In The News

On Tuesday gardaí seized cocaine valued at more than €10 million when they stopped a truck on the M9 in Co Kilkenny.Intelligence led to the truck being stopped and finding no drugs in their initial search of the vehicle, they took it to be scanned, soon finding a hidden compartment packed with 152kg of drugs.As well as seizing the truck, they searched two business premises and a residential address in Co Waterford.A man in his 60s was arrested and taken in for questioning. He has been a target of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) for some time.Gardaí believe the suspect has links to the Dublin-based gang that is sometimes referred to in media reports as “The Family”. It has surpassed the Kinahan cartel’s Irish operation as the biggest drugs network in the Republic.Drugs with a street value of over €10m is regarded as a major seizure, but what impact will it have on the drugs trade in Ireland? Is The Family using the Kinehan playbook in its importation and distribution operation? And will losing such a valuable consignment damage the crime group?Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past two years, the pharmaceutical industry has quietly waged a massive lobbying campaign to try to block proposed EU regulations for the sector.Big Pharma companies have invested particular time and energy into lobbying the Irish Government, urging the State to push back against reforms to speed up the roll-out of new medicines across the EU, particularly to smaller and poorer countries.Correspondence now shows pharmaceutical companies are “disappointed and concerned” by the lack of support the Government has shown the sector in its push back against proposed European Union reforms.Irish Times acting Europe correspondent Jack Power joins In The News to discuss his investigation into pharma firms’ attempts to prevent further regulation of the sector and the implications of these changes for pharmaceutical companies' presence on Irish soil.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Court is set to hear revealing details on the workings of one of Ireland’s most high profile companies: Web Summit.In a civil trial that is set to last nine weeks, the three former friends who founded the tech events company – Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey – will lay out their grievances against each other.Cosgrave, the better known of the three, has a majority stake in the company with a whopping 81 per cent, Hickey has 7 per cent and Kelly 12 per cent.There are five individual cases to be heard in a civil trial that is expected to last around nine weeks.Catherine Sanz, author of Drama Drives Interest: The Web Summit Story explains the background while Irish Times business reporter Ian Curren tells what dirty laundry might be aired.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cooke used pseudonyms including Carrie Jade Williams Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester United used to dominate the Premier League.During Alex Ferguson’s reign as manager, the team won 13 league titles – a record that’s unlikely to be beaten.Since he stepped down in the 2012-2013 season it’s been a trying time for Man U’s loyal fans who have looked on as successive managers made poor choices and owners wasted eye-watering sums.To understand just why the team’s glory days are a distant memory look beyond what happens on the pitch and take a closer look at how the owners – the American Glazer family who are the majority shareholders, and Jim Ratcliffe who bought 25 per cent of the club – are doing their business.Irish Times sports columnist Ken Early lays out the club’s problems.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the highlights of Taoiseach Micheal Martin's press event with US president Donald Trump in Washington DC earlier today. The two leaders jointly took questions for almost an hour. We've edited that down to 20 minutes of key exchanges and remarks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Later today Taoiseach Micheal Martin will meet US president Donald Trump in Washington, against a backdrop of Trump’s tariff threats and huge economic uncertainty.The economic relationship between Ireland and the United States is likely to feature when both leaders face the press.The recent torrid experience at the White House of Ukrainain president Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggests its possible Mr Martin could be in for a difficult day.So how should the Taoiseach handle Mr Trump?Political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones explains where and how problems may arise.Then neuropsychologist Ian Robertson suggests some strategies for dealing with Trump’s singular personality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The number of babies being born is falling globally, with profound effects in store for societies and economies should the trend continue long term. The phenomenon has preoccupied pro-natalist politicians like JD Vance and Viktor Orban; as well as father-of-12 Elon Musk who has previously claimed "a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far". But while it’s long been acknowledged the decline is down to couples deciding to have smaller families, Financial Times data reporter John Burn-Murdoch believes the trend in recent decades is actually down to a ‘relationship recession’; a collapse in the number of couples of child-bearing age. This is happening in countries as disparate as Finland and South Korea. Burn-Murdoch reveals the reason for the global decline is surprising and is not, as frequently posited, driven by the financially independent "girl-boss". Irish Times sex and relationships columnist, Roe McDermott, also joins the podcast to examine the factors contributing to the relationship recession in Ireland.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High profile Kerry businessman Nathan McDonnell was “committed to and invested in” a €32 million crystal meth operation by an organised crime group with links to the notorious Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.For his role in the scheme he has been jailed for 12 years.McDonnell, who had encountered “fierce financial difficulties” and racked up debts of €4 million, was to be paid €150,000 to store a machine containing the drugs on his premises and arrange for its export to Australia.He was known locally for his flash lifestyle and his prominent business. But what do people in Tralee think now?Barry Roche, Irish Times Southern Correspondent reports. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Vial (39) and Nikita Burns (23) have been found guilty of murdering 66-year-old ‘Robin’ Wilkin whose body was thrown over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag in Co Donegal almost three years ago.The trial lasted two-months. It was, the court heard, a grisly murder carried out by two people living a chaotic, alcohol fuelled life.It was eight days after the murder that Wilkin’s body was found, a delay that caused significant challenges in establishing a cause of death.The jury agreed that on June 25th, 2023 the pair had attacked their housemate, Wilkin, as the trio were on yet another of their drinking sprees. They dumped his body over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag, which ranks among Europe’s tallest sea cliffs.The couple were caught 24 hours later when their car went into a ditch. Gardaí noted blood spatter and cleaning products in the car and the foundation of the case was a confession Burns made to her friends, which they recorded and then reported to the Garda.In court, Vial attempted to blame Burns much to the troubled woman’s obvious distress.Court reporter Eoin Reynolds explains how the case unfolded.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.