happening? And what can be done to stop it?Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains what's behind the recent surge in these attacks, and the reaction from local communities.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Naomi James (38) was pregnant with her fourth child when, disillusioned with Ireland's maternity services, she chose to give birth at home without medical assistance.Shortly after her baby was born at home in Drogheda in June 2024, she became ill and was taken to hospital, where she died.Naomi was just one of an unknown but growing number of women in Ireland who opt for a free birth, – to have their babies without a midwife or doctor present.Such is the concern over free births that the State's directors of midwifery have warned the HSE that such births are linked with “perinatal and maternal mortality and severe morbidity”.So what is driving this choice? How are home births different from free births? What role do online free birth influencers play in this dangerous movement? And how has Naomi's family coped since her tragic death?Irish Times reporter Ellen Coyne investigated free births in Ireland, and the people advocating them.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A summit in Portugal last weekend laid bare the growth in a pan-European remigration movement, with speakers who ranged from an MEP to Greg Bovino, a former US border patrol official who, before retiring, became the public face of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in US cities.The term means deporting not just illegal immigrants but all people judged to be unassimilated in western society, including citizens and the children of non-white immigrants.In Ireland, the push for remigration is being led primarily by the National Party and its members Keith O'Brien (who goes by the name Keith Woods) and James Reynolds attended the event which took place behind tall gates and amid tight security.The Irish Times gained access to the summit to see activists and elected representatives from across Europe, many of whom have close links to neo-Nazi groups, being cheered by delegates.Critics say remigration is essentially a sanitised way of describing state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing. So does this represent a new phase in far-right activity in Ireland?Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher, who has been tracking far-right groups in Ireland, reports.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An assessment of need (AON) helps put children with a disability on a service pathway. But the waiting list is long and growing every year. It currently stands at 21,782 which means some children will wait years for diagnosis.To speed up the process and deal with the stubbornly long waiting list, the government has announced details of a new “autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol”.How will the new protocol work? Who will conduct the assessments?Several stakeholders say no, but who are they and what are their issues with a plan intended to shorten waiting lists?Social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland explains the new protocol, and the growing backlash against it.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has firmed up its forecast for a return of El Niño this summer, increasing the risk of record-breaking heat and extreme weather events starting in June and lasting until at least November.Such is the threatened power of this weather pattern, it's been called a super El Niño. What happens when temperatures soar and the heat is simply too much, impacting our health and ability to go about our daily lives? And what about flooding? And wildfires?That's the sort of temperature level promised by El Niño. So what will it mean for Ireland?Why, in a country where weather is the number one topic of conversation, are we so poorly prepared for extremes?Caroline O'Doherty is the Climate and Science Correspondent with The Irish Times and she explains why a rise in sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific this summer could have such a massive impact on Irish weather.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Isak Andic, who created the Mango clothes brand, died from a fall while our hiking with his only son, Jonathan, in the mountains outside Barcelona, it was treated as a tragic accident.But for the Spanish police, something about events on that hiking trail in December 2024 just didn't add up.First there were inconsistencies in Jonathan's police statements. Then forensics found evidence that suggested something more sinister may have happened to the 71-year-old billionaire.In May, in a move that created shock and headlines in Spain, Jonathan was arrested in connection with his 71-year-old father's death.He has been released from custody having posted €1 million in bail. But what happens now? Will the case go to trial to decide if the fashion mogul's death was an accident or murder?Madrid-based reporter Guy Hedgecoe has been following the story.