Radio Espial

Philip Cairns, a 13-year-old schoolboy, disappeared on the afternoon of the 23rd October 1986 while walking back to local secondary-level school, Coláiste Éanna in Rathfarnham, Dublin, after his lunch break. He never returned to school and has never been found after more than 36 years.

A large-scale investigation was carried out but no physical trace of Philip has ever been found. His disappearance has long been treated as a high-profile child murder case, the only similar incident in Ireland being the murder of young Robert Holohan (11 years) in January 2005 and Philip’s case remains one of the most high-profile disappearances in recent Irish history.

Across almost 37 years, Philip's family have issued numerous appeals for information. A reconstruction took place in 2007 and was later televised on Irish TV network, RTÉ One, while a reward of €10,000 has also been offered. The book, When Heaven Waits by Emma McMenamy, published in 2007, featured an interview with Philip's mother, Alice. Nobody has ever been arrested and the case remains open.

Radio Espial's Mick Rooney takes a close examination of the case.

Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon were Dutch students who disappeared on 1st April 2014, while hiking the El Pianista trail in Panama. After an extensive search, portions of their bodies were found a few months later. Their cause of death could not be determined definitively, but Dutch authorities working with forensic and search-rescue investigators initially thought it likely the students had accidentally fallen from a cliff or river bridge after becoming lost. However, foul play could not be entirely ruled out, and is considered by some much more likely due to other remains being found. The circumstances and aftermath of their disappearance have resulted in much speculation about their final days.

Investigative journalist Mick Rooney examines the case circumstances, timeline and what is most plausible.

Jean Tighe, a native of Cavan, Ireland goes missing from a hostel she is staying at in Parede, Portugal (located just outside the city of Lisbon) on July 13th, 2020. She is spotted by a hostel worker carrying her handbag, leaving to meet up with a Brazilian male friend.

Jean has spent much of life travelling abroad as a free-spirit and has visited places all over Europe, India, Australia and South Africa. She can often be away from Ireland and her family for many months at a time but always makes sure she is back in Ireland from her travels during the Christmas period.

Jean is described by her family and friends as very independent, outgoing, always wanting to meet people and make new friends, but generally travelled more often alone on her trips. She was known to be very streetwise and loved her bohemian lifestyle as a non-drinker and vegan.

At 38 years of age (July 2020) she had experienced her share of personal ups and downs and found the period of lockdowns in Ireland at the beginning of the pandemic to be stressful and restrictive.

Ultimately, she travelled to Portugal for several months, staying in various hostels during the first half of 2020 until her disappearance in July that year in Parede.

Nicola Bulley, 45, a mortgage advisor, was last seen on Friday morning at around 9.20am while walking her dog alongside the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, UK.

She had just dropped off two her daughters, aged six and nine, at the local school in the village.

Ms Bulley’s phone was found, apparently still engaged on a work call, on a park bench nearby, along with the harness and lead for her dog, Willow, a springer spaniel.

Journalist Mick Rooney examines the full case timeline for Radio Espial.

Please note: this is an edited video cast and the complete episode can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/@MickRooney/videos

#nicolabulley #missing

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 km (31 miles) from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft fell near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 miles) from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.

The responsibility for investigation was delegated to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) and the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT), who in 2016 reported that the airliner had been downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. The JIT found that the Buk that was used originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation and had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a field in a rebel-controlled area and the launch system returned to Russia afterwards.

The findings by the DSB and JIT were consistent with the earlier claims by American and German intelligence sources and claims by the Ukrainian government. On the basis of the JIT's conclusions, the governments of the Netherlands and Australia held Russia responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation and began pursuing legal remedies in May 2018. The Russian government denied involvement in the shooting down of the airplane, and its account of how the aircraft was shot down has varied over time. Coverage in Russian media has also differed from that in other countries.

In November 2022, following a trial in absentia, two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist were found guilty of murdering all 298 people onboard flight MH17 by shooting it down. The Dutch court also ruled that Russia was in control of the separatist forces fighting in eastern Ukraine at the time.

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Annie Bridget McCarrick (born March 27th, 1966), an American woman from Long Island, New York, went missing under suspicious circumstances in 1993 while she was residing in Ireland.

McCarrick was born on Long Island, New York and she grew up and lived in Bayport until her move to Ireland in January 1987, aged 19, to study at St Patrick’s College for Teacher Training in Drumcondra. She later switched colleges and instead decided to study Irish Literature at Maynooth University for three years.

