PODCAST

Assume Nothing

BBC Radio Ulster

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

true crime documentary

All Episodes

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25:38

Episode 1: A Nightmare About to Dawn

Assume Nothing ·

2022/08/20

Irish journalist Martin Barry was only 30 years old when he died at the Dignitas Clinic in Zurich, accompanied by his ex girlfriend Laura McDaid.The night before he died, he asked Laura to fulfil his last request: to track down his birth mother and pass on a message.Martin had been born in a mother and baby home in Co. Cork in Ireland. He'd never met his birth mother.Twenty years later, along with her producer Kerry Jamison, Laura embarks on a search that will take her from the top of this island to

32:35

The Handler Episode 8: The Enemy Within

Assume Nothing ·

2022/05/21

Dramatised memoir of a Special Branch officer operating at the outset of the Northern Ireland Troubles. James (not his real name) runs a network of informers and sources operating along the border area of South Down and South Armagh during the worst years of violence. For both handler and source, it’s a matter of life and death. Some names, dates and details have been changed to protect the living.Episode 8: The Enemy Within James is shocked to discover his home phone has been tapped by British

31:10

The Handler Episode 7: Blurred Lines

Assume Nothing ·

2022/05/21

A dramatized memoir of a Special Branch Officer operating at the outset of the Northern Ireland Troubles. James (not his real name) runs a network of informers and sources operating along the border area of South Down and South Armagh during the worst years of violence. For both Handler and Source, it’s a matter of life and death. Some names, dates and details have been changed to protect the living.Episode 7: Blurred linesJames is worried that too many agencies have become involved in intelligence

31:26

The Handler Episode 6: The Irish Englishman

Assume Nothing ·

2022/05/21

Dramatised memoir of a Special Branch officer operating at the outset of the Northern Ireland Troubles. James (not his real name) runs a network of informers and sources operating along the border area of South Down and South Armagh during the worst years of violence. For both handler and source, it’s a matter of life and death. Some names, dates and details have been changed to protect the living.Episode 6: The Irish Englishman When James and the Military Intelligence officer meet a source in a

26:41

The Handler Episode 5: The Quartermaster

Assume Nothing ·

2022/05/21

A dramatised memoir of a Special Branch officer operating at the outset of the Northern Ireland Troubles. James (not his real name) runs a network of informers and sources operating along the border area of South Down and South Armagh during the worst years of violence. For both Handler and Source, it’s a matter of life and death. Some names, dates and details have been changed to protect the living.Episode 5: The Quartermaster James is working late at Newry Police Station when a shot is fired

34:31

The Handler Episode 4: Internment day

Assume Nothing ·

2022/05/21

A dramatized memoir of a Special Branch Officer operating at the outset of the Northern Ireland Troubles. James (not his real name) runs a network of informers and sources operating along the border area of South Down and South Armagh during the worst years of violence. For both Handler and Source, it’s a matter of life and death. Some names, dates and details have been changed to protect the living.Episode 4: Internment day James recalls the chaos of the 9th August 1971, when hundreds of men were

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