In The News

Premier League football club Manchester City has been found guilty of boosting its coffers by more than €1bn by arranging “sham contracts” with big name commercial partners.

The infringements to the league’s funding rules were found by an independent commission to have taken place between 2009 and 2018 – a time when the club experienced unprecedented success. So what did the club do with the money? And did this extraordinary level of funding drive its success?

The club is owned by sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. Since taking over the club in 2008 his funds have helped turn it into a global brand.

The scandal was first uncovered by Rui Pinto, a Portuguese computer hacker and founder of the Football Leaks website. He passed the information to Der Spiegel and the German newspaper developed the story to the point that the Premier League took Manchester City to the independent commission to adjudicate on the allegations.

It’s a scandal that has rocked football.

So what happens now? The club denies all wrongdoing and an appeals process is open to it. Other clubs are demanding a stiff penalty for City though it is unclear what that might look like.

The Guardian’s investigations correspondent David Conn explains this turbulent week in the Premier League.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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Irish citizen David Anderson (45) is charged with the premeditated murder of his ex-wife, Megumi Anderson, who died in January 2025 aged 43. Megumi died in a fire in her apartment in Budapest. The Japanese woman was found on the sofa with a cigarette nearby, surrounded by candles and empty wine bottles.

Police initially believed the fire was a tragic accident, but five days later they arrested Anderson on suspicion of murder. So what happened? How did Anderson go from a grieving ex-husband to the police's chief suspect?

Budapest-based reporter Bálint Dömötör was in court this week for the pretrial hearing and he outlines the prosecution’s case. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Andrew McNair.

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Since early Sunday morning, 35 members of the Orange Order have been waiting at Drumcree Church to parade down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown. It is a march that, in the 1990s, sparked tension and violence in Drumcree, and with the result that the Protestant loyalist organisation has been refused permission to march through the Catholic area for nearly 30 years. So why was it given permission now?

As of Tuesday, the Orangemen remain determined to march, saying they now have the legal right to do so. The local nationalist community is equally intent on preventing them. And the repercussions are being felt at Stormont. The DUP and the Orange Order have made complaints to the PSNI about the presence of Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, at the protest.

With tensions running high on the streets of Drumcree, and the DUP-Sinn Féin political partnership fraying, could this standoff bring down Stormont? Mark Hennessy, The Irish Times Ireland and Britain Editor, reports from the Garvaghy Road.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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When property developer Paddy Shanahan built Buckingham Village, a scheme of 125 apartments in north inner-city Dublin in 1991, hopes were high that it would help rejuvenate this socially deprived part of the north inner city.

But by 1994, Shanahan was dead; he had been fatally shot as he left a gym in Crumlin and the development’s connection to the Dublin underworld was cemented.

It regularly featured in crime stories and court reports, including the infamous Regency Hotel attack that kicked off the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

By 2018, Dublin City Council’s inspections revealed slum-like conditions being endured by the renters.

Using planning documents, enforcement data, property folios and company records, along with interviews with residents, activists, elected representatives and gardaí, Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher pieced together a history of Buckingham Village over its 36-year existence. He talks to In the News.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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A comprehensive 3-0 away victory for the Republic of Ireland should have cause for celebration. Instead, it has been overshadowed by unprecedented crisis within Irish football.

In the days before Ireland's Uefa Nations League fixture against Israel, players faced mounting calls from politicians, celebrities and activists to boycott the match over Israel's genocide in Gaza and its continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Behind the scenes divisions emerged within the squad, culminating in the withdrawal of second goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and a rancorous team meeting on Saturday. In the end an anonymous vote amongst the players resulted in the decision to proceed. But the damage had been done.

Sports correspondent Gavin Cooney speaks to In the News from Debrecen, Hungary. He explains the day as it unfolded, how the controversy escalated and what the fallout could mean for the future of the Rep. of Ireland team.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon.

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After more than a decade living openly in Dubai, Christy Kinahan snr’s visa has been cancelled and he has been told to leave the United Arab Emirates before September 29th.

The founder of the Kinahan drugs cartel moved to Dubai when it was considered a safe haven for criminals, insulated from extradition treaties and where it was possible to live a life of considerable luxury with no questions asked as to where the funds were coming from.

In recent years however that has changed as the UAE seeks to burnish its image on the world stage. For Kinahan and two of his sons, Christopher jr and Daniel, there has also been the complication of being sanctioned by the United States in 2022 as key figures in the transnational organised crime group. This brought further attention to their presence in Dubai.

So where will Christy go now? He is facing no criminal charges at home or anywhere in the world but the long reach of US sanctions mean his world is considerably smaller and his options, even as a wealthy man, are limited.

And with the US having put a $5m bounty on his head, is there a chance that once he moves from the safety of the UAE, some former associate will look to cash in?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains this latest chapter in the life of the most significant organised crime figure ever to emerge from Ireland.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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Since the fixtures were announced earlier this year, the voices calling for the Republic of Ireland to boycott its Nations League games against Israel have grown progressively louder. They come from all quarters: from former Ireland players to diehard green jersey fans and from politicians to big names in other sports.

The two soccer games are going ahead, behind closed doors and with minimum coverage; Israel’s “home” game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, with the return fixture also in a neutral venue of Backa Topola, Serbia on October 4th. The FAI says Ireland has too much to lose; the penalties for boycotting the fixtures would be huge. But would they?

A war of words has now broken out between Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and the Israel FA. “We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide,” he said. Israel responded calling Hallgrímsson’s use of the word genocide as the embodiment of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”. According to Irish Times sports writer Gavin Cooney, who will be covering the games, the days ahead are likely to bring more tension and acrimony - but no boycott.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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This episode was originally published in July 2026.

Employees of three key State agencies use a computer programme called Passwork to generate and protect their passwords. It’s a cybersecurity measure.

But what they didn’t know, before it was revealed by The Irish Times, is that Passwork, which purports to be EU-based, has extensive links to a Russian company licensed by Russia’s security service.

The agencies using Passwork are the Office of Public Works, the State Laboratory, which provides chemical testing and scientific advice to Government departments, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the agency tasked with, among other things, helping consumers stay cyber safe. It is unclear how many other Irish State agencies use Passwork.

So what does it mean for State security? Who has access to these passwords? And what does the Russian owner of the Spanish-based company that sold the Passwork programme to the State agencies say?

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The scenes of violence and rampant destruction on the streets of Belfaston June 9th  were reminiscent of disorder we’ve seen before.

But these were not sectarian-motivated attacks, instead they were race riots, with mobs of young men attacking migrants.

When calm was restored, at least 88 migrant families had been made homeless, either because their home had been attacked or burned out, or because the threats were so terrifying they are too fearful to return.

The riots had been sparked by a brutal knife attack earlier that day; a Sudanese national has since been charged with the crime.

Why has there been a resurgence of anti-immigration sentiment in Northern Ireland? Who were the rioters on June 9th? And what does it mean for future peace and stability that anti-immigrant violence has replaced sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. 

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Today we're sharing the opening episode of a three-part series by Róisín Ingle that tells the untold origin story of U2. We hope you enjoy it. The full series can be found on irishtimes.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for Drummer Seeks Musicians: The Making of U2.

It is 50 years this month since 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen stuck a note on a school noticeboard looking for fellow musicians to form a band. That note led to U2.

