On Christmas Day, 1929, postman Larry Griffen went to work in the small village of Stradbally, Co Waterford. As he called into homes with the post, he was thanked with tips and a few drinks. That night, Larry never made it home. His bike was found abandoned in the middle of the road. A conspiracy of silence kept the truth of what happened to Larry Griffin from his family, and still does to this day. ******** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: Try the casual mobile puzzle game Best Fiend...
Jul 19, 2020•57 min
In the early hours of New Years Day 2003, Rachel Moran decided leave her parents house and make the 20 minute walk to her own flat. Her worried mother tried to stop her, but Rachel said she would be fine: she'd ring as soon as she got in. But the phone call never came. And Rachel was never seen alive again. *********** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: Try the casual mobile puzzle game Best Fiends today! Find it on the Apple App store and Google Play! *********** Find us on Facebook or...
Jul 05, 2020•44 min
In 1967, a teacher was shot in her classroom in Dundee. In 1976, two men escaped a mental hospital and killed three others in the process. In 1979, three women were found beaten and strangled in a flat in Dundee. All of these horrific events had one thing in common. The name Robert Mone. ********** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: Help take control of your debt with payoff.com/MensRea Get 10% off your first three months of vitamins at ritual.com/mens ********** Find us on Facebook or ...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr
In 1940, 24 year old Michael Devereux disappeared from his home in Co Wexford. A year later, his body would be discovered buried in an isolated part of Co Tipperary. A number of men who were known members of the IRA found themselves accused of the murder - allegedly motivated by the belief that Devereux had been a spy among their ranks. A four month legal battle ensued, which saw the use of the Emergency Powers Act passed to deal with "The Emergency" of the ongoing war in Europe used to circumve...
Jun 07, 2020•57 min
Just before Christmas 1979, 23 year old Phyllis Murphy disappeared while waiting on a bus in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Her body was found in an isolated spot 25 miles away at Turlough Hill, Co Wicklow a month later. After a huge search and investigation, the gardai had no leads as to who was responsible for her death.But in 1998, DNA in Phyllis' case was tested as part of Operation Trace. As a result of that, 53 year old John Crerar - a neighbour of Phyllis' remaining family - stood trial at the Du...
May 24, 2020•49 min
In 1925, while the Irish Free State was still in it's infancy after the close of the civil war, the body of a young woman was found dead lying at a lonely cross roads in South County Dublin. Her name was Honor Bright, a woman who made her living as a sex worker in town. Two men were tried for her shooting death, but was her killing a the result of her "unfortunate" status, or part of an attempt to keep scandal away from the halls of power in a newly-independent Ireland? ******** Thanks to our sp...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 1 min
In February of 2015, 16 year old Becky Watts was reported missing by her family. A city - wide search ensued for the shy and socially anxious teenager. But it would turn out that Becky, and the answers about what had become of her, would be found much closer to home than initially thought. ********** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: Sign up today with ExpressVPN for secure browsing and access to streaming content worldwide. Get 3 months free when you visit expressvpn.com/mens Try the ...
Apr 26, 2020•55 min
Penny and Duncan McAllister married young. But by all accounts, their marriage flourished while Duncan pursued his career as an officer in the British Army. In 1990, they moved to Armagh. Through their involvement in the diving community they met a young soldier with the UDR, Susan Christie. Nine months later, both women would be injured while out walking in a secluded forest, and Penny was horrifically killed.. But who had been the attacker? ******** Thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode: ...
Apr 12, 2020•47 min
In the early 1980s, there was a series of kidnap-for-ransom crimes committed in the Republic by the Provisional IRA in order to raise funds to finance their organisation and its terrorist operations here and in the UK. One of the victims of these abductions was prominent businessman, Don Tidey, and Englishman who was the senior executive of the Quinnsworth group of supermarkets. Tidey was held for 23 days in Derrada wood, Co Leitrim. He as rescued by the gardai and the army, but a garda probatio...
Mar 29, 2020•1 hr 16 min
In 1983, three women died in an horrific house fire at Blackpitts in Dublin. It would emerge that one of them - 34 year old Dolores Lynch - had been targeted by a violent and vengeful pimp. John Cullen was alleged to have held a grudge against the former sex worker for pursuing charges against him for an assault seven years before. In the course of getting justice for Dolores Lynch, there would be shocking revelations about what went on in Dublin City under the cover of darkness. ******** Thanks...
