Dan Foley and Maurice ‘Moss’ Moore were neighbours and friends in Reamore, about 26 kilometres from Listowel Town, County Kerry, Ireland. Moore was 12 years younger, a bachelor living alone with two dogs for company; Foley lived with his wife and her brother. Their houses were separated by just 90 metres. As farmers with small holdings in a tight-knit community, they worked together cutting turf and harvesting hay. The pair would meet daily at the local creamery and also played cards with each other in the evenings with other friends. Dan Foley worried his cattle were wandering away from his house towards the bog, and concerned about welfare of his livestock on such ground, he put down a boundary fence along the sliver of land between his land and Moore’s. However, Moore felt the fence was encroaching on his land so he decided to moved it. Foley, likewise, moved it straight back to where he had first placed it. Moore eventually took a court action so the fence would be moved back indef

Eileen Costello O’Shaughnessy (47), from Corofin in Co Galway, Ireland was brutally murdered on November 30th 1997 while working as a taxi driver. Eileen started work at 8am, worked her shift throughout the day, and around 8pm she informed her taxi base that she was taking her last fare to Claregalway. Approximately 20 minutes later the taxi base attempted to contact Eileen but received no answer. At 9pm Eileen was due to meet the owner of the taxi in Galway to handover the car and keys however she failed to meet as agreed. The last known contact with Eileen was at 8pm. The following morning the 1st of December 1997, the body of Eileen Costello O’Shaughnessy was discovered at Tinkers Lane, Knockdoemore just off the N17 motorway. Eileen had been assaulted and murdered. A murder investigation commenced. After almost 26 years, her killer has never been found. Irish police (An Garda Síochána) have always had one prime suspect identified in the area at the time and responsible for two othe

On the 23rd of February 2011, 38-year-old Esra Uyrun leaves her home in Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland in the small family car. It’s around 7.20 am and she has told her husband Ozgur that she is just popping out briefly to pick up milk and some bits and pieces for the day at the local early-opening shop in nearby Nielstown. Her husband is busy getting ready for work and looking after their two and a half year old son. He has decided to visit the gym today and will take the car that day. Most often, Esra takes him to work in and picks him up when he finishes later in the day. It’s cool and cloudy and Esra wants to make sure she has everything and won’t have to go out without the car. The couple have been living in Dublin for almost four years since Ozgur secured a better paid job and they moved to Ireland from London. Originally, both are of Turkish heritage and met in the UK. That’s where their families still live. Esra Uyrun was born into a Turkish family in London in 1972. When she li

In the late afternoon, 12th of June, 2009, a man believed to be in his mid-to-late fifties, thin with short grey hair, with a strong German accent checks into the Sligo City Hotel in County Sligo, Ireland. Four days later, on the morning of June 16th, his lifeless body is discovered by a father and son on the sand and rocks at Rosses Point Beach, a short journey from Sligo Town. The body of the man is only partially clothed and it appears he has been the victim of an unfortunate drowning. However, within days, the possible identity of the man and his last known days in Sligo will lead to more perplexing questions for police investigators examining his case. Over the course of several weeks, countless witness interviews and statements, an intriguing mystery of an unidentified man with no known links to the Sligo area, nor Ireland, will begin to unravel. What we can be certain of is the name he used was simply an alias; that he was terminally ill at the time of his visit to Sligo, Irelan

At the time of her disappearance Claire Boylan was 36 years of age, single and living with her parents in Terenure, an upmarket South Dublin suburb in Ireland. Terenure is the same neighbourhood where Eva Brennan attended church on the day she disappeared. Claire, like Eva, was a similar age and described by her family as “shy and retiring and a creature of habit.” On the morning of Sunday the 2nd of March 2003, Claire informed her family that she intended to travel to Tullamore Co. Offaly to meet an old school friend, and left her family home. However, Claire’s friend informed Gardai (Irish police) that Claire never made contact with her to arrange a visit on the 2nd of March, nor did Claire contact her friend subsequently to the day she disappeared. No evidence has emerged that Claire ever travelled the 100 kilometre distance from South Dublin to Tullamore. She was formally reported missing by her brother, Bernard, on Tuesday, 4th March 2003. No evidence or substantive leads in her m

Patricia Doherty, aged 29, was a prison officer at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland. She had returned to her home in Tallaght, Dublin just before 9 pm on the evening of 23rd December 1991, following a busy day of Christmas shopping. But that evening, on a last minute spur of the moment thought, she decided she wanted to get Santa hats for her two young children. Time was of the essence. It was reported that she had a long work shift on Christmas Eve and this was her last chance to have everything organised. She was spotted at two locations, one near the Old Bawn Shopping Centre just before it closed and another by a local pub called Bridget Burke’s. But Patricia never returned home that evening. On Christmas day, Patricia's husband formally reported his wife missing. The Irish police were able to find a witness who reported seeing Patricia at around 9:20pm on the 23rd of December walking past Bridget Burke's Pub towards the Old Bawn Shopping Centre. Then, a second witness cam

In this episode, Radio Espial looks at the unsolved cold case of Antoinette Smith from 1987. I'm delighted to say that I was joined by Ciaran McConnell from Irish Cold Cases and the website Ireland's Vanishing Triangle to review this case. CASE SUMMARY Antoinette Smith and her friend Marie attended a David Bowie concert at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland on Saturday, July 11th, 1987. The pair returned by bus to Dublin City centre arriving at Parnell Square around 11pm that night. They decided to finish their long day out after the concern at the La Mirage Discotheque on Parnell Street a short distance away. It was there that they met two men they knew. Having remained in the two men’s company for the rest of the night, they all left the nightclub shortly after 2am. Antoinette’s friend parted company with the group, deciding to head home while Antoinette stayed on speaking to the two men until all three walked the short distance to a taxi rank on O’Connell Street. The men