In The News

Country lane to fashion destination: the history of Grafton Street

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From stately townhouses to cinema screens and Turkish baths, Grafton Street has had a fascinating and varied history. But how did it evolve to become ...

How ex-Irish soldiers are training a rogue Libyan militia

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Libya, former members of the Irish Defence Forces, including men who served in the elite Army Rangers Wing have been providing training for a milit...

The Israel-Iran proxy war has escalated - now what?

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, suspected Israeli war planes bombed the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital city of Damascus, marking a major escalation in Israel’s w...

How controversial president Javier Milei is changing Argentina

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When he was elected president last November, Javier Milei promised to fix Argentina's ailing economy and divided society with radical reforms. How is ...

The crisis at Boeing has cost its management their jobs. But are the planes safe to fly?

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was first published in January 2024. A door that blew off a Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off was not properly secured after maintena...

As the clocks go forward, here's how to get a better night's sleep

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How much is enough sleep? What is the best time to go to bed? What counts as a good night’s sleep?Is there any point in taking a nap and how long sh...

Why Isis still poses a deadly threat - and what the Moscow attack means for Ukraine

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Moscow attack which killed at least 137 people and injured many more was carried out by an Isis affiliate called Isis-K.On today’s In the News p...

The toll of war on the children of Gaza

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At least 13,000 children have died in Gaza in the last six months; more than in 4 years of global conflict. Despite the UN Security Council calling fo...

How the investigation into Annie McCarrick's disappearance took a wrong turn

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This time last year, the 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick, a young American woman living in Dublin, was upgraded to a murder inquiry.For three de...

From farming to the sex trade - Ireland’s human trafficking problem

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trafficking of women and girls into Ireland to work in the sex industry is one aspect of a transnational crime that has been discovered in a range of ...

Unmasked: the Co Armagh man at the centre of the world’s largest ‘catfishing’ investigation

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When it was put to Alexander McCartney that he had, in the words of the Belfast court, “unlawfully killed a female child”, the 26-year-old from No...

Why did Leo go - and who will replace him?

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today on In the News we bring you an episode of our sister podcast, Inside Politics. Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones joined host Hugh L...

Breaking news: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to step down - listen to his full speech

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced he is to step down. Listen to his full speech in this bonus episode. More to follow. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

The 'ghost student' visa scam spreading through the English language school sector

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week, an Irish Times investigation revealed a rising number of foreign students from outside the EU are using forged documents to secure ...

Why did it take so long to convict prolific sex offender Bill Kenneally?

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paedophile Bill Kenneally is serving an 18-year sentence for the sexual abuse of 15 young boys in Waterford in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.But it took unti...

Were Irish colonisers too? A new book reveals our forgotten dark history

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In discussions around empire and colonisation, including popular movements such as Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall, Ireland likes to think its...

"There's no way he would have sex with me if I said to use a condom" - why STIs are spreading so quickly in Ireland

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ireland has the highest reported rate of gonorrhoea infection across 30 European countries, with a record number of cases reported in Ireland in 2022,...

Could Daniel Kinahan finally face trial in Ireland?

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2016, just three days after the notorious Regency Hotel Shooting, 59-year-old Eddie Hutch was gunned down outside his home in Dublin’s n...

Charlie Bird's courageous final act

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The death was announced yesterday of broadcaster and journalist Charlie Bird. The former RTÉ chief news correspondent, who was 74 when he died, was d...

Why are Chinese millionaires buying up South Dublin homes?

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When "Niamh" began house-hunting in Dublin's suburbs, she soon noticed that viewings were often attended by agents who were using phones to live-strea...

How vulnerable children were put at risk by Ireland’s state care system

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A large provider of accommodation for children in care, Ideal Care Services, has been found to have put young people at risk by failing to carry out p...

Can Cillian win the Oscar - and who else deserves one?

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cillian Murphy looks unbeatable for the Best Actor gong. But who else should win at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday night? And who will win?Irish Ti...

Russia claims leaked audio proves Germany wants war

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, Russian media published an audio recording of high-ranking German military officers discussing weapons which could be used by Ukrainian mil...

The arguments for Yes and No in the referendums, explained

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you're not sure how you're going to vote in Friday's referendum, you're not alone. According to an Irish Times / IPSOS B&A poll in February, 53...

What will happen to Dublin’s empty office blocks?

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dublin’s office market is likely to get worse before it gets better with no relief in sight until 2027 amid a collapse in demand and a glut of new d...

What’s wrong with University Hospital Limerick?

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The death last month of a 33-year-year old first-time mother at University Hospital Limerick once again put the troubled hospital in the headlines.Sho...

