REAL LIVES UNTOLD podcast focuses on all
things crime and human interest. This podcast
offers a space for people to tell their stories, raise
awareness and help others in similar situations.
Sarah & Trina O’Connor’s work and life
experiences ensure that this podcast is
compelling, sometimes tear jerking but also brings
hope, light and laughter to those who participate
and those who listen in.
Sarah & Trina are both Criminologists - no relation
but relationships matter.
Sarah O’Connor, a documentary maker, a veteran
crime and courts reporter has covered all the
major crime stories for TV and radio for past 20
years.
Trina O’Connor is a working community
Criminologist who comes with 30+ years’
experience of activism and collaborating with
community workers.
Join Sarah and Trina for their all new podcast
REAL LIVES UNTOLD.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trina sits down once more with Tony Duffin - CEO and Dawn Russell - Head of Services at the Anna Liffey Project. This interesting conversation explores the current services available at Anna Liffey, the legislative work being undertaken by the government and explains elements of recovery that can be undertaken by a drug user. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our guests this week are ex-detective Inspector Pat Marry and Independant Journalist Robin Schiller have co-authored 'Murder at Lordship - Inside the hunt for a detectives killer' which details the investigation into the murder of garda detective Adrian Donoghue at Lordship credit union. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trina is joined by best selling author and producer Justin Brown, who hails from Aukland, New Zealand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tony Duffin, the CEO of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, said that stigma against drug users is “very serious” and that there needs to be a health-led approach to responding to drug use, rather than a criminal approach. In this episode Tony talks to us about his upbringing in London, his Irish roots in Wexford, his family life and his work over the last 30+ years in harm reduction. Duffin said that Ireland needs to change its laws around drugs to help address this stigma. “Stigma is a huge issue. It...
In this Episode Trina speaks with Dawn Russell of the Anna Liffey Drugs Project about her work as Head of Services. Dawn says she’s motivated because she “cares deeply about people who are marginalised, who are judged and left out of our society”, and she is “driven to work for them to improve their lives.” “...I have watched with pride as Ireland proved to the world and to ourselves that we are a compassionate, inclusive and caring society through the marriage equality and abortion rights refer...
In this episode Trina and Sarah chat to author and advocate for victims of Domestic Abuse Lee Marks. Lee talks about his own experience and his support guide for male victims of domestic abuse called “Break the Silence. He encourages more men to seek support and says officers need more training on how better to engage with male victims of domestic abuse. Anyone who has been impacted by the issues in this episode can contact Men's Aid on 01 554 3811 or go to the website www.mensaid.ie Hosted on A...
In this episode Trina and Sarah are joined by well known Crime journalists, editors and podcasters Nicola Tallant and Niall Donald. They chat about how they got into journalism, what attracted them to crime reporting, the dangers involved and what cases stood out for them. They talk about the success of the Crime World podcast , their live shows and Nicola's latest book Cocaine Cowboys. We discuss the Kinahan Hutch feud, the trial of Gerry Hutch who was acquitted in relation to the 2016 infamous...
This week Sarah and Trina are joined by the Deputy Editor of the Tullamore Tribune Gearoid Keegan as they examine the murder of schoolteacher and talented musician Ashling Murphy. We discuss the recent trial of Jozef Puska, his murder conviction and his life sentence. From a local journalist's perspective, Gearoid takes us through what happened on the day Ashling was attacked and killed by the vicious predator as she exercised by the canal in Tullamore, County Offaly in January 2022. He recounts...
In this powerful episode we speak with Dublin GAA legend Philly McMahon about his illustrious football career from kicking a ball in Ballymun to kicking it over the bar in Croke Park. Philly talks about his work in the community motivating young adults with social problems. He tells us the story of his Dad who was shot in West Belfast during the troubles, was interned in the North, escaped custody, went on the run and settled in Ballymun. The GAA star also recounts the tragic death of his older ...
In this episode Sarah and Trina speak with former Assistant Commissioner Dr Pat Leahy who was shortlisted for the top job as Garda Commissioner back in 2018. He has described the toughest time during his 38 years in the force as those few weeks around the Regency Hotel shootings in February 2016 which triggered the rapid escalation of the deadly Kinahan-Hutch Feud here. He is passionate about community policing, completed his doctorate in community orientation and is adamant it is the way forwar...