For two years she was in a relationship with Dermot Ryan, a period when Annie was renting and sharing a small cottage with a female friend in Ballyboden, Dublin. In 1990, she returned to New York and after a four-month period, the relationship with Ryan petered out. He returned to Ireland and later decided to move to Italy. Annie instead remained in New York and spent two years in the US studying for a master’s degree.

Previously, she had also been in a short relationship with Philip Brady, brother of her long-time friend Hilary Brady. She knew the Brady family in Clondalkin back since her arrival in 1987-88 and stayed with them for a period of time.

But she still yearned for a new fresh start in Ireland in 1993.

Her maternal and paternal families all had strong roots in Ireland (Great-Grandparents). During her years in Ireland, she still regularly commuted back to New York for short periods and family visits. Her parents also visited Ireland two or three times a year. After more than a two-year hiatus, Annie returned to Ireland on the 6th of January 1993 and insisted to her father that it would be a permanent move for good. This caused some strain between the pair; her father believing that she should cast aside this fanciful love affair and adventure with Ireland and return to live and work in New York.

Almost all the family, friends, teachers, and people who knew Annie, saw her as an outgoing and well-adjusted person – trusting of others, if a little too idealistic at times.

Annie McCarrick disappeared on Friday, March 26th, 1993, one day short of her 27th birthday. Her mother Nancy had already planned to visit her late the following week, arriving Friday, April 3rd, having just missed her daughter’s birthday a week before.

A social media case study of WBAC (We Buy Any Car) and how we deal with social media stories. Mick Rooney examines this case and later provides a wider social media toolkit we all need to use using the internet.

Daniel Brophy was found dead from two gunshot wounds at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon on June 2, 2018. On May 25, 2022, his wife, Nancy Crampton-Brophy, was found guilty of second-degree murder for his death.

Radio Espial's Mick Rooney, in this episode, examines the case and the evidence against Nancy Brophy during the trial.

A Radio Espial special covering the 8th Remembrance Event and news updates on the case investigation and search for the subsea wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines MH370.

Musician John Buckley McQuaid talks about his latest album 'This is Where I keep My Dreams' with Radio Espial's Mick Rooney.

Born in Dublin and based in Denmark for many years, John Buckley McQuaid is a professional musician who has toured all over Europe, from pub and music venues to art museums, theatres, schools, prisons and festivals. In addition to writing songs, he writes lyrics and fairy tales. He is also a visual artist (photography, painting and illustration) and makes videos and short films.

He played his first paid gig at the Foxrock Folk Club in Dublin in 1969, busked and played around Dublin until 1972 when he left for London. He moved to Denmark in 1973, where he turned professional musician in 1979.

Much of his writing contains social commentary, challenging the prevalent general apathy. His albums over the years include: Recorded Pain (1979), Stations in the Sky (1985), and Call it Love (1990). In 2017, he also released ‘’Valentine’s Day’’, a 29 video and song ebook.

His sixth album, “This Is Where I Keep My Dreams” released in 2021, is a collection of 12 original songs about Ireland, addressing such issues as the Magdalene Laundries, the Vulture Funds and the Irish Diaspora throughout the world, often dealing with aspects of Ireland’s uncomfortable past.

His latest single, ‘’Homeless Hotels’’ was released on the 31st of January this year and is dedicated to the homeless and victims of abuse everywhere and Ireland in particular.

All copyright and licensing are from John Buckley McQuaid and granted by agreement for the production of this episode by the artist.

PROGRAM LINK

https://www.radioespial.com/

GUEST LINKS FOR JOHN BUCKLEY McQUAID

THIS IS WHERE I KEEP MY DREAMS (Album): https://johnbuckleymcquaid.lnk.to/ThisIsWhereIKeepMyDreams

HOMELESS HOTELS (Single):

https://johnbuckleymcquaid.lnk.to/HomelessHotels

PRODIGAL KISS:

https://vimeo.com/467236532/70f6a4db35

LISTENER’S CHOICE (Lyric Video):

https://vimeo.com/467235901/68f1326851

GIRLS WHO LIVED IN HELL:

https://vimeo.com/467231264/333149692e

LAND OF THE MAGDALENES:

https://vimeo.com/467234061/f6b5699912

HOMELESS HOTELS (Video):

https://youtu.be/jdVpGmA8Jso