Latest news with #Kathleen
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Emergency services attend horror vehicle fire blocking lane on busy Irish road as Gardai confirm ‘enquires ongoing'
DUBLIN Fire Brigade yesterday raced to the scene of a vehicle on fire in a Dublin area. The incident occurred on the Long Mile Road in Walkinstown in Advertisement A van was in flames and left smoking with the boot open and the engine smouldering. A lane on the Gardai said enquires into the incident are ongoing. Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS The firefighters took to The picture shows smoke rising from blackened vehicle with a raised bonnet and steaming engine. Posting on "A lane is temporarily blocked as we await recovery." Advertisement Most read in Irish News And Gardai confirmed the situation in a statement. They said: "Gardaí responded when alerted to a van on fire at the Long Mile Road, Walkinstown, Dublin 12, yesterday, Thursday 29 th May 2025, at approximately 2.20pm. Gardai and RSA measures aimed at driving crash deaths on Irish roads "Fire services extinguished the fire and made the area safe. Enquiries are ongoing." Just days ago and elsewhere in the country, fire brigades and Gardai attended the scene of a fire in an elderly woman's house in Advertisement Tragic great-gran Kathleen Weldon fled her The 86 had raised four 'COVERED IN BLACK SMOKE' Gardai and fire services rushed to the bungalow but Kathleen's granddaughter said "the house was pretty much gone". Edel told The Irish Sun: "Granny was in her sitting room and was snoozing on her chair and when she woke up she heard the fire alarm. Advertisement "The sitting room was covered in black smoke. "The firefighter said if not only for that [alarm] she wouldn't have woken up." A GoFundMe has been set up and donations can be made 1 Dublin Fire Brigade raced to the scene in Dublin Credit: x Advertisement
West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Geraldton walk calls for unity during Reconciliation Week after WA's Stolen Generations redress announcement
Local school students and community groups stepped up to take a stand for reconciliation on Wednesday, the day after the WA Government unveiled a redress scheme for survivors of the Stolen Generation. About 200 people gathered in Geraldton's CBD to take part in the annual Wanarayimanha walk, part of National Reconciliation Week, which included a walk along the foreshore and a welcome to country by Kathleen Councillor. The event was hosted by Desert Blue Connect, Radio MAMA and Legal Aid WA and organised by the Department of Justice, and Justice and Community Network Committee. Leader of the march, previous Mid West Gascoyne police youth crime intervention officer and Aboriginal regional co-ordinator at Department of Communities, Rob Gibson said events like the walk were 'massive' for the entire community. 'If you're thinking about bridging a gap between non-Indigenous Australians and Aboriginal people, especially Yamatji peoples, it's really important to come together at many little events like this, they grow and they grow, and that's what we want,' he said. 'We want that involvement. We want that connection between them both. Because both of us have great histories. We need to combine that. 'So I always like to think that if you combine 250 years of history with 60,000 years of history, imagine the strength.' On Tuesday morning after National Sorry Day, WA Premier Roger Cook announced that $85,000 would be available per person for Stolen Generation survivors removed from their families before July 1, 1972, as a one-off payment as part of the redress scheme. Applications will open in the second half of the year and only surviving members of the Stolen Generation will be eligible. 'These payments acknowledge an injustice. It does not correct what has happened, but it does offer a path forward,' the Premier said. Mr Gibson, whose father is a survivor of the Stolen Generation, said the announcement was welcomed — not for the money, but the acknowledgement. 'I can certainly say, from a personal point of view, that my father was taken away when he was just a little boy. He didn't see his parents again for a number of years. And that's, you know, that's massive,' he said. 'It's not even about the funds. It's actually about the recognition of his worth and what he's been through, because it's not those missing years, it's the 89 years that he's been around. So it's really important to get that recognition.' Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation CEO Luka Gray said the redress scheme was a 'long-overdue' step toward 'truth, healing and justice for Aboriginal people who were forcibly removed from their families, culture and country.' 'We recognise the deep and ongoing intergenerational trauma caused by these removals and the resilience of our Stolen Generations survivors, many of whom remain active knowledge-holders and leaders in our community,' she said. 'While no financial payment can ever fully address the harm suffered, we hope this scheme provides a meaningful recognition of that pain and supports a path forward through healing and truth-telling initiatives. 'YSRC looks forward to engaging with government and community stakeholders to ensure that the delivery of the scheme is respectful, accessible and culturally safe for all Yamatji Nation members.' The reconciliation walk, which focused on the theme Bridging Now to Next, started at Rocks Laneway, made its way along the foreshore, and returned to the laneway for a morning tea, giving the community a chance to connect, share stories and work together for a better future. Mr Gibson said Australia still has far to go when it comes to bridging the gap. 'It's baby steps generally,' he said. 'I think we have never been in a time where people have more knowledge about our people. 'But unfortunately, we're only this far on the distance of that, so we've got a long way to go.'
