Luke's Law: Mum of Cork drowning victim campaigns to ban recording of tragic accidents
The family of a young man who drowned in the River Lee earlier in the month are campaigning for the recording of tragic accidents to be made illegal.
Luke Hyde, 34, died after he got into difficulty while swimming in the north channel of the River Lee at Pope's Quay.
A huge search and recovery operation was carried out, leading to the recovery of Luke's body. Luke Hyde, 34, died after he got into difficulty while swimming in the north channel of the River Lee at Pope's Quay. Pic: RIP.ie
Tragically, video footage of Luke's final moments was recorded and shared on social media, with Cork TD Ken O'Flynn calling on legislation to be introduced to prohibit the act.
Luke's devastated mum Elizabeth and his childhood friend KellyAnn are leading the campaign, with KellyAnn earlier in the week telling Katie Hannon on Upfront with Katie Hannon how emergency responders had to push people out of the way in order to do their job.
She said: 'A member of the fire brigade, he said he'd never seen anything like it in his 44 years serving. He said it was absolutely frightening that people had to be pushed out of the way for emergency responders to step in to do their job.' @rteone
"Not one person offered their help." Kelly Ann describes the day her childhood friend Luke died from drowning. She is campaigning for 'Luke's Law' to prohibit recording the scene of an accident. #RTEUpfront ♬ original sound – RTÉ One
KellyAnn explained that they are currently campaigning for legislation on Luke's Law.
'It's a law that's actually in Germany,' she explained, 'It's just basically you could face one year imprisonment or a massive fine if you're on the scene of an accident recording and using it to be sending through social media channels and not offering help or whatever.'
KellyAnn added that following her friend's death she took a walk down to Pope's Quay and noticed there was a life buoy 'within ten feet' of where he entered the water. @rteone
"I can't get away from the vision of it… My beautiful son drowning, while they just videoed him." Luke Hyde's death was filmed and posted online. His mother Elizabeth is calling for legislation to put a stop to this. #RTEUpfront ♬ original sound – RTÉ One
'There's four along each side of the quay and I just can't believe that one wasn't taken off and thrown in,' she said.
Elizabeth added that she doesn't think she can ever 'move on' from the loss of her child in such tragic circumstances.
'My child died without anyone trying to help,' she said tearfully, 'He could be here with me today if someone tried. It could've been a different story.'
The Cork woman told Katie of how she had been trying to get through to Luke to see what time he would be home and when the phone was eventually answered it was a Garda.
Living nearby and hearing the helicopters overhead, when the Garda answered Elizabeth realised the person the helicopter was looking for was her own son.
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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
RTE podcast series Stolen Sister explores murder of Elizabeth Plunkett
Elizabeth Plunkett was just 23 years of age when she was murdered by Ireland's first serial killers almost 50 years ago. Career criminals John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans from Lancashire left the UK and travelled around Ireland in the summer of 1976 resolving to kill one woman a week. They had only recently been released from prison when they abducted and brutally raped Elizabeth before murdering her. They later told gardai their intention was to "kidnap, rape and kill one woman a week" for as long as they could get away with it. Their killing spree ended with the murder of Elizabeth and cook Mary Duffy, 24, in Co Mayo. They were both handed life sentences in February 1978. Shockingly, despite Englishman Shaw confessing to the brutal killing of Elizabeth in August 1976 along with his now deceased partner-in-crime Geoffrey Evans, the pair were never actually convicted of her murder. The DPP at the time decided only to prosecute them for another murder, of Mary Duffy. Ms Plunkett, from Ringsend in Dublin, was raped, strangled and her body was tied to a lawnmower, before being rowed out to sea at Brittas Bay in Co Wicklow. Her remains were found on Duncormick beach in Co Wexford four weeks later. Now, for the first time Elizabeth's sisters Bernie and Kathleen are speaking out as they seek justice for Elizabeth, through RTÉ's latest podcast series, Stolen Sister, presented by Roz Purcell. This is the first time that any of Elizabeth's family have spoken about her death publicly. They're determined to get justice for her and restore some dignity to Elizabeth's memory. "We had tried every avenue, everything," Bernie says on the podcast. "We appealed and appealed and appealed. We went to the DPP, they said no, the Garda Commissioner said no and we went to the State solicitor's office," said Bernie. "This is our last resort, breaking our silence." Stolen Sister begins with the story of Elizabeth and how she fell in love with her boyfriend Damien. After spending a holiday together in France, the couple decided to meet friends for a night away in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow on August 28, 1976. When Elizabeth waved goodbye to her mother that afternoon, nobody knew that it would be the last time her family would see her. The pals gathered in a pub in Brittas for drinks but a disagreement broke out and Elizabeth ended up leaving the pub. Meanwhile, Shaw and Evans had left Fethard in Tipperary where they were laying low following their release from prison for robberies and had driven to Dublin to collect suitcases belonging to