In The News

Last weekend, the Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’ jumped straight to the top of the Irish and UK box office. The release of the movie’s trailer earlier this year prompted immediate backlash from fans who argued the biopic had come too soon after the British singer’s death and risked exploiting her story. However, in reality, most of the viewing public just can’t seem to get enough of musical...

The jury in the Stardust inquests has returned a verdict of unlawful killing in the cases of each of the 48 young people who died in the fire at the Artane nightclub 43 years ago. That means the survivors and the families of those who lost their lives have been vindicated in their long search for justice and accountability. But why did it take so long - and what happens next? We hear from Stardust...

In 2022 Paola Sanchez, wanting to check out men she met online, created a Facebook group called “Are We Dating the Same Guy”. Its sisterhood-fuelled goal was to create a private space where women could “empower each other and keep each other safe from dangerous and/or toxic men”. It quickly grew. Most US cities now have their own Are We Dating the Same Guy group and it has spread outside the US wi...

On Monday, Taoiseach Simon Harris called a meeting the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to discuss the rising number of deaths on Irish roads. Mr Harris said road safety was a “top priority” and announced actions to crackdown on careless and dangerous driving and additional RSA funding. So far this year, sixty-three people have died in road accidents across the country, an increase of 14 on the same pe...

A training manual provided to eir employees by parent company Eircom warned them that they would face disciplinary proceedings if they obeyed Irish laws covering customer complaints. The same manual also outlined a series of “trigger words” that would allow people calling the company with complaints to have their concerns dealt with in an expeditious fashion. If those words were not used, the conc...

In 2016 US diplomats in Cuba’s capital reported a range of mysterious symptoms that were soon experienced by colleagues in other parts of the world. Staff reported bloody noses, headaches, stomach issues, vision problems and hearing strange sounds. The phenomenon was quickly dubbed the Havana Syndrome and investigations began to try to ascertain its origin – or if it was a real illness at all. Now...

In the most recent murder case where cannabis use was judged to be a factor, the court ruled that Diego Costa Silva killed his wife while in a state of cannabis-induced psychosis at their home in Finglas, Dublin on November 4th, 2021. A jury found him not guilty of Fabiola De Campos Silva’s murder, by reason of insanity. His was one of a number of murder cases to come before Irish courts in the pa...

In August two more sections of the quays in Dublin will become no-go areas for private cars. When the “bus gates” open on Aston Quay on the southside of the river, and Bachelor’s Walk on the northside, private cars will no longer be able to complete their journey from one of end of the city’s quays to the other. They are the first measures of the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan , which will rest...

Robert F Kennedy jnr is on the campaign trail, attempting to get on the ballot for the US presidential election. A scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, he had hoped to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination but when that hope faded, he announced he would continue as an independent candidate. The long-time environmental lawyer is the son of the former US attorney general and senator R...

Today on In the News we bring you an excerpt from another episode of our sister podcast, Inside Politics. Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray joined host Hugh Linehan to talk about Simon Harris's appointment as Taoiseach and the details of his minimal Cabinet reshuffle. Did he go far enough to satisfy Fine Gaelers or voters looking for change? But first, they discuss the news that the reconstituted Govern...

On Tuesday, Simon Harris will be officially voted into office by TDs in Dáil Éireann and become the new Taoiseach. Harris, who is the youngest ever Taoiseach at 37, will then reveal his Cabinet reshuffle, by which he hopes to signal a fresh start for the Government and for the Fine Gael party. But can the Wicklow TD turn youthful enthusiasm into meaningful action? And how will he decide bring on h...

Nearly three years have passed since Irish schools started reopening in March 2021 and children began returning to the educational environment that was abruptly erased from their lives the previous year. In the months that followed children and teens, who had spent months locked in their homes keeping up with classes through Zoom lessons, began reacclimatising to the social environment of a busy c...

From stately townhouses to cinema screens and Turkish baths, Grafton Street has had a fascinating and varied history. But how did it evolve to become the premium retail street that it is today? And who now owns the ornate buildings that house some of our favourite shops and meeting spots? Dublin Editor Olivia Kelly and reporter Colm Keena take us on a fascinating virtual walk down Dublin's most sa...

In Libya, former members of the Irish Defence Forces, including men who served in the elite Army Rangers Wing have been providing training for a militia headed up Libyan strongman, Khalifa Haftar. It’s a lucrative business for the company called Irish Training Solutions but the work is an apparent breach of a United Nations arms embargo imposed on the volatile African country. Naomi O’Leary broke...

On Monday, suspected Israeli war planes bombed the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital city of Damascus, marking a major escalation in Israel’s war in the Middle East. At least 11 people – including a senior Iranian commander – were killed in the attack which Iran’s foreign minister said was “a breach of all international conventions”. The Biden administration continues to urge restraint, while a...

When he was elected president last November, Javier Milei promised to fix Argentina's ailing economy and divided society with radical reforms. How is that going? Irish Times contributor Tom Hennigan returns with an update on how the controversial leader is having a big impact on Argentina, yet still struggling to find the political support to implement his vision. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

This episode was first published in January 2024. A door that blew off a Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off was not properly secured after maintenance to the aircraft, an investigation has found. This is just the latest in a list of very public crises for the airline behemoth that is still dealing with the fallout from 2018 and 2019 when two of its planes crashed, killing 346 people. Through a...

How much is enough sleep? What is the best time to go to bed? What counts as a good night’s sleep? Is there any point in taking a nap and how long should it be? How do you know if your poor sleeping patterns have tipped over into insomnia? And is good sleep hygiene the secret to falling asleep? Anne Marie Boyhan left her corporate job to study to become a sleep consultant after years of trying to...

The Moscow attack which killed at least 137 people and injured many more was carried out by an Isis affiliate called Isis-K. On today’s In the News podcast, Colin P Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group and an expert on domestic and transnational terrorism, explains why Russia was targeted by the Islamic jihadists and how Afghanistan post-2021 has become a safe haven for terrorists desp...

At least 13,000 children have died in Gaza in the last six months; more than in 4 years of global conflict. Despite the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday, life-saving food aid is still being denied to Palestinians throughout the strip. Unicef is warning of an imminent famine, as hundreds of thousands of people starve. The aid agency's James Elder is on the gr...

This time last year, the 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick, a young American woman living in Dublin, was upgraded to a murder inquiry. For three decades, it was believed the last definitive image captured of the American student came from the CCTV footage of her local AIB bank in Sandymount, Dublin on the day of her disappearance. However, the new Garda investigation has now determined that th...

Trafficking of women and girls into Ireland to work in the sex industry is one aspect of a transnational crime that has been discovered in a range of sectors, from food production to fishing, forced marriages to farming, nail bars to begging. And while trafficked people can come from all over the world, an increase in people brought into the country from eastern Europe under false pretences and th...

When it was put to Alexander McCartney that he had, in the words of the Belfast court, “unlawfully killed a female child”, the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland pleaded guilty. That child was just 12 years-old, she lived outside the UK and McCartney had never even met her but, through what the judge described as the worst case of “catfishing” every to come before the courts, his online coercian an...

Today on In the News we bring you an episode of our sister podcast, Inside Politics. Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones joined host Hugh Linehan to discuss the unexpected announcement by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that he is resigning as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach. They discuss the questions surrounding the timing and impact of his decision, the potential reasons behind his departure a...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced he is to step down. Listen to his full speech in this bonus episode. More to follow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.