Crime World

 At around midnight on August 5 2025, the lifeless body of Irish woman Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra was discovered on a boat docked at a marina in the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club in the US. Originally from Co Carlow, the 33-year-old entrepreneur had moved to New York ten years previously and was forging a successful career in sunglasses and swimwear design. Earlier that evening, Martha had arranged to meet with millionaire investor Christopher Durnan to discuss how her business was going. In an interview last year, Durnan's lawyer claimed that his client told police that Martha suddenly went limp between 10.30pm and 11pm and that he thought she was having a heart attack. According to witnesses, Durnan was seen at around midnight, running naked through the marina, screaming for help. On the first anniversary of Martha's tragic death, her family filed a wrongful death proceedings for $50 million against Christopher Durnan. Their lawyers have stated that the results of an independent postmortem examination commissioned by the Nolan family is at odds with the one carried out by the state of New York and their summons is seeking damages for wrongful death and for the personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering that Martha sustained before her death. Jenny Friel speaks to the Irish Independent's Special Correspondent Catherine Fegan, who has covered this case since the beginning.

Innocent mechanic Thomas McDonnell had his life turned upside down when two men told him his son owed a €100,000 drug debt.If he didn’t pay up there would be retribution, he was told. Months later, a gunman shot him repeatedly at his place of work. His life was only saved when a gun jammed but in the years since, the victim has served his own sentence away from family and his home as he continues to fear for his life.So what can we learn from the jailing of Jason Dunne and Craig Hayes, who got seven and a half years for conspiring to murder McDonnell? Should such sentences be reformed to reflect the seriousness of such cases of drug debt intimidation?Nicola speaks to Eamon Dillon.

Daniel Kinahan has asked for a copy of the Quran and a prayer mat in Portlaoise Prison where he remains on remand after his extradition to Ireland.He has also been allowed spend time with his Cartel number two Sean McGovern, who has loaned him a stereo and flip flops.Nicola talks to Niall Donald about Kinahan and his prison regime. 

A man is stabbed to death in Wheatfield prison, overcrowding in jails means many don’t finish out their sentences and bails of cocaine are stamped with the image of a famous footballer.These and other stories from our Crime World weekly wrap up.

Few Irish crime figures sum up the boom and bust of the Celtic Tiger years better than Lee Cullen, who has passed away in the UK following an illness.The one-time socialite enjoyed a gilded life before his whole world came crashing down - more times than one.Nicola talks to Jenny Friel about the car salesman who tried desperately to look legitimate but who constantly found himself on the wrong side of the law.

Which actor will play Daniel Kinahan? Which criminals are coming to dinner and what are we doing at Electric Picnic. These and other queries are answered in a Crime World Q&A. Nicola and Niall answers your questions.

The daughter of prominent publican Charlie Chawke has been released weeks after being jailed for a serious assault because of overcrowding at Limerick prison.Alison Chawke was jailed alongside her brother Bill for assaulting John McHugh and Gerard Cox at the Dunraven Arms Hotel in Adare, Co Limerick, on November 9, 2023 in a row over food.However, she has been released under a community return scheme as the prison is running at 159pc capacity in the women’s section.Nicola speaks to Niall Donald.

As Daniel Kinahan settles down to day to day life in prison in Ireland, he leaves behind his father, brother, cousin, and best friend in Dubai, all of whom remain sanctioned and under investigation.So what is next for the remainder of the Kinahan inner circle identified and named by the US Treasury as part of a global and murderous drug cartel?Today, in part two of this two-part podcast we cover the future prospects for Daniel Kinahan’s army of underlings and associates, Nicola speaks with Niall Donald.

Twenty-three-year-old Kelly-Marie Lynch disappeared after a night out in Monaghan on 16 March 2024. The following day, her body was recovered from the Ulster Canal, close to where she had last been seen.At the time, her death received little public attention, and the Garda investigation concluded that there were no foul play involved.But Kelly-Marie's family have never accepted that finding. They say the 93 injuries documented during her post-mortem raise serious questions about what happened in the hours before her death, and they continue to challenge the way the investigation was carried out.Now, a new RTÉ documentary, The Girl in the Water, examines Kelly-Marie's final hours, the conflicting forensic opinions, and her family's ongoing search for answers.Chloë McPolin is joined by the documentary's director and producer, Alan Bradley, to discuss the making of The Girl in the Water and how Kelly-Marie Lynch's death still remains unanswered.