PODCAST

Assume Nothing

BBC Radio Ulster

The teams assume nothing as they examine events through fresh eyes.

true crime documentary

All Episodes

14:25

Episode 5: (Long, long) After the Gold Rush

Assume Nothing ·

2023/04/01

In the summer of 1969, weeks before the Troubles would ignite, children playing in the rubble of a demolition site struck gold! While searching for treasure hundreds, maybe thousands of gold sovereigns, hidden and forgotten years before, tumbled to the ground from a chimney stack. More than 50 years later, author Glenn Patterson visits the Lower Shankill Road to find out who the coins belonged to. Why were they hidden? And where are they now?Written and presented by Glenn Patterson Sound by Bill

14:22

Episode 4: Tragedy

Assume Nothing ·

2023/04/01

14:34

Episode 3: Whose Gold?

Assume Nothing ·

2023/04/01

15:26

Episode 5: Suspect in the house?

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

Questions are raised about the circumstances surrounding how some potential witnesses were interviewed. Who else was present and why? A family friend brings a shocking claim, and we hear from former solicitor Ernie Waterworth. The investigation takes sharp change in direction. Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production

27:23

Episode 6: End of the Line?

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

A new twist brings a devastating blow for Ryan Quinn’s family. Was someone burning clothes on the street late at night? We hear of the ongoing impact of Ryan’s death on his family and friends, and we travel to Portrush to the scene of his death where we make a surprise discovery. Where is the investigation now? Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production.

26:33

Episode 4: A Murder Investigation

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

At Ryan’s funeral it is announced the police have opened a murder investigation into his death. The PSNI share information on some key aspects of the case – but will the police change their tactics? We discover the driver of the train has an unsettling flashback that has a bearing on the case. Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production.

17:45

Episode 3: Attacked?

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

We know how Ryan died and that he allegedly ran from a nearby bar and got trapped on the tracks. But why? Serious allegations emerge about what happened before Ryan found himself in the path of an oncoming train. What will a witness from inside the bar reveal? And after a year of communication, will the PSNI finally agree to speak? Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production

19:52

Episode 2: The Call

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

We retrace Ryan Quinn’s movements that day. Exactly where had he been and what brought him to the tracks? A breath-taking phone call strikes fear into the heart of a concerned father. Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland Production.

21:11

Episode 1: The Train

Assume Nothing ·

2023/01/07

Heavy winds and rain batter the seaside town of Portrush in January 2009. A fourteen-year-old boy’s night out has gone badly wrong. He lies on the railway tracks in front of an oncoming train. Less than two miles away, his father becomes aware his son is in danger and starts running to the tracks on the other side of town. It soon becomes clear, what happened that night and afterwards – is not as it first appears. Produced and presented by Vinny Hurrell. Executive Editor: Andy Martin A BBC

23:05

Episode 6: The Maze

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.As the maid starts her new life at Brides, she finds the work physically demanding but spiritually rewarding. However, when a much-loved house keeper leaves the community, the maid soon becomes unhappy and decides to leave – but events take a dark turn.After a court case and a dispute over ownership of the house, the Silver Sisterhood leave

20:43

Episode 4: The Headmistress

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.Patrick in Burtonport recalls visiting the house to photograph images of the Silver Sisterhood’s new computer game, The Secret of St Brides - but he is surprised by what he finds inside.Conor finally makes contact with the mysterious headmistress of St Brides School and she agrees to talk about her time in Burtonport – what can she reveal about the

19:47

Episode 3: A Flash in the Dark

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.Conor travels to Burtonport to find out what locals remember about the Silver Sisterhood. He hears strange tales of women running through the street at midnight wearing clogs, reports of a ‘padded room’ - and the retired postmaster recalls a dispute involving another group who lived in the house before the Silver Sisterhood arrived - a cult known as

16:17

Episode 2: The Flickering Candle

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.A BBC crew attends the opening ceremony for the school, hosted by an enigmatic headmistress who appears to change her name regularly – but what is the real purpose of St Brides?A newspaper journalist visits the house and recalls a strange evening full of unexpected surprises, what can she reveal?Meanwhile, Conor tracks down a former resident of the

17:04

Episode 1: The Silver Sisterhood

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.The mistresses and ‘girls’ appear to believe that they live not only in a different century, but in an entirely different world.They are The Silver Sisterhood, a deeply religious group of women who worship a feminine God. They wear Victorian clothing, reject modernity and live by candlelight – but mysteriously they also begin to release a series of

22:56

Episode 5: The Maid

Assume Nothing ·

2022/10/22

Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.The headmistress discusses the philosophy behind the Silver Sisterhood’s computer games and explores their complicated relationship with physical discipline – which they feel was misunderstood by the outside world.A young student finds a strange book in her local bookshop and decides to visit the Silver Sisters in Donegal.Produced and presented by

25:54

Episode 6: The Final Throw

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

Laura McDaid is trying to fulfil a last request to her friend, Irish journalist Martin Barry to track down his birth mother and pass on a message. Martin died at the Dignitas Clinic in Zurich 17 years ago.Laura visits Bessborough to see for herself where Martin was born.His adoption file feels like the last chance she has to find her, will it provide the information that she needs?

25:53

Episode 5: Bleeding from the Ears

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

Laura McDaid is searching for the birth mother of a close friend who died 17 years ago at Dignitas.She revisits a story Martin worked on 20 years ago - and speaks to his source for that story. Might it hold some clues?

25:35

Episode 4: The Celebrity

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

Laura McDaid is searching for the birth mother of a close friend who died 17 years ago at Dignitas.As concerns surface that his birth mother may have already told him she didn't want to meet, Laura explores what rejection can feel like with another Bessborough survivor. Could a DNA link to a UK celebrity be on the cards?

25:45

Episode 3: The Prodigal Son

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

Laura McDaid held her ex's hand as he died at the Dignitas Clinic. Seventeen years later, she begins a search to fulfil his last request: to find his birth mother and pass on a message.As the search intensifies, Laura speaks to a Bessborough survivor who tells her that she suspects records were deliberately falsified at the institution.As Laura makes contact with a woman she think's could be Martin's mother, a chance phone call could change everything.

26:03

Episode 2: Absolutely Terrified

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

BBC reporter Laura McDaid held Martin Barry's hand as he died at the Dignitas Clinic. 17 years later, she begins a search to fulfil his last request: to find his birth mother and pass on a message.To move forward with the search, Laura first needs to explain why it's taken her 17 years to have the strength to search for Martin's mother.She takes Kerry back to the aftermath of Martin's death, and how it was handled by the press at the time.Will the records provide her with any further

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Assume Nothing

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