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Famous doctor's warped excuse for strangling wife and dumping her in pond
A once-prominent doctor, Ingolf 'Harry' Tuerk, who has now been sentenced, said he'd been defending himself when he strangled his wife of five months, Kathleen McLean A surgeon who strangled his wife before throwing her away "like a bag of trash" has shared his excuse during sentencing, in an apology to the deceased. Back in April, Ingolf 'Harry' Tuerk, a once prominent doctor from Dover, Massachusetts, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Kathleen McLean. The court heard how Tuerk, who was sentenced to 12 to 16 years behind bars, strangled 45-year-old Kathleen and "disposed of her body in a pond and weighed her down with rocks". Testifying during his trial, Tuerk, 63, told the court that he hadn't intended to harm mum of three Kathleen, whom he'd married just five months before her death on May 15, 2020. CBS News reports that Tuerk confessed to putting his hands on Kathleen's neck but stated that he had been defending himself during a fight, in which he claimed she'd thrown a glass at him. Tuerk, the former head of urology at Boston's St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boston, testified: "I snapped, I kind of blacked out. I grabbed her. On the neck." Remarking that Tuerk had thrown Kathleen's body away "like a bag of trash", the judge said: "I can't imagine a human being's last moments on earth while being strangled by her husband, it's simply difficult to fathom." On the same day that Kathleen's body was recovered, with "injuries and bruising consistent with strangulation", Tuerk was found unresponsive in a Dedham hotel and taken to a nearby hospital. As reported by PEOPLE, the Commonwealth's sentencing memorandum shows that Tuerk married Reiki master Kathleen in December 2019, and the relationship 'quickly deteriorated". In February 2020, a restraining order was issued against Tuerk, who was asked to leave the marital home. Allegations of domestic violence were also made against the defendant, including claims that Tuerk allegedly beat and threatened Kathleen. Reconciliation attempts were made, and on May 14, the couple spent the evening together at home with Kathleen's three children, all of whom gave witness impact statements. As per Law & Crime, Kathleen's now 21-year-old daughter recalled the night of her mother's death, telling the court: 'Five years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, looked down the stairs, and saw Harry Tuerk. "I instantly knew something bad had happened. We made eye contact and since then I've been filled with a whole new level of fear I didn't know was quite possible.' Kathleen's sister, Beth Molanson, also paid tribute to a woman she remembers "as vibrant and full of life". She shared: "She always had a smile, she was calm, she had more patience than anyone I know, and most importantly, she was a mother to her three children, Sophie, Gracie and Sam. Everything she did in her life centred around her three babies." A specialist in the field of robotic and laparoscopic surgery for urinary obstruction, Tuerk earned some fame in his profession but was ultimately terminated from St. Elizabeth's Medical Centre after coming under investigation for inappropriately billing the Medicaid program, the Boston Herald reports. In a statement read aloud before the court, Tuerk apologised to Kathleen, as reported by Boston25News, saying: 'I'm sorry, Katie. Please forgive me for having reacted in such a way on May 15, 2020, that it caused the end of your life. I'm thinking about you every day. I wish I could make it all unhappen.' He also apologised to Kathleen's three children, continuing: 'I've been waiting for five years to be able to reach out to Katie's children. Please accept my condolences and apologies, Sophia, Grace, and Sam, for having taken your mom away from you. I can't even imagine the pain I've caused you.'
