Latest news with #CrimeWorld
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Rex Ryan says he's no longer in contact with Gerry ‘The Monk' Hutch ahead of play debut
His brand new play about the veteran criminal is set to debut next month Rex Ryan has said that he is no longer in contact with Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch ahead of his new play debuting next month. Appearing on Oliver Callan's RTE Radio One show this morning, the actor and writer said: 'I'm not chatting to him now, and I think it's probably important that I have a removal from everybody now. 'I'm in rehearsals. I'm trying to make the show, so I need to just put my head down and focus on creating a piece of theatre,' he explained. Rex Ryan (Pic Frank McGrath) and Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch (Pic Mark Condren) News in 90 Seconds - May 30th Ryan said that a comment made by Hutch during his interview on Crime World inspired part of the play, which is set five minutes before Hutch was due to receive the verdict in the 2022 Regency murder trial. 'He's sitting in the cell and he essentially goes into his mind in a prayer,' he said, explaining the plot. 'He's often referenced the fact – [and] he was asked this on the Nicola Tallant podcast– did he feel that there were angels watching over him because he survived so many [attempts on his life]? 'He survived at least two explicit attempts on his life, and he said he felt that like there was guardian angels watching over him. 'That stuck with me,' Ryan continued. 'So I took the premise of that. Some sort of angel visits him as the clock ticks, four minutes, three minutes, two minutes to go to the trial, and the angel takes him to task for key moments in his life before he goes out to the judges.' Rex, who is the son of the late Gerry Ryan, lived near Hutch in Clontarf growing up. He said they first met to discuss the play before The Monk ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 General Election. 'He's a complicated man for sure,' Ryan said when asked if there was 'more depth to him in person?' Monk poster 'I suppose anyone who's gone through what he's gone through so publicly, that has to have had some effect on how willing you are to open yourself up to anybody. 'So I imagine that he is as much of a mystery to me still,' he said. 'Being in the public eye for so long, being on trial publicly, living in that world, I can only imagine that these are, in terms of your psyche, these are really taxing things and it would be hard not to be adversely affected by that. Asked if he was 'sympathetic towards him', Rex said he would be 'sympathetic towards many people who have gone through hurt.' 'What I can't do is make a judgment when I'm trying to make the play. 'But I suppose if someone's family were murdered and you were in that world, it's certainly something that I wouldn't wish for myself or my family, and that's something that would, that would terrify me. 'He still has a threat on his life.' 'He didn't seem fearful when I met him, but once again, I think he would, he would have to be aware for the rest of his life.' 'I suppose when I'm meeting, I'm trying not to think like that because if I lean too far one way or the other, I am going to get into territory that I don't want to.' During the 52 days of evidence, the court heard testimony from various witnesses, including former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall, who claimed Hutch told him that he and another man had shot Kinahan cartel foot soldier David Byrne at the Regency hotel in 2016. Dowdall was due to stand trial for murder alongside Hutch, but turned state witness and pleaded guilty to a facilitation charge. The three-judge court found his evidence unreliable and acquitted The Monk. While he walked free from the three-judge court, his co-accused, Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney (50), of Dromnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13, were found guilty of facilitating the murder. The Monk will be performed at the Glass Mask Theatre on Dawson Street from June 10th to 21st.
Sunday World
20-05-2025
- Sunday World
Crime World launches new video documentary on the cold case murder of Emer O'Loughlin
The chief suspect in the case, John Griffin, has not been seen in 20 years. Crime World Presents has launched a new video documentary on the 20-year unsolved murder of Emer O'Loughlin in Co Clare. On April 28, 2005, Emer's remains were discovered in a mobile home close to where she had lived with her boyfriend at Ballybornagh, Tubber. The mobile home belonged to main suspect, John Griffin, who faked his own death, and has not been seen in 20 years. Now, the former head of the Garda cold case unit Christy Mangan joins Crime World's Nicola Tallant to investigate the case in 'Evil Eye: The Hunt for The Tattooed Killer of Emer O'Loughlin'. The documentary can now be viewed in full on YouTube here or below. The eight part podcast is also available, in full, wherever you get your podcasts.