In this three-part podcast series to mark the 50th anniversary, Róisín Ingle traces the formation of the band in a school on the northside of Dublin through interviews with their classmates, teachers, friends, family and band members.

Why did U2 happen in Mount Temple? And how are Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton still friends and still making music together fifty years later? Drummer Seeks Musicians is a remarkable origin story, told by the people who were there from the very beginning. From Mount Temple Comprehensive to the world stage, this is the story of how U2 began.

Episode one goes back to the radical experiment that was Mount Temple Comprehensive School on Dublin’s northside in 1976, where fifty years ago 14-year-old Larry Mullen pinned a note on the school bulletin board. 

That note brought together Larry, Adam Clayton, Dave ‘The Edge’ Evans and Paul ‘Bono’ Hewson of U2, four teenagers who were destined to become one of the world's biggest bands. Róisín talks to the people who were there - the ones who nearly made the band, the teachers who supported them and the classmates who watched it happen. We hear about the architect of a remarkable school and discover the back stories of Paul 'Bono' Hewson and Larry Mullen Jr. 

Drummer Seeks Musicians: The Making of U2 is presented, written, researched and produced by Róisín Ingle.

Editing by Rob Sutton.

Additional production by Suzanne Brennan.

The podcast is dedicated to Donald Moxham.

Thanks to the staff at Mount Temple, to U2 and to everyone who took part in the podcast.

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Staying ahead of organised drug gangs is the daily challenge facing the scientists and analysts at Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

And with criminal organisations having their own sophisticated labs to make new drugs, genetically engineer existing ones and disguise drugs in all manner of inventive ways to avoid customs detection, it requires considerable expertise.

“Camouflaged cocaine” blended with coal or soaked in plywood are increasingly common.

In labs across FSI’s new 13,000sqm base near Celbridge, Co Kildare scientists analyse fingerprints, bodily fluids, chemicals and exhibits, including murder weapons and victims’ clothing. It is their evidence that is used in court.

Irish Times security and crime editor Conor Lally speaks to the In The News podcast about his wide-ranging interview with FSI boss Ciarán Seoighe.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.

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In her speech to MEPs on Wednesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen spoke about Canada becoming an “associate” member of the EU in future, a concept that does not exist in the union’s governing treaties.

The following day Canadian prime minister Mark Carney spoke to the same group of MEPs about wanting to be closer to the bloc during the “ferocious” storm that had ruptured alliances underpinning the previous world order.

Carney sketched out the possible parameters of a new “alliance”, but what does “associate” membership mean? Is it all about trade?

And what might the implications be for Ireland?

Jack Power, Irish Times Brussels-based Europe correspondent explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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It seems incredible that no one knows how many data centres there are in Ireland. It could be as many as 100, it could be more. Whatever the number there are several others in the planning stages.

What we do know is that energy consumed by these vast buildings accounted for almost a quarter of the electricity consumed in Ireland last year, up from 5 per cent in 2015.

And, during the long hot summer when domestic water restrictions were imposed, it appeared to be water usage as usual for data centres.

Questions about how they operate are growing. Do they pay less than households for electricity? With the national grid creaking from decades of underinvestment do they even pay enough to cover their costs?

And why is the Government so keen to have them?

Irish Times climate and science correspondent Caroline O’Doherty explains the many questions around data centres while political correspondent Jack Horgan Jones looks at how Government defends the explosion of these vast resource-sapping structures against mounting criticism.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced Aideen Finnegan and Declan Conlon. 

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It has long been known that AI poses risks to humanity, but the scale of them is only starting to become clear. And those risks are terrifying.

This month Evan Hubinger, a top scientist at Anthropic, said AI is advancing so quickly he believes there is a greater than 10 per cent chance it “could kill all humans” within the next decade.

Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher who has just quit Anthropic and previously worked at OpenAI, has warned of “superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionise any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources”.

AI is a multibillion business that’s moving at a speed no one could have predicted. But can it be regulated – and who would actually carry out that function effectively? Are these dire predictions realistic?

Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, director of the AI: Futures and Responsibility Programme at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, explains the current thinking on AI threats.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

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Thieves who broke into the Renoir Museum in the south of France escaped with two paintings, having dropped two others as they fled the building.

The value of the works has been estimated at €9 million, but what are they worth now?

Were the thieves stealing to order? And if not, what are they going to do with them?

In a world where provenance dictates price, who would buy a stolen piece of art by one of the most famous and collectible painters?

The theft is just the latest in a series of high-profile art thefts. In March 2026, an organised crime gang stole a Renoir, Matisse and Cézanne from a private museum in Italy, while last year thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris and took jewels worth an estimated €100 million.

Art crime investigator and historian Arthur Brand explains the planning, execution and aftermath of the Renoir thefts.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.

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In late summer, a criminal using the name “SpongeJob” posted a wanted ad on Telegram, an theencrypted messaging service.

He was looking for a hitman to travel to Cyprus to kill two men, twins from the UK. Everything would be supplied, including a gun, for a fee of about €60,000.

His ad was answered, but unbeknown to SpongeJob, the willing gun for hire was the Danish police, who then sent an undercover officer to Cyprus to pose as the hitman and to foil the murders.

That Danish officer was able to tip off the Cypriot police, who arrested three men, two Norwegians and an Irish man who had travelled from Limerick. It is now believed that the hit on the twins was commissioned by veteran criminals with close links to the Kinahan cartel.

For Europol, the Cyprus contract is a prime example of the growing underworld phenomenon of international “violence as a service”(VAAS).

Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher explains how the hit was planned – and how it then fell apart.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. 

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Twenty five years ago al-Qaeda militants hijacked four commercial planes in the US and flew two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon, while the fourth crash-landed in a Pennsylvania field.

Almost 3,000 people were killed on that day and the world was changed forever.

How the US responded to that attack on home soil reverberates still - through everything from airport security to geopolitics – and above all, America’s place in the world. The attack also prompted a rise in Islamophobia.

Denis Staunton, Irish Times correspondent and author of the daily Global Briefing newsletter, explores how the world changed after 9/11 and what might have happened if the US had responded to the attacks in a different way.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. 

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No one doubts that it is the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel at Doonbeg that is bringing US president Donald Trump back to Ireland.

It has attracted some of golf’s biggest stars to Trump’s golf course in Co Clare and the sold-out event promises spectacular golf – with the chance that the president will present the trophy to the winner on Sunday.

But before that on his overnight stay in Ireland he has some house calls to make in Dublin, all conveniently located in Phoenix Park.

On Saturday he will visit his ambassador Edward Walsh; drop in on President Catherine Connolly in Aras an Uachtarain and meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Farmleigh the official State guest house.

All the while the press pack will be hoping for impromptu comments.

Irish Times journalists political correspondent Jack Horgan Jones and sportswriter Gavin Cooney tell us what to expect.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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It’s not just the win, but the landslide scale of the win that has shocked Germany – and sent ripples throughout Europe.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been growing in popularity but no one anticipated the election result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt where the far-right party won 44 per cent of the vote on a record turnout of 76 per cent.

The party’s manifesto promises several anti-immigration measures including mass deportations and separate schools for refugees; its education plan emphasises a new curriculum based on traditional German values, while it proudly proclaims itself pro-Russian.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz took office a year ago promising to “halve” AfD support. Instead he has watched that fate befall his own party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). So how compromised is he by this result?

