24 – Bruce Lee: Murder by Arson

In December 1979, the Hastie home on Selby Street in Hull caught fire in the early hours of the morning. Three of Hastie boys would die of their injuries. It was apparent from the beginning that the fire was arson: there were matches left and a trail of paraffin at the front door, and there was the smell of accelerant in the air. In an attempt to find out who would want to hurt the family, it became apparent that they were strongly disliked, but still there were no real leads. Until, that is, the police picked up 19 year old Bruce George Peter Lee.

He admitted to setting the Hastie fire. And then shockingly admitted to another 10 arsons in the Hull area. No one had suspected these fires were malicious. But should the police believe this young man with a troubled background?

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18 – The murder of Declan Flynn & the story of Irish Pride

In honour of Pride month, and with the Dublin Pride Parade only a week away, this episode discusses the tragic case of the beating death of Declan Flynn in Fairview Park in 1983. Declan was a victim of a gang known to stalk the park at night, “queer bashing”.

We also chart the changes in Irish law since that point in terms of rights for the LGBT+ community, which culminated in the passing of the Marriage Equality referendum in 2015.

Happy Pride ya’ll!
 

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