Violence in Ballymena and Larne in third night of disorder in NI
Clip • 5 Mins • 12 JUN • Morning Ireland
Conor Macauley, RTÉ Northern Correspondent, reports on the violence in Larne, Co. Antrim last night, after a local leisure centre was set on fire.
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RTÉ News
39 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
McCarrick lawyer hopeful case will be solved one day
A New York based lawyer, hired by Annie McCarrick's late father John in 1993 to help find out what happened to his daughter, has expressed his hope that the case will one day be solved. Gardaí are questioning a 62-year-old businessman for a second day about the murder of Ms McCarrick who went missing in Dublin over 32 years ago. The businessman, whose home in Co Meath has also been searched, knew Annie McCarrick in the 1990s and is described by gardaí as an associate who moved in her circle. Originally from New York, Annie McCarrick studied in Ireland in the late 1980s. She moved to Ireland permanently in January 1993 and lived at St Cathryn's Court in Sandymount in Dublin. She worked as a waitress at the Courtyard Restaurant in Donnybrook and Café Java on Leeson Street. On 26 March 1993, Ms McCarrick bought groceries in Quinnsworth on Sandymount Road - confirmed by a receipt found in unpacked shopping bags in her apartment. This is the last confirmed activity of Ms McCarrick. She was reported missing by a friend two days later on 28 March 1993. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, US lawyer Michael Griffith said that the theory that Annie had gone to Enniskerry in Co Wicklow on the day she disappeared turned out to be a "bum steer". "There was a rumour that Annie was going to Johnny Fox's pub that night because she liked Irish music. "But the problem with that was, that Annie was working for a bakery next door and she had all these ingredients to make foodstuffs for the next day, and when she left her apartment, all the foodstuffs was there and her personal belongings were not in the dryer, but the wash cycle, giving us a reason to believe that she might be coming back quickly. "Now the lady who said that she saw Annie get on a bus in Sandymount around 5:30 or so, if she would have gotten to Enniskerry, she would have had to walk like another mile to go to Johnny Fox's because there's no bus service. "But the problem with that was that music didn't start in Johnny Fox's till about 9 o'clock that night, so it didn't seem plausible that anyone would go up and sit there for two or three hours without the music. "One of the security people said that he thought he saw Annie come in. But after that, after re-interviewing - that was debunked. So, the Johnny Fox's theory of going up to Wicklow was disposed of," explained Mr Griffith. He said: "I'm a very optimistic lawyer. I hope that one day it will have been solved and over the years I've gone to Ireland, I've got some friends there ... and I've made it my business to be interviewed by the garda, by the local press to try to keep the embers burning and I'm delighted to know that there's been an arrest, although there is no conviction at this point, there's only an arrest. "So let's see what the next developments will be." Mr Griffith said that he has thought about the case quite a bit over the years and that the loss of Annie had a huge impact on her parents John and Nancy and they later divorced. "Obviously it was quite a bit of stress that came out of this, and the McCarricks got divorced. And John later became quite upset over the whole situation - Annie, the divorce. "And I'm trying to do the best that I can to maybe carry on in his stead to help try to give whatever information I can to resolve this matter, hopefully in a conviction," he added.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Burn them all out': The prejudice bubbling under Ireland's thin veneer of normality
On Tuesday, by way of marking the death of the legendary American musician Sly Stone , John Kelly plays a selection of tunes by the late funk-rock visionary on Mystery Train (Lyric FM, Sunday-Thursday), starting with the yodelling psychedelic soul track Spaced Cowboy. 'Probably not the obvious choice to begin,' the presenter remarks with a wry chuckle, 'but that's from the album There's a Riot Goin' On'. Kelly may not say it, but an album with such an insurrectionary title is, unfortunately, an obvious choice in a week when Irish and American streets are convulsed by scenes of unrest. At least Sly's revolutionary impulses were musical, as Kelly's well-chosen set testifies to stirring effect. (With the death of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys on Wednesday, Kelly has a busy week paying tribute to departed greats, this time playing the Pet Sounds album in its entirety.) On the other hand, the rioters setting fire to houses and cars of immigrant families in Ballymena are malignantly destructive in intent, as the presenter Cian McCormack learns on News at One (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays). READ MORE Following the second night of racist rampages in the Co Antrim town, sparked by two teenage boys from migrant backgrounds being charged with sexually assaulting a girl, McCormack talks to the local Alliance MLA Sian Mullholland, who shares harrowing tales of migrant families hiding in attics and bedrooms as marauding thugs ransacked their homes downstairs. The RTÉ reporter Conor Macauley captures a disturbing snapshot of the virulent intolerance driving the disorder when interviewing a local Ukrainian woman about her fears. Amid the conversation a voice can be heard bellowing in the background; Macauley tells McCormack that it belongs to a man in a passing car, who is shouting 'Burn them all out' while driving by. It's a grim illustration of the prejudices bubbling under what Macauley calls the 'very thin veneer of normality'. Further evidence of this ominous atmosphere comes on The Hard Shoulder (Newstalk, weekdays) when its host, Kieran Cuddihy, talks to the reporter Josh Crosbie about the 'eerie, tense feeling' in the town, with Union Jacks proudly fluttering in some neighbourhoods, burnt-out homes pockmarking others. Crosbie canvasses the view of local residents, which range from shame and fear to support for the rioters. 