Pirate Predator

The actions of Joe Maloney have far reaching effects, beyond what even he could ever have imagined. Broken families. Broken homes. Broken lives. We manage to find close family members of both June and Joe - and are shocked by what they have to tell us. (Ep 5/9) Credits: Runaway Joe is written, reported and produced by Pavel Barter and Tim Desmond. Research by Nicoline Greer. Original music soundtr...

Different countries. Different lives. One man becomes another and creates a life the other could never have imagined. Within two years of allegedly murdering his wife, Joe Maloney has become Michael O'Shea. He marries a shy Dublin woman and through a series of lucky breaks, begins to live the life of a wealthy property owner. Eclectic. Extravagant. Is this all fantasy? And if it is, when and where...

Having been charged with the first-degree murder of his ex-wife, Joseph Michael Maloney is imprisoned and awaits trial. But in a huge embarrassment to the authorities, the defendant tricks his own lawyers - and the judge - into a ploy which allows him to escape. Local and state police, an army of bloodhounds and the FBI all take part in his pursuit. As they begin to close in on the fugitive, the n...

We travel to Rochester, New York, back to the beginning, to find out where this story really starts. What we find is a young girl who grew into a woman, living her dream and looking for true love. And a young boy who liked to talk with an Irish accent who grew into a man but never really grew up. Love blossomed between them. But then control kicked in. And what began as a whirlwind love story spir...

It's 1985 and a country estate owner and movie industry worker in Ireland finds himself up before a Dublin court facing an extradition trial. His wife pleads his innocence. He tells the judge - and anyone who'll listen - "you have the wrong man". None of this story makes sense. Apart from his fingerprints. Fingerprints don't lie. Has his true identity finally been rumbled? The real question is - h...

In 1967, an Irish-American escaped custody on a charge of murdering his wife in upstate New York. Almost 60 years later, Joseph “Joe” Maloney remains one of the oldest unsolved cases in the FBI’s books. Joe lived large in Ireland for 20 years, before escaping again. Can he finally be found? We believe we’ve come closer than anyone – even the FBI – to discovering...

The cycle of Samantha offending, being jailed, then released and re-offending seems never ending. So as we reach the conclusion of our series, and in an attempt to understand just what exactly is going on for Samantha and how her behaviour might be understood, and treated, we make an application to the courts in search of answers. (Ep 7/7)  Credits:  Finding Samantha is written, recorded...

With Samantha out of prison in 2018, she was now turning 30 years old. She began working as an au pair again and was about to commit her most serious crimes to date. With access to children, she began manipulating them into presenting themselves as victims before she was eventually charged with child stealing... (Ep 6/7) Credits: Finding Samantha is written, recorded and produced by Sharon Davis i...

Sharon receives a strange phone call from a mystery woman with something to give her. Samantha receives her first full jail sentence as we hear from the Appeal Court Judge who decided on her case. And we receive an insight into how Samantha uses other people as she appears tries to play with us. (Ep 5/7) Credits: Finding Samantha is written, recorded and produced by Sharon Davis in Australia and T...

With Samantha Azzopardi continuing to face police and judges, she fails to heed their warnings to change her behaviour. Instead, she continues to target people in Australia, then returns to Ireland before moving to another continent. And all the time, she’s creating new characters, new aliases and leaving new victims in her wake. Where is this all going to end up? (Ep4/7). Credits: Finding Samanth...

A 15 yr old Russian gymnast turns up hoping to be adopted by a new family. A Police Prosecutor in Perth is not quite sure what kind of an individual he's dealing with. One Samantha Azzopardi actually reaches out to us - and we get to meet another. This journey is getting deeper and wilder than we could have ever imagined... (Ep3/7) Credits: Finding Samantha is written, recorded and produced by Sha...

As we follow the trail of the Girl at the GPO – who we now know is Australian woman Samantha Azzopardi - we dive into a surreal world where fact and fiction are often blurred. Samantha has connections to Ireland and a seemingly long and troubled back history in Australia. To begin to understand where this all started, we travel to Australia, to the suburbs of Sydney, where journalist Sharon Davis...

