In September of 2006, Melissa Mahon (14) went missing in Sligo Town. She was supposed to in the care of the Health Service, but she had developed a habit of running away. That summer, she had met some new friends. The Dunbar girls. And through them, their father, Ronnie Dunbar. Nearly two years later, Melissa’s remains would be found in the nearby River Bonet after a shocking confession of her friend.
Continue reading “40 – Chaos, Neglect & Abuse: The Killing of Melissa Mahon”Tag: irish true crime
39 – Terrorism at Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
In 1988, a routine flight took off from London Heathrow. It was the second leg of a transatlantic flight that would stop in JFK, before heading even further west, to Detroit. In fact, Flight 103 had started off in Frankfurt. But something got on the flight in the German airport that shouldn’t have. It was a brown samsonite suitcase, filled with clothing and a Toshiba cassette tape player. Inside the electronics was a pound of semtex and a timer.
Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the Scottish countryside, killing everyone aboard, 11 people on the ground, and scattering debris for miles around the countryside.
But who had planted the bomb?
Continue reading “39 – Terrorism at Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103”37 – St Patrick’s Day: Crimes & Mayhem
It’s St Patrick’s day. Worldwide, buildings are being “greened”. Shamrock shakes are being consumed. Guinness is being poured, and we’re drowning the shamrock.
But, this time of year sees a lot of bad behaviour. Some directly as a result of our celebration of all things Irish and some… a little more premeditated.
This week, I’m joined by 4 other fabulous podcasts to tell the story of some St Patrick’s day crimes for you.
Special thanks this week to:
All Crime No Cattle ;
Southern Fried True Crime;
Gone Cold – Texas True Crime; and
Unresolved
for your kind contributions!
34 – The murder of Una Lynsky, Wrongful Convictions & fight for Justice
In October 1971, on a rural lane south of the village of Ratoath, Co Meath, Una Lynsky disappeared while walking a short distance from a bus stop to her home. Around that time, screams were heard and a strange car was seen driving up and down the lane. But three local lads, Dick Donnelly, Martin Kerrigan, and Martin Conmey found that they were the ones who had drawn the attention of the notorious Murder Squad of the Garda Siochana.
By the end of the year, two young people from Porterstown Lane would be dead. Two trials would follow and a series of appeals to try and clear a man’s name of guilt that did not belong to him.
Continue reading “34 – The murder of Una Lynsky, Wrongful Convictions & fight for Justice”33 – The murder of Robert Holohan: Broken Trust
On the afternoon of the 6th January, 2005 Robert Holohan rode his brand new silver BMX bike down his drive and out onto the roads of Ballyedmond, a townland north of Midleton in rural East Cork.
When Robert didn’t return home that evening, and had not answered his new phone, a search began that would bring people from all over the country to the area to volunteer to look for the 11 year old, alongside the Gardai and the army. But, just over a week later, Roberts body was found in a deep ditch, caught up in brambles, alongside Inch Strand. He was 12 miles from his home.
The Garda investigation worked quickly, and it soon became apparent that Robert had not gotten far from home, before he was killed.
Continue reading “33 – The murder of Robert Holohan: Broken Trust”30 – Sharon Collins: Lying Eyes, Hitman4Hire, & attempted murder
In 2006, Sharon Collins decided that what she had wasn’t enough. She was a divorced mother of two, living with a long term partner, PJ Howard, who also had two sons. He also owned a multi-million euro property business, which he wanted to pass to his sons. So much so that he wouldn’t marry Sharon in order to ensure this. But despite the lavish lifestyle Sharon lived – nice houses, a penthouse apartment in Spain, a boat, basically anything she wanted – Sharon wanted more.
So, she got on her computer and between searches for weight loss and diet tips, she looked for a hitman. And she found one.
Continue reading “30 – Sharon Collins: Lying Eyes, Hitman4Hire, & attempted murder”29 – The murders of Thomas Murray & life sentences
The small town of Ballygar was shocked when 73 year old bachelor farmer William Mannion was found stabbed to death on his kitchen floor. A local youth was responsible. He was brought to trial, found guilty and received the mandatory life sentence. How was it then, that 17 years later, the same man would be able to kill another elderly resident of Ballygar, Nancy Nolan (84) in a senseless and motiveless crime?
This week, we look at the murders committed by Thomas Murray in East Galway and how life sentences in Ireland don’t really mean life.
Continue reading “29 – The murders of Thomas Murray & life sentences”
28 – Murder on Ireland’s Eye
In 1852, Sarah Maria Louisa Kirwan was found dead at the Long Hole on Ireland’s Eye as the tide receded. Her husband, William, had been painting a sunset scene of the Dublin Mountains and told the boatmen who returned to get them from the craggy island in Dublin Bay that he had no idea what had happened to her. An inquest found that the poor woman had drowned.
But in Victorian Dublin, rumours spread quickly, and it was discovered William Burke Kirwan was living a double life – one that provided a motive for murder.
25 – The tragic murder of Catherine Cooper
In 1954, Nurse Catherine Cooper (64) lived and worked in Limerick city as a home sister, visiting the ill and infirm at their bedsides. She was originally from County Clare, but had spent much of her working life in London, until the outbreak of World War Two.
On the night of November 19th, 1954, she decided to walk back to her hospital from her last home visit. On the Dublin Road, she was spotted by a 24 year old carman, Michael Manning, who had been drinking all day. He attacked her, and she was killed on the roadside.
But was Manning legally responsible for her death?
Continue reading “25 – The tragic murder of Catherine Cooper”
22 – The horrific murder of Sylvia Fleming
The year 1998 was a particularly difficult one for the small town of Omagh, in Northern Ireland. There finally seemed to be a workable plan in place to bring about the beginning of a peace process, but along with that, emotions were heightened.
Just days before the agreement was signed, Sylvia Fleming (17) was out celebrating her first paycheque from her first job. She visited her ex boyfriend that night, and was never seen again. Her sisters, with whom Sylvia was very close, realised that something was wrong very quickly. The pregnant teenager would never have just left them. But they never thought that she would have suffered the fate that she did.
Join us this week as we look at the tragic events surrounding Sylvia Fleming’s murder, and how her community was torn apart that year.
Continue reading “22 – The horrific murder of Sylvia Fleming”