Crime World

The first time Gwen Phelan told the gardaí about the savage campaign of violence she was enduring, she had just been beaten while holding her newborn in her arms.Domestic violence has made headlines this week after a garda officer was given a suspended sentence for a savage attack on his partner.Niall speaks to Gwen about how difficult it can be leaving an abuser and writing her book The Quiet Place.

Brian Grendon will be sentenced next week after he pleaded guilty to tax offences on more than €27,000 which gardaí found stuffed in his wardrobe.Grendon, who is in custody and before the court on unrelated charges, denied he was involved with an organised crime group when questioned under arrests and told officers he liked staying at the station.Nicola talks to Niall Donald about Grendon and his problems with the Revenue.

A second man, Glen Bride, has pleaded guilty to his role in the disposal of the remains of Keane Mulready-Woods after his murder and dismemberment by gangland hardman Robbie Lawlor.Last week Stephen Carberry, the brother of murdered Richie Carberry, pleaded guilty to similar offences.Nicola speaks with Eamon Dillon about the gruesome murder and those involved.

A gangland murder suspect who is once believed to have worked for the Kinahan Cartel went on a crime spree stealing a bicycle from an underground car park and even a package from a delivery man.Paul Beatty who is 39 was once quizzed in relation to the murder of his pal Jason ‘Buda’ Molyneax but last year he went on the spree which has landed him with five years behind bars.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the case.

Three men convicted in relation to the brutal kidnap and torture of businessman Kevin Lunney have failed in their bid to overturn the courts decision.Alan Harte, Alan O’Brien, and Darren Redmond were hired during a campaign of intimidation against directors of former Sean Quinn companies and abducted Lunney, broke his leg, and beat him before branding his chest with the letters QIH or Quinn Industrial Holdings.Defence lawyers working for the men say they will now launch an appeal against the length of their sentences which were 30, 28, and 18 years respectively.

Christopher O'Neill was sentenced to six years this week for an unprovoked one-punch attack on innocent Martin Lynn outside his home in Whitehall in July 2023.Chloe McPolin speaks to Sharon Lynn and her husband Anthony about their appeal for the leniency of this sentence and how this attack changed their lives forever.Change.org petition: https://c.org/n8qrgrN7kV

A Dublin man was before the courts in Dublin this morning charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation involved in the importation of drugs and money laundering.Brian Grendon, who is 48, faces the charges understood to centre on a hack of the Ghost encrypted phone network.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about his arrest and charge.

Houses once belonging to Limerick gangster Kieran Keane Jnr are to go under the hammer as the Criminal Assets Bureau put them up for auction.Keane Jnr, the son of murdered mob head Kieran Keane Snr, is now based in Dubai according to affidavits.Nicola speaks with Eamon Dillon about the case.

A mystery syndrome strikes down CIA spies while working in Cuba. But is Havana syndrome real or imagined? What does patient zero have to say about his treatment from the agency he once worked for? Reports this month suggest that the Biden administration purchased an energy weapon suspected of being similar to one which may have caused the series of mystery ailments. But what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to Havana Syndrome and what did podcasters Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey discover when they too a deep dive into a world of shadows and secrets.Nicola speaks to Jennifer and Sam about their latest series Havana Helmet Club, a fascinating new podcast from the couple behind West Cork.