2013 - A distressed teenage girl is found wandering in front of the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin city centre. As suspicions rise that she’s the victim of serious crime, everyone scrambles to help her and to get to the bottom of her story. But a massive month long investigation by the Irish authorities reveal nothing about her. In desperation, the Gardaí (Police) release a photograph of the...

A woman who has created more than 100 fake identities. A young girl found wandering the streets of Dublin. A teenager deported from Canada. Stories of sustained sexual abuse at the hands of many. Kidnapping charges, prison time, lies, fraud and deceit. Could all of these stories go back to just one person? A new 7-part podcast series from RTÉ Documentary On One unravelling the...

Bonus: Michael O'Leary officially announced on February 27th 2022 that Tiger Roll will be retired after his final race at the Cheltenham Festival on March 16th, 2022. Michael Lawless caught up with Michael shortly after this announcement to see what lies ahead for Tiger Roll after racing. Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and...

After his first Grand National win, Tiger attempts a feat not achieved in over 40 years - to win a second Grand National in a row. He's getting older and so much is happening around him. What will it all mean for Tiger? (Ep 7/7). Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and Liam O'Brien. Sound Design by Damian Chennells Production as...

The biggest prize in National Hunt racing is the Grand National, and in 2018 Tiger was entered into a race nobody ever thought he could take on. But is he up for the challenge? (Ep 6/7). Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and Liam O'Brien. Sound Design by Damian Chennells Production assistance from the RTÉ Documentary On One Te...

As Tiger Roll matures, he’s ready for the next step up in jumps racing. But will patience and persistence from his owners and trainer give Tiger Roll a chance to fulfill his destiny as a champion racehorse ? (Ep 5/7) Released daily on weekdays from Feb 22nd-Mar 2nd, 2022. Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and Liam O'Brien. Sou...

Tiger Roll gets another new owner, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, a new training yard and a whole new set of challenges. He begins to make new friends for life as he enters his first Cheltenham festival. (Ep4/7) Released daily on weekdays from Feb 22nd-Mar 2nd, 2022. Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and Liam O'Brien. Sound Des...

Sold on by Godolphin Racing, Tiger Roll is bought by Nigel and Catherine Hawke. With the help of jockey Mark Quinlan, they discover Tiger’s previously unknown ability and love of jumping and enter him into his first ever race. (Ep3/7) Released daily on weekdays from Feb 22nd-Mar 2nd, 2022. Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and...

Bought by one of the richest men in horseracing, the young Tiger Roll becomes part of a global operation. But as he begins to grow up, and enters training, things don’t go according to plan. (Ep2/7). Released daily on weekdays (Feb 22nd-Mar 2nd 2022). Credits: Tiger Roll The People's Horse was written, recorded and produced by Michael Lawless, Tim Desmond and Liam O'Brien. Sound Design by Damian C...

A new 7-part series from RTÉ Documentary On One. To listen to all episodes, please subscribe to 'Tiger Roll, The People's Horse' from wherever you get your podcasts. This series tells the remarkable story of Tiger Roll, a racehorse who has won two Aintree Grand Nationals (back-to-back) and five times at the Cheltenham Festival. We follow Tiger's unlikely path to glory, from the very beginning to t...

The fourth and final recordings we have from the Arms Trial. Taking place on the morning of October 20th 1970, this is the unedited courtroom tape recording of the closing address to the jury by Niall McCarthy, Charlie Haughey’s Barrister. A masterclass in how to address a jury, Niall McCarthy argues that Charles Haughey should be acquitted. And the defence was successful - Haughey, along with the...

The third of four recordings we have from the Arms Trial. Taking place on the morning of October 20th 1970, this is the unedited courtroom tape recording of a legal argument. This is something you never read about from a trial. Such discussions between the judge and barristers for both sides normally take place in the absence of the jury and are not permitted to be reported on.  --- Companion...

The second of four recordings we have from the Arms Trial. Taking place on the afternoon of October 16th 1970, this is the unedited courtroom tape recording of the opening speech by Peter Maguire, Charlie Haughey’s barrister. The case for the defence of Charles Haughey is laid before the jury. This was a preamble to the ‘main event’ of the Arms Crisis: the testimony of the fallen star of the polit...