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is there such a thing as “summer on a plate”? What makes a great seasonal dish? And where is the best restaurant in Ireland for a memorable staycation night out?These were some of the factors Irish Times restaurant reviewer Corinna Hardgrave and food writer Joanne Cronin had to consider when they come up with their annual must-keep list: “100 great restaurants, cafes and places to eat around Ireland for summer 2026″.It appeared in The Irish Times Saturday magazine and is available now online.They came into studio to give the run down on the list and how restaurants are navigating a challenging time to do business. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trial of Jeffrey Donaldson began on Wednesday with the jury warned they would hear about “difficult and traumatic incidents” the two alleged victims claim they experienced as children.By the end of the second day, Thursday, they had heard more of the substance of those alleged incidents, including watching a video of a police interview with the witness known as Complainant A.She and the other witness, Complainant B, allege sexual abuse by Donaldson when they were children.The jury heard how Donaldson wrote to Complainant A, saying he regretted “all the hurt, pain and distress” he had caused. The former DUP leader, one of Northern Ireland's most high-profile politicians, is accused of 18 offences – one count of rape, four counts of gross indecency with or towards a child, and 13 counts of indecent assault – between 1987 and 2008. The 63-year-old denies all charges.Eleanor Donaldson (60), who has been judged medically unfit to stand trial, is charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the charges. She denies the charges.Irish Times Northern Editor Freya McClements is reporting from Newry Crown Court. She tells Bernice Harrison about what the jury has heard so far, how Donaldson's defence lawyer questioned Complainant A, and what comes next.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aggressive driver behaviour, speeding, poor cycling infrastructure and the increased size of vehicles are deterring women from getting on their bikes, research by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has found.Most women in Ireland can cycle and have access to a bike, but are only half as likely as men to choose cycling as a mode of travel, according to the Empowering Women to Cycle report.And all those jibes about women being worried about “helmet hair”? They don't hold up in the research.Half those surveyed said unsafe roads were a barrier to cycling. And then there was the fear of being on the receiving end of verbal abuse from drivers.So what has to change to encourage women to cycle?Irish Times Dublin editor and daily cyclist Olivia Kelly explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair with additional research by Ellen Clusker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just a few years ago Meta's workforce in Ireland was about 3,000. When the newly announced round of job cuts are complete, the tech giant's headcount at its Irish bases will be halved.The reasons for the job losses – the cuts are part of a global redundancy programme – have not been made public but AI is widely acknowledged as a driver. But how?And Meta isn't the only company shedding jobs. The Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp owner joins a list that incudes Amazon, Oracle and Covalen with several tech giants with major footprints in Ireland expected to follow.In a country which depends so much on global tech giants to prop up the economy, it's a worrying prospect. But is the IMF right in its pessimism about how AI is going to impact the Irish economy?Irish Times economics columnist Cliff Taylor explains the AI effect.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If the junior infants in St Joseph's Primary School in Dundalk, Co Louth want to know something they can ask AI.An AI voice assistant named Merlyn will tell them the answer, type it on a digital whiteboard with photos and illustrations and prompt them to delve deeper into the subject.Every class is being taught how to use AI because St Joseph's is taking part in a Merlyn AI pilot programme alongside 48 schools across Ireland.It's easy to see why getting its technology into Irish schools could lead to a big financial win for Merlyn Origin, the US tech company behind Merlin, if it can ultimately persuade the Department of Education to adopt its technology for all schools. But what's in it for the students? How can pupils be prepared for an AI driven world? Do teachers have the training to guide pupils in the use of AI. And how is AI impacting on education, particularly at senior cycle?Irish Times education correspondent Niamh Towey explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeffrey Donaldson (63) was arrested and charged with sexual offences in March 2024. The former DUP leader and MP is accused of 18 offences – one count of rape, four of gross indecency with or towards a child, and 13 of indecent assault on a female, on dates between 1987 and 2008.His wife Eleanor Donaldson (60), is charged with aiding and abetting her husband but she has been judged to be unfit to stand trial and will instead face a trial of the facts.Why was the trial, which was originally due to begin in March 2025, postponed twice? And how will the court case unfold following jury selection in Newry on Tuesday?Freya McClements, Northern Editor of The Irish Times, explains the case and the delay.