Afleveringen
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Terence McKeever left his home in Ballsbridge in Dublin shortly after 6.30am on June 16th, 1986. His daily commute in his distinctive bronze-coloured BMW took him to work in his family’s electrical services firm in Armagh. But on that day, he never arrived.
His body was found dumped in a river following an anonymous phone-call to the RUC in south Armagh at 10.45am.
The IRA took responsibility for the murder of the young businessman, saying he had been killed because his company, McKeever Brothers, did work for the British security services. It also warned contractors doing similar work that they had 24 hours to stop if they wanted to avoid a similar fate.
An investigation on both sides of the Border was launched but it was hampered by the loss of key evidence.
Forty years later, Terence’s sister Karen is still searching for answers to her brother’s murder.
Irish Times Ireland and Britain editor Mark Hennessy traces the story of the brutal killing. He explains the failures in the investigation and the questions police on both sides of the Border have still to answer.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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When Carlos Barragán discovered his mother was the victim of romance fraud, he flew to Lagos to find the con man – and found the Yahoo Boys, young men whose job it is to rip off westerners. The name comes from the old email platform, first used by the Nigerian scammers decades ago.
His mother, Silvia, had fallen in love online with flirtatious, sincere, handsome Brian; she bought rings, planned a future and was convinced that they would one day live together – when he was free to travel to Spain.
Her sons though, suspected something sinister was afoot, especially when “Brian” started to make financial demands.
Over the course of three years Carlos, a journalist, visited Nigeria multiple times to see the Yahoo Boys in action and to try to understand why this particularly cruel, exploitative form of online fraud has become such an earner for so many young men in Lagos. He also discovered a romance scam involving an Irish woman.
His compelling book, The Yahoo Boys: Real Life with the Love Scammers of Lagos by Carlos Barragán is published this week.
He talks about the experience on In the News.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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As World Cup 2026 kicks off, Gianni Infantino’s grip on international football is total.
Infantino was brought in to clean up Fifa’s image after the murky Sepp Blatter years, to restore transparency and boost the game globally.
But if Fifa thought it was getting a self-effacing, legally trained bureaucrat who would stay in the background, it was very wrong. Now after 10 years at the helm, he is Fifa.
So how has he dealt with the many complex controversies surrounding the tournament? Why is it the biggest ever World Cup, spread over three countries? How can he be a friend to all, at all times, from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin? And how long will Infantino stay president of world football?
Irish Times sports correspondent Gavin Cooney discusses his rise to the top of the international game.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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