In the early hours of 29th November, 2002, 34 year old father of two arrived home from working his shift as the security manager at a popular nightclub in Limerick City.
He was shot to death in his driveway in a suspected gangland killing.
Would gardai be able to find enough evidence to bring members of one of Limerick’s most notorious gangs before a court?
This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin.
Continue reading “129 – A Battle for Justice: The murder of Brian Fitzgerald”In May of 1994, Philomena Gillane was 7 months pregnant. On the morning of Wednesday the 11th, she left her home early to head to work. But she never arrived. She was found dead in the boot of her own car 25 miles away, at Athlone Train station.
Her family would spend the next 3 years in and out of courts dealing with the fallout from her brutal murder, and in a search for justice that was never fully achieved.
Continue reading “84 – Dark Saga: The Murder of Philomena Gillane”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”Veronica Guerin took on Ireland’s booming gangland criminals in 1994, who were flooding the country with cannabis and other illegal substances and engaging in an all out war with their competitors. When she approached John Gilligan, the man in charge, at his home, she set in motion a series of events that would lead to her death, and to the downfall of the criminal set she had set her eyes on.
The events of 1994 changed the landscape of organised crime in Ireland forever, as well how the authorities would attempt to curb their enjoyment of their assets. But would they be held responsible for Veronica’s death?
Continue reading “21 – Veronica Guerin: Gangland Murder of the Media (Part 2)”
Continue reading “21 – Veronica Guerin: Gangland Murder of the Media (Part 1)”
In the second and final instalment of the Black Widow story, the Gardai ramp up their investigation into her, and she is finally charged with the murder of her husband, and conspiracy to commit murder. The trial took place in 2000, and lasted a whopping 62 days. After three attempts to start, it finally got under way and Willie McClean, Gerry Heapes and John Jones recounted their tales to the jury.
We also examine the aftermath of the whole sorry affair, including Justice O’Buachalla coming under scrutiny in the Murphy Inquiry, and the various appeals that Catherine brought before the courts, before finally discussing the subject that was closest to Catherine’s heart: money.
Continue reading “10 – Catherine Nevin: The Black Widow (Part 2)”
The weekend of St Patrick’s Day, 1996, Tom Nevin was found lying dead from a gunshot wound to the chest in the kitchen of his pub, Jack White’s in the popular seaside town of Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow. His wife, Catherine, had sounded the alarm and when the Gardai arrived they found her bound by the wrists. She said that intruders had entered the pub, looking for jewellery. But something wasn’t quite right, the scene seemed staged, and soon the Gardai began unravelling a web of deceit constructed carefully over nearly 10 years of a plan to have Tom Nevin killed. All eyes now turned to Catherine. Was she really a grieving widow? Or a Black Widow who had her husband killed to get control of their assets?
Continue reading “10 – Catherine Nevin: The Black Widow (Part 1)”