Lines of Enquiry

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, John is joined Darren Cleary for a conversation with Julieanne Lynch, the mother of Kelly Lynch. On St Patrick’s Day in 2024, 23-year-old Kelly was found dead under a bridge in Monaghan. Since then, her family have continued to seek answers about what happened to her.

In the first of two parts, Julieanne helps us get to know Kelly through the memories they shared, their humour, everyday routines, and the close friendship they had as mother and daughter. She speaks about Kelly’s hopes for her future and the space her absence has left in their family’s lives.

Julieanne also recalls their final conversations, the growing worry when Kelly stopped responding, and the devastating moment the family learned she had died.

In November 2024, Hungarian detectives searching for a missing American nurse traced her through CCTV from Budapest’s nightlife district. In the footage they saw Mackenzie Michalski, leaving a club and waling the city streets with a man. The pair entered an apartment building. After that, there was no further trace.

Detectives set about locating the unidentified man - the last person seen with Mackenzie. When they did, they found an Irishman from a wealthy south Dublin family.

Mackenzie had been spending one final night in a city she knew well and loved. The next morning, she missed her flight home. Her passport and belongings were still at her Airbnb, and her friends could not reach her.

Camera by camera, investigators pieced together her last known movements. But they could find no footage of her leaving the man's apartment.

In this episode, we follow the search for Mackenzie Michalski, examining how investigators pieced together the evidence from her last night in Budapest and uncovered a crime far darker than anything they first expected.

Presented by John Sweetman
Created by Darren Cleary
Written by Sam Hobson
Script Edited by Eoin Brennan
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 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.

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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

In the aftermath of the 1988 shooting at Sligo Hospital, Gardaí were drawn into a dramatic confrontation that saw a car plunge into the murky waters of Donegal Bay.

As the investigation moved towards trial, the case became about more than the tragic death of Anne and Annie Gillespie. It exposed the limits of the justice system. In court, questions arose over mental health and responsibility, with consequences that would haunt the Gillespie family for decades.

Presented by John Sweetman  
Created by Darren Cleary  
Written by Anna Priestland  
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

In County Donegal in 1988, 18-year-old Anne Gillespie was looking forward to a future beyond her hometown of Ballybofey. Despite her close friendships and a tight bond with her mother Annie, after Anne sat her leaving cert she had started to dream of a life of her own.

But not everyone in her life was happy when Anne started to grow more independent - and soon she and her mother would find themselves targeted by a man consumed by rage, jealousy and obsession.

Presented by John Sweetman
Created by Darren Cleary
Written by Anna Priestland

Script Edited by Siobhan Walsh, Sam Hobson and Eoin Brennan
Produced by Sam Hobson
Senior Produced 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

In Connemara, on a cold winter’s night in 1998, two sisters, Aine and Siobhán Hynes left their home and headed out to meet friends, driving to the disco in the nearby coastal village of Carraroe. The next morning, Aine was woken up by her mother asking where was Siobhán? The 17-year-old never made it home.

In this episode, John explores the harsh and isolated landscape of Connemara, and how fear spread across the tightknit community after the tragic and cruel events of December 6th 1998.

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by Siobhan Walsh

Script Edited by Eoin Brennan

Produced 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 Support by Mark Hayes and Robyn Ree

Artwork and Graphics by Eric Rowntree