The AfD vote signals a clear direction of travel in German politics but as Irish Times Berlin correspondent Derek Scally reports, it is also a country that understands its history and the task of defeating extremism.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair. 

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Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said that a “significant security operation” has been been put in place for Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

She didn’t elaborate on exaclty who would be providing that security but since long before the presidency began in July, military analsyts were able to easily predict security wouldn’t come soley from the State’s underfunded Defence Forces.

The Government would need help - but from where? The meetings last week in Druid’s Glen in Wicklow of all the EU’s defence ministers showed the extent of that help as Irish Times investigative journalist Conor Gallagher has been reporting.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon

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As autumn arrives and the supersized El Niño develops,global temperatures will rise, rainfall patterns will radically change and the number of extreme weather events will increase.

But what does that mean for Ireland? After the hottest summer on record, predictions of an unusually mild and wet autumn might sound benign, but persistent rain prompts fears of a repeat of last winter’s flooding in the east and southeast.

Ireland wasn’t alone in feeling the heat from unusual summer heat patterns driven by climate change.

As an island that imports 80 per cent of its food, there are warnings of higher food prices.

And what did the UN’s warning last week about Earth surpassing 1.5 degrees mean?

Caroline O’Doherty The Irish Times, climate and science correspondent, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair. 

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On Saturday, Katie Taylor will fight for the last time as a professional boxer.

If she wins against France’s Flora Pili, she will bow out as undisputed light-welterweight champion, a title to add to all the others she has accumulated during a stellar career that changed women’s boxing forever.

At a press conference this week she imagined what it will be like: “Walking down in front of 80,000 people, hearing the Olé, Olé, Olés one last time, seeing the Tricolours around the place.” It’s emotional stuff from a woman who is famously reserved, and who, says Irish Times sportswriter Malachy Clerkin, keeps her talking for the ring.

Now 40 she has been boxing for 30 years, as a child fighting to even join a club, as an amateur, an Olympian and for the past 10 years, a professional.

The 80,000-seater Croke Park match sold out in 30 minutes and as he details Taylor’s astonishing success, Clerkin explains why he first thought she’d struggle to sell tickets.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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The long-predicted crack cocaine epidemic is here and has been compared to the heroin epidemic that ravaged communities and destroyed lives in Dublin in the 1980s.

It’s cheap at as little as €10 for a “rock”, though for users smoking that will last just minutes and they’ll spend the rest of their day focused on getting the drug, while eating and self-care become secondary concerns. It makes users agitated, paranoid and aggressive – with predictable results.

Unlike powder cocaine, Ireland’s crack cocaine problem is not distributed evenly across society. Why and how has the crisis developed? And why is crack addiction such a difficult drug to treat? And why are homeless women turning to crack cocaine in such numbers?

Eddie Mullins, who spent his career working in the prison service becoming the governor of Mountjoy jail, now heads up Merchants Quay Ireland, the Dublin-based charity offering services to homeless people and drug users. He describes the impact of the surging crack cocaine crisis on users and the wider community.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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In the last week in June a boat set sail from The Gambia heading for the Canary Islands. On board were an estimated 200 people, made up mostly of men of all ages as well as about 20 women and five children.

Within weeks, only 36 would be alive; the rest killed by starvation and thirst as the engine failed and the boat got lost on the Atlantic migration route, now regarded as the deadliest in the world.

As the days went on, bodies were thrown overboard and tension rose between the remaining desperate travellers who had paid traffickers to take them from impoverishment in west Africa to what they hoped would be a better life in Europe.

A fishing boat found the distressed vessel in July, alerted authorities and the survivors were given medical attention in Mauritania before being returned home.

It is estimated that since 2022 more than 20,000 people have died on this route.

Sally Hayden, Irish Times reporter who specialises in migration, travelled to The Gambia and spoke to two of the survivors Alhagie Ngie (27) and Mustapha Secka (29) who gave eyewitness accounts.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Sally Hayden’s reporting was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund

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This episode was originally published in June 2026.

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. 

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Every year, more than 10 million motorists drive through Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Almost all are breaking the speed limit.

All of the park’s attractions, including Dublin Zoo, the People’s Gardens, the Ashtown Castle Visitor Centre, Farmleigh House and almost 2,300 parking spaces, are accessed from Chesterfield Avenue, the main road that bisects the park. Yet there is no dedicated way for pedestrians to cross this 4km-long road.

And even if there were, crossing might still be perilous, as more than 95 per cent of motorists exceed the speed limit. And despite the addition of cycle lanes on some of the park’s roads, poor design and maintenance render many unfit for purpose.

It’s a problem that has been recognised for years, so why haven’t speeding motorists been stopped? And how Dublin’s biggest park become a commuter rat run?

Olivia Kelly, Irish Times Dublin editor and daily park user, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.

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By the time the final episode of The Traitors Ireland was aired last September, the nation was gripped.

The RTÉ version of the gameshow was a hit with nearly three quarters of a million people tuning in to see a trio of “Faithfuls”, Oyin, Vanessa and Kelly bag the prize.

It’s been quite the year for Vanessa Ogbonna and Oyin Adeyemi.

They came into the In the News studio to talk about their time in the castle under the watchful eye of Siobhán McSweeney; how they won and what the spent the prize on; how they dealt with social media trolls, and their fun new podcast, Oya C’mere.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

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Swiss media have compared what happened to Irish teenager Paula and her mother, Iwona, to the Pelicot case in France.

Prosecutors allege that Patrick Frei, 57,drugged and raped both Paula, then aged 14, and her mother, Iwona while they were living with him in the Swiss town of Untersiggenthal. It is also alleged that he filmed the assaults.

Paula and Iwona had moved from their home in Sligo in 2022 to live with Frei, a high-profile right-wing politician, a year after Iwona and Frei had begun a long-distance relationship.

So how did the case come to light and when did the alleged abuse begin? How did police build their case? And why did Swiss authorities move to deport Paula and Iwona while the investigation was under way?

Frei is due to stand trial in February 2027. His lawyer says he “disputes substantial parts of the allegations and, in particular, the legal characterisation of several of the charges”.

Conor Gallagher of The Irish Times investigations team travelled to Switzerland to speak with Paula and her mother, Iwona.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

Support services: Freephone 24-Hour DRCC National Helpline, 1800 77 8888; One in Four, 01-662 4070

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For Washington insiders observing how the Trump administration conducts its business, Natalie Harp is an alarming figure.

The 35-year-old White House aide appears never to leave the president’s side, whether he is meeting a world leader in the Oval Office or playing golf. Her influential role has been questioned, and ridiculed, for years.

Harp’s nickname is “the human printer”; she is rarely seen without a sheaf of documents ready for her boss. When it emerged that those documents included highly personal letters she had written to him, laying bare her devotion, insider gossip turned into public soap opera.

A political attack line delivered by Democratic senator Jon Ossoff put her in the public spotlight when he said of the president: “He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

Shawn McCreesh, a White House reporter for The New York Times, explains this latest, and perhaps most puzzling, controversy to hit the Trump administration.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with Andrew McNair.

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Now in its fifth week, the trial of Lindsay Clancy in the US for the murder of her three children has been headline news, with blanket TV and press coverage and endless online discussion.