This week Sarah and Trina chat to John Lonergan or "The man who ran Mountjoy". John joined the prison service in 1968 and served as governor in the JOY or Mountjoy Prison on Dublin's Northside for 26 years, retiring in 2010. He has always argued that there is a direct link between crime and social-economic deprivation and is a believes that the only real long-term solution to poverty is education. He’s never been afraid to speak out against the establishment and is an advocate of the Irish Penal...
In this episode Trina and Sarah speak with the incredibly brave Anita Byrne, a sexual abuse survivor who waived her anonymity so her attacker could be named. Her uncle, 65 yr-old Paul Farrell, from Breffni Gardens, Baldoyle in Dublin was jailed for 2 years in 2022 after he was convicted of sexually assaulting her in the early 90s starting when she was was just 12 years old, before her grandfather’s funeral. Anita talks about her long road to justice and the stark impact the abuse has had on her ...
Three years ago this week on night of the 22nd into 23rd of October 2020, IT specialist Sameer Syed travelled to the home of his estranged wife 37 year old Seema Banu and their two children 11 year old asfira and 6 year old Faizan. It was under cover of darkness and he was dressed as a women. He murdered all three by strangling them with a ligature and then left a tap on, flooding their house in the Llewelyn estate in Ballinteer South Dublin. Their bodies were discovered a few days later. Syed w...
Retired Detective Inspector Pat Marry was involved in investigating some of Ireland's most high profile murders. He has written a book entitled the Making of Detective which was then adapted into a podcast series. Today he talks to Sarah and Trina about two notorious murderers, Joe O’Reilly and Colin Whelan, who callously plotted to kill their wives and went to extraordinary lengths to cover up their crimes and evade justice. O’Reilly has never expressed remorse over the cold blooded killing of ...
In January 2018 twenty one year-old Nicole Fox took her own life in the family home after she suffered over three years of relentless, brutal bullying both in person and online, perpetrated by a group of young adults. In the immediate aftermath of her beloved daughter’s death Nicole’s mother Jackie started to campaign for the anti-harassment laws here to be updated to include online bullying. In 2021 Jackie’s work paid off and Coco's Law was introduced. The new legislation criminalises harmful c...
Sarah and Trina are joined by Micháel Campbell whose only daughter Ciara was murdered by her ex boyfriend in front of her 4 year old son in her home in County Carlow. It happened on the 12th of November 2007. Gordon Molloy from Ballickmoyler in Laois had been stalking 22 year-old Ciara for months after she ended their turbulent relationship. He had threatened to kill her and had broken into her home on numerous occasions to scare her. Ciara had been staying with friends the night before her murd...
In the first episode of Season 2 Trina and Sarah speak with Janet O'Brien, an amazingly courageous and resilient woman who lost her son Luke to a one-punch assault in Tallaght, South West Dublin on Halloween night 2017. His killer, 21 year old Jack Hall Ellis of Lismore Road in Crumlin, a childhood friend of Luke, punched him in his words “in drunkenness and anger” on the old Blessington Road after they left a pub. 13 days later Luke who was just 20 lost his fight for life in hospital from the i...
The Real Lives Untold podcast is back - the first episode of Season 2 drops Wednesday 27th September. Trina O'Connor and Sarah O'Connor are taking you on another journey through the captivating stories of more fascinating, insightful and courageous guests who talk about how their lives were devastated by murder, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and cyber bullying. The co-hosts also speak with investigators of high profile murders and feuds and to people who have worked with criminals on the inside. ...
Today we are joined by Kathleen Chada, an incredibly inspirational woman who has been through so much since her two sons 10 year old Eoghan and 5 year old Ruadhri were murdered by their father and her then husband Sanjeev Chada ten years ago this week on the 29th July 2013. He told Kathleen he was taking the boys bowling that Sunday evening but when they didn’t return the country’s first every child rescue Ireland alert was issued. The boys remains were found the next day after he had murdered t...
