In The News

What started as a one-man play about the life and times of Gerry Hutch became a two-hander this week when, in a curtain-raising surprise, Hutch himself appears on stage to deliver a prologue.

Rex Ryan premiered his play The Monk – called after the widely used nick-name of his subject – last summer but for its second outing it moved to a much larger Dublin venue, The Ambassador, for a weeklong run.

Ryan, who produces, stars and directs The Monk is, says Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally, a powerful presence on stage.

Hutch, adds little says Lally – except audience pulling power. He went along to a performance to see how Hutch, whose career he has followed closely, is portrayed. He gives his plain-speaking review here.

Lally found the section on the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin deeply distasteful and the extent to which RTÉ journalist Paul Reynolds lives rent-free in Hutch’s head simply bizarre.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Geran-2 is a deadly weapon; a drone bomb that can be launched from thousands of kilometres away and yet hit its target with precision accuracy.

Low cost and easy to make, this winter it has become a key weapon in Russia’s armoury as it pummels Ukraine, causing hundreds of deaths and cutting off energy supply.

And a key component in the Geran-2 design is a chip manufactured years ago by Taoglas, which is headquartered in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

So how did it make its way into Russia’s armament supply chain – especially given EU rules which ban the export to Russia of “high priority” dual-use technology that can have both civilian and military applications.

An investigation by The Irish Times in partnership with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others has revealed that technology from EU companies is making its way into Russia in vast quantities, where it is used in weapons such as the Geran-2.

This includes various components manufactured by Taoglas and another Irish-based company, TE Connectivity.

Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher was part of that investigative consortium and he explains how these drones work and why stopping their manufacture has proven difficult.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tip-off that led the Garda to begin a major search for the bodies of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob is likely not new according to crime and security editor Conor Lally.

The piece of land on the border of counties Wicklow and Kildare has been in the Garda’s sights for many years but since the disappearance of the young women, missing since the 1990s, are now considered murders, ongoing reviews of the files bring new leads and new thinking on the investigation.

News on Monday that gardaí had begun an extensive dig on the land was accompanied by mention of Dullard and Jacob leading to speculation that it had been determined that both young women were the victims of the same murderer.

Not so, says Lally, who notes that gardaí suspect Jacob, who disappeared in broad daylight, was killed by convicted rapist Larry Murphy, while Dullard was killed by an unknown male who gave her a lift as she tried to get home.

Lally analyses this new phase in the investigation.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belfast man James O’Neill, or Jim as he was known, led an unconventional life. He was according to his family a highly intelligent man in his 40s who lived nomadically, sometimes sleeping rough, moving between cities.

His body found was found in Dublin’s Phoenix Park in November 2023 but his parents, Paul and Ann O’Neill were not informed of their son’s death until 13 months later.

That’s because his body was not identified when he was found or during the postmortem despite the fact that he had nine forms of ID in the pocket of his anorak.

So how were they found and why did it take so long to find them? Irish Times columnist Una Mullally talked to his parents about their son and about the questions they want answered by Fiosrú, the Office of the Garda Ombudsman, which is investigating the force’s handling of the puzzling case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ultra-processed foods are irresistible – they’re made that way. The food manufacturers that dominate our supermarket shelves are constantly looking for ways to make us buy (and that means eat) more. And to find cheaper ingredients.

But isn’t just about everything in our diet, apart from fresh fruit and vegetables, processed in some way? So why has ultra-processed food become the focus of so much concern and debate?

Nutritionist Sarah Keogh gives her view on what’s happening on our plates.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.