The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast

Warning: This episode deals with child sexual abuse and listeners may find it upsettingLast month, Sligo musician Noel Farrell was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on sample counts of sexually abusing five of his children.The Central Criminal Court heard how they were neglected, starved, locked in their rooms for days, raped, and beaten – and how after receiving medical treatment for rape-related injuries, they were returned to their father.Their mother Tessie, a chronic alcoholic, was not believed when she told locals what Farrell was doing to the children and reported him to the Gardaí. The children were removed from her care on the grounds of neglect, but returned to Farrell for unsupervised visits, when he continued raping them.Sentencing Farrell, Justice Tony Hunt said “One runs out of words in trying to describe the depths plumbed in this particular case. I say this as a way of trying to illustrate how extreme and awful the nature of the facts in this case are.”Irish Examiner reporter Alison O’Reilly interviewed Amanda, Helen, Jessie and Christopher, four of the Farrell siblings, who say they were repeatedly failed by the State. On today’s episode she describes the court proceedings and the siblings’ reaction to finding justice at last, for them and their mother.'We were treated for rape-related injuries and still sent back into his care'Man gets 20 years for sexual abuse of his five children in a 'grotesque breach of parental trust'

The granting of planning permission for 140 apartments on the site of Cork’s most infamous mother and baby institution last week has caused deep upset to survivors and relatives of those who were incarcerated in Bessborough.Hundreds of babies died at Bessborough between 1922 and 1994, and the Mother and Baby Homes Commission found they were most likely buried on the sprawling site of the former institution. Their bodies have never been located, and now there are plans to build on the site.Donal O’Keeffe, reporter with the Irish Examiner and the Echo, was the first to unearth the names of all those babies born at the home whose deaths were registered there or shortly after discharge. The names were listed on an Irish Examiner front page that received worldwide coverage on 13 January 2021.Despite this and the excavation currently ongoing at the Tuam institution, no dig is planned at Bessborough. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil this week he believes the City Council should have acquired the site for recreational and memorial purposes.In today’s episode Donal recounts the history of the institution, its infant mortality rate of up to 80% in the 1940s, and the campaign by survivors to memorialise their lost relatives as well as this latest development.Read Donal’s coverage here: Plans for 140 new apartments on historic Bessborough site in Cork City approvedBessborough planning decision shocking for mother and baby home survivorsMichael Moynihan: The prospect of building on Bessborough babies' bones should anger us allRemembering the names of children who died in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home

Areas of the Middle East previously considered safe have this week come under missile fire as Iran reacted angrily to illegal air strikes by the US and Israel, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed over the weekend.Over 20,000 Irish people live across the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where US military bases are now being targeted by Iran. According to UAE authorities, three people have been killed in the strikes with a further 68 reported injured.Over the weekend, the Irish Government warned Irish citizens to shelter in place and register with their local embassies. On Tuesday however Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said her department was compiling lists of the most vulnerable Irish citizens in the region as the US advised its citizens to leave the Middle East.Irish Examiner correspondent Colin Sheridan served with UNIFIL in Lebanon, Syria and Israel and regularly writes about Middle Eastern issues. He breaks down who’s who in the conflict, why Israel is targeting Iran, what the regional alliances are and how this conflict may unfold.Broadcaster John Hayes works for the Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya in Dubai. Speaking on Monday, he explained how an initial spate of panic-buying on Saturday had abated as the country’s missile defence system kept the skies safe, with tourists enjoying a beach day on Monday as their flights were unable to depart.

The Government’s u-turn on and subsequent denial of involvement in a review of Special Needs Assistant allocation was an embarrassing episode for them, but a stressful episode for school communities.Teacher, commentator and mother to a child with special needs, Ciara Reilly has been writing about the review for the Irish Examiner this week.With her uniquely multi-faceted perspective on this issue she explains just how the SNA role has evolved since the circular of 2014 which governs the role, how dependent many schools are on their SNA colleagues, and how the hasty cancellation of the review amid political backlash means a missed opportunity to address real issues facing schools.Read Ciara’s articles:Ciara Reilly: Power shift behind SNA U-turn exposes Government's weaknessCiara Reilly: Definition of need has changed to save money on SNAs