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RTÉ's announcement that the salary of Derek Mooney, one of its most well-known on-air staffers, had been publicly misrepresented for years sparked a very public controversy.It prompted debate in the Dáil and an appearance for the broadcaster's director general Kevin Bakhurst before the Oireachtas media committee.At issue was how pay is calculated in the organisation, with the suspicion that, once again, when it comes to how the “talent” is being remunerated, the public are not being told the full story.And with the DG before it, the committee took the chance to talk about other presenters and their pay, including Oliver Callan and the late Sean Rocks.So what did we learn from the weeklong controversy that once again put the spotlight on RTÉ.Irish Times media columnist Hugh Linehan explains what this latest controversy means and why it differs from others that have gone before.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When two TDs left for bigger gigs last year it triggered elections to fill their places.Fine Gael's Pascal Donohoe left for a big job at the World Bank and Independent TD Catherine Connolly left for a bigger job in Áras an Uachtaráin.Voters tomorrow will be faced with long ballot papers but the Irish Times IPSOS B&A poll suggests the early emergence of a small number of clear favourites in both constituencies.But who are? How did the candidates perform in the last week of canvassing? And will the Government have a bad day at the polls?Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy gives his take on what's happening in these two large constituencies and predicts who will win.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Friday at about 5pm, Yves Sakila(35) was pursued by security guards on Dublin's Henry Street. He was suspected of shoplifting. As he ran down the street, it is believed he collided with an elderly man.What happened next was witnessed by several bystanders and by thousands of others because of a distressing video posted on social media. It shows the Congolese man's last minutes as he lay face down restrained by several security men.When gardaì arrived on the scene, Sakila had been held on the ground for at least five minutes. The injured man, in his 80s, was also on the ground a few metres away.Both were taken to hospital where Sakila was pronounced dead and the older man was operated on.So what happened? The incident is being investigated by both the Garda and by Fiosrú, the police ombudsman. How will these investigations proceed? Sakila had lived in Ireland since he was a teenager, what else is known about him?Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was first published in February 2026. On the night of his second birthday in May 1991, Seamus Daniel Howell's mother Lesley was murdered by his father, Colin Howell, and his father's lover, Hazel Stewart.The pair also killed Stewart's husband Trevor Buchanan.They left the two bodies in a garage in Castlerock, Co Derry, staging the scene to make it look as if they had taken their own lives.The pair had committed the perfect murder so they could be together. And they had got away with it.That is until 2009 when Colin Howell, a respected dentist and devout evangelical Christian, walked into a police station out of the blue and confessed to the killings. He and Stewart were convicted of the murders and jailed for a minimum of 21 years and 18 years respectively.Seamus grew up being told that his mother had killed herself, until the truth came out. By then he was a medical student in England. Now a doctor in New York he tells In the News what it was like growing up in the Howell house and how his discovered that his father was a murderer. He explains how it impacted on his life, and how it has made him acutely aware of injustice which now for him includes advocating for Palestine.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betting on the results of an election is not unusual but Polymarket is not a typical bookies. It allows punters to take and then change their position on all manner of events, from when the Strait of Hormuz might open to whether Taylor Swift will be pregnant before she gets married.So when Irish Times investigative reporters Conor Gallagher and Rachel Lavin noticed almost €1 million had been wagered on the upcoming Dublin Central byelection on Polymarket, it raised enough red flags for him to delve deeper.Bets on Gerry Hutch accounted for the bulk of the spend by punters. And while the amount of money involved is significant, it was the activity of the Polymarket users once they'd placed the bets that was unusual. And where did all this money come from?Gallagher explains how Polymarket works, why the Dublin Central byelection has proved such a magnet and what experts say the activity around the bets on Hutch point to.