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- RTÉ News
Stolen Sister - the new true crime podcast from Doc On One
I have a friend who often remarks that you instantly know if someone has a sister. She says there is a marked difference between those with and without someone who flips between screaming at them for stealing their favourite dress to gabbing about the latest family gossip in less than two minutes flat. It is a distinct bond familiar to sisters Kathleen, Bernie and Joan Plunkett. In 1976, their sister Elizabeth left a pub in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, after a row with her boyfriend. She walked down the road to cool off, and instead, she met Ireland's first serial killers - John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. Elizabeth's murder and later that of Mayo woman Mary Duffy would become two of the most heinous crimes in the history of the Irish State. While many believe Elizabeth's case concluded nearly 50 years ago after both men received life sentences for their crimes, this is far from the truth. This is why in July 2024, Bernie and Kathleen found themselves contacting the team at RTÉ Documentary On One. The women had already asked the DPP, the Garda Commissioner and the State Solicitor's Office for help, but to no avail, so this was their last resort. The result is Stolen Sister, a six-part podcast series unpacking how a parole application from Shaw, now the State's longest-serving prison, shattered everything the family thought they knew about their sister's case. Kathleen and Bernie, with the assistance of other family members and some friends of Elizabeth, will, for the first time, lead the public behind the scenes of Elizabeth's case, recounting memories of the days leading up to and after her murder. Mary Duffy's sister will also contribute to the series - it will be the first time anyone from the Duffy family has spoken publicly in nearly 50 years. The combination of witness statements and the murderer's recollections transports the listener back to 1976, creating a chilling realism that when juxtaposed against a family reflecting on their trauma, solicits a tension and discomfort few true crime podcasts achieve. The two timelines of past reflection and present-day reality ensure that the audience can never relax or slip into the slightly unhealthy state of enjoyment that often comes while listening to true crime, you remain painfully aware of what happened to Elizabeth, how she was likely feeling and the impact her death has had on her loved ones to this day. While many believe Elizabeth's case concluded nearly 50 years ago after both men received life sentences for their crimes, this is far from the truth. The producer behind the podcast, Nicoline Greer, said she was partially drawn to the project because of the Plunkett family's deep bond and dedication to getting justice for their sister. Something they claim she was robbed of, despite what the history books say. "Bernie and Kathleen have been the main spokespeople for the family in this podcast. They speak so eloquently and authentically about their experience and about how loved Elizabeth was," said Greer. "We are very honoured that they have trusted us to tell Elizabeth's story." Greer added that the series uncovered other attempted abductions that were never before linked to this case. Stolen Sister is narrated by model, author, radio host and influencer Rozanna Purcell. In truth, when one thinks of a gruesome crime story, Roz Purcell is not a name that comes to mind - however, the familiarity of her voice lends beautifully to Elizabeth's story. Purcell''s image is squarely focused on relatability whether discussing body issues, her love of the outdoors or her sisters - she exemplifies the normal everyday struggles of the average Irish woman, albeit with model good looks. Elizabeth was the middle child of eight; her family and friends recall how she adored fashion, travelling and music. She was an everyday Irish woman doing the most natural thing in the world, walking down the street when her life was suddenly stolen. It is perhaps this relatability that makes this tale such an unnerving listen, a fact Purcell touches on throughout her narration. The podcast also highlights the glaring failings within the Irish and English legal systems and the stark reality that if proper justice had originally been served, maybe Elizabeth and Mary could still be alive. This series is about justice, not spectacle. Both men were from the North of England and had arrived in Ireland to evade rape charges in the UK. They were arrested in Ireland before the murders for burglary and had a year-long stay in Irish prisons in Limerick and Mountjoy. When they murdered Elizabeth and Mary, they were awaiting an extradition hearing back to the UK. After they were caught, the men told the gardaí they knew they had limited time left, so they decided to abduct, rape and murder a woman for a week until they were caught, and that's exactly what they did. The statements given by Shaw and Evans in the aftermath of the