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Unravelling Amy
Coming Tuesday: Nobody Heard Them Cry
Frank McCann tried to kill his wife and child four times to keep a dark secret from coming out.
The swim coach secretly fathered a child with a special needs teenager in 1987, just months after marrying Esther O’Brien.
In September 1992, with Esther on the brink of discovering the truth and after repeated efforts to kill her, he burned her and their 18-month-old foster baby Jessica to death.
And now, to the horror of those left behind, the remorseless former publican stands on the brink of a permanent release from prison.
Nobody Heard Them Cry is the extraordinary story of a woman and her child who had no idea that their Dublin home had become for them the most dangerous place on earth.
How Esther’s determination to adopt Jessica unwittingly dug up the bones of McCann’s sordid past.
And how her supposedly respectable husband was willing to do anything to keep it buried.
It’s also the story of two family’s desire to keep the unrepentant killer - currently enjoying freedom most days from prison - locked up.
With contributions from Esther’s sister Marian Leonard, McCann’s brother Bernard and gardai, the Irish Sun’s Deep Dive team also come face to face with the beast who has spent over 30 years behind bars.
The three episode series is narrated by Nicola Bardon.
All episodes will be released on all the usual platforms on Tuesday, April 7th 2026.
To contact the podcast team, email podcasts@the-sun.ie
More episodes
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3. Here's Aimee | 3
39:31||Season 1, Ep. 3Amy McAuley's deceptions ran deeper than anyone really thought.The schemer's lies, big and small, took over her life and the lives of people around her.And these were no harmless fantasies.A special bonus episode of Unravelling Amy finds the fraudster advertising for clients as a music therapist, and passing off her fake expertise as a psychologist.Jail stopped her in her tracks - but what can she expect behind bars?From the producers of the Kinahans, Fields of Dreams and This is Robert.2. Chasing Amy | 2
50:33||Season 1, Ep. 2AMY McAuley’s almost unbelievable first “death” sets the tone for the rest to follow.As she continues with her lies, her new family bears the dreadful brunt of her deception.With her criminal past catching up fast, Amy resorts to desperate measures to keep them at bay.And episode 2 of Unravelling Amy hears that but for one crucial error, she may have gotten away with it.The employer who paid out money for her surviving child receives a shocking phone call as Gardaí turn the screw on a prolific manipulator.And even as it all begins to unravel, she still has time to rip off another old “friend” one more time.If you have any information on Amy, contact us in confidence at podcasts@the-sun.ie1. Who's Amy? | 1
44:40||Season 1, Ep. 1Amy McAuley’s death in childbirth devastated her work colleagues, and her employer had no problem handing over €9,000 to pay for the surviving child’s operation.It didn’t take long however, for alarm bells to start ringing.Episode 1 of Unravelling Amy looks at the Dublin woman’s first steps into fraud, with thefts of hundreds of thousands of euro under her belt.No crime was too big or too small as she targeted employers in her work in finance and in childcare, often using their identities to carry it out.It also examines the deceptions the courts never heard about, including a shocking charity stitch up.And we hear why the new mum, with a new home, decided to fake her own death for the first time.From the producers of The Kinahans podcast, This is Robert and This is Your LOIfe.Out now: Unravelling Amy
02:12|AMY McAuley is a prolific fraudster, manipulator and thief.She faked her own death three times, stealing hundreds of thousands of euro from those who could afford it and those who couldn’t during a criminal career spanning a decade.But her offending was more than just the financial toll.She left a trail of emotional destruction in her wake, using unwitting family and friends in her schemes.And keeping those who should have mattered the most firmly in the dark as to who she really was.But who is Amy McAuley?The Irish Sun’s Unravelling Amy delves deep behind the headlines to figure out the psychology of one of Ireland’s most prolific fraudsters.From the producers of the Kinahans, the Stardust Tragedy and This is Robert, Unravelling Amy is a two part series, narrated by Damien Lane.If you have any information on Amy, contact us in confidence on podcasts@the-sun.ie