Sunday World
06-05-2025
- Sunday World
Mother of two boys abducted by their father issues fresh appeal to the government for help
Mandy Kelly's sons Zayn (6) and Kareem (3) were taken by their father Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed in 2022 while on a family holiday to his native Egypt. Mandy Kelly, whose two children were abducted by their father in Egypt. Photo: Mark Condren The mother of two young boys who were abducted by their father has issued a fresh appeal to the Irish government to help bring her sons home. Mandy Kelly's sons Zayn (6) and Kareem (3) were taken by their father Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed in 2022 while on a family holiday to his native Egypt. Even though Egyptian courts have given full custody to Mandy, and Irish courts have issued a return order, the children remain with their father somewhere in Cairo, a city of 11 million people. The Dundalk mother has issued the appeal as Ireland and Egypt mark 50 years of diplomatic relations. 'It is my earnest hope that the occasion of this historic diplomatic milestone may also serve as an opportunity for both governments to affirm their mutual commitment to the principles of international law, justice, and the protection of vulnerable citizens, particularly children,' she said in a statement. Ms Kelly also thanked the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Tánaiste, Mr. Simon Harris, for his 'steadfast support of her case and his renewed commitment to engage with the Egyptian authorities on her behalf.' She has been fighting for her sons to be returned to her care since 2022. Read more Irish mum of kidnapped boys calls on Government to issue Interpol alert Mandy and her husband brought their two sons on holiday to Egypt so their family could meet newborn Kareem On the day they were due to fly back to Ireland, Rami told Mandy he would not be returning, and neither were her sons. He then fled with the young boys, and demanded that if she wanted to see them again, she had to return to Ireland and sell their family home. Last month, she travelled to Egypt for the sixth time and appeared before the courts as her mother-in-law appealed the custody application, which was denied to her in December 2024. However, her mother-in-law failed to appear, resulting in an adjournment of the case. While in Egypt, she met with a senior official from the Egyptian Ministry of Justice who gave updates on the case and advised that the Egyptian Embassy in Ireland have discussed 'the potential negotiation of a bilateral agreement on matters relating to child abduction' with the Irish Department of Justice. There are outstanding arrest warrants issued by Ireland and the EU for Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed. He is also the subject of an INTERPOL blue notice - the purpose of which is to gather information about a person's activities, including their location in relation to a criminal investigation. Mandy appeared on Crime World in 2024 and gave an interview about her ordeal. 'I offered to have both his Irish arrest warrant and a European arrest warrant dropped, in exchange for my children. But that was also ignored….And all the while I know my children are in the hands of people that don't really care. Mandy Kelly and her children, Zayn (5) and Kareem (3). Ms Kelly hasn't seen the boys since 2022 'They're just using them as pawns,' she told host Nicola Tallant. 'My two sons are actually being held as hostages…I haven't seen them since they were three years old and 18 months. 'I have to put my faith in Egyptian police to find them,' she continued. She also opened up about suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. 'Looking back, I could have been more wary of his motives' she said. 'It started with a phase of love bombing, then slowly he devalued and degraded me… If the abuse was everyday, you would leave, but when you get sprinkles of kindness, it can be very difficult; they distort your reality.' Once Zayn was born, Mandy says her husband became even more controlling. 'He knew he had me', she explained. 'I had a very young baby at the time, I just wanted to keep the peace'. In Ireland, Mandy found herself trapped in a cycle of control despite being the breadwinner and primary caregiver. 'There were incredibly aggressive outbursts and he used disgusting, manipulative tactics, preventing me from socialising and isolating me from my family, so I had to rely on him,' she said. 'I hoped the trip would help him destress and return to Ireland in a much better place. 'It was ultimately one of the worst decisions I have ever made.'
