Lines of Enquiry

In April 2022, a series of violent attacks plunged Sligo into fear. Within the space of four days, two men were murdered in their homes and a third was left permanently injured after meeting a younger man through a dating app. In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Incident Brief, John Sweetman examines the murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee, and the subsequent race to find the attacker before he struck again. Presented by John Sweetman Created by Darren Cleary Episode Written by Sam Hobson Produced by Sam Hobson Senior Producer Siobhan Walsh Executive Produced by Eoin Brennan Sound Design and Editing by Neil Kavanagh Audio Editing Support by Ed Smith Legal, Marketing and Social Media Support by the Team at GoLoud Artwork and Graphics by Eric Rowntree

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, John is joined by Pat Marry, a retired Detective Inspector with An Garda Síochána and author of several books, including The Making of a Detective. Drawing on a career spanning more than three decades, Pat reflects on the persistence, attention to detail and empathy required to investigate serious crime. He revisits the murders of Rachel O’Reilly and Mary Gough, explaining how instinct made him challenge the accounts given by their husbands, Joe O’Reilly and Colin Whelan. Pat describes what he recalls as pioneering uses of mobile phone location analysis and computer evidence in these murder investigations, and the painstaking work required to turn emerging techniques into evidence that could stand up in court. Pat also speaks about investigating the murder of his colleague, Garda Adrian Donohoe, and the personal strain of seeking justice for someone he knew and worked alongside.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, Nules Ní Chléirigh, creator and host of Ireland Crimes and Mysteries, returns for another conversation with John Sweetman. This time, they look further back into Ireland’s criminal history, discussing Maamtrasna and the murder at Shandy Hall. They explore wrongful convictions, language barriers at trial and the lack of forensic science during these times, and how these stories live on generations later. Turning to more recent investigations, John and Nules discuss the challenges of revisiting unsolved murders and disappearances, including Raonaid Murray, Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob. They reflect on the limits of searches, the potential of advances in forensic techniques, and why a lack of public updates does not necessarily mean an investigation has stopped. They also discuss how speaking with families can reveal a person beyond the headlines, sharing interests, ambitions and everyday details that help ensure a victim’s life is not defined solely by their death. If you’d like to get in touch, email [email protected] and follow @linesofenquirypodcast on Instagram. This episode was brought to you by Finance Solutions, because when you’re making a decision as important as buying a home, you want to know you’re dealing with people you can trust. Finance Solutions helps thousands of people buy homes or switch their mortgages in Ireland every year, and with more than 3,000 five star Google reviews, there are plenty of people who’ve already put their trust in their team. They offer simple, mortgage advice, tailored to you and your circumstances. Visit financesolutions.ie to get started. A short 10 minute call is all it takes to help them understand your needs.

We have reached the end of Season 4 of Lines of Enquiry. While the team are planning, researching, writing and recording Season 5, John is sitting down with a series of guests for Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes. In this episode, John is joined by Paul Curran, a retired Detective Sergeant with An Garda Síochána. Paul spent over 27 years working in major crime scene investigation, specialising in Garda photography, aerial and drone photography, and facial identification using EvoFIT. In this conversation, Paul reflects on the role of photography in serious investigations, from documenting crime scenes and post-mortems to capturing fragile evidence such as fingerprints in blood or dust. He explains why crime scene photography is not about recreating what happened, but carefully recording a scene as it was found. Paul also speaks about the development of forensic photography over his career, from darkrooms and film to digital photography, video walkthroughs, aerial photography and the use of EvoFIT in facial identification. Throughout the episode, he reflects on the responsibility of documenting some of the most serious crime scenes, and the role that careful, accurate photography can play in helping victims and their families.

In the summer of 2024 social workers from Tusla were trying to establish the whereabouts of an eight-year-old boy, named Kyran Durnin. They had concerns about his welfare, and where he might be living. In July, a child was brought to meet them, and they were told it was Kyran. A second meeting followed in early August, and again the social workers were told the child was Kyran. Then, weeks later, Kyran and his mother Dayla were reported missing. As Gardaí begin investigating, they obtained family photographs of Kyran and showed them to the officials who attended those meetings. Social workers realise the boy in the photographs is not the child they met. Soon, detectives realise they can find no trace of Kyran in recent months, or even years. Eventually gardai will tell the public they believe Kyran to be “missing, presumed dead”. This week we look at the still unresolved case of the missing Kyran Durnin, an ongoing investigation which has now for two years been trying to establish where Kyran is, and what may have happened to him. Alongside the garda investigation, there have been serious questions raised about how a child could disappear from the view of all public authorities for so long without anyone realising he was gone. This episode is not an attempt to solve an active case from the outside. It is an examination of the verified timeline and the gaps within it, that allowed Kyran to vanish. Presented by John Sweetman Created by Darren Cleary Written by Darren Cleary Script Edited by Siobhan Walsh, Sam Hobson and Eoin Brennan Produced by Sam Hobson Senior Producer by Siobhan Walsh Executive Produced by Eoin Brennan Executive Produced by Ruth Fitzsimons Sound Design and Editing by Neil Kavanagh Audio Editing Support by Ed Smith Marketing Support by Laura Bracken and Róisín Reilly Social Media Support by Mark Hayes and Robyn Ree Artwork and Graphics by Eric Rowntree