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night for a two-day visit that both the United States and China hope will stabilise their relationship and prolong a truce in the trade war that began over tariffs last year. The state visit – with all the pomp and ceremony that entails – had been scheduled for April but was deferred because of the war in Iran. There is a lot on the table and, in the shorthand favoured by analysts, they are: the three Ts (Taiwan and Tehran and trade) and the three Bs (beans, Boeing and beef). On day one, Trump flattered Xi Jinping but was that reciprocated? And what about the two superpower's key interests outside trade and tariffs: Trump wants China to help open the Strait of Hormuz; Xi considers Taiwan as the most important issue in the relationship between China and the United States? Is the fact that the meeting happened at all the real win for the two countries following a period of fraught relations.Irish Times China correspondent Denis Staunton is in Beijing.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Dubliners first saw the multi-tiered, gleaming white, iron and glass shopping centre on St Stephen's Green in the late 1980s, it was quickly nicknamed “the Mississippi showboat” and “the wedding cake”. And in a city that prides itself on its Georgian heritage and its historic buildings, it was seen by some as kitsch, an architectural pastiche and a bit embarrassing. But it grew on others. Now that plans have been approved by Dublin City Council to knock the shopping centre and replace it with a new scheme, a campaign has begun to save the centre.So what is planned to replace it? Why are objectors so against it? And why do so many people have a new appreciation for this “historic” building?Dublin editor Olivia Kelly isn't one to sit on the fence when it comes to how the city is shaping up and she explains her reservations about the plans.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British prime minister Keir Starmer is clinging to power after scores of Labour MPs – and several ministers – called on him to resign or at least plot a clear path for a change in leadership.The immediate prompt is the collapse of the Labour vote during the local elections which saw more than 1,500 councillors lose their seats.Add the party's losses at the devolved elections in Scotland and Wales and the turnaround in Labour's fortunes since its landslide general election win couldn't be more stark.But do the roots of dissatisfaction with the solid, steady and uncharismatic Starmer, and the party, go much deeper than a few bad days at the polls?And while he says he is going nowhere and that he will stay and fight Reform UK for “the soul of Britain”, is his position really tenable? Is there a contender in the wings, waiting for the chance to oust him from Number 10, someone who would be more popular with Labour voters?Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul reflects on a dramatic day in Westminster.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope got an email last June about the non-delivery of garden furniture, he couldn't have known that it would be the start of a deluge of similar complaints from hundreds of frustrated customers.All had ordered from Rathwood, a family business, operating for more than 30 years that had grown into one of the biggest outdoor living retailers in the State. And all had received excuses about delays, supplier issues and new investors.It has now been estimated that customers are owed in excess of €2 million and that the company, now in examinership, is mired in debt.So how did this family business come to be the second most complained about company in Ireland after Ryanair? Now that it has entered examinership what does that mean for consumers who have already paid for a range of items from furniture to fuel? Do they have any chance of getting their money back? And what is going to happen to this once thriving business?Conor Pope outlines the experience of Rathwood customers over the past year and what they can now expect.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For online fraudsters to be successful they need a web of bank accounts to first receive the money they steal and then to channel it, often out of the country.Some people, often students, willingly let their bank accounts be used in exchange for a small sum of money. For others though, they have no choice, like the victim of sextortion before the courts this month who was blackmailed into letting his Revolut account be used by a crime gang.Drug gangs still use bricks-and-mortar operations to launder money; businesses that are often cash based, from barbers to nail bars. But the volume of cash generated particularly by online fraud needs a more sophisticated banking-based solution.Ten years ago An Garda Síochána was uncovering just 50 cases of money laundering a year in Ireland, in 2025 it was nearly 2,800. So why the huge increase and does the Garda have the resources to deal with this growing category of crime?Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains why money laundering is now big business in Ireland.