In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, John continues his conversation with Frank Greaney, Courts Correspondent and award-winning journalist and broadcaster.

Frank explains the work that goes into complex criminal investigations, the role of An Garda Síochána, and the way evidence is presented and tested in court. He also reflects on public reactions to sentencing and why court outcomes can sometimes shock people.

The episode also brings us inside Frank’s day-to-day work as a courts correspondent, from following trials and filing reports to explaining complex proceedings clearly and responsibly. Throughout, he returns to the importance of experience and humanity when reporting on cases that continue to affect victims, families and communities long after a trial has ended.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, John is joined by Frank Greaney, Courts Correspondent and award-winning journalist and broadcaster.

Frank has spent much of his career reporting from courtrooms on some of the most high-profile criminal trials in Ireland, including several we have covered on Lines of Enquiry.

He reflects on the responsibility that comes with reporting on live cases, the legal restrictions that shape what can and cannot be said publicly, and the importance of accuracy, fairness and restraint when covering criminal trials.

Frank discusses the pressure of reporting on cases under intense public scrutiny, including the murder trial of Ana Kriegel, where he was present throughout the proceedings as a daily court reporter. He also speaks about the murder of Patricia O’Connor, a case he covered extensively in court and later explored in his book Crowded House, as well as through his script for Lines of Enquiry.

Hi! John here. I just wanted to drop in with a recommendation.

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In this episode of Lines of Enquiry: Case Notes, John is joined by Geoff Knupfer, former lead investigator with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains.

 For almost two decades, Geoff led searches for some of the Disappeared, those abducted, murdered and secretly buried during the Troubles, helping to return loved ones to families who had spent years waiting for answers.

 Geoff reflects on the unique challenge of turning the commission from a reactive process into a proactive investigative operation, and the importance of approaching the work as a humanitarian mission rather than a criminal investigation. He discusses the care and persistence required to build trust, recover remains, support families and work within strict legal limits.

 Before his work with the commission, Geoff spent 30 years with Greater Manchester Police, where he was involved in major investigations and cold case reviews, including the continued search for victims of the Moors murders. He reflects on how that experience shaped his understanding of unresolved loss, forensic recovery and the long search for truth.

 If you have information for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, you can email [email protected] or leave a confidential voice message on +353 1 602 8655.

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In the early hours of Thursday, the 13th of February, 1997, 17-year-old Ciara Breen disappeared from her home on Bachelor’s Walk in Dundalk. Her bed was empty. The front window had been left open. There was no packed bag, no money missing, and nothing to suggest she had planned to stay away.

At first, it looked like Ciara had slipped out quietly into the night, leaving herself a way back in. But what began as a missing person investigation would become something far more complex. Over the years that followed, Gardaí would follow rumours, witness accounts, public appeals and searches through difficult ground, as one question continued to haunt Ciara’s family and the town she vanished from. What happened after Ciara left that house?

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by Darren Cleary

Script Edited by Eoin Brennan

Produced by Siobhan Walsh

Produced by Siobhán Maguire

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

When Gerry McGinley was arrested for minor drug possession charges on the 6th of June 2000, he insisted upon his innocence. He said the drugs had been planted on him, and he was convinced someone was trying to get rid of him.  By that time, McGinley had already received threatening phone calls at his home along with warnings from the IRA that he should leave town. He was a man with a lot of enemies. Then, just two months later, he went missing.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry, John Sweetman takes us through the extensive police investigation to find Gerry McGinley. What was uncovered revealed a twisted tale of blackmail, illicit loves affairs, sex tapes, and the IRA.

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by Siobhan Walsh

Script Edited by Siobhan Walsh and Eoin Brennan

Produced by Siobhan Walsh

Produced by Siobhán Maguire

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

In December 2008, a man calls 999 for assistance.

His name was Eamonn Lillis, and his wife Celine Cawley had been attacked by an intruder at their Howth home in Dublin. Celine was rushed to hospital, and an alert went out to find the man who had attacked the business mogul.

Gathering evidence, gardaí started to piece together what had happened at her home that cold December day, leaning on CCTV footage, around 100 witness statements, and one explosive anonymous phone call. Their findings very soon exposed a carefully concocted effort by her 'attacker' to mask the truth of what happened.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry, John Sweetman takes us back to that dark day in 2008 and how a trail of lies, misleading information, and a hidden love affair revealed the truth.

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by Siobhán Maguire

Script Edited by Eoin Brennan

Produced by Siobhan Walsh

Produced by Siobhán Maguire

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

On the 24th of March in 2017, Richard Satchwell walked into a Cork Garda station to report that his wife, Tina, was missing. He told gardaí their relationship had deteriorated, and Tina had been gone for four days having taken €26,000 euros in cash from their savings. It seemed that Tina had made a concerted effort to disappear.

For six years, Richard and Tina’s family pleaded for the Fermoy native to come home. Why, they wondered, would a loving wife and sister simply leave her home in Youghal, and the animals she adored, and never return.

An extensive search by gardaí checked airports and ferry terminals for any clues as to where the Fermoy native may have gone. Some 100 statements were gathered as they searched for the missing woman. And then a breakthrough happened, with a discovery that would shock the nation.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry, John Sweetman takes us back over the tireless search to discover what had happened to Tina.

Presented by John Sweetman

 Created by Darren Cleary

 Episode Written by Anna Priestland

 Script Edited by Eoin Brennan

 Produced by Siobhan Walsh

 Produced by Siobhán Maguire

 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

In June 2017, a family out for a picnic discovered a human torso discarded in a ditch in the Wicklow mountains. Gardaí and army personnel came together to comb the area for any clues. The search recovered fifteen more body parts dumped in nine different locations across a 30km range.

Initially, it was believed the body was that of a young man, after the recovered bones were measured. But this theory was about to turn on its head when one month later, a man walked into a garda station in Rathfarnham, in south Dublin, with a confession. He knew about the body parts, and he knew what had happened.

In this episode of Lines of Enquiry, John Sweetman explores the murder of Patricia O’Connor, a retired woman living in a house full of tension and how it led to a case that quickly became one of the most disturbing ever faced by gardaí.

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by Frank Greaney

Script Edited by Siobhan Walsh 

Produced by Siobhan Walsh

Produced by Siobhán Maguire

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