In The News

A comprehensive 3-0 away victory for the Republic of Ireland should have cause for celebration. Instead, it has been overshadowed by unprecedented crisis within Irish football.

In the days before Ireland's Uefa Nations League fixture against Israel, players faced mounting calls from politicians, celebrities and activists to boycott the match over Israel's genocide in Gaza and its continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Behind the scenes divisions emerged within the squad, culminating in the withdrawal of second goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and a rancorous team meeting on Saturday. In the end an anonymous vote amongst the players resulted in the decision to proceed. But the damage had been done.

Sports correspondent Gavin Cooney speaks to In the News from Debrecen, Hungary. He explains the day as it unfolded, how the controversy escalated and what the fallout could mean for the future of the Rep. of Ireland team.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon.
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After more than a decade living openly in Dubai, Christy Kinahan snr’s visa has been cancelled and he has been told to leave the United Arab Emirates before September 29th.

The founder of the Kinahan drugs cartel moved to Dubai when it was considered a safe haven for criminals, insulated from extradition treaties and where it was possible to live a life of considerable luxury with no questions asked as to where the funds were coming from.

In recent years however that has changed as the UAE seeks to burnish its image on the world stage. For Kinahan and two of his sons, Christopher jr and Daniel, there has also been the complication of being sanctioned by the United States in 2022 as key figures in the transnational organised crime group. This brought further attention to their presence in Dubai.

So where will Christy go now? He is facing no criminal charges at home or anywhere in the world but the long reach of US sanctions mean his world is considerably smaller and his options, even as a wealthy man, are limited.

And with the US having put a $5m bounty on his head, is there a chance that once he moves from the safety of the UAE, some former associate will look to cash in?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains this latest chapter in the life of the most significant organised crime figure ever to emerge from Ireland.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
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Since the fixtures were announced earlier this year, the voices calling for the Republic of Ireland to boycott its Nations League games against Israel have grown progressively louder. They come from all quarters: from former Ireland players to diehard green jersey fans and from politicians to big names in other sports.

The two soccer games are going ahead, behind closed doors and with minimum coverage; Israel’s “home” game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, with the return fixture also in a neutral venue of Backa Topola, Serbia on October 4th. The FAI says Ireland has too much to lose; the penalties for boycotting the fixtures would be huge. But would they?

A war of words has now broken out between Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and the Israel FA. “We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide,” he said. Israel responded calling Hallgrímsson’s use of the word genocide as the embodiment of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”. According to Irish Times sports writer Gavin Cooney, who will be covering the games, the days ahead are likely to bring more tension and acrimony - but no boycott.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
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This episode was originally published in July 2026.

Employees of three key State agencies use a computer programme called Passwork to generate and protect their passwords. It’s a cybersecurity measure.

But what they didn’t know, before it was revealed by The Irish Times, is that Passwork, which purports to be EU-based, has extensive links to a Russian company licensed by Russia’s security service.

The agencies using Passwork are the Office of Public Works, the State Laboratory, which provides chemical testing and scientific advice to Government departments, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the agency tasked with, among other things, helping consumers stay cyber safe. It is unclear how many other Irish State agencies use Passwork.

So what does it mean for State security? Who has access to these passwords? And what does the Russian owner of the Spanish-based company that sold the Passwork programme to the State agencies say?
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The scenes of violence and rampant destruction on the streets of Belfast on June 9th were reminiscent of disorder we’ve seen before.

But these were not sectarian-motivated attacks, instead they were race riots, with mobs of young men attacking migrants.

When calm was restored, at least 88 migrant families had been made homeless, either because their home had been attacked or burned out, or because the threats were so terrifying they are too fearful to return.

The riots had been sparked by a brutal knife attack earlier that day; a Sudanese national has since been charged with the crime.

Why has there been a resurgence of anti-immigration sentiment in Northern Ireland? Who were the rioters on June 9th? And what does it mean for future peace and stability that anti-immigrant violence has replaced sectarian attacks in Northern Ireland?

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.