Molly minders: Why the famous Dublin statue is being protected from tourists
For years tourists have been told it’s a tradition in Dublin to rub Molly Malone’s breasts – “for luck”. Something that’s news to residents of the capital.And it is causing damage – not just to the look of the piece but also to its stability and that has prompted Dublin City Council to take action. Every day this week “Molly minders” were at the statue with one job – to stop tourists climbing up to touch her.The metal statue made by sculptor Jeanne Rynhart in 1988 shows all the signs of constant friction – the patina has rubbed off her breasts leaving them gleaming in the sunshine, a contrast to the dull finish on the rest of the near life-size figures.But that’s been obvious for at least a decade, what hasn’t been so visible is the damage people clambering up on Molly is doing to the structure of the piece and increase her stability is now in place.Irish Times Dublin editor Olivia Kelly explains why Dublin City Council has moved to protect the statue and what will happen next.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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India's conflict with Pakistan, explained
India has conducted what it has described as “precision strikes” in neighbouring Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, days after it blamed Islamabad for a deadly attack on the Indian side of the contested region that killed 26 people.At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured by the Indian strikes, according to Pakistani officials.The Indian government claimed that nine non-military targets had been hit, in what it called “Operation Sindoor”.The military operation by India represents yet another bloody chapter in the decades-long simmering conflict over Kashmir, often called the Switzerland of India because of its lakes, forests and snow-capped mountains.The contested nature of the territory means that Kashmir is one of the most militarised zones in the world.To understand what happened this week – and why – it’s necessary to look back to 1947 when Pakistan and India became independent from Britain and when both claimed Kashmir.Shashank Joshi, defence Eeditor with The Economist magazine, explains the background and explores the fears of further hostilities in one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dublin pipe bomb attack: How a criminal gang used a drone to target their victim
In the early hours of Monday morning, a drone carrying a pipe bomb, a viable explosive device, crashed beside a family's home in North County Dublin. But who was controlling the drone and who or what was the intended target? Irish Times security and crime editor Conor Lally reports. Presented by Sorcha Pollak, produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Patrick Freyne on Africa’s forgotten war
Chad now hosts 1.3 million forcibly displaced people, according to the UNHCR, despite itself being one of the world’s poorest countries. More than half of these refugees are Sudanese, mostly women and children, who have fled the fighting between rival militaries which erupted in April 2023.It has been called “the forgotten war” because of the lack of media coverage and global attention particularly on the plight of the refugees who live in sprawling refugee camps.The reasons why so few journalists have gone to the African country to report on the war and the massive displacement of Sundanese people include the difficulty in getting there and safety issues.Two Irish Times journalists, writer Patrick Freyne and videographer Chris Maddaloni, travelled to East Chad in April to report from the refugee camps there.Their trip was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.They tell In the News about what they saw and heard and explore why the world has turned its back on this war.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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25:47
Australia mushroom poisoning: how a family lunch ended in tragedy
Note: This episode was originally published in August 2023. In July 2023, four relatives attended a family lunch at the home of Erin Patterson, a mother of two from Leongatha in Australia. Within days of the lunch, three of the guests were dead, with a fourth left fighting for his life in hospital. A beef wellington that was served for lunch on the day is suspected to have contained poisonous death cap mushrooms. But why were they in there? A court in Australia must now decipher whether it was simply a tragic accident or if there was something more sinister at play. Patterson's trial opened last week in Victoria, Australia and is expected to last six weeks. She is facing three murder charges and one of attempted murder. In 2023, following Patterson’s arrest, Bernice Harrison spoke to John Ferguson, a journalist with The Australian who outlined the details of the case; while retired homicide investigator Charlie Bezzina, who has worked on some of Australia’s most high-profile cases explained the challenges for police in a case such as this. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In The News is a daily podcast from The Irish Times that takes a close look at the stories that matter, in Ireland and around the world. Presented by Bernice Harrison and Sorcha Pollak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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