16-06-2025
Watch: The story and music of the Stolen Sister podcast
Stolen Sister is a podcast that tells the story of Elizabeth Plunkett, a young Dublin woman, who was murdered in the summer of 1976 and her family's fight for justice 50 years later.
The Plunkett family understood that two men were given life sentences for her murder and that of another woman.
John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans confessed to abducting, raping and murdering both Ms Plunkett in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, and Mary Duffy in Conamara, Co Galway, in 1976.
Last year, it was revealed that neither of her killers were convicted of Ms Plunkett's murder in the courts.
The new podcast is seeking to raise awareness around Ms Plunkett's case and the family said its soundtrack honours the memory of their sister.
In February, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra gathered in Studio One in the Radio Centre to record the soundtrack for the Stolen Sister podcast series by the RTÉ Documentary on One Team.
The music was written by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck.
"The story of Elizabeth is irresistible because it is so serious and so important and matters so much, I wanted to do it straightaway. Elizabeth was born in April 1953, and I was born that October," Mr Warbeck said.
"I think people forget is, that you read about a tragic event, but it resonates for a lifetime for the surviving family members and friends, so all those people are marked indelibly for the rest of their lives," he added.
The Plunkett family attended the recording, including her sisters Bernadette and Kathleen and brothers Eddie and Thomas.
Photographs of Elizabeth were mounted on the soundproofed walls and offered inspiration to the musicians as they interpreted the music that would bring her story to life.
"He really captured her … it gets into your soul when you think of her and visualise her alive, healthy and happy. And when I close my eyes now and listen to Stephen's music this is the visual that will stay with me for the rest of my life," said Bernadette.
While Eddie said "it is very difficult to describe and put into words … to listen to music at any time at any level is emotional".
"But to have a piece of music dedicated to our sister's memory. Unbelievable. We are so grateful to Stephen to take this on and honour the memory of Elizabeth," he added.
Mr Warbeck said following the performance that it was "a privilege to be part of remembering somebody and how important she was to them".
"I think that we hope that the podcast and the music and all those other things will give different dimensions to what is very tragic thing.
"Maybe they will be able to think of justice finally being done and think there is music associated with her.
"Maybe it will give a little bit of light in very difficult circumstances. I don't know but we'll see," he added.
