In The News

On Monday, George Gibney (77), former Irish Olympic swimming coach, was found guilty of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

After a two-week trial, the jury found him guilty of 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of children. He will be sentenced at the end of the month.
One of Ireland’s most notorious paedophiles, he was extradited from Florida last year where he had escaped justice for decades.

Due to reporting restrictions he was referred to as “sports coach” but as soon as the guilty verdict was announced, he could be named.

So why did he plead guilty to five of the charges? What defence was put forward? What has his demeanour in court? And what does this guilty verdict mean after so long for the victims.

Court reporter Isabel Hayes explains how the case unfolded in court and Gibney’s reaction to the verdict.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in March 2026.

Clifton Collins (55) had a thriving business growing cannabis in rented houses around the country.

The Crumlin man and expert beekeeper was known for his award-winning honey but his real earner was the fortune he made from years of dealing drugs.

He operated under the radar so when gardaí came across him parked in the Wicklow Mountains one night, they had no idea their search would eventually result in of the most lucrative seizures in the history of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Collins had amassed 6,000 bitcoin around 2010. The problem for the Garda was they didn’t know the code to unlock the wallets; it was, Collins said, lost.

His bitcoin stash had by 2026 rocketed in value to €360 million.

Seven years after gardaí seized the wallets they have finally been able to open one of them and have released €30 million. There are 11 more wallets to be opened.

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains the background to this extraordinary case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a visit to Dublin last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy briefly burst the upbeat mood of the EU presidency party by criticising companies based in European countries that continue to supply essential materials to Russia’s military forces.

He didn’t need to name the company that was on his mind; all present in Dublin Castle, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, knew he was referring to Limerick-based Aughinish Alumina.

In March, Irish Times investigative reporter Conor Gallagher revealed that the Russian-owned plant exports vast amounts of alumina, the raw material for aluminium, which ends up in a supply chain that supplies Russia’s military industry.

Since then the pressure has been on the Government who make hard decisions about the alumina plant.

Gallagher, who worked with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on the investigation, explains the reaction to his report, from publication in March to Zelenskiy‘s comments.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the next 15 years an additional 400 pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be killed on European roads because of the increased average car size.

The figure is based on projections using data from Eurostat and the UK department of transport. Research by the Transport & Environment (T & E) think tank suggests that those road death figures could be significantly higher.

After 25 years of relentless growth, our roads are increasingly dominated by huge SUVs that pose a physical danger to everyone else.

And bigger cars means less space on the roads and in car parks. Big vehicles, such as SUVs and pick-up strucks, simply don’t fit parking spaces that were designed for a different, smaller car, age.

So why are SUVs so deadly for other road users? And why, even when they are made aware of the dangers their large vehicles pose for other road users, do drivers still choose them anyway?

Irish Times motoring contributor Neil Briscoe reports.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland was on the fringe of the heat dome that seared much of Europe for several days late last month.

In some parts of the country temperatures exceeded an uncomfortable 32 degrees and the hot spell ended with unseasonable thunderstorms and hail showers.
Why is this happening?

Climate scientists have recently warned that El Niño would impact temperatures in Europe this year, so is that why two heatwaves arrived in June, one delivering record-breaking temperatures?

The June event was called a “heat dome” but what is that and what causes it?

Another intense heatwave is forecast for Europe, beginning on July 5th.

Recording-breaking temperatures are produced by climate change and they are something scientists have warned about for decades. So why is Ireland so behind in implementing policies that would help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Caroline O’Doherty, the climate and science correspondent with The Irish Times, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.