Episode 576: The tragic death of Eddie Hutch Jnr

New IRA leader Thomas Ashe Mellon found himself arrested by police over the border this week hours after he failed an explosives test when he went to visit inmates in the Republic’s high security Portlaoise Jail. So what was Mellon doing meeting with the New IRA’s southern command with the permission of Northern Ireland’s courts and in the company of the respected Fianna Fáil TD Eamon O’Cuiv. Nicola speaks with her colleague Allison Morris about the future of the New IRA and hopes that they may be considering a more political horizon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three women who admitted helping evil Jonathan Cresswell cover up details around the death of showjumper Katie Simpson were handed down suspended prison sentences today. Hayley Robb, Jill Robinson and Rose De Montmorency Wright each believed that Katie had taken her own life and had not been murdered when they helped Cresswell wash his clothing and hide the fact he had assaulted the 21-year-old in the hours before her death. At Derry Magistrates Court journalist Ciaran O’Neill watched as the three women were sentenced for their roles in the secret pact around her death and as her mother’s victim impact statement revealed that Cresswell had sat at her hospital bedside as she died. Nicola speaks to Ciaran about the sentencing, the reaction of the Simpson family and the remarks of the Judge about the controlling and predatory Cresswell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Congolese asylum seeker has been deported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau days after he walked free from another jail term. Chico Makamda was jailed in 2019 for a horrific sexual attack on a woman but had clocked up 15 other previous convictions in the 10 years he’d been in Ireland. Although he agreed to leave the country he never did. Nicola speaks to Eamon Dillon about the high-profile deportation from the country in recent weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The families of Bloody Sunday victims are angry that Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service has failed to challenge former paratrooper Soldier F’s anonymity and that the public will continue to know neither his name nor face. Outspoken Michael McKinney, a brother of victim William who was murdered on January 30th 1972, has led a chorus of criticism against the PPS and the fact that it didn’t take time to seek the views of those left behind to grieve. Nicola speaks to Niall Donald about the latest developments in the 52 year old atrocity and we will also broadcast an interview with Michael recorded in Derry last year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A heartbroken mum is taking her fight for tougher prison sentences for drug dealers to the government. Pauline Duddy’s 21-year-old daughter Jasmine died from a suspected drug overdose despite getting clean time and again. Since her death, her mum has dedicated her life to campaigning for more jail time for the dealers who she says “are murdering our young people”. The Derry woman speaks to me and journalist Ciaran O’Neill about the life and death of her beloved daughter who slipped away to addiction before her eyes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.