What is known – and what she admits – is that on the evening of January 23rd, 2023 while her husband Patrick was out running errands, she killed their three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3 and Callan aged 8 months in their suburban home.

When Patrick came home, and before he found the children, he found her on the ground outside their house.

As Shanelle Kaul, a national correspondent for CBS News, tells In the News, his 911 call for help was one of the most harrowing evidence heard in court.

Her defence is that she was suffering from post-partum psychosis; the prosecution maintains her actions were deliberate.

As the jury prepare to begin deliberations this week, Kaul discusses the key evidence heard at the trial so far.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in March 2026.

In his new documentary Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars, director Mike Sheridan explores the profound influence of toxic discourse in the United States on the rest of the world – and in particular, Ireland.

Through interviews and examples he shows how, with the amplification of social media, legitimate grievance can bloom into conspiracist, and how easily performance, paranoia, and power intertwine.

As Irish Times reviewer Tara Brady notes, the film which “begins as a study of toxic discourse in the United States expands into a sobering excavation of recent unrest in Dublin. The riots of November 2023, along with the persistence of aggressive anti-immigrant demonstrations, are presented as symptoms of a transnational malaise”.

Sheridan explains to In the News how he made the documentary, how imported misinformation can gain such a powerful hold, and why high-profile US commentators including Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes became so invested in the Dublin riots without any apparent factual knowledge of what occurred.

Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars is available to rent on Apple TV and other digital platforms

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in March 2026.

If you got an invoice you’d been waiting for from your builder for work done, you’d get ready to pay it, wouldn’t you?

And if, a couple minutes after that, you got another invoice from the builder saying that actually he’d made a mistake and he’d given you the wrong bank details, you’d think nothing of it and proceed to pay.

Well that’s exactly what the reader who contacts our consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope did. She sent the requested €30,000 to her builder and thought nothing more of it – until a week later when her builder contacted her politely wondering if where the payments was.

She is tech savvy, has been made aware through her work about all kinds of fraud, and is cautious by nature yet she had been the victim of payment redirection fraud – also known as invoice fraud.

Conor Pope came into the studio to explain how this scam worked and why this particular case should be a lesson to everyone who believes invoice scams are only targeted at big business.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus are set to strike again on Tuesday the 25th of August.

It will be their fourth work stoppage this summer over plans to expand the capacity of the north Dublin facility for young offenders.

Members of the Fórsa trade union have already taken to the picket line this week in a protest relating to staffing levels, saying they’re “running on fumes.”

While acknowledging that management have made progress in hiring 11 new staff, they believe recent high profile events, such as wrong-way motorway driving, will further heap pressure to find beds for teenagers in trouble with the law.

Workers are concerned that inadequate staff ratios will undermine their safety, particularly in light of a spate of serious assaults on the campus last summer.

One social care worker told Irish Times work correspondent Emmet Malone these “young people often present with challenging and difficult behaviour; they’re only in Oberstown as a last resort and we regularly find ourselves in difficult, sometimes dangerous situations ... If we don’t have enough staff to operate the unit safely, properly and adequately, the young people we work with on a daily basis are suffering too.”

But if management are engaging with the union, why are staff still planning to strike on Tuesday? What are the sticking points and what might draw this dispute to a close?

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On Monday evening, thousands of people took to the streets of central London to attend a vigil in memory of Jason Arday. The former Cambridge professor was found dead in his home just days earlier - at the age of 41. In his final days Arday - who was Black and autistic - was at the centre of a global media storm.

Initially over allegations of plagiarism in his previous academic work and claims relating to his personal life, it morphed into a controversy relating to racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion employment practices, and press harassment.As a result, he resigned from his role as professor of sociology at the prestigious university.  

In his resignation letter, he told colleagues he no longer wished to feel like he was living “under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of his life was subject to public examination and judgement”. But the media frenzy didn’t end there. Coverage about Cambridge's youngest ever Black professor continued.

Now public figures and friends of Arday are demanding a public inquiry into the press attention he received before his death. A petition has already secured more than 90,000 signatures.  

In today’s episode, Aideen Finnegan is joined by Irish Times writer and columnist Hugh Linehan to talk about the media storm surrounding Arday and the public outcry following his death.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have signed a mutual defence pact that "echoes Nato’s article 5 in saying they will treat an attack on one as an attack on all". But will they? What does the pact mean for US leadership in the region, for the Iran war and for global security? We ask Denis Staunton.

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Five people are dead and four people - including a seven year old boy are seriously injured - after a stolen BMW was driven the wrong way on the M9 motorway in County Kildare. Five teenage boys in the stolen BMW were killed instantly in the head on collision, in the early hours of Sunday morning. 

Three sisters and a seven year old boy were in the other car. They are all in a serious condition in a number of hospitals across Dublin. Alma and Niamh Kinsella were in the front. Their little sister Ellie Hendricken and her nephew were in the back. 

In today's episode, crime and security reporter Hugh Dooley talks to Aideen Finnegan about the details of last weekend's fatal crash and why 'wrong way' motorway driving has become a worrying trend among thrill seeking teenagers.

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For more than a year, Fergie Chambers, an American multi-millionaire and self-described communist, has called Ireland home.  

The 41-year-old who is heir to one of the richest families in America had been living in South Dublin, until a trip to Ibiza with his family last month ended in his arrest.  

While on the Spanish Island, police arrested Chambers on foot of an extradition request by US authorities. He’s been in prison in Madrid ever since.  

If the extradition goes ahead, he faces charges of money laundering with the intent of supporting terror organisations; riot; and conspiracy to riot.  

Friends of Chambers say he’s being targeted because of his support for Palestinian activism. They point to donations to humanitarian organisations working in Gaza and his funding of legal fees for protesters associated with Palestine Action in the UK. 

But who is Fergie Chambers, what does he stand for and why has he become a target of the MAGA movement? 

And could his case further strain relations between the US, Spain and Ireland over Palestine? 

 Aideen Finnegan is joined by Irish Times journalists Rachel Lavin and Naomi O'Leary.

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This episode was originally published in April 2026.

John O’Brien’s scam was simple. Arriving in the US on a tourist visa in 2021, he set himself up as a building contractor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By the time the authorities caught up with the 28 year-old, he had conned more than 100 victims out of an estimated $2.5 million.

Many of the homeowners who handed him their life savings for promised building work were charmed by his Irish accent and friendly demeanour.

Sentencing him to four years and eight months in prison, the judge talked about “the extent and breadth of the harm” done to victims who opened their doors to O’Brien out of kindness and trust. He had pleaded guilty.

Many of his victims gave statements in court including Candace Gauvin, a retired school crossing guard, who emptied a life insurance account, eventually paying him more than $90,000 for shoddy work.

One of the more than a dozen people who provided character references for O’Brien included fellow Traveller Senator Eileen Flynn who advocated for his early release for the “benefit of his young family”.

Local reporter Susan Zalkind was in court in Rhode Island for O’Brien’s case and she explains how the scam worked, how it funded his lavish lifestyle and the impact on the victims.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The city of Ceuta - the Spanish territory on the north African coast – is preparing for another potential wave of migrants hoping to cross the border from Morocco. 

