In The News

This episode was first published in June 2025. In the early hours of May 8th, two masked men in a stolen Audi staged a drive-by shooting, firing nine shots indiscriminately at houses on Limerick’s Hyde Road, including at April Collins’s home. More shots were fired at a Collins-owned home on the Hyde Road in November 2024, and in two separate attacks in January 2025. Since then, there have been a dozen violent incidents, including pipe and petrol bomb attacks.The Garda Emergency Response Unit now conducts nightly armed checkpoints in flashpoint areas. The gangs appear undeterred.Between February and April, the Cork-based bomb disposal unit was deployed on multiple occasions to deal with pipe bombs seized in Limerick’s criminal strongholds.In 2012 there was hope that the violent territorial feud between the city’s key drug suppliers, the McCarthy-Dundon gang and the Keane-Collopy gang had been calmed, particularly with the jailing of key members of the Dundon family. April Collins’s evidence sealed the case for the State. She moved away from Hyde Road following the court case but in late 2023 she moved back and tit-for-tat attacks ensued.And what of the new generation street criminals? Some are so young they were not even born when the original feud was in at its peak, but their actions show those gang lines that were drawn still exist: that the feud has never gone away.Brian Carroll tells In the News about the resurgence in drug-related gang violence in Limerick.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was first published in May 2025. From the moment he reported her missing in 2017, Richard Satchwell stuck to his story that his wife Tina had run off.His many media appeals begged her to come home. But as the jury heard during his five-week trial in the Central Criminal Court for her murder, she was indeed home and she had been all along.Richard had killed her in 2017, dug a hole under the stairs of their terraced Youghal home and buried her.The Garda did look for her – as a missing person – but “red flags” emerged soon after her disappearance were “simply ignored” by gardaí, the court was told.What were they? And why did it take until six years after her disappearance for a thorough search of the Satchwell house to take place?Irish Times legal affairs correspondent Mary Carolan tells In the News how the court case unfolded and what happens next.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conor Gallagher, a crime and security correspondent for The Irish Times, dives into the surprising revival of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). He reveals how this modern version, comprised of ex-anti-mask campaigners and conspiracy theorists, operates a shadow government in Ireland. Gallagher discusses their adoption of sovereign citizen ideology, claims to create a court system by 2030, and the establishment of local councils. He highlights the potential risks of this group's activities and the blurred lines between harmless cosplay and actual influence.

It’s Christmas Eve and so much about this time of year is about the things we do and eat – not because we particularly want to do them or even enjoy eating them – but it’s traditional.So what are the traditions we’ve clung to and what are the new ones that have crept up on us?Who sends Christmas cards anymore? And why have Poinsettias, once such an exotic seasonal plant, fallen out of favour?Irish Times feature writer Laura Slattery has been teasing out the traditions that make an Irish Christmas.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a time when there are media think pieces galore about how atomised entertainment is, how people don’t talk about TV like they used to; how the music industry is fractured beyond repair; and how young people are too stuck to their screens to engage in real-life politics, 2025 proved all that wrong.RTÉ’s smash hit reality TV show Traitors Ireland was a ratings juggernaut that dished up endless water-cooler moments. Oasis played two triumphant Croke Park gigs, with all talk about eye-watering ticket prices forgotten in the blazing sunshine and general euphoria. And Kneecap’s frontman Liam Óg hAnnaidh aka Mo Chara’s London court appearances became mini-festivals with music mixing with politics.And then where was Lily Allen’s tell-all album, West End Girl and presidential hopeful Maria Steen and her handbag.These and other much-talked about highlights are picked over by Aideen Finnegan from the Irish Times podcast team and journalist Niamh Browne.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson is the UK’s most notorious anti-Muslim activist.At 43, he is the street leader of the radical right-wing nationalist upsurge gripping Britain.An estimated 150,000 like-minded protesters turned out in London in September for his “Unite the Kingdom” march and for months Irish Times London correspondent Mark Paul has tried to get an interview with him.And then the call came out of the blue on a cold December evening.Robinson was planning a stunt in an hour’s time – to announce the date of his next protest – and would the Irish Times like to come?In the end the stunt failed for technical reasons but Paul got to see how the avowed right-wing radical works and got to shadow him the following day.At a choral service – to “bring the Christ back into Christmas” he got to see how Robinson is mixing his newfound conversion to evangelical Christianity with his anti-immigrant message.Paul tells In the News how Robinson’s new style of campaigning echoes the Maga movement that got Donald Trump elected.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2025 was a year of global upheaval, from the activities of the Trump Administration to instability in the Middle East and the reshaping of power politics as China continues its rise. But what will it be remembered for in the long run? Irish Times foreign correspondents Denis Staunton, who is based in Beijing, and Europe correspondent Naomi O’Leary, each picked two events whose impact will be felt into the future. They include the meeting between Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, a trilateral power meeting in China that said much about the relationship between the US and the rest of the world; the October 10th ceasefire in Gaza, which is broadly holding in a way other ceasefires haven’t; the record S&P stock surge in the US and why it loudly hints at an AI bubble and what that could mean for Ireland; and Europe’s growing willingness to break a taboo, to reconsider the terms of the UN 1951 Refugee Convention which gave immigrants and refugees rights and imposed obligations on European countries.And amid all the gloom there were some lighter moments that struck our two correspondents.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this conversation, Jack Power, a Brussels correspondent specializing in EU politics, delves into the high-stakes negotiations surrounding the long-awaited Mercosur trade deal. He highlights the looming December 20th deadline, the intricate dynamics between France, Germany, and Ireland, and the contentious issue of beef imports that threatens to impact local farmers. Power also discusses the implications of Ireland's decision and the broader significance of the deal in positioning Europe as a global trading entity amid changing geopolitical landscapes.

Join Malachy Clerkin and Muireann Duffy, seasoned sports writers from the Irish Times, as they spotlight the exhilarating highlights of Irish sports in 2025. They discuss Rory McIlroy's historic Masters win, Troy Parrott's thrilling goals that kept the World Cup dream alive, and rising star Kate O'Connor's athletic achievements. The conversation also dives into exciting changes in Gaelic football rules and celebrates standouts in women's sports like Katie McCabe and Katie Taylor, creating an engaging reflection on an unforgettable year.

What were the big political stories of 2025? Were there issues we were obsessed with at the time and now can’t quite remember why? And were there any laughs to be had around Leinster House?For a look back on the year in Irish politics, Irish Times political correspondents Ellen Coyne and Jack Horgan-Jones came into the studio with their standout stories – from the fretting about the threat of US tariffs to the highs and lows of the presidential election; and from Paschal Donohoe’s exit for a more glamorous job to the Government’s new housing manifesto.Then there was Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry’s unparliamentary sign language.And what exactly are “country pursuits” and why did they emerge as a talking point during the presidential election.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan with Andrew McNair on sound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.