Latest news with #RTE2FM
Sunday World
28-05-2025
- Sunday World
Roz Purcell narrates new doc about murder of Elizabeth Plunkett by killers Evans and Shaw
The six-part podcast series Stolen Sister is set for release this week. Elizabeth Plunkett, murdered by Englishmen, Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw on August 29, 1976. Picture supplied by family Roz Purcell is set to narrate a brand new RTE radio documentary and podcast about the murder of Elizabeth Plunkett in 1976. Stolen Sister delves into the murder of the 23-year-old, who was abducted and killed by Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw after a night out in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow. The two British men came to Ireland with the intention of murdering one woman per week, but were detained after they killed their second victim, Mary Duffy. Elizabeth Plunkett, murdered by Englishmen, Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw on August 29, 1976. Picture supplied by family News in 90 Seconds - May 28th However, the men were only sentenced for Duffy's death, not that of Elizabeth Plunkett. Taking to social media, the influencer and RTE 2FM presenter announced that she would host the six-part series ' I dunno why I'm so nervous to come on and talk about it,' she began. 'I think it's because we've been working on this for pretty much a year now, and I've just seen the incredible amount of work that the RTE Doc on One team, like the dedication, the investigation, and passion they have to create these podcasts. 'We're hoping with this podcast that it will appeal to people for new information,' she continued. 'It'll appeal for new witnesses to get this case re-looked at and finally get this family justice. 'I'm absolutely so delighted to be involved and help in any way that I can to share this story.' Purcell said she wants to help Elizabeth's sisters Kathleen and Bernie get justice for their sister. 'We're not just talking about Elizabeth as a victim, where also talking about who she was. 'I feel like anyone who's involved in this project is so invested in helping this family.' The first episode of Stolen Sister is set to be released this Friday.
Dublin Live
25-05-2025
- Dublin Live
Former RTE star 'taken advantage of' as she avoids jail over money laundering scam
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Former 2FM DJ Nikki Hayes has said she was "taken advantage of" as she opened up about avoiding jail over a money laundering scam. The Dubliner, who had her own show on RTE 2FM from 2003 to 2010, avoided a criminal conviction and jail time last October for her part in a money-laundering scam after the court accepted that she was a vulnerable person who was taken advantage of. The court was told the money - about €15,000 lodged into her bank account as part of a laundering scam - had been repaid and Nikki had not gained financially. The judge also said she had shown a complete turnaround and would not serve any sentence or have a criminal record. Opening up about the court case, Nikki – whose real name is Eimear O'Keeffe - said: "You're locked away in rehab for months and then suddenly you're out and there's cameras in your face. "My key worker was with me and she held my hand and said, 'Just keep praying until we get to the car', and as we walked there was a guy with a TV camera who ran up behind us and I just kept praying and praying until I got in." Some people trolled her about the case on social media. "It's been proven, the Garda from the fraud squad said at the court case that I was genuinely taken advantage of and had nothing to do with what happened, which is why I was discharged from the indictment," she said. Nikki also told the Sunday Independent that she ended up homeless in 2023 after she lost her job and got in with the wrong crowd. She admitted she had been drinking during her days as an RTÉ radio DJ but that she was "scarily high-functioning" and drank six bottles of wine per day as she broadcast her radio show from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. When she became homeless in 2023, she used to sleep in the doorway of the Penneys store on O'Connell Street or on a bench near the Jervis shopping centre. "I had a blue sleeping bag with cardboard underneath. That cold feeling when you're so wet and you feel dirty... it was just horrendous." She said she hit rock bottom one night as she watched a crowd of people pass her coming out of a nightclub, and she felt "invisible". Nikki said: "I felt so ashamed and dirty and like a piece of trash, and then two Gardaí walked by and they didn't even look at me." The 46-year-old has since gone through an 18-month rehabilitation programme in Tiglin to detox herself from drugs and alcohol. Now that she is back on track, Nikki added that her 12-year-old daughter is keeping her motivated. She added: "I have my daughter, she has her mother present now, and that's what's important." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Dublin Live
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Dublin Live
Lottie Ryan opens up on moment she learned her dad Gerry Ryan had died
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Lottie Ryan has opened about the moment she found out her dad, legendary broadcaster Gerry Ryan, had died. Marking the 15th anniversary of the RTE 2FM star's passing, Ms Ryan appeared on tonight's Late Late Show for an emotional interview with host Patrick Kielty. Discussing the day Gerry Ryan died in 2010, she said: "I was actually at home that day. I don't know if I was skipping college on purpose or what I was doing, but I was at home with my brother. "He didn't go on air that morning and I was listening and I tried to ring him, and he would never not answer the phone to me, and he didn't answer the phone. "So I kind of thought, oh, maybe he's not well. I left it for about 20 minutes, and when he didn't call me back, I went to call him again, and I was like, that's really weird that he wouldn't answer a second time. "So I started texting him, and wasn't getting anything. And then I think a couple of hours later, maybe around midday, the doorbell rang. And I think a lot of people say this when they have somebody really close to them that's passed away. "There's something in you that just knows something's happened. You just, I don't know what it is, but I just knew something. Then I walked downstairs and our GP was at the front door, and I opened the door, and I just instantly, I was like, 'where is he?'. "You know, obviously it took me a while to process. I thought maybe he was in hospital where I knew he was under a lot of stress, and I thought maybe he had just had a heart attack. But obviously it was worse than that, but something in you just knows. I mean so many people who lose someone, the pain and the intensity of that is something so hard." Ms Ryan also opened up about the difficulty of dealing with grief in the public eye. "I feel we were kind of locked up in the house for quite a while, like you couldn't really go out for a walk to get some fresh air, or you kind of felt like everyone was staring at you all the time and expecting you to be crying constantly," she said. "So, you know, one of the big things with grief is the first morning you wake up and they're not the first thing on your mind you feel guilty about. So it kind of felt like that constantly. Was like people were watching you, waiting to see you get upset and that's really difficult. So it prolonged the process, I think, and I think it's probably deeply affected all of us, but we are a really tight knit family." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Daily Mirror