Images of some 72-thousand people reaching Ceuta went around the world almost a fortnight ago, on the 30th and 31st of July, after they climbed or swum around the border fence separating it from European territory. 

83 people died during the rush, with a Moroccan human rights organisation putting the number higher at 141. 

Of the tens of thousands of people who made it, many of them are children who are still in Ceuta, sleeping rough on beaches. 

There were protests on Sunday with people voicing concerns and demanding support saying Ceutans alone cannot handle a situation like this.  

Now social media activity suggests another mass crossing in the coming days. 

Aideen Finnegan is joined by Madrid-based journalist Guy Hedgecoe.   

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Last month, Fifa's President Gianni Infantino shocked football fans around the world when he announced plans to sell a slice of the World Cup’s business to private investors. Unsurprisingly, the proposal went down like a lead balloon, with critics pointing out how Infantino had orchestrated the deal in secret.

But one man - who not only knew about the plan but spent months working on it behind the scenes - was FIFA’s chief of staff, an Irish Man called Daniel O’Toole.  

The Dublin man was handpicked by the Fifa president to work alongside him on the potential sale before it was eventually shelved - but who is he? And how did he ascend to the inner sanctum of power at the organisation?

Irish Times sports correspondent Gavin Cooney has the details on today's episode. Presented by Aideen Finnegan.

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Ten years after the Regency Hotel attack, and four years after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the leaders of the Kinahan cartel, Daniel Kinahan is back on Irish soil following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.

A major security operation was put in place to transport the 49-year-old from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, County Dublin, to the Special Criminal Court, where he was charged with one count of directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 18, 2015, and April 6, 2017.

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally was in court as Kinahan was charged.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan, produced by Suzanne Brennan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in June 2026.

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.

This episode was originally published in May 2026.

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.

This episode was originally published in June 2026.

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.

This episode was originally published in June 2026.

For the six men and one woman trafficked to Donegal by Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, life was unimaginably harsh.

They worked long, gruelling hours, lived together in dire conditions, rummaging in public bins for food and walking up to 30km to get to work. When they stepped out of line they were subject to abuse including physical violence.

In the nearly three years they spent in modern slavery in Ireland, the seven victims, all Latvians, earned about €750,000 but as their bank accounts were controlled, they saw a tiny fraction of that.

This month in a first conviction of its kind in the State, Poniza and Pogosyan, who were long-time residents in Ireland, were jailed for a total of 24 years for human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

So how did the operation work? Why in a small community in Donegal did no one notice anything? And how were the traffickers caught?

Chris McNulty, a journalist with Donegal Daily, has been following the case and was in court for the sentencing.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in June 2026.

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.

This episode was originally published in September 2024. In July 2026 Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Florida. They are currently detained in prison, awaiting extradition to the UK on charges of rape, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

In the summer of 2022, journalists Matt Shea and Jamie Tahsin were in Romania filming a documentary about Andrew Tate and his social media influence. 

Tate, who had made a name for himself spouting misogynistic content online appeared invincible, but his empire was about to crumble. 

As concern about his content began to mount, the controversial influencer was banned from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for violating community guidelines on dangerous individuals and hate speech. 

But a social media ban was the least of his problems. Back home in London, as Shea and Tahsin continued their investigation into Tate and his business operations, the sinister truth about his webcam industry and his ‘War Room’ began to reveal itself. 

In June 2023, Tate and his brother Tristan, along with two Romanian women were formally charged with rape, sex trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. He is currently under house arrest in his compound in Bucharest. 

In this episode, (part two), Shea tells Bernice Harrison about the women from Tate’s past who decided to speak out against him and how his fans have reacted to his latest string of charges. 

Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere is out now.

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This episode was originally published in September 2024. In July 2026 Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Florida and are currently detained, awaiting extradition to the UK on charges of rape, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

In 2019, before Andrew Tate became the household name he is today, documentary makers Matt Shea and Jamie Tahsin decided to tell Tate's story and investigate his social media influence and cultural impact. Much to their surprise, the 'king of toxic masculinity' allowed them into his world. 

But as they delved deeper into his empire and uncovered the sources of his income, their investigation soon turned into a criminal one and something much bigger than Shea and Tahsin could ever have imagined.

In their new book, Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere, they recount their investigation into the former kickboxer, the shocking allegations made against him, and the backlash they faced from Tate and his followers when their documentaries aired.

In the first of two episodes on Andrew Tate’s toxic world, co-author Matt Shea talks to Bernice Harrison about Tate’s background and the influence of his narcissistic father, American chess player Emory Tate. He also examines Tate’s mass appeal and the space he occupies within the ‘manosphere’. 

Shea details his visit to Tate’s compound in Romania and explains what happened inside the private ‘War Room’ event, which followers of Tate paid five thousand pounds to attend. Though they were granted access to film the exclusive gathering, their relationship with Tate didn’t last long. 

Clown World: Four Years Inside Andrew Tate’s Manosphere is out now.

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Daniel Siad’s thousands of emails and messages found in the Epstein Files show in grim detail both the depravity of the US fraudster and paedophile and how his sex-trafficking ring operated.

Jeffrey Epstein would tell the Paris based “model scout” the type of girl he wanted and Siad would go hunting. Spying a “suitable” victim he would promise the young woman a modelling career in New York.

Once there, Epstein would introduce himself and the grooming and sexual exploitation would begin.

By examining the Epstein Files, Irish Times Europe correspondent Naomi O’Leary built up a profile of Siad and was able to contact one of his victims to hear how Siad’s operation worked.

Siad, who was 69, died from undetermined causes at his home in Paris on July 20th. At the time of his death he was under investigation for a rape charge.

How was this related to the Epstein Files? Why were French officials so slow to act against him despite mounting evidence? And will his death, like that of Epstein and another French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel - both by suicide - mean that thousands of victims will never see justice.

Paris-based Europe correspondent Naomi O’Leary explores the details.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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Dates for the arrival of Dublin’s MetroLink have changed wildly since the project was first suggested in 1975. So has the budget.

The latest figure to emerge – from an unattributed Government source – is €19bn. That’s quite a jump from the estimate released four years ago, calculated at €9.5bn as the midpoint of a “credible” cost range of between €7.16bn and €12.25bn.

Why such a significant increase? And with plans already approved and with property already purchased for the project by Transport Infrastructure Ireland how much has already been spent on the transport solution that promises to transform commuting in the capital. Also when will building actually begin?

Dublin Editor Olivia Kelly dives into the details and controversies of the MetroLink project.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glen Hansard died in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin. He was 56. He was one of Ireland’s most well-known musicians who leaves behind an incredible musical legacy from a career that took him from being a teenage busker on Grafton Street to winning an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly. A lifelong activist, he was also a husband to Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa and a father to three-year-old Christy.

Irish Times writer Patrick Freyne once played in a band and they supported Hansard’s first band The Frames in the early 1990s.

Freyne traces Hansard’s career; talks about his ability to bring musicians together, his deep well of charisma and why he thinks the Dublin man had become the unofficial national bard.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lorcan Tadgh Murphy, who was earlier this month jailed for murdering US nurse Mackenzie Michalski in 2024 in Hungary, had obsessively tried to pick up women across various European cities. Police in Budapest discovered that he had used a “spy pen” to covertly record his attempts, just as he had done previously in Dublin, where 16 women were recorded without their knowledge.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has been concerned for some time at the increasing use of hidden cameras, smart glasses, pen cameras and other covert recording devices to secretly film women and girls without their knowledge or consent.

