Episodes
Published 03/28/24
The bustling town of Killorglin in Co Kerry is one of the most unlikeliest places imaginable to have a connection with one of the biggest drug cartels on the planet but that is the case. One of the senior figures in the Sinaloa cartel is allegedly Morris O’Shea Salazar who spent a decade of his formative years growing up and into adulthood in Killorglin. Authorities in Chile are attempting to locate him to press serious charges on the basis that he was the cartel’s main man in Europe. His...
Published 03/28/24
The death was announced earlier this week of Rose Dugdale, the English aristocrat who became a member of the IRA, served time in prison and was subsequently involved in perfecting bomb technology for the Provos. She also featured in attempts to rid inner city Dublin of drug dealers in the 1980s. Sean O’Driscoll has written a biography of Ms Dugdale, entitled Heiress Rebel Vigliante Bomber. Sean is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 03/22/24
Leo Varadkar’s announcement that he was stepping down as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael took the whole country by shock. Why now and who is in line to succeed him? Irish Examiner Political Editor Elaine Loughlin looks back on Varadkar’s career and looks forward to who might replace him and what it will mean for the government, the country and the next general election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 03/20/24
One of the perks of the job of being Taoiseach is apparently the invite to the White House for St Patrick’s Day, a privilege that is afforded few foreign leaders. Leo Varadkar is over this year but he has a lot on his mind. He has to step lightly around hosts whose stance on Israel and Gaza is at odds with that of most of the world, including Ireland. And he also is burdened with reflection on a disastrous referendum outcome for his government. Joining him in DC, among the travelling media,...
Published 03/14/24
Through the years of the violence in Northern Ireland one distinctive voice was frequently heard across all airwaves. Eamonn Mallie didn’t speak with a typical South Armagh accent but it was from there he was sprung and he went on to be one of the leading reporters of the conflict in the North. Now he has written a book about his experiences, the stories he broke, his encounters with the men of violence and a highly unlikely friendship with the firebrand unionist, Ian Paisley. Eamonn Mallie...
Published 03/07/24
This week Mick sat down with a group formed a few years ago from descendants of those who were involved in signing the Anglo-Irish Treaty. And it wasn’t just those who were on the pro-treaty side that were part of this group, but also a grandson of Cathal Brugha and a grand nephew of Harry Boland. The group is pushing hard for a national day of reconciliation to be formed and they made a compelling case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 02/29/24
Press photography may be a dying art but one of its great practitioners over the last forty years was Denis Minihane. Recently retired after forty seven years working for the Irish Examiner, he talks about his career, the art and the craft and the historic events at which he had a front row seat. Denis is this week’s guest on the podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 02/22/24
People who have served a prison sentence for a criminal offence are entitled to believe that once the sentence is completed they have paid their debt to society. That does not appear to be the case. New research shows that there are huge barriers to ex-prisoners finding employment and that the past simply won’t leave them alone. Damien Quinn was one such person, who had to fight hard to rebuild his life once he finished his sentence. He and Irish Penal Reform Trust Executive Director Saoirse...
Published 02/15/24
Mike O’Donnell is one of the only if not the only court artists currently plying his trade in this country. He covers high profile trials and draws defendants, lawyers, judges, the public, all to give an insight and flavour of the environment of a court where serious, and usually tragic, drama takes place. He currently has an exhibition in which one of the main subjects is Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch whose trial Mike covered. Afterwards, Hutch invited the artist to his home in Dublin where he...
Published 02/08/24
Last week the Bishop of Kerry announced that the church in the diocese was facing further challenges this year with more retirements of priests scheduled. So where stands the Catholic church in this country now in terms of serving its community? Will, for example, congregations be expected to travel further to attend mass and confession? Will there be a greater role for laity in the church? And is there willingness within the current hierarchy for creative solutions? Roy Donovan, a priest and...
Published 02/01/24
Ian Bailey’s death this week has reawakened debate on whether or not he should have been put on trial for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. He was the chief suspect and was arrested twice but never charged. In 2019 he was convicted of murder in abstentia in Paris. But should he have been charged with murder in this jurisdiction. Nick Foster has written a book about the case, Murder At Roaring Bay. He and Mick disagree as to whether the evidence was sufficient to put him on trial. They...
Published 01/25/24
Since Christmas there has been a number of restaurant closures throughout the country, including the high profile Nash 19 in Cork city. These were predicted due to a variety of cost related issues, most particularly labour and fall-out from the pandemic in areas like the warehousing of debt. So what will this mean for the future and is there anything that can be done to ensure that small businesses in general can survive in the current climate. Restauranteur Ross Lewis is this week’s guest on...