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When 21-year-old Katie Simpson died in August 2020 after an event in her home, why did the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accept the version of events offered by Jonathan Creswell, the man she shared a house with? He said she had taken her own life.Why did they not look into his past as a convicted domestic abuser, or her history of presenting at hospitals with injuries and why did they so readily believe him?Nearly a year after her death he was charged with her murder and on the second day of the trial in Belfast, he killed himself.In doing so he not only denied his victim justice, he stopped the details of her death and the investigation into it being made public in a court.A 200-page report on how her murder was handled has now been published and it reveals a shocking litany of failures by police that are not simply down to poor investigation techniques but something far more ingrained and sinister: “institutional misogyny”.It also reveals that many more victims have come forward with allegations of abuse against Creswell who was active in equestrian circles in Northern Ireland.Seanín Graham, Northern correspondent of The Irish Times, explains how the report on PSNI failings has been received.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, in the midst of a tentative ceasefire, Iran issued what could be the first step in a deal with the US over the Strait of Hormuz.Meanwhile Iran's foreign minister was in Beijing meeting China's top diplomat who urged an end to the blockade of the vital waterway and an end to the war. Could a peace deal finally be in sight?And why did German chancellor Friedrich Merz torpedo his relationship with US president Donald Trump by saying “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership”? Was it a tactical move by the German leader or was he shooting his mouth off? And at what cost?Also, with Trump set to visit Chinese president Xi next week, what will be on the agenda for this meeting of two of the globe's strong men?Denis Staunton, Beijing correspondent and author of the Irish Times daily Global Briefing newsletter, considers the issues.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Iran war, which began on February 28th, has disrupted air traffic routes and pushed up jet fuel prices. That much is clear. But with the war showing little sign of resolution, what is less clear is what will happen as the aviation industry grapples with inevitable fuel shortages?The disruption to aviation has been severe in the Middle East and Asia but, to date, the impact on European airlines has been relatively minimal. Flights have been cancelled and prices have risen marginally but for most, it has been a case of travelling as usual.That though could change radically and soon as jet fuel becomes scarce and the price airlines must pay for it – already 90 per cent higher than before the war began – rises even further.The industry is now talking of rationing but what might that look like?Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey and Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In June 2025, the Mancel family left their apartment in Leopardstown in south Dublin, headed to Dublin Airport and flew to Reykjavik. They checked into the luxury Edition hotel for what appeared to be a weeklong holiday for husband Emeric Mancel (57), wife Ming Ting and their 29-year-old daughter, Catherine.But on the day they were due to fly home, Emeric and Catherine were found dead from stab wounds in the hotel.Shortly after the grim discovery in the hotel, Ming Ting was arrested and she is now facing a murder charge over the killing of her daughter Catherine. Her husband is suspected of assisting in their daughter's death.Reykjavik-based Irish journalist Karen McHugh explains this most troubling case, including the inheritance issue; how Ming Ting changed her story and why she is being allowed to live freely in the Icelandic capital while she awaits trial.NOTE: This episode contains discussions about suicide, which some listeners may find upsetting.For support: Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or text HELLO to 50808. Pieta freephone: 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Or visit yourmentalhealth.iePresented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last November former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for fraud. In July, the disgraced sportsman pleaded guilty to ten counts of deception involving thirteen individuals. It was a stunning fall from grace for the Kilkenny man, who was once the most celebrated hurler in the country. For years Carey spun a web of lies, convincing friends, acquaintances, and even strangers that he was battling terminal cancer and needed large sums of money for life-saving treatment. At times, his stories were meticulously crafted, rich in detail. Sometimes they were just spur of the moment pleas for cash. In today's episode journalist and author of The Dodger, Eimear Ní Bhraonáin maps out Carey's decade long deception and explains how he got away with his crimes for so long.The Dodger: DJ Carey and the Great Betrayal published by Merrion Press is out now.This episode was first published in November 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Sean McGovern, a trusted member of the Kinahan organised crime cartel, was extradited from Dubai last May he can't have known the depth and breadth of the evidence gathered by the Gardaí that would prove that he had directed cartel murder plans at the height of the deadly Kinahan-Hutch feud.It was all laid out in the Special Criminal Court this week as encrypted phone messages between him and fellow gang members during 2015 and 2017 were read out, surveillance footage from over a decade ago was shown and data culled from his laptop was revealed.The solid case against McGovern (40) saw him plead guilty to two charges of directing an organised crime gang.According to Irish Times Crime and Security Editor Conor Lally, the encrypted messages read out in court show how casually the Kinahan cartel talked about taking lives – and how hard they worked at it.In this episode, Lally details how the sentencing trial unfolded, the drama in court and how McGovern, once a feared lieutenant who thought he had escaped justice by fleeing to Dubai, reacted.