In December of 1995, 41 year old Marilyn Rynn disappeared after attending her workplace Christmas party. Two weeks later her body was found hidden in bushes at a park near to her home. She had been attacked as she took a shortcut on her journey home.
A combination of cutting edge forensic techniques and old fashioned police work solved her murder 8 months later.
Continue reading “74 – Marilyn Rynn: The Shortcut”22 year old Rachel Kiely left home in Ballincollig, Co. Cork with her two dogs on the afternoon of the 26th of October 2000. Her dogs returned to the house, but she didn’t. A few hours later, her body was discovered hidden in undergrowth at the local park.
The person responsible would spend the next two decades in and out of court.
Continue reading “73 – The Park: The Killing of Rachel Kiely”On Christmas Day, 1929, postman Larry Griffen went to work in the small village of Stradbally, Co Waterford. As he called into homes with the post, he was thanked with tips and a few drinks. That night, Larry never made it home. His bike was found abandoned in the middle of the road.
A conspiracy of silence kept the truth of what happened to Larry Griffin from his family, and still does to this day.
Continue reading “72 – The Missing Postman: Larry Griffin”In the early hours of New Years Day 2003, Rachel Moran decided leave her parents house and make the 20 minute walk to her own flat. Her worried mother tried to stop her, but Rachel said she would be fine: she’d ring as soon as she got in.
But the phone call never came.
And Rachel was never seen alive again.
Continue reading “71 – A Walk in the Dark: The murder of Rachel Moran”In 1940, 24 year old Michael Devereux disappeared from his home in Co Wexford. A year later, his body would be discovered buried in an isolated part of Co Tipperary. A number of men who were known members of the IRA found themselves accused of the murder – allegedly motivated by the belief that Devereux had been a spy among their ranks.
A four month legal battle ensued, which saw the use of the Emergency Powers Act passed to deal with “The Emergency” of the ongoing war in Europe used to circumvent due process and normal court procedures in order to hold the men accountable.
Just before Christmas 1979, 23 year old Phyllis Murphy disappeared while waiting on a bus in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Her body was found in an isolated spot 25 miles away at Turlough Hill, Co Wicklow a month later.
After a huge search and investigation, the gardai had no leads as to who was responsible for her death. But in 1998, DNA in Phyllis’ case was tested as part of Operation Trace. As a result of that, 53 year old John Crerar – a neighbour of Phyllis’ remaining family – stood trial at the Dublin Central Criminal Court.
Continue reading “68 – Mountain Mysteries: The murder of Phyllis Murphy”In 1925, while the Irish Free State was still in its infancy after the close of the civil war, the body of a young woman was found dead lying at a lonely cross roads in South County Dublin. Her name was Honor Bright, a woman who made her living as a sex worker in town.
Two men were tried for her shooting death, but was her killing a the result of her “unfortunate” status, or part of an attempt to keep scandal away from the halls of power in a newly-independent Ireland?
Continue reading “67 – Honor Bright: Murder in the Free State”In the early 1980s, there was a series of kidnap-for-ransom crimes committed in the Republic by the Provisional IRA in order to raise funds to finance their organisation and its terrorist operations here and in the UK.
One of the victims of these abductions was prominent businessman, Don Tidey, and Englishman who was the senior executive of the Quinnsworth group of supermarkets. Tidey was held for 23 days in Derrada wood, Co Leitrim. He as rescued by the gardai and the army, but a garda probationer and an army private were killed during the operation.
Though a number of people were charged in relation to the kidnap, no one has ever been charged in relation to the two killings.
Continue reading “64 – Hostage at Derrada Woods: The story of Don Tidey”In 1983, three women died in an horrific house fire at Blackpitts in Dublin. It would emerge that one of them – 34 year old Dolores Lynch – had been targeted by a violent and vengeful pimp. John Cullen was alleged to have held a grudge against the former sex worker for pursuing charges against him for an assault seven years before.
In the course of getting justice for Dolores Lynch, there would be shocking revelations about what went on in Dublin City under the cover of darkness.
Continue reading “63 – Under the cover of Darkness: Dolores Lynch & Lyn Madden”