Episode 1271: Kinahan mobster Sean McGovern applies for free legal aid to dodge murder and gang charges

THE death of a 14-year-old boy in the Northern Ireland seaside town of Portrush has long been a mystery, and has posed a myriad of painful questions for his family.Ryan Quinn suffered a horrendous end when he got stuck in a cattle grid on a dark January night in 2009 as a train hurtled towards the frightened teenager.But what appeared to be a tragic accident would soon become a murder case when allegations that Ryan had been attacked and chased onto the railway emerged.Now, BBC journalist Vinny Hurrell has launched a new podcast in an attempt to break the Omerta that has been held sacred in a small community group for over a decade.On his new podcast 'Assume Nothing: Death on the Tracks', Hurrell painstakingly retraces the teenager's steps and discovers the suspects identified by the PSNI in the unusual case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Feb 202326min

THEY are the crime gang who took control of Canada's lucrative cocaine trade while proudly displaying their Irish roots.The West End mob began their life as a prolific bank heist crew who traded on their status as outsiders in French speaking Montreal.But, when they struck a deal with Colombia's Cali Cartel the Irish mob became Canada's kings of coke.Niall Donald chats with Toronto Sun journalist Brad Hunter and Sunday World's Eamon Dillon about the rise and fall of The West End Gang. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Feb 202354min

THE murder of Robbie Lawlor in a Belfast housing estate continues to be the subject of a major police inquiry, with the PSNI and prosecutors insisting they have no interest in a suspected Dundon hit team named and identified during a recent bail hearing.The circumstances surrounding the 2020 assassination of the notorious Dublin drug dealer marks an extraordinary merging of North and South criminals who once would have remained in their own territories on either side of the Border.Nicola Tallant chats with Belfast Telegraph crime correspondent Allison Morris about the changing face of gangland, about a double-cross of epic proportions and the peculiar actions of the PSNI and Gardai in the days after the murder that suggest the two forces have issues in co-operation and the criminals do not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Feb 202337min

Paul Crosby and Gerard Cruise had to listen to the tragic victim impact statement of Elizabeth Mulready, mum of murdered teen Keane Mulready-Woods, as she told a court this week how inconceivable it was that the sadistic minds of those who killed her child could have lived amongst her community.Details of the murder and dismemberment of the 17-year-old were heard during a sentence hearing for the pair. Both 27-year-old Crosby and 49-year-old Cruise pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder which was carried out by the late Robbie Lawlor.Nicola Tallant chats with Niall Donald about the shocking murder that made global headlines, about the background of the pair in the dock and about a cycle of violence that ended in an unforgivable act of depravity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Jan 202342min

Paul Crosby and Gerard Cruise had to listen to the tragic victim impact statement of Elizabeth Mulready, mum of murdered teen Keane Mulready-Woods, as she told a court this week how inconceivable it was that the sadistic minds of those who killed her child could have lived amongst her community.Details of the murder and dismemberment of the 17-year-old were heard during a sentence hearing for the pair. Both 27-year-old Crosby and 49-year-old Cruise pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder which was carried out by the late Robbie Lawlor.Nicola Tallant chats with Niall Donald about the shocking murder that made global headlines, about the background of the pair in the dock and about a cycle of violence that ended in an unforgivable act of depravity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Jan 202342min

SEVEN years ago this week journalist Alan Sherry was sent on a news assignment like no other - and on an otherwise ordinary Friday, he found himself in the middle of the Regency Hotel gun attack.Today, Alan gives Nicola Tallant and Niall Donald an eyewitness account of the infamous incident at the centre of the trial of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch.The panel also discuss the conviction of a member of a Cornelius Price kidnap gang for conspiracy to blackmail two businessmen and the plot which links the mob boss with the murder of Robbie Lawlor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Jan 202345min

AFTER 54 days at the Special Criminal Court the Regency murder trial came to an end with a verdict promised by April 17.Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch will remain in custody as three Judges retire to consider the case against him for murder, while co-accused Jason Bonney and Paul Murphy were told they could remain on bail.Nicola Tallant chats with Niall Donald to discuss the closing statements made by defence barristers for Bonney and Murphy, who both say the State has failed to prove its cases against their clients beyond reasonable doubt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 20231h 7min

THE case for and against Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch closed today with the prosecution and defence addressing the court for a final time.The State have concluded that The Monk was one of two fake gunmen who shot David Byrne, while his side say he is an innocent man and there is no evidence to prove his guilt.Nicola Tallant talks with Niall Donald about the two arguments and the judges who now have to decide his fate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 202343min