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael, the biopic tracking the early years of Michael Jackson, opened to dire reviews and criticism over its silence on the child sex abuse allegations levelled at the music superstar.The fans, though, don't care; they made Michael a box office smash. Its first weekend broke records, with the film scoring the biggest opening of all time for any musical biopic.It stars Jaafar Jackson, who does a good job channelling his late uncle Michael, and the music is wall-to-wall with brief detours into some aspects of Jackson's odd life, including his obsession with Peter Pan, his first nose job and his acquisition of Bubbles the chimpanzee. Originally the script included the case of one of the boys who alleged sex abuse, but that was cut.So without the truth of Jackson's life, what is the point of this biopic? And why is Hollywood so fixated on musical biopics?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last Saturday evening, a food delivery driver was hijacked in Co Antrim, a bomb was placed in his car and he was ordered to drive to Dunmurry police station. When he got there he ran in to raise the alarm. Minutes later, a police officer's bodycam recorded the car exploding as nearby houses were being evacuated, with two babies among those who were being brought to safety at the time. The attack is being treated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as attempted murder and comes just weeks after an attempted car bomb attack on Lurgan police station in Co Armagh. The New IRA has claimed responsibility for both attacks but who is this dissident republican group?The car bombs were crude but according to Irish Times Northern correspondent Freya McClements, what counts in these attacks is the attention they receive for the organisation and the fear they instil in local communities and members of the PSNI. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a man who has been targeted by assassins, Gerry Hutch is surprisingly easy to track down in the village in Lanzarote where he has lived for more than 10 years.He hikes in the morning, frequents the island's many Irish bars – Paddy's Point is a favourite – and is happy to stop for selfies with the Irish holidaymakers attracted by the island's winter sun.Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher travelled to the Spanish island last week to interview the veteran criminal as part of a wider investigation into the Dubliner's property holdings.Hutch has long maintained that his lifestyle is funded by savvy property investments although in a wide-ranging interview he tells Gallagher they have been “exaggerated”.From his sunny base he talks of his political ambitions for the May 22nd Dublin Central byelection, his reaction to his son's recent arrest in Lanzarote and the ongoing criminal investigation by the Spanish authorities into his own activities.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Ellen Coyne heard her phone buzz in bed on a dark October night in 2022, she couldn't have known that answering it would lead to the “biggest thing to happen to Irish dancing since Riverdance.”A dossier of messages and WhatsApp screen grabs claimed to uncover what had long been suspected about the sport and art-form; that competition-fixing between teachers and adjudicators was widespread, and that the practise hadn't just been a problem in recent years but rather stretched back over decades.The feis-fixing scandal as it came to be known revealed a global culture of lobbying judges to promote or demote a given dancer with the implicit understanding the favour would be returned.“If a judge had marked up your students, let's say a major competition six months previously, [and] it's your turn to judge when it comes to the Al-Irelands, there's an expectation that you have a debt that needs to be repaid.”Despite the spotlight suddenly being shone on the alleged practise, Coyne came up against a wall of silence.“A lot of people kept drawing parallels with the mafia, which I initially thought was a little bit over the top.”But the longer she spent researching the claims the more she realised that those who put their heads above the parapet felt genuine fear of retribution.“There was always this theory that dancers would get bombed, basically, where one judge would mark them down so significantly that it would obliterate their chances of competing.”Coyne paints a picture of a world that has lost itself to toxic competitiveness. Rather than being a joyful expression of Irish culture the sport has simply become about winning, at the expense of the youngsters taking part.