In The News

Before her running career was cruelly cut short, Ciara Mageean managed to break the Irish record for the 800 metres, 1000 metres, 1500 metres, and the mile; all records that had previously been held by Sonia O’Sullivan.But in a life absurdly extinguished by bowel cancer at the age of 34, Mageean is remembered as having “grace, wit and a fundamental beauty of the soul” by Irish Times sports writer Malachy Clerkin.“You can kind of assume that people know, just take it for granted that she was this amazing athlete. And because the force of her personality and the sort of the special human that she was, [that] kind of takes precedence.”Clerkin tells the In the News podcast that Mageean was an outlier in every sense. Not just because of her athletic prowess, but in her mindset, her compassion for other people, and sadly in the fact she had almost none of the known risk factors for bowel cancer.“She has no family history. She was an incredibly fit and healthy human being. Her diet was - like she had a nutritionist for over a decade.”Mageean died on Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by her husband Thomas Moran, who she married in October and who’s wedding they celebrated just a week before her death.You can listen to the conversation on the player above or search for In the News wherever you get your podcasts.Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by John Casey.

Last week, the EU’s Energy Commissioner, Dan Jorgensøn, warned that Europeans could be facing another winter of painfully high energy bills. The commissioner delivered this stark warning ahead of a meeting with other EU ministers, aimed at reducing fuel and energy bills for consumers.But as winter rapidly approaches, is enough being done by policy makers to really make a difference? And what will it mean for our energy and gas bills or the cost of running a car? To find out what to expect in the months ahead, Irish Times consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope joins podcast presenter Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan

Defying pre-election predictions, and even exit polls, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and his right-wing ultra nationalist bloc is set to have the biggest number of seats in the 120 seat Knesset but will not reach a majority.In this week’s Israel election, with few votes yet to be counted, he has 54 seats, while newcomer Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has 49.Neither is on track to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority government.But post-election negotiations to create a coalition are the norm in Israel – no party has ever won a majority – and there is a bloc of seats that would get either party over the line. Arab parties have won an unprecedented 17 seats following a surge in voting.In many other countries, as coalition horse trading commences, they would now be kingmakers.But both Netanyahu and Eisenkot made it a firm pre-election promise that they wouldn’t go into coalition with an Arab party so does that make an election re-rerun inevitable and who would that suit?Why was there an historically large turnout? Why were the polls so wrong about Netanyahu’s prospects? And what difference would it make to the world if either Netanyahu or Eisenkot were able to cobble together a new government for Isreal?Mark Weiss reports from Jerusalem.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

Liberty Recycling is a well-known Irish charity associated with second-hand clothes and the bulk export of rags, not luxury goods.But all that changed last week when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau revealed that it had carried out raids on several premises associated with people involved with the charity and seized Rolex watches, jewellery, luxury cars and Louis Vuitton handbags.It emerged that the raids were part of an extensive investigation into allegations of money laundering at the Dublin-headquartered charity.The long-established social enterprise, founded to help former addicts enter employment, is big business. In 2024, the last year for which figures are available, its income from charity shop sales and the bulk export sale of textiles was €3.6 million.With its accounts now frozen, the High Court on Tuesday appointed a provisional liquidator in an effort to keep the business going and secure the jobs, at least in the short term, of its more than 60 employees.Now, as Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains, a criminal investigation into the alleged misappropriation of funds held by the charity is expected to involve arrests.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

It’s been a week of dramatic electoral upsets that show that right-wing waves moving across Latin America and Europe can be stopped.Lula’s dramatic comeback to win Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil has put a halt to the right-wing advance across Latin America. At the same time in Serbia, what started as a student protest against corruption, became a political force capable of toppling Aleksandar Vucic in a parliamentary election.Both wins offer lessons to progressive movements around the world, changing a growing narrative that a tilt to the right is inevitable.But what are those lessons? How did Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva come from behind in the first round of Brazil’s elections to put paid to Jair Bolsonaro’s ambitions and how did student protesters in Serbia manage in a few years to turn angry street protests into a cool and effective political machine capable of toppling the long-time incumbent?Denis Staunton, author of The Irish Times Global Briefing newsletter, explains.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.

On the morning of Monday, March 31st, 2003, a woman answered the door of her house in south Dublin. A man purporting to work as a TV technician was standing on the doorstep. The attack that followed shocked the city and prompted a lengthy Garda investigation. But it has remained unsolved.Earlier this month, a man was arrested and charged with rape, aggravated burglary and false imprisonment.Conor Lally covered the story in 2003. He tells Aideen Finnegan about what was reported about these events at the time and what we know about the new case.

One of the world’s most recognisable faces in entertainment, Russell Brand, is on trial in a London court.He has pleaded not guilty to seven charges. Three of rape, three of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The cases are historical, dating as far back as 1999, when Brand was 24 years old. Who has the trial heard from, how is Brand conducting himself on the way into court each day, and will he eventually take the stand? To find out what the court has heard so far, Aideen Finnegan is joined by Sachelle Connor, journalist and presenter of Four the Record: Russell Brand on Trial, a daily podcast from Channel 4 News.

‘You hack her phone then you kill her – that’s what one Israeli intelligence officer told Naza director Yuval Abraham about their tactics in Gaza.The shocking and disturbing film, comprising interviews with 24 Israeli military-intelligence officers and soldiers, reveals the systems behind the mass slaughter of civilians by Israel during the continuing assault on Gaza. Made by Abraham and Rachel Szor, Naza deals in horror throughout.We learn about the tapping of civilians’ phones and the AI tools that help determine targets. “Naza” is an acronym, in Hebrew, for “collateral damage”, and the whistleblowers explain a military strategy that allows for a percentage of collateral damage when targeting Hamas terrorists: it could be 10 people in the family killed in their beds at night; or 500 people in a village being levelled.Irish Times film critic Donald Clarke talks about Naza and explores the backlash.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

The four-month dispute between criminal defence solicitors in the free legal aid system and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan took a turn for the worse this week, with an escalation in both action and rhetoric.Solicitors have now withdrawn their services to include people held in custody and cases involving children.As the backlog in the courts grows, the Minister accused protesting solicitors of deliberately targeting rape trials. When that was indignantly denied, O’Callaghan doubled-down on his accusation.The cost to the State of the free criminal legal aid system has risen from under €50 million in 2014 to a projected €120 million last year; the new flat fee payment structure aims to keep costs in check. Solicitors say it is not enough to cover lengthy and complex cases and will reduce the number of solicitors making themselves available for the free scheme.With acrimony intensifying, the Minister has written to the Law Society asking for a meeting.But according to Irish Times political correspondent Jack Horgan-Jones it’s too early to see that as the beginning of the end to this apparently intractable row.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.