The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast

With Greenland in the news, Cork doctor Geraldine Osborne’s recently published account of the year she, her husband and their three small children spent living in the Arctic is timely.  Dining on seal and walrus meat in temperatures as low as –40, travelling by dog sled and sewing clothes from animal skins in the traditional Inuit way is not standard fare for a doctor on a sabbatical, but it makes a fascinating story.   With insights into the Inuit way of life in Canada and Greenland, and the impact of climate change, this is a unique look at a world that has all but vanished with the melting polar ice. Dr Geraldine Osborne, author of Somewhere Cold, is the guest on today’s episode of the Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast.  

Last month in a Waterford courtroom, the past finally caught up with Catherine O’Brien.The Buttevant woman, who’s been the subject of Irish Examiner investigations for a number of years, including the podcast series Catherine the Fake, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for fraud. But this is not the end of this story – as Ann Murphy reports, a judgment against O’Brien ordering her to repay €300,000 to the estate of a woman, now dead, who had loaned her the money on the basis of their friendship is now back in the frame.  Ann Murphy is the guest on the podcast today.  Fraudster Catherine O’Brien failed to repay money to estate of elderly woman she scammed of €250,000 Fraudster Catherine O’Brien sentenced for scamming elderly man out of €22k over fake horse  

The scenes from Minneapolis are by now familiar to anyone with a smartphone or a television. Masked, unidentified agents of ICE, Trump’s immigration force, dragging people from cars, taking children from their parents and shooting civilians Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.Irish Examiner reporter Sean Murray has just returned from the twin cities and he is speaking to Deirdre on the podcast today.

In 2022, 28 year old librarian Bruna Fonseca fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel to Ireland from her home in Brazil.She was attending English classes in Cork, sending money home from her work as a hospital cleaner and embarking on a new relationship with a fellow student when her life was brutally cut short by Miller Pacheco, the obsessive ex-boyfriend who refused to acknowledge their relationship was over.Last week Pacheco was convicted of her murder, despite his claims of self-defence. The evidence of his obsession, his refusal to let her get on with her life, and his actions in the early hours of 1 January 2023 proved overwhelming, with the jury reaching a unanimous verdict after just over an hour deliberating.Bruna’s family and friends paid tribute to her after the trial, with her cousin Marcela Fonseca pointing out the injustice of what was done to her.“A man decides to take someone's life. And the question that remains is: how little is our life worth? A life that was taken because a woman was not allowed to move on, to choose, to love, to live her own life."The Irish Examiner’s court reporter Liam Heylin reported on the trial. He’s the guest on today’s episode.Man faces mandatory life sentence for murder of Bruna Fonseca in Cork'Not driven by hate, but by love': family’s words after Bruna Fonseca verdict‘There is not a day I don’t want to be next to you’: Bruna Fonseca killer’s posts laid bare

Sean Binder from Castlegregory, Co Kerry, was an idealistic 24 year old with a law degree, a scuba diving qualification and some time to spare when he decided to spend a year helping the Greek Coastguard to rescue refugees from drowning off the island of Lesvos.Eight years later, he and 23 other volunteers have finally been acquitted of serious criminal charges including people smuggling, belonging to a criminal organisation, and espionage. Thousands of refugees are still attempting the dangerous journey from North Africa and the Middle East to reach Europe by sea – but since charges were brought against the volunteers, fewer rescues are taking place, and evidence is mounting that Greek security forces are pushing back boats to Libyan or Turkish waters, contrary to international law.Irish Examiner reporter Liz Dunphy has been covering the case in Lesvos and is today’s guest on the podcast. 

From kidnapping the Venezuelan President to unleashing a masked paramilitary force on his own people, from threatening to invade Greenland to sulking over the Nobel Peace Prize in an unhinged letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister, Donald Trump has never been so volatile, or so dangerous.“He believes in the second term that nobody can stop him. In the first term, he didn't really know his way around the White House. He didn't know his way around the political machines.“But also this time he's surrounded by people who just will not say no to him.Marion McKeone has been writing about American politics for decades, and her article in Monday’s Irish Examiner laid out the Greenland situation starkly.

36 year old Laura Liston died in June 2022 after giving birth to a baby boy at her home near Croom, Limerick, under the HSE homebirth service. Since then, HSE midwest has suspended home birthing in the area.She is the first mother to die in home birth in Ireland. Ms Liston’s inquest was held this week at Kilmallock courthouse in Co Limerick, returning a finding of medical misadventure.Ms Liston’s husband, Fergal Mannion, and other relatives, including her parents, issued a statement through their solicitor after the inquest.“Laura dreamed of becoming a mother and raising a family with Fergal in her native Croom,” solicitor Scarlett Griffin O’ Sullivan said.“To become a mother was all she ever wanted, maternal by nature, she was a beautiful woman inside and out.”The statement continued: “She did her research and opted for a homebirth via the HSE service and trusted that she would be afforded basic antenatal care. Unfortunately there were deficits in that care, in particular following her son’s delivery. But for those failings Laura would still be alive today.”The families stood silently behind her, and added in the statement: “This tragedy was avoidable and should never have happened."Irish Examiner Health Correspondent Niamh Griffin attended the inquest and is the guest on today's episode of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast.Family says homebirth death was avoidable after medical misadventure verdictHSE apologises to family of Limerick woman who died after giving birth at homeHSE completes review of homebirth services suspended due to death of Limerick womanThe Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast: Free birthing and the tragic death of Naomi James

He’s the face behind some of Cork’s most popular bars, but for many years Michael Droney lived a half-life of alcohol and drug addiction.Now, the owner of Crawford & Co, Aye and Osho and the late lamented Rosie Maddison’s is hosting an exhibition in one of his spaces to chart his journey to sobriety, as reported by Liz Dunphy in the Irish Examiner.Michael Droney is the guest on today’s episode of The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast. To listen, find The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. To read more about the exhibition read Liz Dunphy’s article here: 'Shame trapped me in addiction for 30 years, destroying my life, family and relationships' Follow Michael’s story on Instagram at @addicted_beautiful

The sudden death of Ireland’s strongest man, Pa O’Dwyer, was widely reported this week.The Limerick Lion was five times Ireland’s strongest man, and had also been named Britain’s Strongest Man. But who was he?The Irish Examiner’s Limerick based reporter Manon Gilbart is today’s guest on the podcast.Pa O’Dwyer 'always stood up for the underdog', funeral toldTributes paid to ‘Limerick Lion’ Pa O'Dwyer after his sudden passing aged 40Limerick man wins 'Strongest Man' contest in UK