Episode 580: Derek ‘Dee Dee’ O’Driscoll’s building site money racket

Stephen McCullagh will do at least 31 years of jail time before he is even considered for release.  32-year-old Natalie McNally had been 15 weeks pregnant when she was subjected to a violent attack and murdered at her home in Lurgan in December 2022.    The judge, Mr Justice Kinney, told McCullagh that he committed a “brutal senseless murder and planned it in remorseless detail.”  “The killing was cold blooded and calculated.”    McCullagh tried to pin the murder on Lewis Jones, Natalie’s ex-partner, after having set up a false alibi. But the jury rejected that and found McCullagh guilty of the murder at Belfast Crown Court earlier this year.    Our Bel Tel colleagues Ciaran Dunbar and Kurtis Reid discuss what happened in court for the tariff hearing.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new movie about the events of Bloody Sunday and the fight for justice in its aftermath is touring across the UK with huge interest from the United States and even Dubai. Made with images and footage taken on the day, interviews with those who were there in January 1972 when British army paratroopers fired on unarmed civilians, and contributions from those who have fought for justice, The Day Innocence Died has likened events in Derry with those in Palestine. Nicola speaks with Adrian Kerr of the Bloody Sunday Trust and filmmaker Hannan Majid on their collaboration which has created the box office hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A jury has heard a police interview recording of a woman who claims she was raped as a child by Jeffrey Donaldson. Jurors at Newry Crown Court heard allegations against the former DUP leader by a woman who claims it happened when she was at primary school. She also alleged that Donaldson arranged for her to be sent to a Christian Rehabilitation Centre and apologised to her there. Sixty-three-year-old Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences said to have taken place between 1985 and 2008 involving two complainants known as Witness A and B. His wife Eleanor Donaldson faces a trial of the facts on aiding and abetting allegations after the trial judge ruled her medically unfit to stand trial. Allison Morris is covering the trial for the Belfast Telegraph. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eleanor Donaldson “did nothing” when told of an allegation of abuse by her husband, Jeffrey Donaldson, a court has heard.  The claim from one of the alleged victims came during week two of the former DUP leader’s trial. 63-year-old Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.  The charges include one count of rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency. Donaldson’s wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson, from Dublinhill Road, Dromore, Co Down, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband’s alleged offending.  The 60-year-old is facing a trial of the facts, not a criminal trial, after judge Paul Ramsey ruled her unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. Allison Morris was in court for day four of evidence.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Frank McCann murdered his wife, Esther, and her daughter, Jessica, on the 4th of September 1992. The moment Marian Leonard heard the news that her sister and niece had perished in a house fire, she suspected that McCann had somehow been involved. McCann received two life sentences in 1996. In recent weeks, Marian has once again had to meet with the parole board to ask them not to release McCann. Jenny Friel speaks to Marian Leonard to ask her why it's so important to her that McCann stays behind bars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.