‘On 24th of February, 5 in the morning, I woke up because my neighbours were screaming and I heard like, “It started! It started!”‘I looked out of the window and I saw explosions. I was in Kyiv at the time and I saw explosions going around... you could hear explosions, and people were rushing for the apartments to the parking spot we had, and just packing their bags, kids, all they had, pets, and just leaving immediately. ‘It took me 30 hours just to get away from Kyiv on that day.’ It’s four years today since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was a day that changed the course of world history, with ripple effects on the lives of ordinary people all over Europe and further afield.The increasingly brutal and intractable war also has changed Ireland, with almost 120,000 Ukrainians seeking refuge here since the war began. About 84,000 of them mostly women and children, remain in Ireland.One of those is journalist Liudmyla Bortok, who fled to Cork with the assistance of an Irish colleague, driving across Europe with her elderly father, her teenage son and her cat.On today’s episode Liudmyla speaks candidly about the personal toll of war, the difficulty caring for vulnerable family members in a time with no instruction manual, the welcome she has received in Ireland, and how Ukraine has dropped down the news agenda over four grinding years of war. Liudmyla Bortok: Every year we pray for the war to end, and for Russia to leave us alone'Ireland stands in solidarity with Ukraine' on eve of fourth anniversary of Russian invasionFour years of Ukraine war: EU leaders battle with Hungary on supportUkraine is the biggest and most consequential of all the American betrayals 

In recent weeks, the story of Kilkenny man Seamus Culleton has come to the fore as an Irishman living and working in the US who is being detained by the US immigration police ICE. He has described the conditions in the detention centre as like a "modern-day concentration camp" but, since his story came to the public's attention, reports have emerged relating to Mr Culleton's past including his estranged daughters and cases before the courts.While he has been granted a temporary reprieve from deportation from the US, Mr Culleton said he would like Taoiseach Micheál Martin to raise his case with US President Donald Trump during his meeting in March for St Patrick’s Day.Irish Examiner political reporter Tadgh McNally joins the pod to talk about the case and the wider context ahead of the White House visit.

“I suppose from early on there was red flags that I didn't want to see, if I'm being perfectly honest,” says MEP Kathleen Funchion of her relationship with Sean Tyrell, who yesterday lost an appeal against the sentence he received for offences under Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, also known as Coco’s Law.The appeal refusal and increase in Tyrell’s sentence for sending malicious and defamatory messages about his then partner marks the end of a three and a half year legal process for the Sinn Fein MEP, whose relationship with Tyrell began in 2016 when she was a candidate and he was a volunteer in her constituency office.Tyrell’s behaviour became increasingly coercive and the couple broke up and got back together numerous times, leading her to eventually approach her local women’s refuge for support.A professional with a public and media profile in a demanding job, she struggled to reconcile the public version of herself and the private version in which her confidence was shattered and she questioned every decision.“It didn't matter what you did in this situation. It was always going to be like this, because this person just fundamentally, you know, was a controlling person.“It wasn't about how many phone calls you made to any men in your life. It was about them and their behaviour. And I think if I can get that message out there, I would love to do that,” says Funchion now.Read the full story here: Kathleen Funchion 'feels vindicated again' as ex-partner's sentence is raised for Coco's Law offenceContact Women’s Aid on womensaid.ie or by calling 1800 341900.

Earlier this week, word began circulating among drone operators in Cork – architects, roofers, corporate video creators and wedding photographers – of a new rule requiring two days' notice of intention to fly a drone over large swathes of the city.The IAA had announced the new rule, which comes into effect today, quickly and with little fanfare, and as the Irish Examiner's Emer Walsh reported on Monday, the operators were not happy.  What is the new rule, who’s impacted, and – perhaps most importantly – who stands to benefit?Business reporter Emer Walsh explains the issues on today’s episode of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast.Alan Healy: There is a battle brewing over Cork's airspace that will be repeated across IrelandNew drone flight restrictions to come into force across Cork cityieExplains: What are the new drone flight restrictions in Cork and why are they coming into effect?