In The News

This episode was originally published in April 2026.

John O’Brien’s scam was simple. Arriving in the US on a tourist visa in 2021, he set himself up as a building contractor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By the time the authorities caught up with the 28 year-old, he had conned more than 100 victims out of an estimated $2.5 million.

Many of the homeowners who handed him their life savings for promised building work were charmed by his Irish accent and friendly demeanour.

Sentencing him to four years and eight months in prison, the judge talked about “the extent and breadth of the harm” done to victims who opened their doors to O’Brien out of kindness and trust. He had pleaded guilty.

Many of his victims gave statements in court including Candace Gauvin, a retired school crossing guard, who emptied a life insurance account, eventually paying him more than $90,000 for shoddy work.

One of the more than a dozen people who provided character references for O’Brien included fellow Traveller Senator Eileen Flynn who advocated for his early release for the “benefit of his young family”.

Local reporter Susan Zalkind was in court in Rhode Island for O’Brien’s case and she explains how the scam worked, how it funded his lavish lifestyle and the impact on the victims.

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

The city of Ceuta - the Spanish territory on the north African coast – is preparing for another potential wave of migrants hoping to cross the border from Morocco.

Images of some 72-thousand people reaching Ceuta went around the world almost a fortnight ago, on the 30th and 31st of July, after they climbed or swum around the border fence separating it from European territory.

83 people died during the rush, with a Moroccan human rights organisation putting the number higher at 141.

Of the tens of thousands of people who made it, many of them are children who are still in Ceuta, sleeping rough on beaches.

There were protests on Sunday with people voicing concerns and demanding support saying Ceutans alone cannot handle a situation like this.

Now social media activity suggests another mass crossing in the coming days.

Aideen Finnegan is joined by Madrid-based journalist Guy Hedgecoe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, Fifa's President Gianni Infantino shocked football fans around the world when he announced plans to sell a slice of the World Cup’s business to private investors. Unsurprisingly, the proposal went down like a lead balloon, with critics pointing out how Infantino had orchestrated the deal in secret.

But one man - who not only knew about the plan but spent months working on it behind the scenes - was FIFA’s chief of staff, an Irish Man called Daniel O’Toole.

The Dublin man was handpicked by the Fifa president to work alongside him on the potential sale before it was eventually shelved - but who is he? And how did he ascend to the inner sanctum of power at the organisation?

Irish Times sports correspondent Gavin Cooney has the details on today's episode. Presented by Aideen Finnegan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the Regency Hotel attack, and four years after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the leaders of the Kinahan cartel, Daniel Kinahan is back on Irish soil following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.

A major security operation was put in place to transport the 49-year-old from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, County Dublin, to the Special Criminal Court, where he was charged with one count of directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 18, 2015, and April 6, 2017.

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally was in court as Kinahan was charged.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan, produced by Suzanne Brennan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in June 2026.

For the past 18 months, Dublin City Council has been keeping track of a worrying trend: an increase in the number of vacant council houses being targeted in racist attacks.

The criminal damage, which happens just before the council moves a new tenant in, ranges from racist graffiti to making the house uninhabitable.

So where is this happening? And what can be done to stop it?

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains what’s behind the recent surge in these attacks, and the reaction from local communities.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.