And as smart glasses are becoming more mainstream – Meta has already sold an estimated 10 million pairs of their its stylish Ray-Ban camera-enabled glasses – concerns are growing.

So if Murphy had been caught in Dublin in 2020 secretly filming women, would he have broken any law? Why do advocacy groups say these type of secret recordings are “often minimised as harmless”, but could in fact be “part of a path to future crime”? And what role do the makers of these devices, that could easily be used to secretly record, have in ensuring the public is protected?

News reporter Ellen O’Riordan explores this fast-evolving debate.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, Maura Higgins first arrived on our screens as a contestant on the reality show Love Island. She was a fan favourite from the get-go, with her longford accent, quick wit and love of bad language. Not everyone who leaves the Love Island villa can turn their five minutes of fame into a successful career, let alone, break America - but that’s exactly what Higgins has done in the years since her Love Island debut. Through high profile appearances on American TV, the 35-year-old is almost a bigger star there than she is here at home and she’s just been added to Time Magazine’s top 100 creators list. 

So how has she done it? What is it about the Longford woman that continues to win over audiences? And could a recent move into acting signal where her career might go next? 

In today's episode, journalist Kate Demolder takes a look back through Higgins' career and how she has reinvented herself along the way.

Presented by Bernice Harrison, produced by Suzanne Brennan and Andrew McNair.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the days leading up to Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to Ukraine, tensions were running high on the streets of Kyiv. Protesters marched over president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to sack his defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Young and forward-thinking, he was seen as the main mover behind the country’s drone strategy.

The marchers called for the sacking of the country’s army commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Zelenskiy eventually capitulated to the demands and the Russian-trained career soldier was ousted.

So how damaged is Zelenskiy after this political misstep?

Meanwhile, the war continues, with Russia launching its most sustained attack on the capital, and Ukraine responding with an attack on a vast goods depot inside the Russian border.

And what was on the agenda when Taoiseach Micheál Martin met Zelenskiy in Kyiv last Thursday?

Irish Times Europe correspondent Jack Power was in Kyiv and he reports for us on a turbulent week for Ukraine’s president.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan with research by John O’Connor.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a defendant in a court case is granted legal aid, the State pays. Before a reform of the payment system introduced on July 1st, solicitors could bill the Department of Justice €239.38 for their first appearance in court for their client and €59.86 for each subsequent one. The invoice is called a legal aid certificate.

Defendants frequently face multiple charges that are heard together in the same sitting. Before July 1st, the solicitor could invoice for each charge, meaning multiple payments for each client. In the past 18 months more than 100 cases involved at least 10 invoices being sent to the Department concerning individual clients whose charges were dealt with together or in quick succession before the District Court.

In the reform of the payment system, solicitors will now receive a flat fee of €520 per criminal legal aid client.

Many solicitors on the legal aid panel have rejected this new payment model, and withdrew their services for two days this week.

The Minister says he will meet the Law Society to discuss its concerns about payment reforms, but as he has previously said the reforms will stay, is there any hope of resolution?

Irish Times political correspondent Cormac McQuinn explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeffrey Donaldson is in Maghaberry prison outside Belfast awaiting sentencing for 18 child sex offences, including rape.

If the disgraced politician thought that the blanket media coverage of his trial in June would stop once the jury gave its verdict, he was wrong.

He is still making daily headlines in Northern Ireland as shocking stories of his past behaviour emerge; – ones that throw further light on the vast gulf between his carefully curated public persona as a pious, teetotal Christian and family man, and the reality.

Four inquiries are being conducted into his actions while in the workplace, one by the NI Civil Service and one by the Assembly. Two have been commissioned by his former political parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

Since his arrest in 2024, both have tried hard to distance themselves from their one-time star member.

Ahead of his sentencing in September, he has now launched an appeal against his conviction.

Irish Times Northern Editor Freya McClements explains why the Donaldson story has left politics across the Border in turmoil.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel is on an election footing. Last week with his government having reached the end of its four-year term, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu dissolved parliament.

Polls show that a new and credible challenger has emerged in Israel’s complex multiparty political landscape.

Career soldier Gadi Eisenkot (66), a former head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) left the army to join Netanyahu‘s post-October 7th military council to plan and execute the brutal response in Gaza.

Last year he went out on his own forming the centrist Yashar party, and he has now emerged as the most serious challenger to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

But how much change does Israel really want. Why is Palestine and Gaza not an election issue? And what are Eisenkot’s views on one of the most contentious issues in Israel: why ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempt from military service at a time when Israel is fighting wars on many fronts and is running out soldiers.

Mark Weiss reports on the mood in Jerusalem as campaigning gets under way.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Employees of three key State agencies use a computer programme called Passwork to generate and protect their passwords. It’s a cybersecurity measure.

But what they didn’t know, before it was revealed by The Irish Times, is that Passwork, which purports to be EU-based, has extensive links to a Russian company licensed by Russia’s security service.

The agencies using Passwork are the Office of Public Works, the State Laboratory, which provides chemical testing and scientific advice to Government departments, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the agency tasked with, among other things, helping consumers stay cyber safe. It is unclear how many other Irish State agencies use Passwork.

So what does it mean for State security? Who has access to these passwords? And what does the Russian owner of the Spanish-based company that sold the Passwork programme to the State agencies say?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent weeks, the Irish Government has come under pressure to introduce a ban on e-scooters following a steep increase in the number of serious e-scooter accidents involving children. One of those supporting the ban is Seana Brennan, a mother of two from Cavan whose son, Mason, was involved in a serious e-scooter accident last year.

Brennan joins Bernice Harrison on today’s episode to share her family’s experience and to highlight the dangers e-scooters pose to children. Later, Irish Times political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones discusses the political response to the rise in e-scooter related accidents and examines how a ban might work in practice.

Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For his hosting duties on America 2026, the Irish Times podcast, Paul Howard watched every World Cup single match, even it was on at 4am and featured a no-hoper team in the tournament to make up the numbers.

What did he make of England’s loss to Argentina?

Why does he think the bloated half-time show featuring Shakira and Justin Bieber, planned for Sunday’s final, highlights just how much Fifa is enthralled to the US; and who will lift the World Cup when the final whistle blows on Sunday, Argentina or Spain?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The body of Jamey Carney, a 43-year-old mother-of-one, was found by her teenage daughter at their home in Killarney last week.

The American woman had suffered head injuries and a postmortem confirmed she had died a violent death by suffocation. Gardai traced her partner, Ahmed Al Saqar’s, movements immediately after the killing and found that he left Ireland hours after she was killed, flying to Turkey having taken the night bus from Kerry.

He then travelled on to Jordan where he was arrested and is in custody.

It is thought the 28-year-old had been in Ireland for two years and had sought asylum before fleeing back to Jordan after the murder.

The investigation is a full-scale murder inquiry.

Gardaí did not seek Al Saqar’s arrest in his home country, so why was he detained? How long can he be held by Jordanian authorities before he must be released? Ireland and Jordan do not have an extradition treaty so how can Al Saqar be brought back to Ireland? And when?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains the complex road ahead in this investigation.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former British government minister Ann Widdecombe (78) was found dead at her home in rural southwest England last Thursday with what police described as “serious injuries”.