Intermittent fasting: the good, the bad and the hungry

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Health and family editor Damian Cullen had already ticked off a long list of diets before he hit on intermittent fasting and three years later, and 16...

The 'impulsive joke' tweet that caused an Irish MEP three years of 'torture'

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Diarmuid Hayes send a strange tweet from his employer MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan's account, the resulting mockery caused huge damage to Flanagan's ...

Can we trust the new FAI?

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week’s FAI’s appearance before the Public Accounts Committee did not go particularly well. Members of the committee expressed concern regardi...

The latest twist in the RTÉ saga, explained

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been another awful week for the national broadcaster. Last Friday, RTÉ board chairwoman Siún Ní Raghallaigh resigned after her position was ...

How a small Irish seaside town has opened its doors to those fleeing war

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two years ago, what would become 105,000 Ukrainians began arriving in Ireland to seek refuge from the Russian invasion of their country.They were disp...

Why Gardaí are still investigating rogue solicitor Michael Lynn

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Renegade solicitor Michael Lynn stole €18 million from the banks at the height of the Celtic Tiger property boom. It took until this week for justic...

Why spy fears have led to the downsizing of the Russian Embassy

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades concerns were raised at Government level that the Russian Embassy in Dublin was an espionage hub, with the sheer scale of the Soviet diplo...

Cork drugs bust: Are Irish agents working for Mexico’s deadliest cartel?

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, a consignment of synthetic drugs, thought to be crystal meth worth €32.8 million, were seized in Cork Port. It is believed the shipment, ...

Why Dublin's Metro is still a decade away - at least

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Monday, An Bord Pleanála met for its first hearing in 15 years into Dublin’s planned underground rail line. The €9.5 billion MetroLink, as it ...

Revealed: how landlord Marc Godart ruthlessly runs his business

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Previously on In the News, Irish Times Europe correspondent Naomi O’Leary explained how Dublin-based landlord Marc Godart deployed CCTV to monitor t...

New leads in mystery of missing Icelandic tourist

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Jonsson, 41, vanished in Dublin in 2019 while in Ireland to play poker. A father of four and a taxi driver in his native Iceland, he was travellin...

What is it like to visit the most dangerous country in the world?

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly two and half years since passed since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in after the US withdrew the last of its troops from the country....

Climate activism: Do attention-grabbing stunts have any real impact?

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On January 28th two activists from Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) threw soup at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.Leonardo da Vinci’s m...

Who is behind the wave of arson attacks on migrant housing?

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2018, there have been 23 arson attacks with a suspected anti-immigration motivation on buildings earmarked, or just rumoured for use, as accommo...

Crisis after crisis at aircraft giant Boeing

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A door that blew off a Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off was not properly secured after maintenance to the aircraft, an investigation has found.Th...

‘We’ll be talking about this Auschwitz film for decades to come’

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Jonathan Glazer’s multi-Oscar nominated and breathtaking new film, The Zone of Interest, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant of the Ausc...

Measles: What you need to know about the resurgent disease

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly brought plans to Cabinet for an urgent catch-up vaccination programme for young people at risk at con...

What if John Bruton had won a second term as Taoiseach?

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The death of former Taoiseach John Bruton is a moment to remember the life of a decent man and a talented politician, but also an opportunity to refle...

Why did two teenagers murder Brianna Ghey?

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The murder last February of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl, shocked Britain. She had been stabbed 28 times, in a public park, in broad d...

England and Wales have banned this breed of dog. Should Ireland follow?

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is now a criminal offence to have an XL Bully dog in England and Wales, although some exemptions do apply. New rules were brought in to stop seriou...

Why is China interested in Ireland?

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Beijing correspondent Denis Staunton on why China sees Ireland as a potential friend at at time when other Western countries are growing increasingly ...

Let's have the difficult conversation about immigration

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Immigration has overtaken housing and the cost-of-living to become the main issue on the minds of voters, according to a new Irish Times and Ipsos Beh...

Why are western countries cutting funding to Gaza's biggest aid agency?

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, Israeli authorities alleged that some employees of UNRWA, the Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, were involved in the October 7th ...

Racism in football: When the chants start, should the games end? With Ken Early

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and Coventry City midfielder Kasey Palmer both paused their respective games last Saturday after they were subjected ...

How RTÉ lost control of Toy Show: The Musical

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Toy Show: the musical lost €2.2m – that much was well known before Grant Thornton delivered its report on RTÉ’s 2022 ill-advised foray into liv...

Why is Alec Baldwin facing new manslaughter charges?