Mar 15, 2020•51 min
In September of 1977, Kirk Anderson a 21 year old American Mormon missionary is reported missing in Ewell, a town just south and west of London. Three days later, Kirk turns up again. Reports emerged that he had been kidnapped by a woman who was obsessed with him, and forced to have sex with her. But Joyce McKinney was a petite pretty blonde woman, and the British press and public were incredulous at the idea that anyone would have objected to her company for a few days and nights. So, was Joyce...
Mar 01, 2020•47 min
On 12th July, 2002 Jong Ok Shin a Korean language student was brutally murdered while living in Bournemouth. A local drug addicted man, Omar Benguit was quickly identified as the prime suspect. But shortly after, it would emerge that at the time of Ms Shin's death, a man that had committed two murders, was living just streets away. ********* Thanks to our sponsors for today's episode: Sign up today with Better Help to start professional online counselling. Get 10% off your first month when you v...
Feb 16, 2020•46 min
In April of 2000, 27 year old John Carthy, who suffered from bi-polar disorder, barricaded himself in his family home while in the throws of a manic episode. The gardai were called, and soon the old, dilapidated bungalow was surrounded by armed officers. What followed was a standoff that lasted over 24 hours, and resulted in the tragic death of John. But where the gardai responsible? ********** Thanks to our sponsors for today's episode: Start your Ritual today and get 10% off your first three m...
Feb 02, 2020•1 hr 21 min
In 1996, former nun with the Sisters of Mercy Nora Wall was accused of rape by a girl who had formerly been in her care at a group home in Cappoquin, Co Waterford. Alongside her, a homeless man, Paul "Pablo" McCabe, who had once been resident at the same institution was also implicated. The two went to trial, but the affair would later be declared a miscarriage of justice. Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free ep...
Jan 19, 2020•52 min
Gangs and drugs effect nearly every community. But in 2012, the Dublin suburb of Tallaght was shocked by the spillover of violence. 16 year old Melanie McCarthy McNamara was shot while she sat in the back of a parked car on a residential street. The gunman had shot from the back of a black SUV and sped off immediately. Two men alleged to be involved in drugs locally were identified by gardai, and after protracted court battles have found themselves in prison in relation to Melanie's killing. Fin...
Jan 05, 2020•55 min
In 1992, a murder unlike any other happened in the quiet seaside town of Malahide. Grace Livingstone (56) was bound and then shot in the head in her own home. Gardai initially suspected that the culprit was someone close to her - Grace's husband, Jim. But Jim himself suspected that whoever was responsible had taken their displeasure for him, and his position at the Irish taxing authority, out on poor Grace. Her murder remains unsolved. ********* Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our...
Dec 22, 2019•34 min
1990 was a decade of missing women. We remember the names of the unfound - Annie McCarrick, Eva Brennan, Jo Jo Dollard, Deirdre Jacob. The names Patricia McGauley and Mary Cummins were once on that list. These two women disappeared from Dublin in the space of a year, and it wasn't until a large scale review of cases of missing women from Dublin that a startling link was discovered between the two women. Both of them had unknowingly spent time with a predator: Michael Bambrick. ******** With than...
Dec 08, 2019•51 min
In the summer of 1992, the McCann Family endured a series of gas leaks in their home, and a spate of threatening phone calls. These nuisances escalated quickly though, and culminated in a raging fire in their Rathfarnham home. Esther McCann and her foster daughter, Jessica, died in the blaze. Investigators ruled that this was a case of arson, and gardai quickly discovered that Frank McCann - the grieving father and husband - had some dark secrets. ********** The featured podcast this week is a n...
Nov 24, 2019•1 hr 3 min
A stranger snatching a child off the street is thankfully a rare thing. But throughout the 70s and 80s, in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, a number of young girls disappeared as if into thin air while walking alone. Most went missing in broad daylight. Some were found - their bodies dumped hundreds of miles from home. Some remain missing, presumed murdered. In 1990, police in Scotland realised that many of these cases were linked. A delivery driver living in London was responsible for th...
Nov 10, 2019•1 hr 8 min
This week, we delve into the world of the paranormal - sort of. In 1974, in the small town of Ossett, northern England, Michael and Christine Taylor found religion. They became born again after attending a small Fellowship meeting in their community. The meetings had a profound effect on Michael, and he began to act oddly. His behaviour led local clergy to suspect that Michael had been possessed by demons, and so an exorcism was in order. But, before the end of that process, someone would be dea...