“Children were put in the position of looking at the medals and trophies on their bedroom wall and starting to question what is probably the single most important trusting relationship they have with an adult outside of the ones that they're directly related to.”The governing body abandoned disciplinary hearings in 2024 but has the cheating scandal changed the culture for good?You can listen to this episode on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Notorious Dublin criminal Robbie Lawlor was shot dead in Belfast in 2020, when he arrived at a house in the Ardoyne area of the city, to collect a drug debt.Lawlor was a 36-year-old father originally from Coolock, Dublin, though he had relocated to Laytown, Co Meath, for the final years of his life. He was the chief suspect in a number of gangland attacks, including five murders over a 15-year period to 2020.Now new details have emerged, which outline the alleged planning of the killing, and the economics that underpinned it. They are contained within a legal document, seen by Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally. It alleges a three-way coalition acted together to murder Lawlor and how the main players in this plan stood to gain financially because debts they owed would die with Lawlor, or would be cancelled as a reward for his murder.In this episode, Lally explains how the murder took place and the impact it had on the gangland scene. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sally Hayden reports on her visit to south Lebanon, where weeks of war between Israel and the Iran-linked paramilitary organisation Hizbullah have left a trail of destruction. Thousands were killed or injured in strikes. Buildings and entire villages have been left in ruins and an exclusion zone established by the Israeli military has left up to one million people permanently displaced, many of them now homeless. Meanwhile a week-old ceasefire has been extended for another three weeks, with further meetings due to be held between Israel and Lebanon in Washington. But can the ceasefire hold? The Lebanese government is in a precarious position as it seeks to rein in Hizbullah without being seen to take too weak a line with Israel - who increasing numbers of Lebanese citizens hold responsible for the scale of the destruction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former British prince Andrew fell further from grace in February with his arrest as part of an investigation into whether he abused power by sharing confidential information with his friend Jeffrey Epstein.Up to then, the scrutiny of Andrew's relationship with the notorious Epstein focussed on allegations of sexual exploitation. But this affair shifted the focus onto Andrew's conduct while working as a trade envoy for Britain. In that time he travelled the world at British taxpayers expense, promoting British business but also making plenty of connections that he would use to his own advantage.So what did Andrew get up to in those years? And how much did his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, and his brother King Charles know about the way he was behaving and the people he was associating with? The answers could determine the future of the Royal Family.In this episode of In the News from February Bernice Harrison talked to Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled, a biography of Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Kinahan, the leader of the Kinahan cartel and a member of the “super cartel” that runs about a third of the European cocaine market, was arrested last week in Dubai, where he has lived openly for years.In today's episode Irish Times Crime Editor Conor Lally talks about the significance of this arrest, what charges Kinahan will face and what this means for the future of the cartel.Presented by Conor Pope. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the United States is a moment Keir Starmer will rue.On Monday, he faced MPs in the UK Parliament to explain what he knew about the vetting process, which it has been revealed Mandelson failed.Starmer says he knew nothing about it and has sacked the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office over what he says was the failure to inform him.Mandelson resigned as Ambassador following revelations about his links to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he had shared sensitive documents with the billionaire.If he wasn't told, how could Starmer have failed to check Mandelson's vetting properly? And as many politicians in Britain are demanding to know, why didn't he ask?Irish Times London Correspondent Mark Paul explains.Presented by Mark Hennessy. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The amount of cannabis being smuggled into Ireland has risen significantly in recent years, with most of the product for sale now coming from the United States.So why have drug gangs here turned to overseas product and why from the US?In today's episode, Irish Times Crime and Security correspondent Conor Lally explains how drug gangs attempt to get cannabis into the country - and how they are caught. Presented by Bernice Harrison, produced by Suzanne Brennan.This episode was originally published in January 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.