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

When killer Joe O’Reilly bludgeoned his wife Rachel to death at their home in the Naul, Co Dublin, in October 2004 he thought he’d get away with murder.But years after he was convicted to a life sentence for his horrific crime, nobody could have expected that the former advertising executive - who is yet again to be the subject of a new documentary to be screened on RTE - would continue to fascinate the publicSo what is it about Ordinary Joe and his plot to kill seventeen years ago that is rarely far from the headlines? Why do people still want answers to his awful crime?Nicola Tallant talks to journalist Jenny Friel, whose book 'The Suspect' is the definitive account of murder in the Naul. She tells me about her extraordinary meetings with the killer as he protested his innocence, the gruesome murder tours he took her on in his home and how his tall tales and desire for recognition eventually backfired on him in spectacular fashion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Nov 202148min

It was planned as the Kinahan Mafia’s trophy kill, with only Daniel Kinahan and Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh's most trusted circle of lieutenants privy to the plans.But, in an incredible turn of events, the 2017 plot to assassinate Hutch target James ‘Mago’ Gately at his Newry apartment became the undoing of the most powerful crime gang in Ireland.Last week, criminal Douglas Glynn became the fifth man convicted in relation to the foiled plot to kill and Nicola Tallant chats with Sunday World Deputy Editor Niall Donald about the seminal moment in the State’s fight against the powerful Kinahan mob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Nov 202127min

Ireland’s mobile phone data retention systems are under the spotlight and European legal experts have warned they may have breached the law.Now, killer Graham Dwyer is eying up a favourable appeal to his conviction for the murder of Elaine O’Hara.But will the jailed architect who groomed his vulnerable victim through BDSM actually walk free.Nicola Tallant talks to barrister Ronan Lupton about the complex technicalities that could determine Dwyer’s fate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Nov 202146min

He was the one-time billionaire and the pride of his native Cavan, where a generation of workers shared the spoils of his success.Businessman Sean Quinn was said to have built an empire on a mountain but always remembered his humble beginnings and was at his happiest sharing lunch with factory workers and playing cards with old pals.So, what has it been like to watch the fall of the Mighty Quinn amid the horror of the kidnap and torture of his former executive Kevin Lunney? Who is the man with two faces and what do his one time supporters think of him now?Nicola Tallant talks to Sunday Independent reporter Rodney Edwards, who has covered the Quinn story for over a decade as a local who grew up under the legend of the business giant. He tells me how a generation of workers who once backed Quinn have now moved on from the businessman's dreams of a return to power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Nov 202144min

A vision for a new police force in Northern Ireland 20 years after Chris Patten’s ground-breaking report identified a need for a 50-50 recruitment policy for Catholics and Protestants has failed to live up to expectations.Last year, of the 193 new recruits just 24 per cent were Catholic, blamed in no small part to dissident republicans deliberately targeting officers and their families from working class nationalist communities.Nicola Tallant talks to Allison Morris of the Belfast Telegraph about plans for a new recruitment drive to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the PSNI and the continued efforts to create a more inclusive force. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Nov 202136min

He was a towering Ulster rugby star who won four caps for Ireland in the mid 1990s and went on to forge a political career as an ultra-conservative unionist.After his death on October 28 in a motorcycle crash in County Antrim, political pals and friends from the Orange Order were amongst those to pay tribute to Davy Tweed, describing him as a giant of a man and a ‘larger than life character’.But in recent weeks Sunday World journalist Hugh Jordan has uncovered the truth about the real Tweed and his secret life as a predatory paedophile who terrorised his family and sexually abused his daughters.Nicola Tallant is joined by Hugh along with three of Tweed’s courageous daughters, Amanda, Catherine and Victoria, who have waived their right to anonymity to speak out about the monster behind the legend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Nov 20211h 6min

When Irish heiress Marianne ‘Mair’ Smyth walked in the door of Jonathan Walton’s LA apartment neither of them could have guessed what lay ahead.For reality TV maker Jonathan, Mair came across charming, successful and well connected and he was quickly drawn into her world where she was forever on the brink of inheriting a vast fortune from Ireland. But Mair was no lady and instead she tricked him out of money with her tall tales and tangled web of lies.But what Mair Smyth didn’t realise was that Jonathan wasn’t like the countless other victims she had defrauded and instead he would become a thorn in her side.Today the producer of a hit podcast series tells me the amazing story of Mair Smyth and how he turned the tables on the Queen of the Con.When Irish heiress Marianne ‘Mair’ Smyth walked in the door of Jonathan Walton’s LA apartment neither of them could have guessed what lay ahead.For reality TV maker Jonathan, Mair came across charming, successful and well connected and he was quickly drawn into her world where she was forever on the brink of inheriting a vast fortune from Ireland. But Mair was no lady and instead she tricked him out of money with her tall tales and tangled web of lies.But what Mair Smyth didn’t realise was that Jonathan wasn’t like the countless other victims she had defrauded and instead he would become a thorn in her side.Today the producer of a hit podcast series tells me the amazing story of Mair Smyth and how he turned the tables on the Queen of the Con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Nov 202154min

He was the violent enforcer of Slieve Rusheen who operated with impunity for more than eight years terrorising ‘traitors’ who turned on the mighty Sean Quinn.His death from a massive heart attack as UK cops raided his Derbyshire hideaway two years ago played out like the final dramatic scenes of a John B Keane play.But the end for 'Dublin Jimmy', aka Cyril McGuinness, only marked the beginning of an armageddon for his tribe and this week three hired help were convicted in the Special Criminal Court of the kidnap and torture of company executive Kevin Lunney.Today, I’m talking to Sunday World Deputy Editor, Niall Donald, about about the late 'Dublin Jimmy' and where he found the mercenaries to carry one of the most shocking incidents in Irish criminal history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Nov 202138min