Evans. They later decided to drive to Brittas to "break into some caravans." But, their real intention, which they admitted to gardai was to "kidnap, rape and kill one woman a week" until they were caught - a garda interview recording of the pair revealed during the podcast. They admitted to gardai they drove around "on the lookout" for women. Later that night, as Elizabeth left the pub in Brittas alone, she was abducted and brutally raped and murdered by Shaw and Evans. A month after Elizabeth was attacked her body washed up on a beach in Co Wexford. Following a nationwide manhunt, her attackers were both arrested but not before they killed a second Irish woman, 23-year-old Mary Duffy. The two murderers Shaw and Evans received life sentences in prison. No one was ever convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Plunkett despite both men confessing to her murder. Documentary maker Nicoline Greer said: "It's been an honour to be able to tell Elizabeth's story and for the Plunkett family to have trusted us to tell it. When Kathleen and Bernie first came to us, I never could have imagined how far this story would take us. "Over the last year, I feel I have come to know Elizabeth and I hope that this series can go some way to restoring some justice and dignity to Elizabeth and the Plunkett family." Following a verdict of unlawful killing in January at her inquest, Ms Plunkett's family called on the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to reopen the case and resubmit a file to the DPP. On January 23, a jury of seven returned a verdict of unlawful killing in Ms Plunkett's case at an inquest at Gorey Courthouse in Co Wexford. Following the verdict, her heartbroken family issued a statement through a solicitor stating they are grateful to the jury for "restoring some dignity to our precious Elizabeth". Following the inquest two weeks ago, family solicitor James MacGuill read out a statement from the family calling on the DPP to prosecute Shaw for his part in her brutal killing. Mr MacGuill said outside Gorey Court: "Elizabeth was hunted down and savagely killed by two men who, less than a month later, went on to murder another woman, Mary Duffy. "Despite these vile criminals confessing to murdering both Elizabeth and Mary, they were only ever convicted of Mary's murder. "With this new development, we're calling on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to reopen the case into Elizabeth's death and submit a new file to the DPP." They added: "Although one culprit died, the other remains in an Irish prison for murdering Mary Duffy. "But he also confessed and was charged with falsely imprisoning, raping and murdering our sister Elizabeth – yet the DPP decided against prosecuting him for these crimes by entering a nolle prosequi. We now want the DPP to explain that decision." During the inquest hearing, Detective Inspector Murt Whelan from Wexford Garda Station told how during the course of their detention, Shaw and Evans admitted to being involved in the abduction, rape and murder of Elizabeth Plunkett. Shaw, who with accomplice Evans became known as the State's first serial killers, has been behind bars since September 1976. The twisted killer, who is likely to die in jail because of the severity of his crimes, met Evans in an English prison where they hatched their chilling plot to abduct, torture, rape and murder women. Their killing spree ended with the murder of young clerk Elizabeth Plunkett, 23, in Co Wicklow and cook Mary Duffy, 24, in Co Mayo. Evil Evans spent almost four years in a coma at a Dublin hospital before dying of sepsis in 2012. The first episode of RTÉ Podcast Stolen Sister is available now on the RTÉ Radio Player and wherever you listen to your podcasts. Episodes will drop every Friday and will broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 at 6.30pm on Friday evenings. Anyone with information on Elizabeth's story should contact: documentaries@ The soundtrack to Stolen Sister was composed by Academy Award winning composer Stephen Warbeck and was recorded by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Man who threatened ex-partner from prison to change her statement given additional three years
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He asked her to withdraw, change her statement, to state that it was not true, and go to court and tell the judge likewise. In March, 2024, McDonagh was given a four-year prison sentence for assaulting Ms Greene and causing her harm. It followed an incident in May, 2023 when he stabbed the victim five times. He grabbed a knife and began stabbing her and she said all she could feel were sharp pains through her puffer jacket and in her neck. As paramedics attended her, the terrified victim asked them if she was going to die. When interviewed by Gardai, McDonagh initially said he did not stab Ms Greene and said a glass had simply been broken in their flat. However, he later pleaded guilty and was jailed for five years with the last 12 months suspended by Judge John Aylmer in March, 2024. McDonagh appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court after pleading guilty to the single charge of intent to pervert the course of justice. His former partner Ms Greene was present in court along with her new partner to hear the case. Garda Paul Corcoran from Ballyshannon Garda Station said Ms Greene had attended the station and told how McDonagh had contacted her from prison on a number of occasions asking her to drop the charges and say he was not involved. Ms Greene said he warned her that if she did not do as he said he would beat her again and she said she believed McDonagh would kill her if he got out of prison. Advertisement McDonagh also sent Ms Greene three letters and a card while transcripts of 18 phonecalls made by McDonagh were recorded and downloaded by the Governor of Castlerea Prison. In her victim impact statement, Ms Greene, 27, said she was terrified of McDonagh, saying he told her to go to the Garda station and tell them she made up her story. Ms Greene said he pretended to contact other people so he could get in touch with her and told her she was dead when he got out and that she now feared for her life. She added that she now changes her appearance when she is out as she fears meeting McDonagh's family and they tell him where she is. 