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Irish Daily Mirror
Carl Mullan among Irish tourists affected by power outages in Spain and Portugal
Portuguese and Spanish officials remain in the dark about what caused a peninsula-wide power cut on Monday. RTE 2FM presenter Carl Mullan and his family were among hordes of Irish tourists affected by the blackout. The broadcaster and dad-of-three took to Instagram to document the experience. In a series of videos, he revealed the host of his villa dropped in with some candles and head torches. In another, he revealed that his wife Aisling had washed her hair under torchlight but had forgotten there was no power to dry it when she was finished. As night fell, Carl showed the view from the villa before taking a sip of rose while wearing his head torch. In another, he goes to the fridge to grab a drink with the caption: "Nothing a nice warm beer won't fix." But there was light at the end of the tunnel and Carl took to social media this afternoon to confirm his power had returned. Meanwhile, in Spain, a barman at James Joyce Irish Pub in Madrid revealed punters still flocked to the boozer on Monday despite having no electricity. Speaking to the Irish Mirror, he said: "Even without electricity the pub was full, people were still coming. It was crazy but some wanted to come and enjoy a beer. "We're open as normal today, everything is back to normal." On Monday, 13 flights to and from Dublin Airport were axed as a result of the outage but things were back to normal today. In a statement, the daa said: "Thankfully, the issues that affected airports in Spain and Portugal on Monday have subsided and flights are operating as normal this morning. "At both Cork and Dublin airports, we've seen a full schedule of first wave flights depart, including many to Spain and Portugal. "We're expecting a busy but smooth weekend at both Cork and Dublin airports this weekend, as many head overseas for the May bank holiday and with thousands of visitors set to come to Ireland for the long weekend." It comes as the cause of Spain and Portugal's widespread blackouts remained a mystery, with some isolated disruption remaining after power was largely restored to both countries. One of Europe's most severe blackouts grounded flights, paralysed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula on Monday. By 7am on Tuesday more than 99 per cent of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Electrica said. Portuguese grid operator REN said all 89 power substations were back online and power had been restored to all 6.4 million customers. On Monday, it was reported that Portugal's grid operator REN pointed the finger to a rare phenomenon known as "induced atmospheric vibration" but they have since rowed back on this. The authorities in Spain have yet to provide further explanations for what caused one of the most serious blackouts to ever take place in Europe. The Southern European nation of 49 million people lost 15 gigawatts - equivalent to 60 per cent of its national demand - in just five seconds. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the government's priorities were twofold - restoring Spain's electrical system and finding the causes of the blackout so that a similar event "never takes place again." Such widespread electric failure has little precedent on the Iberian Peninsula or in Europe. Mr Sanchez urged the public to refrain from speculation and said no theory about the cause of the outage had been discarded. Eduardo Prieto, director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, noted two steep, back-to-back "disconnection events" before Monday's blackout. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he said that more investigation was needed to understand why they took place. Spain's meteorological agency, AEMET, said that it hadn't detected any "unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena" on Monday, and no sudden temperature fluctuations were recorded at their weather stations. Portugal's National Cybersecurity Centre on Monday dismissed speculation about foul play, saying that there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyber-attack. European Council President Antonio Costa also said that there were "no indications of any cyber-attack," while Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage. Nonetheless, the outage "is one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times," she said. At Spain's largest train stations, droves of travellers waited Tuesday morning to board trains, or to rebook tickets for journeys that were cancelled or disrupted. At Madrid's Atocha station, hundreds of people stood near screens waiting for updates. Many had spent the night at the station, wrapped in blankets provided by the Red Cross. Similar scenes played out at Barcelona's Sants station. The Madrid Open tennis tournament resumed after the blackout caused 22 matches to be postponed on Monday. A packed schedule Tuesday included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals. By 11 a.m. on Tuesday, service on Madrid's subway system was fully restored. In Barcelona, the system was operating normally, but commuter trains were suspended because of "electrical instability," the company that runs the service, Rodalies Catalunya, said on X. In some parts of the country, commuter and mid-distance services were still suspended or running at reduced capacity. Emergency workers in Spain said they had rescued around 35,000 passengers on Monday stranded along railways and underground. The blackout was especially disruptive on transit systems, turning sports centres, train stations, and airports into makeshift overnight refuges. Ruben Carion was stranded on a commuter train outside Madrid but managed to open a window and walk to the nearest transit station. He and a friend later spent the night in Atocha station after their train back to Barcelona was cancelled. 24-year-old Carion said that he chose to wait at the station instead of a hotel, so he could stay updated on when he could buy a new ticket home. Sleeping on the floor "hungry, thirsty and tired," Cairon described his experience in two words: "pure chaos."