Oct 27, 2019•49 min
Mary Gough tragically fell down the stairs in her home, only 6 months after her wedding day. Or, at least that's what her husband, Colin Whelan, said. When Mary was rushed to the hospital after this purported accident, the Gardai did not take him at his word. His story did not add up, and Colin Whelan was charged with with Mary's murder. But when Whelan's car was discovered at the top of Howth Head near the seaside cliffs, people thought that there would be no justice for Mary. But they were wro...
Oct 13, 2019•51 min
In 1976, there was a crime spree in Ireland. Houses and caravans were burgled, cars were stolen, and then two women went missing. Elizabeth Plunkett disappeared in Brittas Bay in Wicklow, and a month later, across the country in Castlebar, Mary Duffy went missing without a trace. The gardai discovered that all these crimes were related, and had been committed by two men who had only arrived into the country a year before from England, where they were wanted in relation to a number of sexual assa...
Sep 29, 2019•55 min
In August of 2015, a Limerick man, Jason Corbett, was found dead on his bedroom floor of the master bedroom of his lavish family home in North Carolina. His young wife and her father were covered in blood hen police arrived, and a bloody baseball bat and paving brick were found in the bedroom. They told the police that Jason had been killed in self defence. But Molly and Tom Martens would both face trial for the murder of Jason Corbett. The Limerick man's family fought for justice, and for custo...
Sep 15, 2019•1 hr 17 min
A man is hanged for the murder of his child, and presumed to be the his wife's murderer, too. But three years later, in the same house that the couple had lived, more bodies were found. Six More. Including the wife of the man who had been the Crown's star witness against Tim Evans in his murder trial. This is the story of the serial murders of John Reginald Christie at Ten Rillington Place. ********** Head to www.hellofresh.co.uk and enter the code MENSREA at checkout for £60 off! That's £15 off...
Sep 01, 2019•1 hr 12 min
In March of 2002, Milly Dowler went missing. She was 13 years old and had been walking home after school that afternoon, down a busy road in a familiar area, near to her middle class home. Despite efforts by Surrey police to locate her there were no leads. Her body was found 20 miles away over 6 months later. No one knew who had taken Milly, or what had happened to her. Nor was it know that hers would be the first - and most high profile - in a series of murders and violent attacks carried out b...
Aug 18, 2019•1 hr 31 min
In 1987, Brian McGrath disappeared. His wife, Vera, said he'd gone to Holland to find work. That he was abusive and delusional. But 6 years later, their eldest daughter Veronica told police that her mother, and her fiance at the time, had beaten Brian McGrath to death and buried and burned his body at their home in Coole, Co. Westmeath. Who murdered Brian McGrath? Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (...
Aug 04, 2019•44 min
Bobby Ryan was a well known and well loved figure in Tipperary. He was a local DJ, known as Mr moonlight, in addition to his work in the local quarry. He was divorced, with two grown up children and in 2011, he was dating a local widow - Mary Lowry. On the 3rd of June of that year, Bobby Ryan went missing. 8 years later, it was spark the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state. But how did we get here? Part Two of this two part series on the recent trial and media spectacle du...
Jul 21, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Bobby Ryan was a well known and well loved figure in Tipperary. He was a local DJ, known as Mr moonlight, in addition to his work in the local quarry. He was divorced, with two grown up children and in 2011, he was dating a local widow - Mary Lowry. On the 3rd of June of that year, Bobby Ryan went missing. 8 years later, it was spark the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state. But how did we get here? Part One of this two part series on the recent trial and media spectacle du...
Jul 21, 2019•35 min
Casper Wyoming is a quiet town. But in 1973, it was marred by an horrific crime. Two girls, sisters - Becky Thompson and Amy Burridge - were snatched off the street, attacked and driven 35 miles to an iron bridge over Fremont Canyon. Then the two men that took them threw them over. But one of the girls survived the 112 foot fall and identified Ronald Kennedy and Jerry Jenkins as the men who attacked them. Still, tragedy would follow her. Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our support...
Jul 07, 2019•52 min
Women have been disappearing from, or ending up found dead in, the Wicklow Mountains for over 30 years. In this bonus episode we look at a man that is suspected to have committed some of these abductions and murders, look back on a number of unsolved rape and murder cases in the 80's, and bring the story right up-to-date with that latest unfortunate woman to have been killed and dumped in what is called "the vanishing triangle". So, what the heck is going on in the Wicklow Mountains? Find us on ...
Jun 23, 2019•46 min