'It's not racism, it's protecting our own people,' one woman says. Another is more tactful in her sympathies, claiming that there has long been harassment of women by groups of men, presumably from immigrant backgrounds: 'I don't know how to say this without sounding racist,' she says before hastily adding that violence ruined initially peaceful protests in the town. Either way, it's a tacit admission of the racist impulses underpinning the trouble. And, as Crosbie glumly notes, there's ample fuel for the rioting to continue: 'We're coming into marching season, so tensions are already high.' Good vibrations are also in short supply in California, as Cuddihy hears about Donald Trump's crackdown on protests against large-scale deportation raids against illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. The BBC reporter Peter Bowes said the unrest has been sporadic in intensity, hardly enough to justify the American president's decision to call in the US marines. And Bowes emphasises that the disorder has been so far confined to a small area of the city: 'The image that all of LA is in chaos is completely incorrect.' In a divided United States, such facts would seem to count for little, particularly with the Maga base. Not that people here can be afford to be complacent about such inflammatory situations. Appearing on Cuddihy's weekly Bookshelf slot, the former People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith picks To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, as her favourite book, citing it as a powerful portrait of systemic racism. (The host gently posits that it also works as a fine piece of fiction.) Perhaps inevitably, conversation turns to the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment in Ireland. Cuddihy plays the tentative optimist, suggesting that children mixing at school might make them more colour blind. Smith isn't so sure, worrying about the influence of online disinformation; she points to a pro-Palestinian demonstration by families in Dublin being disrupted by young children hurling insults and shouting, 'What about the Irish?' But despite such depressing anecdotes, it's an engrossing segment, as guest and host thoughtfully discuss the joys of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy. Cuddihy can't help stirring things up a bit, however. 'Will I really worry you now?' he asks before delightedly noting that Mantel's trilogy was also chosen by Smith's ideological opposite, the former Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell. To her credit, Smith sounds only slightly thrown by discovering this common ground: 'Bedfellows,' she says with a sighs. A little tolerance goes a long way. Not always an oasis of reflection, The Ray D'Arcy Show (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) proves a font of wisdom – from unlikely sources, to boot. 'We're having a series of 1990s frontmen this week,' the host jokes as he introduces Paul Linehan, leader of the veteran Cork indie band The Frank and Walters. Linehan recounts the origin story of his biggest hit, After All: he wrote it for his then girlfriend, Katie, with whom he would break up when moving back to Ireland from London. It's a simple story – Linehan is back in contact with her after many years – but his unassuming manner imbues it with an oddly affecting and even contemplative quality. 'It's about realising what you have, and celebrating it,' the singer says. There are further life lessons on offer when D'Arcy speaks to the second of his 1990s frontmen, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp . The host sounds genuinely delighted to be speaking to the Sheffield singer – 'What a wonderful surprise' – while Cocker, always an articulate interviewee, is at his droll best. Amid rueful explanations for long gaps between albums – 'I'm just a very slow worker' – Cocker seems in authentically upbeat form, seeking out the positive as the years advance. 'To me growing up is learning more about life, learning more about yourself,' he says. 'Growing old is more like giving up.' No surrender indeed. Moment of the week Always looking for a story with bite, Seán Moncrieff (Newstalk, weekdays) sounds suitably enthusiastic about a new podcast about cinematic sharks, notably the Steven Spielberg classic Jaws, from 1975. But as he starts his introductory spiel for the podcast's host, Jon Harvey – 'Fifty years ago, a film was released...' – the presenter abruptly halts his flow. 'Well, I could tell you about it, but apparently your man isn't on the phone,' he says, slightly peevishly. A couple of awkward minutes pass by, with Moncrieff filling the time by reading various texts; then, finally, his guest appears on the line. Just in time: for a moment it sounds as if Moncrieff had bitten off more than he could chew.
RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Kidnapping survivor Jody Plauché on surviving abuse and trauma
The latest episode of RTÉ's acclaimed podcast, Insights with Sean O'Rourke, features author, speaker, and child safety advocate Jody Plauché. Listen back above. As a child growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jody was sexually abused* and later kidnapped by his trusted karate instructor. Just days after his rescue, Jody's father, Gary Plauché, took justice into his own hands, shooting and killing the abuser in front of TV cameras —an act that would spark national debate and media scrutiny. In the years since, Jody has refused to be defined by the trauma he endured. Instead, he has become a leading voice in child abuse prevention and education. His book Why, Gary, Why? —named after the now-infamous words caught on camera—shares his story and helps others recognise the patterns of grooming and abuse that too often go unnoticed. In their interview, Jody opens up to Sean on the healing process and his message to other survivors: "You can go through something, if you have the proper support—be it a psychologist, a friend, just as long as you have someone who can give you the proper support."
