Siobhan McLaughlin: A Savage End
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What is the opening scene and who is 'the Savage' introduced at the start?
It's summer, 2006. An unremarkable day. Bridget McLaughlin's car is stalled near the Glenegary roundabout in South Dublin. She's listening to a cookery programme on BBC Radio 4. Then she sees it. The silver van. She sees the man behind the wheel. The man she calls the savage. He's staring at her. A half smile on his face. A Starbucks coffee in his hand. His tongue pushed into his left cheek. It's a habit he has. Bridget looks directly into his eyes, her body stiffening. She's frozen. The car won't budge. Motorists beep their horns behind her. Why? Why is he here? Going about his business, free as a bird. He stares at her a moment longer, wearing that sinister smirk. The lights turn green and he speeds away. The Savage
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When someone is murdered in Ireland, the Gardaí call in a team of forensic scenes of crime examiners from the Technical Bureau. For 25 years, I was a part of that team. My name is John Sweetman. I was there to help read the silent and often hidden clues at a crime scene. I saw what killers tried to hide. Fingerprints unknowingly left behind. Murder weapons hidden in plain sight. Handwriting that betrayed a lie. Every detail told the real story and now I'll tell you those stories. In this podcast from Go Loud, I take you inside some of Ireland's most haunting crimes. This is Lines of Inquiry, a Go Loud original podcast that looks beyond the headlines, following the evidence step by step and uncovering the stories behind the investigations.
In this episode, a cold-blooded and heartless killing in the affluent South Dublin suburb of Goatstown. A calculated act of violence brought about by greed and a thirst for control. This is Lines of Inquiry. The Savage. The murder of Siobhan McLaughlin.
Ireland in 2006 was still in the clutches of the Celtic Tiger boom, Ireland's economic miracle, which stretched from the mid-1990s to 2008. It was a period of plenty, huge economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investments. It transformed the country, it transformed how people lived. Pro-business, regulatory policies and low corporation tax proved to be great incentives for multinational companies. coupled with a younger, tech-savvy workforce, meant that the Irish people enjoyed a higher disposable income, which led to more consumer spending. The new wealth resulted in large investments in modernising Irish infrastructure and cities. The National Development Plan meant better roads and new transport services, such as the Lewis and the Dublin Port Tunnel.
The building boom was still in full swing, and it would be another two years before the property bubble burst and Ireland was plunged into a recession in 2008. But in early 2006, there was no reason to fear that the good times were coming to an end. In the Knocknashie area in the affluent suburb of Goatstown in South Dublin, the evidence of the boom was on display. Cairn Row was a two-storey detached house at the end of its row. It was home to 38-year-old Siobhan McLaughlin and her husband, 49-year-old Brian Carney, and their three-year-old son, Dan. The couple had built another house next to theirs as an investment. They were a successful professional couple. Siobhan was a fully qualified chef and Brian ran his own electrical contractor business.
Along with the two houses in Dublin, they also had property abroad, having bought and renovated a 200-year-old three-storey house in the town of Sollier in Majorca in 2002. They converted the building into a six-bedroom boutique hotel called The Salvia, which they opened in 2003. It was open to guests between April and October, so the couple would split their time between the sunny Balearic Island and Ireland. Siobhan MacLachlan was the fifth eldest in a family of seven girls and one boy. Her father, Owen, had roots in north-west Donegal, and her mother, Deirdre, was born in Waterford City but grew up in Hoth. The MacLachlan children grew up in the ward, County Dublin, which lies between Finglas and Ashburn.
Eoghan ran a farm machinery dealership, and Siobhan and her siblings spent their summers wandering the wheat fields that surrounded their bungalow, wearing black wellingtons, t-shirts and shorts.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the opening scene and who is 'the Savage' introduced at the start?
0:05–8:35
2
How did the Garda Technical Bureau and John Sweetman frame the investigation process?
8:35–28:05
3
Who was Siobhan McLaughlin and what was her background in cooking and family life?
28:05–47:50
4
What did Niamh discover on the morning of 28 February 2006 and how was Siobhan found?
47:50–55:24