Sunday World
22-04-2025
- Sunday World
Friend of murdered Emer O'Loughlin says she was let down ‘even in death'
'many mistakes' | 'I still feel like, what the hell? How was he let get away? What was going on?' Twenty years on from the murder of her 23-year-old friend, the traumatic memories of the violence of her death in a burned-out mobile home have softened for Aoife Kyne into recollections of the feisty, dog-mad Clare girl she met in art class. 'I just think of her in a happier way than initially after she died, when it was just like disbelief, anger, and sadness. It's just important to remember Emer, how she was and how she lived, and I do. 'Every time I see daffodils, I think of her, and I smile.' Speaking on the Crime World podcast series, Evil Eye, Aoife explains that much of Emer's art portfolio was filled with drawings of the yellow flowers. The two met in 2004 at a year-long PLC-style college course in Galway preparing students for art college, when Aoife was a 19-year-old student fresh out of secondary school. Emer O'Loughlin's remains were found in the caravan belonging to John Griffin who has disappeared Emer, a few years older than most of the class, stood out. 'For someone so small, she was very outspoken — not afraid to voice an opinion and treated everyone the same. She was just a very likeable person. 'She was feisty, hardworking, good fun, not afraid to speak her mind, almost like no filter. She was really funny without meaning to be. She was full of life,' she said, remembering how they bonded over their love of dogs and shared rural background. 'She'd come into the classroom, and she'd always have something to say.' Aoife has fond memories of those arty classmates at the start of their adult lives. 'It was a great year, and we had great fun.' Read more In contrast to many of her peers, Emer eschewed Galway city's lively student social life and commuted to class in a car from the mobile home she shared with her boyfriend, Shane, on land belonging to his family. She recalled her friend, who had spent time travelling the world, seemed 'mad about' her boyfriend. 'She spoke about him a lot, they seemed to have a nice life together.' In April 2005, close to the end of their school year, the fun-loving art class was left reeling when students were told remains of their classmate were thought to have been discovered in a burnt-out caravan belonging to her neighbour, John Griffin, in Ballybornagh, Co Clare. On the day she was murdered, Emer had been preparing to travel to college but is reported to have called to Griffin's mobile home, on a nearby patch of land, to charge her phone as her electricity wasn't working. John Griffin On that Friday, the class had the day off as Pope John Paul II had died, but Aoife was expecting Emer to come into the college to do some extra work on their portfolios. When she didn't turn up, Aoife remembers texting her to tell her she had left paint she had borrowed from Emer for her in the college, but received no reply. Now she wonders if her vibrant, nature-loving friend was still alive when the text pinged into her phone. The following Monday, she remembers being hit by a subdued silence when she walked into their normally buzzing classroom. As she went to start a conversation with a classmate, he asked: 'Did you not hear about Emer?' He told her Emer was missing and there had been the discovery of a body at the scene of a fire. 'I just remember sitting down and [thinking] it can't be Emer, there has to an explanation…..this can't really be happening. It was just really shocking.' The remains were so badly damaged that forensic experts were initially unable to establish whether they were male or female. The injuries to her body were only discovered on a second postmortem, five years later, when her body was exhumed. The family has only recently been told Emer was decapitated before she died, a fact they want made public as they continue to seek justice. In the days after the murder, an agitated Griffin was tracked down to Dún Aonghasa fort on Inis Mór where he pelted stones at gardai. After a stand-off, he was overpowered and subsequently placed in psychiatric care but checked himself out days later. On April 18, 10 days after the murder, he is believed to have staged his suicide, leaving his clothes folded at the edge of a cliff on the island. After her death, Aoife initially presumed her friend's death must have been an accident. 'I can't remember when I began to realise that it was so sinister. Then it came out on the news.' Later, Aoife heard rumours that Emer was afraid of Griffin, but never remembered his name cropping up in their conversations. 'I never heard about him until the news. It's still as puzzling to me now as it was back then.' When reports emerged of Griffin's arrest and later his supposed disappearance, she felt anger. 'There's a sense that even in death, Emer was just being violated or disrespected, or that he was being protected, and she wasn't.' Before the classmates broke up in 2005, Emer's daffodil artwork was displayed as part of their end-of-year exhibition. For the grieving students, it was their way of reclaiming her from the darkness surrounding her death. 'She [died] so needlessly and just so horribly', said Aoife, 'It was so negative when she was such a bubbly, positive, full of life [person]. More than so many other people, she would want to be here. She really lived life and to think that her life is just extinguished...' Two decades later, the shock endures. 'The disbelief back then at what had happened after Emer died is still there. I still feel like, what the hell? How was he let get away? What was going on? 'It's just awful that there just doesn't seem to be any answers, and so many mistakes. You just feel like she was let down even in death, and continues to be.' n Evil Eye can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