Today we speak to Welsh rugby star Wesley Cunliffe from Newport who in his own words says the sport saved him from a life of crime. At a very young age, as the eldest of his siblings, driven by poverty, circumstance and tragedy, he was stealing to feed his family. By the age of 13 he was recruited by a drug gang to babysit their stash, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy. He worked for the gang to support his family. At the age of 16 he underwent life saving surgery when he was stabbed six times for a bag ...
In this episode Trina and Sarah speak with cyberpsychologist Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton about the trials and tribulations of online dating and much more. Nicola's research has focused on communication through technology, particularly in the areas of online dating, relationships and attraction. She has written a number of papers and book chapters in the area of online dating, online behavior, online consumer behavior and cyberpsychology. We talk about the rise in misogyny and Incels (involuntary celi...
This week Sarah and Trina speak with author and RTE Prime Time's Security Correspondent Barry Cummins. Barry talks about growing up in Tallaght in South West Dublin, his path to journalism and how one of the first stories he covered as a local radio journalist was the disappearance of Fiona Pender who was seven months pregnant when she vanished from her home town of Tullamore in County Offaly in August 1996. He has covered numerous stories about the women who vanished from the Leinster area in t...
Today we are joined by Ireland's number one female professional Darts player Robyn Byrne. She plays in the World Darts Federation and Professional Darts Corporation. She's the first Irish person to get a gold medal in the European Championships and win the Masters, at any level. Robyn started competing when she was about six. She has represented Ireland at the European Championships in Austria and in England when she won the World Masters in the under 18s category. Despite her achieving what no ...
In Episode 7 we are joined by Karl Ducque who works as a team leader with the TRY project (Targeted Response with Youth) in Dublin. Karl grew up in the flats in Dublin's inner city and talks about feeling like an outsider in school and turning to drugs at a very young age. By the age of 15 he was using heroin and started selling drugs and getting involved in crime because of debt. "Acting the gangster basically, wanting to make a name for yourself." He speaks about his struggles with addiction "...
Real Lives Untold is hosted by Sarah O'Connor, a documentary maker and former crime and courts reporter, and Trina O'Connor, a working community criminologist. It is a podcast that focuses on all things crime and human interest, and offers a space for people to tell their stories, raise awareness and help others in similar situations. In season 1, Real Lives Untold will tell stories of redemption, restorative justice stories of survival; the raw, unedited version. New episodes coming very soon. ...
This week Trina and Sarah are joined by mother and daughter team Priscilla and Ainie Grainger who have written a book entitled SAFE about their experience of domestic abuse and how they navigated the system. Their point of view is very unique, they tell their story in such a relatable way and even manage at times to bring laughter and dark comedy to what has been a very harrowing ordeal for them. They set up and run a frontline support group called STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN IRELAND which has hel...
Between 1993 and 1998 six Irish women, aged from 18 to 28 disappeared without a trace from the area which became known as 'The Vanishing Triangle.' These unsolved cases resulted in the creation in 1998 of the specialist Garda task force, Operation T.R.A.C.E. One of the women, 26-year-old Annie McCarrick from Long Island, New York had been living in the Sandymount area of Dublin but she vanished in March 1993. The last positive sighting of Annie was in the AIB Sandymount D4 on the morning of Marc...
In episode 4, Trina and Sarah speak to Ailbhe Griffith who at the age of 21 was the subject of an horrific sexual assault. Her attacker was caught and jailed for nine years, Ailbhe then decided to meet her attacker as part of a powerful restorative justice journey. More on the film of Ailbhe's story can be found at themeetingfilm.com If you have been affected by anything brought up in this episode, you can contact the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 1800 778 888 or Women's Aid on 1800 341 900. ...
In episode 3 of Real Lives Untold Trina and Sarah speak to Justin Brooks, Director and co-founder of the California Innocence Project, about his work freeing wrongfully convicted and imprisoned individuals, including some who were on death row. Justin's latest book 'You Might Go to Prison, Even Though You're Innocent' is out now. Episode recorded and edited by Orla Ormond. Music from freemusicarchive.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Welcome to Real Lives Untold with Trina O'Connor and Sarah O'Connor. In this episode, hosts Sarah and Trina introduce themselves and tell how the podcast came to be and what you can expect to hear in the upcoming series. Episodes recorded and edited by Orla Ormond. Music from freemusicarchive.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