On Friday, local police gave a press conference laying out what they knew noting they did not suspect a political motive for her death. By Monday all that had changed. British counter-terrorism police officers are now leading the investigation.

Late on Saturday they arrested a white British man in Rotherham, northern England, on suspicion of her murder. He was then rearrested under anti-terrorism legislation although how a terrorism link was established has yet to be revealed.

Widdecombe, as well has being a politician was a British celebrity having appeared on blockbuster TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.

She was a prominent and active member of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK, having left the Conservatives after she stood down from ​parliament in 2010.

As a socially conservative, devout Catholic, what were her political beliefs and why she was a divisive figure?

And with her violent death now being treated as politically motivated, security for UK politicians is under increased scrutiny.

Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul reports.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After three days of deliberations, the jury in the inquest into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe could not reach a verdict. They had sat in court hearing evidence for six months.

His death six years ago has been one of the most high-profile cases in Northern Ireland in recent years, with conspiracy theories swirling on social media driving controversy and speculation.

How did Noah die? What were the jurors tasked with deciding? How did the PSNI describe their search for the teenager, whose body was found six days after he went missing? And what happens now in an inquest many have repeatedly called “unprecedented”?

Seanín Graham, Irish Times Northern correspondent, was at Belfast Coroner’s Court for the verdict.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan, with research by Ellen Clusker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Online gambling on black-market betting sites is big business. One company, Soft2Bet, which has been licensed in Ireland since 2022, and its related entities received €600 million from dozens of offshore casinos that regulators in Europe had blacklisted or fined.

For gamblers using some of these sites, it means few rules apply. Unauthorised betting sites deliberately target people with gambling addictions and ignore local gambling regulations, including age limits to protect young people.

While working on an investigation with cross-border journalism group Investigate Europe, Irish Timesinvestigative reporter with The Irish Times, Mark Tighe discovered that Irish authorities granted gambling licences to six companies at the heart of this global network of black-market betting and casino websites.

One of the scheme’s newest websites, OnlySpins, a bookmaker and casino with pornographic content targeting Europeans, does not verify whether Irish users are over the age of 18 or provide checks on a customer’s identity.

He also discovered that two Irish companies were processing payments for Soft2Bet-linked unlicensed gambling sites operating in Europe.

Soft2Bet is led by Ukrainian-Israeli millionaire Uri Poliavich.

He joins In the News to explain how this investigation unfolded, what the activities of black market sites mean for vulnerable users and what the Irish authorities had to say.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and John Casey. 

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The details presented in court in the trial of a Dublin man for the killing of Mackenzie Michalski (31) were harrowing.

The American nurse was travelling around Europe with friends and was on her last night in Budapest when, on November 4th, 2024, she met the 37-year-old man from Dublin in a bar.

Later they went back to his apartment where he killed her. The judge rejected his defence that Mackenzie had died during consensual “rough” sex.

Budapest-based journalist Bálint Dömötör has been in court for the trial and the verdict and he explains why, when the man has been found guilty, he still cannot be named.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan with research by Ellen Clusker.

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Hard-right leader Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy in France’s 2027 presidential campaign in typically dramatic fashion on French TV this week.

It came after an appeal court shortened her sentence for misappropriating European Parliament funds that had previously barred her from running. The court reduced the five-year ban on holding office to 45 months with 30 suspended, meaning that the suspension has already been served.

A four-year prison sentence was reduced to two years suspended and one year served outside prison with an electronic bracelet, while imposing a fine of €100,000.

Le Pen also announced that she would initiate another appeal, this time to France’s higher Court of Cassation, and that her sentence would not begin until after this final appeal is heard. Pending this appeal she is free to campaign without the electronic tag.

If Le Pen’s legal troubles had ruled her out of the presidential race, her party had a backup plan in 30-year-old MEP Jordan Bardella.

This will be her fourth run at the presidency. With France moving to the right, has her time finally come? Or will her legal difficulties ultimately mean that the charismatic Bardella will be the National Rally Party’s candidate?

Paris-based Irish Times Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary explains who Le Pen is and how her campaign will unfold in the coming months.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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On Monday, George Gibney (77), former Irish Olympic swimming coach, was found guilty of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

After a two-week trial, the jury found him guilty of 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of children. He will be sentenced at the end of the month.

One of Ireland’s most notorious paedophiles, he was extradited from Florida last year where he had escaped justice for decades.

Due to reporting restrictions he was referred to as “sports coach” but as soon as the guilty verdict was announced, he could be named.

So why did he plead guilty to five of the charges? What defence was put forward? What has his demeanour in court? And what does this guilty verdict mean after so long for the victims.

Court reporter Isabel Hayes explains how the case unfolded in court and Gibney’s reaction to the verdict.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

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This episode was originally published in March 2026. 

Clifton Collins (55) had a thriving business growing cannabis in rented houses around the country.

The Crumlin man and expert beekeeper was known for his award-winning honey but his real earner was the fortune he made from years of dealing drugs.

He operated under the radar so when gardaí came across him parked in the Wicklow Mountains one night, they had no idea their search would eventually result in of the most lucrative seizures in the history of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Collins had amassed 6,000 bitcoin around 2010. The problem for the Garda was they didn’t know the code to unlock the wallets; it was, Collins said, lost.

His bitcoin stash had by 2026 rocketed in value to €360 million.

Seven years after gardaí seized the wallets they have finally been able to open one of them and have released €30 million. There are 11 more wallets to be opened.

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains the background to this extraordinary case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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On a visit to Dublin last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy briefly burst the upbeat mood of the EU presidency party by criticising companies based in European countries that continue to supply essential materials to Russia’s military forces.

He didn’t need to name the company that was on his mind; all present in Dublin Castle, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, knew he was referring to Limerick-based Aughinish Alumina.

In March, Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher revealed that the Russian-owned plant exports vast amounts of alumina, the raw material for aluminium, which ends up in a supply chain that supplies Russia’s military industry.

Since then the pressure has been on the Government who make hard decisions about the alumina plant.

Gallagher, who worked with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on the investigation, explains the reaction to his report, from publication in March to Zelenskiy‘s comments.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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In the next 15 years an additional 400 pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be killed on European roads because of the increased average car size.

The figure is based on projections using data from Eurostat and the UK department of transport. Research by the Transport & Environment (T & E) think tank suggests that those road death figures could be significantly higher.

After 25 years of relentless growth, our roads are increasingly dominated by huge SUVs that pose a physical danger to everyone else.

And bigger cars means less space on the roads and in car parks. Big vehicles, such as SUVs and pick-up strucks, simply don’t fit parking spaces that were designed for a different, smaller car, age.

So why are SUVs so deadly for other road users? And why, even when they are made aware of the dangers their large vehicles pose for other road users, do drivers still choose them anyway?

Irish Times motoring contributor Neil Briscoe reports.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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Ireland was on the fringe of the heat dome that seared much of Europe for several days late last month.

In some parts of the country temperatures exceeded an uncomfortable 32 degrees and the hot spell ended with unseasonable thunderstorms and hail showers.

Why is this happening?

Climate scientists have recently warned that El Niño would impact temperatures in Europe this year, so is that why two heatwaves arrived in June, one delivering record-breaking temperatures?