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The case against actor Alec Baldwin in the death by gunshot of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a film set in 2021 collapsed. But why has he been in...

Women, family and care: the referendums explained

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On March 8th, voters will be asked to change the Constitution in two referendums: one concerns care and the removal of the reference to the role of wo...

Is the Sophie Toscan du Plantier case now closed?

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Sunday, Ian Bailey, the prime suspect in the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, died in West Cork from a suspected heart attack.Despite deca...

Controversial landlord Marc Godart: tenants and employees speak

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Landlord Marc Godart is being taken to court by Dublin City Council for allegedly breaking planning laws and breaching fire safety regulations in the ...

The financial mess behind Páirc Uí Chaoimh renaming plans

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s no secret that Cork GAA is in a financial hole. Rebuilding Páirc Uí Chaoimh went way over budget with a final cost – for the amateur organi...

Can anyone beat Trump to the Republican nomination?

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For months all the polling and analysis has said Donald Trump is a huge favourite to win the Republican nomination for the US presidency. His win at t...

Restaurant killings spike fears of gangland retaliation

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Christmas Eve, a shooting in a popular Dublin restaurant that resulted in the deaths of two men shocked the country. In a badly planned attack, Tri...

Ireland’s elite soldiers get an upgrade

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Army Ranger Wing (ARW), the most elite and secretive unit of the Defence Forces, is to undertake its largest restructuring in its 43-year history....

What next for convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius?

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Oscar Pistorius murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, he was one of the most famous athletes in the world. A double amputee and an Oly...

Would a fall in house prices be a good thing?

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The asking price for a house in Ireland has risen by around four per cent in the past year. It's bad news for those who can't afford to buy their firs...

Israel accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice, to reject South Africa’s allegation that it is committing genocide in Gaza...

Vladimir Putin benefits as the West's support for Ukraine wavers

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twelve months ago, Ukraine was optimistic about reclaiming more land after successes against the Russian army. However, the front line is still roughl...

Does Ireland need more prison cells or fewer prisoners?

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last November, after Josef Puska was sentenced to life for the murder of Aisling Murphy, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that the State needed more s...

The disappearance of Imelda Keenan: 'If she was alive, she'd tell us'

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imelda Keenan was just 22 when she went missing from Waterford. Originally from Laois but living and studying in Waterford, she was reported missing o...

Stripping an Islamic terrorist of his Irish citizenship

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Justice is to introduce a new process for stripping citizenship from Irish citizens, three years after the previous system was struc...

Can Ryan Tubridy succeed on UK radio?

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Former RTE broadcaster Ryan Tubridy kicked off his new job, presenting Virgin Radio UK’s midmorning show, on Tuesday. The London-based commercial ra...

New year, new you? The tools you need to stay healthy and happy

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Looking to feel happier and healthier in life, but don’t know where to start? Clinical Psychologist Dr Trudy Meehan joins Conor Pope to talk about t...

How a Nazi fugitive became a French teacher in a prestigious Dublin school

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, a prestigious Dublin school knowingly employed a former SS officer, Louis Feutren, as a French teacher. Now, former students of St Conlet...

How the generosity of an Irish-American billionaire transformed Ireland

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chuck Feeney, the Irish-American philanthropist, died in October this year at the age of 92. Two months after his death in San Francisco, he was laid ...

Australia mushroom poisoning: how a family lunch ended in tragedy

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In late July, four relatives attended a family lunch at the home of Erin Patterson, a 48 year-old mother of two from Leongatha in Australia. Within da...

Why Irish criminals turned to Chinese restaurants to hide their cash

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) unearthed an underground “banking” network offering an international money transfer system to...

Behind the scenes of hit Netflix documentary 'The Deepest Breath' with Irish director Laura McGann

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this Summer, a Netflix documentary, all about the hidden world of freediving, catapulted the sport in front of a global audience. The Dee...

How Toy Show The Musical went wrong for RTÉ

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Late Late Toy Show is Ireland's most popular TV show every year by a distance, but Toy Show: The Musical was a complete flop, losing €2.2 millio...

How 2023 became the year of Taylor Swift

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To call Taylor Swift simply a pop singer is to miss the point. She’s a one woman global phenomenon; the 34 year-old is the first musician ever to be...

Celebrity documentaries: prestige viewing or pr stunts? With Patrick Freyne

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you spent far too much time this year watching Robbie Williams sitting on a bed in his underpants unpicking his life, or tried to do the Beckham’...

