The Agenda

Aaron Connolly, who has spent over three years in jail serving a life sentence for the murder of teenager Cameron Reilly, has had his conviction quashed on appeal.The Court of Appeal found yesterday that the trial judge’s charge to the jury lacked balance and in parts may have been seen as “advocacy” for the prosecution case.Judge John Edwards said “such were the stridency and emphasis” of comments made by Judge Tony Hunt while he charged the jury, “there is a real possibility the jury could have perceived that he was personally convinced of the guilt of the accused and that implicitly he was pressing them to deliver a guilty verdict”.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Courts Correspondent Frank Greany, who spoke to us in more detail about this.

The Justice Minister is introducing new laws to make it a criminal offence to possess or distribute extreme and violent pornography.Jim O’Callaghan told the Sunday Independent that young people are getting a “distorted” view of sexuality from viewing pornography featuring violence online.He said the violence depicted, including the use of knives, with strangulation threats to the point of causing or nearly killing someone is “crazy.”The minister said that the Government is not seeking to introduce this out of “a sense of moral prurience”, but he believes that young people need to be protected from being influenced by this.We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Educational Expert at The Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute, Eoghan Cleary, who has been highlighting the dangers of this kind of porn, especially for young people, for a number number of years.

Evil killer Olesja Hertova will try and track down her teenage daughter when she’s released from prison, it’s been warned.Karen Ryan, 46, whose dad James, 69, was killed by the Czech Republic-born woman outside his home in Balbriggan on August 11, 2024, has made the claim.She’s also calling on Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to issue a deportation order against her.Hertova, 49, was handed a 33-month sentence last July for the unlawful killing of her partner James.The grandad lost his life after Hertova — who subjected him to a campaign of domestic abuse and also assaulted her daughter Ellie, 17 — ran at him and forcibly pushed him from behind.James’ daughter Karen joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more and about her fears that Olesja will find her daughter, Karen's sister, once she is freed from prison.

Catering on deportation flights was changed after pork sausages were included as part of an Irish breakfast served on a forced return flight to Pakistan, according to a human-rights monitoring report.The first chartered deportation flight, transporting 24 men to the country, which has a majority Muslim population, took place on September 23rd, 2025. A human-rights monitor travelled on board along with gardaí, a doctor and an interpreter.A monitor is appointed by the Department of Justice for each deportation flight to report on the operation, including treatment of returnees and use of restraint, and to make recommendations or note exceptionally good practice.Social Affairs Correspondent at The Irish Times, Kitty Holland, joined us on The Agenda to tell us more about this.

Nearly three decades after Dundalk teenager Ciara Breen vanished without trace, fresh calls have been made for a dedicated memorial to honour her memory and provide her family with a place to grieve.Ciara was just 17 years old when she left her home on Bachelors Walk in the early hours of February 13, 1997, and never returned. Despite extensive Garda investigations over the years, no one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance, and her remains have never been recovered.The case was brought back into public focus at the May meeting of Dundalk Municipal District where Cathaoirleach Councillor Robert Nash tabled a motion urging Louth County Council to erect a memorial dedicated to Ciara.Councillor Nash joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.We also heard about his calls for new council tenants to be subject to a 12 month probation period.

There are calls for all Tusla founded allegations to be passed on to An Garda Síochána.A founded allegation means the Child and Family Agency has established that, on the balance of probabilities, child abuse has occurred.However, it's not a criminal conviction and, as such, does not automatically form part of a person’s criminal record.Aontú leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín says these types of allegations should be flagged when someone undergoes Garda vetting and he believes that there should be a legal requirement that all founded allegations that are made against individuals to TUSLA are passed on to the Gardaí.Deputy Toibin joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

Councillors are calling for urgent safety works at a “dangerous” mid‑Louth junction, warning that drivers are being forced straight on to a main road with 100kph traffic.The concerns were raised at the monthly meeting of Ardee Municipal District, where Councillor John Sheridan tabled a motion calling on Louth County Council to arrange a meeting with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to discuss safety at the junction of the N2 and the LP1201 at Edmonstown.Councillor Sheridan said the junction has posed problems for years, “since before Covid" when hopes were pinned on the construction of a new road which would have essentially connected mid- Louth to the border.Councillor Sheridan joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this

Demonstrators at a Palestine solidarity march in Dublin called on the Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill and impose sanctions on Israel.The demonstration on Saturday, which was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), marched from the Garden of Remembrance to Leinster House.Zoë Lawlor, chair of the IPSC, said the IPSC was “proud” of the fact Ireland is among the countries boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Vienna on Saturday night, because of Israel’s participation.Zoe also called on the Football Association of Ireland to refuse to play Israel in the Uefa Nations League in Dublin in October.Zoe joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

This morning on The Agenda we had our ‘LMFM Roundtable’, where we were joined in-studio by 3 contributors from different parts of Louth and Meath to discuss and debate the big stories of the week.This morning we discussed calls for former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to apologise for his comments on immigrants in Ireland, particularly his comments about African immigrants. We also discussed RTE's decision to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest.Also, the ban on flavoured vapes - is is counterproductive?... And the roads are unsafe for cyclists in Ireland - we asked about jsut how unsafe the roads really are for cyclists.