The June event was called a “heat dome” but what is that and what causes it?

Another intense heatwave is forecast for Europe, beginning on July 5th.

Recording-breaking temperatures are produced by climate change and they are something scientists have warned about for decades. So why is Ireland so behind in implementing policies that would help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Caroline O’Doherty, the climate and science correspondent with The Irish Times, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

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Riad Bouchaker (52), an Algerian native, has been found guilty of the attempted murder of two girls and a boy, as well as a further charge of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker and three charges of assault causing harm.

During the trial Eoin Reynolds talked to Bernice Harrison about evidence the jury heard.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.

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For the six men and one woman trafficked to Donegal by Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, life was unimaginably harsh.

They worked long, gruelling hours, lived together in dire conditions, rummaging in public bins for food and walking up to 30km to get to work. When they stepped out of line they were subject to abuse including physical violence.]

In the nearly three years they spent in modern slavery in Ireland, the seven victims, all Latvians, earned about €750,000 but as their bank accounts were controlled, they saw a tiny fraction of that.

This month in a first conviction of its kind in the State, Poniza and Pogosyan, who were long-time residents in Ireland, were jailed for a total of 24 years for human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

So how did the operation work? Why in a small community in Donegal did no one notice anything? And how were the traffickers caught?

Chris McNulty, a journalist with Donegal Daily, has been following the case and was in court for the sentencing.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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American businessman Jason Cardiff has lived in Ireland with his wife and daughter since 2022.

For anyone who has followed him on Facebook, he has been living a life of considerable luxury. The house is on Highfield Road, one of Dublin 6’s most expensive roads, and parked outside is a Bentley.

His followers have seen posts showing him golfing in Ireland, travelling to Austria for ski trips as well as attending the local church fete in June.

But last week his past came back to haunt him when at 8am he was arrested at home and brought to the High Court.

The move by the Garda was on foot of extradition proceedings instigated by the US Department of Justice, which has charged him with fraud involving a homeopathic medicine company, identity theft and witness tampering. He denies all charges.

So what are the charges? Why did Cardiff and his family leave the US? How did he get an Irish passport? And why does did he expect the Trump administration to come to his rescue?

Mark Tighe, Irish Times senior investigative reporter, talked to Cardiff in the days before his arrest.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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On the morning of June 14th last year, Reykjavik police were called to the luxury 5-star Edition Hotel where the bodies of Emeric Mancel and his adult daughter Catherine were found, along with a wounded Ming Ting Mancel.

They had travelled from their home in Dublin for what looked like a weeklong holiday for the reclusive family, but now appears to have been a carefully planned suicide pact.

She is now on trial at the Reykjavik District Court, accused of killing her daughter Catherine, in collaboration with her husband Emeric.

Little was known about the family’s life in Dublin before the trial, but details presented to the court give a clearer picture of how this unusual family lived before taking that fateful trip.

Reykjavik-based Irish journalist Karen McHugh explored the details of the case in a previous episode of In the News and she has been in court this week covering the trial.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

If you require support for any of the issues discussed in this episode, you can contact the Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or text HELLO to 50808. And Pieta on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. Or visit yourmentalhealth.ie 

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The beauty industry has found a new audience: children. And it is using other children online – so-called “child skinfluencers” – to promote all kinds of skincare products.

Research by The Guardian’s consumer affairs reporter Sarah Marsh found teenage girls on TikTok, as well as Instagram and YouTube, showing their skincare routines, some having become “ambassadors” for major brands.

Some will be using products from a new and lucrative market segment – skincare produced for children – others might be demonstrating to other 10 or 12 year-olds the anti-ageing powers of retinols and strong serums.

As the phenomenon grows, dermatologists are expressing concern about harsh chemicals damaging delicate young skin, but parents and guardians are also worried that children are being convinced that their skin needs something it almost certainly does not, with all the implications for self-esteem and body image that carries.

And there are concerns at official level with the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) investigating two beauty brands over the use of young influencers to market skincare to children.

So where is this all going? And how damaging is this form of marketing, to the young girls who are served it daily on one their social feeds, and the children involved in its marketing?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair, with research by Ellen Clusker. 

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Newly-elected Labour MP Andy Burnham has made no secret of his ambitions to become the next UK prime minister. 

Now, it looks as though his time has come.

Keir Starmer’s announcement on Monday morning that he is to step down as prime minister paves the way for a leadership contest in the Labour Party, with the leadership of the country the automatic prize.

Starmer has said he would stay on until September but unless a strong candidate emerges to go up against Burnham, the new occupant of Number 10 Downing Street could be named as early as mid-July.

Where did it go so wrong for Starmer and so right for Burnham? His nickname is the King of the North, but he’s also been called Captain Flipflop, so what does Burnham stand for?

And why is Britain’s political system so unstable that the country is now facing into its seventh prime minister in just 10 years.

Irish Times London editor Mark Paul was at Downing Street on Monday as Starmer stood at the much-used podium, bowed to the inevitable and made his sometimes emotional announcement.

He explains what led to this moment and what will happen next.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. 

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The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of all 18 child sex abuse charges against him, including rape. His wife Eleanor was also found by the jury to have aided and abetted him, but she was not convicted due to inability to stand trial.

The outcome of the trial hinged on whether the jury believed Donaldson or his two victims. Freya McClements explains how the jurors may have been convinced of Donaldson's guilt, what happened when the verdict was delivered and how religion, faith and forgiveness were major themes of the case.

Plus, Mark Hennessy looks back on Donaldson's rise and fall and how his conviction could affect the DUP and unionism more broadly.

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A new landmark study followed 4,000 primary school children, tracking everything from their education attainment to their wellbeing as they progressed through the school system.

The Children’s School Lives study tracked the children from 2019 to 2023. As it coincided with the Covid lockdown years, it revealed a wealth of data, some of it seriously troubling and challenging for policymakers.

The longitudinal study was commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and conducted by the UCD School of Education.

Irish Times education correspondent Niamh Towey delved into the details.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. 

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Late on a quiet Sunday night in May, gardaí in Limerick arrived on the scene of what they expected would be a routine call-out to a road traffic incident.

Instead they were met with an extraordinary scene.

In one of the damaged cars they found a dead man on the back seat. He was wearing a balaclava and there was a loaded pistol at his feet. The driver of the anonymous looking Seat Leon had escaped, leaving his phone behind.

The Garda quickly established that the dead man was a Swedish hitman and the pair were in Limerick for a contract killing. They were just minutes from their victim.

But who was the target? Has there been a resurgence in the deadly feuding that blighted Limerick for years? Where is the hitman who fled the scene and why has the manhunt for him been so muted?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally reports on the latest in this most unusual case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. 

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In November 2023, a group of primary schoolchildren were lined up by the railings outside their school in Dublin city centre, ready to be brought to after-school care. As their minder bent down to close the coat of one of the children, a man launched a vicious knife attack on the children.

The alleged assailant was arrested at the scene and the trial of Riad Bouchaker (52), an Algerian native, is now under way.

He is charged with attempted murder of two girls and a boy, as well as a further charge of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker and three charges of assault causing harm. He denies all charges.

Eoin Reynolds reports from the court, where the jury has heard harrowing testimony from the parents of some of the victims, witnesses and those who attempted to stop the knife attack.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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.