'I know he will come and find me. He does not like women…he has promised me he will come and kill me,' she added. The court was told McDonagh has 143 previous convictions for a range of offences including assault, public order, theft, breach of barring orders, trespassing, criminal damage and obstruction. Barrister for the accused, Mr Peter Nolan, BL, instructed by solicitor Rory O'Brien , said his client made an early plea even though it would have been proven due to the recordings of the telephone calls from prison. He said his client understands the relationship with Ms Greene is now finished and has said he will have nothing to do with her on his release and that he apologised to her for any stress he caused to her or her mother. Judge John Aylmer said the threat against Ms Greene had to be viewed in the context of the offence he had just committed at the time. He stressed that he was in no sense sentencing him again for the stabbing of Ms Greene but he was considering the charge of intent to pervert the course of justice which led the victim to believe she would be murdered. He added that has to be considered in the context of the stabbing event for which she was trying to recover and he had also to consider where on the scale to place it. He said he placed it in the mid-range and said he was constraining himself by not putting it higher than the headline sentence in the previous assault case. He said due to the intimidating and frightening nature of the threats, it could be argued that the incident could be placed in the higher bracket but added that he would constrain himself. He told McDonagh he took the appropriate action by entering a guilty plea but noted that it was an 'open and shut case' because the phone calls were recorded. He saved Ms Greene the trauma of another trial, as well as saving the state time and effort, and for this he reduced the sentence to one of four years in prison to run consecutive with the current sentence of four years. However, Judge Aylmer said he had to look at the totality principle and although he was not sure if there was room for optimism, he had to try and encourage it. In the interest of rehabilitation, he said he was suspending the last 12 months of that four years sentence in return for signing a bond to keep the peace. He also made an order that McDonagh is not to come within one kilometre of Ms Greene's place of work or residence upon release. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Sisters of Elizabeth Plunkett speak for first time in 50 years
A brand new podcast series about her murder Stolen Sister was released today Elizabeth Plunkett, murdered by Englishmen, Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw on August 29, 1976. Picture supplied by family The sisters of murdered Elizabeth Plunkett have spoken publicly about her death for the first time in 50 years. The 23-year-old was murdered in August 1976, by Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw. A brand new RTÉ podcast Stolen Sister delves into the abduction, rape and murder of the young woman in Co Wicklow. Speaking on the first episode of the programme, her sister Bernadette Barry recounted the last time they saw her. She explained that on the sunny Saturday she vanished, Elizabeth was getting ready to go to visit friends in Brittas Bay. Elizabeth Plunkett, murdered by Englishmen, Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw on August 29, 1976. Picture supplied by family News in 90 Seconds - May 30th 'My mam and my Aunt Lily were sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea. 'I was just relaxing on the bed. I was throwing these few things together. 'So there was a wedding on up at the church. My mom and my aunt Lily rambled up to the church. So they were standing outside the church, obviously waiting for the bride to come out,' she explained. "[Elizabeth's lift] had eventually come along, pulled up beside the cottage, I heard her going out the door and she said, 'I'm off. I'll see you'. 'And I said, 'Bye, I'll see you then when you get back.' Elizabeth then drove by her mother and aunt as they began their journey out of Ringsend. 'My mom and Auntie Lily waved her off, 'have a good time', and little did my mom know that she was waving her off forever.' Bernie and her sister Kathleen said they contacted RTE Doc On One for help to get justice for their sister after they learned that while her killers had been jailed, they were not tried for her murder. Bernie said they were told 'no' by the DPP, the state's solicitor officer and the Garda Commissioner when they appealed for the murder investigation to be reopened. The two British men, Shaw and Evans, came to Ireland in the 1970 with the intention of murdering one woman per week, but were detained after they killed their second victim, Mary Duffy. Elizabeth's family were unaware of this fact until 2023, when they contacted the Parole Board when killer John Shaw was seeking temporary day release. No inquest had been held, and no death certificate was issued. In January 2025, a jury at Gorey District Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing, with her cause of death recorded as asphyxia due to strangulation.
