The Póilíní Podcast

In 1922, with Ireland sliding into civil war, Michael Collins founded a new police force in a single night at the Gresham Hotel. Within months, hundreds of armed IRA-veteran recruits at Kildare's Magee Barracks mutinied, demanding the dismissal of ex-RIC officers, raiding the armoury and threatening to bring down the force before it could even begin. This episode follows the story from secret meetings to violence and anarchy, Collins's personal intervention, and the decision that left the Gardaí unarmed.
Writer Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds present the penultimate episode of the season.

Drawing on the Garda Museum's original documents, Collins's own words, and John's insider knowledge of the force, this episode is a story of secrecy, rebellion and the birth of a police service.
Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse
Producer - Daryl Moorhouse
Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne
Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In October 1997, a family outing off the rugged North Mayo coast turned into a desperate fight for survival when a small boat was overwhelmed by the Atlantic. As darkness fell and conditions deteriorated, a team from the Garda Underwater Unit was dispatched to a remote sea cave, where an extraordinary rescue operation was unfolding.
Join hosts Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds as they uncover the remarkable events of that night, with a rare first-hand account from Ciarán Doyle, whose actions earned him the prestigious Gold Scott Medal for Valour.
A gripping story of courage, tragedy and survival, this episode explores the extraordinary risks taken by those who put their own lives on the line to save others — and the quiet modesty of a man who insists he was simply doing his job.
Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse
Producer - Daryl Moorhouse
Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne
Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Halloween special, we open the policeman's notebook on the unexplained, from the ghosts said to haunt the Garda College at Templemore, to a 1955 Garda Review account of a coal-shovelling spirit at Dublin Castle. We investigate the 1892 Kingsworth poltergeist in Waterford, which police and clergy watched for themselves, along with haunted barracks from Cappoquin to Cork, Mountrath, and a Fermanagh station where the footsteps answered back. Why were barracks such fertile ground for the paranormal, when police and their families lived, and sometimes died, under the same roof?
Hosted by writer Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds, this is a conversation between a believer in keeping an open mind and a self-confessed sceptic.

Drawing on newspaper reports and John's own years at Templemore, this episode is a story of spooky tales and the serving officers who swore by them.
Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse
Producer - Daryl Moorhouse
Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne
Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April 1941, a railway gatekeeper in Birdhill, County Tipperary, found a newborn's body wrapped in a copy of the Evening Herald. This episode explores how Gardaí handled cases of concealment of birth and infant death between 1939 and 1946, when wartime travel restrictions, stigma, Church influence and the lack of legal adoption left desperate women with few options. Hosted by writer Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds, this is a conversation about policing at its most sensitive and human.

Drawing on newspaper court reports, Garda records and John's own experience as a Garda Sergeant, this episode is a sobering look at the people who lived and worked in the shadow of these tragic cases.
Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse
Producer - Daryl Moorhouse
Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne
Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1959, twelve women joined An Garda Síochána amid marriage bars, Dáil sexism and instructions to avoid "girlish giddiness". Thirty-four years later, Garda Yvonne Burke and her colleague chased shotgun-wielding armed robbers through Cabra, and she became the first woman to win the Scott Medal for bravery. This episode traces how the Ban Gardaí came to be, from their training under Liverpool's Sergeant Doreen Prissick, to 'bulletproof' tights, and explains what it takes to earn the Scott Medal. Join hosts Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds for a story of pioneers, courage and slow-won equality.

Drawing on Dáil debates, Home Office files, the recollections of the first Ban Gardaí, and John's own years in the force, this episode is a story of two kinds of bravery.
Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse
Producer - Daryl Moorhouse
Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne
Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios

Find out more or get in touch here

Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.