murders are recited throughout the episodes as they recount in detail how they hunted and executed the women. What stands out is the repeated use of the word "bird" while referring to their victims. They dehumanise and objectify women with this verbal tic, reinforcing how inconsequential and disposable their victims are to them. The series alludes to what happened to Elizabeth in the woods the night she was killed but handles the details around her final hours with great care, another nod to its refusal to bend to common genre tropes and its respect for the Plunkett family - reminding the listener that this series is about justice, not spectacle. Throughout, the family describe the split in their lives: life before Elizabeth died and life after her murder. In the words of her brother Eddie - "We were a very united, large Dublin working class family. The bond then was unique… Little did we know that all of this would come crashing down, it destroyed the peace." The series is aided by an epic soundtrack that would not be out of place on an HBO TV show, compliments of Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck and performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The music imitates the emotional states of the people at the centre of this story, when the Plunkett family return to Brittas Bay for the first time since their sister's murder the dominant string instrument, the violin, is accompanied by a harp to lighten the tone, mimicking the motion of the waves climbing up and down the scale. It feels solem and contemplative as the family ruminates on their present day relationship with the area, knowing now what happened to their sister. A colleague remarked to me when I told her what I was working on that the murders of Elizabeth and Mary reminded her of the iconic surrealist television series Twin Peaks, in which a beautiful young woman is attacked in a wood, murdered and her body thrown in a lake to be found by the townspeople. The character's death awakens an evil in her rural town that shatters illusions of a peaceful world and changes the fabric of all who inhabit it. Except this story is not a fantasy, these characters were real people, emblematic of an ongoing reality for women and a justice system that continues to fail them.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Is the Tesco self scan being policed more ruthlessly?
One of the best things about being a member of the Tesco Clubcard scheme – apart from that fact that almost all the promotional products are now made exclusively available to this cohort – is the ability to scan and bag your shopping as you go. It means that when you reach the till, all you need to do is scan a bar code and pay for your shopping. It has the advantages of allowing you to keep an eye on how much you are spending as you shop and removes the need to queue for ages before taking your shopping out of the trolley and putting it on the conveyor belt before bagging it and paying. To dissuade shoplifters, Tesco operates random spot checks with staff sometimes scanning a number of products in your basket to make sure you have scanned and paid for them yourself. READ MORE The system works. Or at least in our experience it works. A reader called Kathleen from Galway has had a very different experience of late and one which ruined her day. 'I am feeling somewhat humiliated by a recent experience in my local Tesco store in Galway where I have shopped every week since the day it opened in 1997,' her mail begins. 'I use the self-scanning facility as I shop which I find very useful as I have a large weekly shop and I am regularly subjected to service checks on checkout which I have no issue with.' She says that the service check has always consisted of a random check of up to 25 items in the trolley but 'apparently last October a more intensive service check was introduced without notifying customers which involves a full scan of the entire shopping trolley. Last Saturday, May 10th, I was subjected to this re-scan of my entire trolley laden down with 87 items at a cost of €288.' She says that 'aside altogether from the inconvenience of having two staff members unpack, re-scan and reload my shopping, I was left standing there for 25 minutes feeling deeply embarrassed and humiliated while this was going on'. For the avoidance of all doubt, she says there was no issue with any of the products in her trolley and she had scanned them all accurately. 'Anyone passing through this area during the recheck would reasonably have assumed that I was guilty of some fraud that necessitated a full recheck,' she says. 'My shop is of similar size and value every week. Anybody I spoke to about this subsequently has been appalled but unfortunately the response from Tesco customer care was the usual corporate speak. I am assuming Tesco are experiencing a rise in pilferage, hence the upgraded checking. Surely if this is a problem then Tesco should simply withdraw the scanning facility altogether rather than engage in this behaviour?' We contacted the company to find out what was going on.