Published 01/18/24
Brothers Michael and Danny Healy Rae are among the most high profile of the Dail’s independent TDs and both come with a serious political pedigree, courtesy of their late father Jackie. Recently, Irish Examiner political correspondent Ciara Phelan spent a few days in their company in and around the family bailiwick of Kilgarvan in Co Kerry. In this week’s podcast Ciara tells us about what she saw and heard, both from within the family and without and what impact their success is having on...
Published 01/11/24
Ireland’s wild salmon stocks are disappearing. Over the last thirty years the stocks have plummeted due to a range of factors from fish farming to water quality to the ravages of climate change. There has already been a major impact on tourism, but beyond that lies the prospect of the complete disappearance of wild salmon. What can be done to arrest this slide before it is too late. John Murphy, chair of Salmon Watch Ireland, is this week’s guest on the podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See...
Published 01/04/24
When is it alright for a democratic state to let one of its citizens go to their death and not prevent it? A new book by former IRA man and H block prisoner Richard O’Rawe covers the activities of the highest level informer that the British security services had in the Provisional IRA, Freddie Scappaticci.  Scap was the man who tortured and shot spies on behalf of the Provos while operating as one himself. And evidence has emerged that he informed his handlers of most of the killings before...
Published 12/29/23
Bernard Barton retired as a High Court Judge in 2021 but has maintained a keen interest in his former career. He is active in writing and researching in both the law and history and he has a special interest in proposals around changes to defamation laws, specifically a proposal to abolish juries. He passionately believes in the role of juries in our courts. As this week’s guest on the podcast he discuss this as well as changes he observed over the years in relations between judges and...
Published 12/26/23
As the end of year approaches time for a lookback on what has gone on over the last twelve months and maybe a little peek into the future. It’s been an interesting year in politics and with a number of elections due in 2024 the year ahead promises to be even more interesting. Irish Examiner Political editor Elaine Loughlin and deputy political editor Paul Hosford give their reflections and predictions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 12/22/23
This week the government announced new, tighter rules to apply to Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country and arriving on these shores. Does this signal a change in approach to war refugees here and what does it say about the kind of pressures that communities around the country are experiencing with the influx of over 100,000 people in the last eighteen months.  Political Correspondent Ciara Phelan, who broke the story for the Irish Examiner, is this week’s guest on the podcast Hosted...
Published 12/14/23
Bernard Barton retired as a High Court Judge in 2021 but has maintained a keen interest in his former career. He is active in writing and researching in both the law and history and he has a special interest in proposals around changes to defamation laws, specifically a proposal to abolish juries. He passionately believes in the role of juries in our courts. As this week’s guest on the podcast he discuss this as well as changes he observed over the years in relations between judges and...
Published 12/07/23
Facial recognition technology is now firmly on the political agenda after the riots in Dublin. The technology, which is in use in many countries, assists police to finding and identifying suspects. Ther are, however, fear about how it is used and whether it can be misused. This week’s guest, Olga Cronin, Senior Policy Officer at the ICCL, gives the lowdown on the pros and cons of a technology that is, one way or the other, going to be in the news for some time. Hosted on Acast. See...
Published 11/30/23
With the conflict in Gaza entering a new phase Irish Examiner Political Editor Elaine Loughlin takes stock of where everything is at right now. Elaine was in the Middle East last week and she relays what she experienced and she was in Leinster House this week where the was also a lot of noise, if not a great amount of heat. Elaine Loughlin is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 11/23/23
On the first anniversary of Vicky Phelan’s death, the Irish Examiner launched its Read My Lips public health awareness campaign to encourage women to get tested for cervical cancer. Before she died, Vicky had been involved in pulling together the ideas for this campaign and on this week’s podcast Irish Examiner Feelgood Editor Irene Feighan talks about how the campaign came about and her memories of Vicky as well as Vicky’s solid legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
Published 11/16/23
Tommy Conlon and Ronan McGreevy are guests on this week’s podcast to discuss their book, The Kidnapping. In November 1983, the IRA kidnapped supermarket executive Don Tidey. Three weeks later, an army private and trainee gardai were murdered by the kidnappers in a remote area in Co Leitrim. The reaction was one of profound shock and over the longer term there was major consequences. The authors have written a riveting account of one of the seminal events of the Troubles south of the border,...
Published 11/09/23
Cork native John Wain is a Senior Emergency Shelter Co-Ordinator with the United Nations, currently based in Ukraine. He has a unique view of the conflict as it develops in that country and his job and experience also render him as somebody who knows a thing or two about building emergency accommodation for those fleeing war, something that is apparently not getting done in this country. John Wain is this week’s guest on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Published 11/02/23