Liam Byrne: The rise and fall of a major Irish gangland figure

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week Liam Byrne, the alleged leader of the Kinahan cartel’s Irish operations, was extradited from Spain to the UK to stand trial and face charg...

After another arson attack, what options are left for housing asylum seekers?

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Saturday night, a fire destroyed most of a disused hotel in Co Galway that was set to begin housing up to 70 asylum seekers from Thursday, December...

The tragic death of a rising Irish cyclist

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Saturday, May 27th 2023 champion cyclist Gabriele Glodenyte was out on her bike for a morning spin in north county Dublin with her boyfriend Seán ...

"Fossil fuel lobbyists fought tooth and nail" - Eamon Ryan on how Cop 28 agreed

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As lead negotiator on climate finance for the EU at Cop28, Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan was at the table in Dubai when the final agreement ...

Crisis in the classroom: where have all our teachers gone?

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, new figures revealed more than 800 primary school teaching posts across the country were lying empty, with the problem most acute in the G...

Do new Israeli tactics mean more civilian deaths in Gaza?

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Israeli Defence Forces deny targeting civilians in Gaza and insist they take all practical measures to protect non-combatants in a war where ...

How did Ireland become the puppy farm capital of Europe?

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A recent closure order issued by the County Council to a registered puppy farm in north Cork saw veterinary inspectors seize dogs worth over €80,000...

Why a billionaire is buying up land in one Irish county - and why its farmers are unhappy

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Irish billionaire John Magnier has been steadily accumulating huge tracts of land in south Tipperary. He's entitled to do so. But local farmers say th...

Boris Johnson ducks and dives at the UK Covid inquiry

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Boris Johnson appeared in front of Britain’s Covid inquiry for the first time. In its six months, the inquiry has already heard damn...

What the latest corporation tax bonanza means for the economy

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Government received an early Christmas gift this week with the latest exchequer data pointing to another surge in corporation tax as well as incre...

The feis-fixing scandal that rocked Irish dancing

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In July 2022 a very public scandal erupted in the normally relatively closed world of Irish dancing. An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the olde...

Asylum seekers now face sleeping rough amid high tensions

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once again the State has run out of places to put asylum seekers. Those newly arriving face the prospect of sleeping rough as temperatures fall and wi...

Are sinister conspiracies behind the Dublin riots? Yes, say 'alternative' media stars

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

US commentator Tucker Carlson interviewed MAGA figurehead Steve Bannon about Irish society and politics in the wake of the Dublin riots. The men agree...

Napoleon and The Crown are riddled with historical howlers. Does it matter?

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a “breathless rollick” says Irish Times chief film correspondent Donald Clarke; Joaquin Phoenix makes the character h...

Why is an oil CEO leading the world's biggest climate talks?

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

COP28, the UN’s annual climate change summit kicks off today in Dubai. This year the COP President is Sultan Al Jaber, who is both the UAE’s ...

Dublin Riot aftermath: the victims, the investigation and the political fallout

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week's stabbing attack on primary school children and subsequent riot have left Dublin city shaken. One child and her after-school carer are stil...

'I go up the stairs on all fours to conserve energy' - Ireland's ignored health crisis

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When musician and therapist Ailie Blunnie first caught Covid in 2021, she expected to recover quickly. Yet, more than two years later, the once active...

Can Patrick Kielty pass the Toy Show test?

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

RTÉ’s TV advertisements have been good fun with new Late Late host Patrick Kielty getting advice from some very opinionated children on how he shou...

Dublin stunned after dark day of violence

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The streets of Dublin city centre were ablaze on Thursday night, with at least one Garda vehicle, a double-decker bus and a Luas tram set alight and s...

Who is Javier Milei, "The Madman" elected president of Argentina?

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Javier Milei will be sworn in as president of Argentina next month. But just why is this political outsider called "The Madman" - and what can Argenti...

How Ben Dunne's bad behaviour changed Ireland - with Fintan O'Toole

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last weekend, millionaire businessman and former Dunnes Stores chief executive Ben Dunne died suddenly in Dubai. He was 74 years of age,In 1992, Dunne...

Inside the Martens Trial (Part 2): Molly Martens according to the Corbetts

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Documentary maker and journalist Brian Carroll was in court for the sentencing hearing of Molly Martens and her father Thomas for the killing of Molly...

Inside the Martens Trial (Part 1): The carefully planned character assassination of Jason Corbett

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Documentary maker and journalist Brian Carroll was in court for the sentencing hearing of Molly Martens and her father Thomas for the killing of Molly...

Will Hong Kong's freedom survive China's clampdown?

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 it was under a ‘One Country, Two Systems’ governance model that guaranteed the continuation of...