Scannal

The story of Fr Brendan Smyth whose abuse of the children in his care was known within the Catholic Church as early as the 1940s. The programme depicts how he was sheltered in an abbey in County Cavan - despite the fact that at the time he wanted by the RUC. The case not only opened thorough investigations into child abuse within the church - but also brought down the government of the day.

"In 1999, after many years of heated debate, Telecom Éireann was finally being sold off. The ordinary people of Ireland were to be given a golden opportunity to share in the economic boom. Overnight they would be catapulted into the frantic world of the stock market. People who had never bought a share in their lives were going to make a killing. This was touted as a ‘sure fire’ thing and a nest egg for many in later life. A new shareholding democracy! The PR machinery went into overdrive. Glossy ads beamed down on us night and day to the tribal rhythm of Dúlamán, enticing us to take ownership of our birthright and shares in our national telecommunications system, Telecom Éireann. Many people fell under the spell of the Dúlamán, over a half a million in fact. But even then, they had to apply in advance and hope that they would get the right to buy shares, while still ignorant of the price! The much anticipated flotation day finally arrived on 9thJuly, 1999. Mary O’Rourke – then Minister for Public Enterprise, Charlie McCreevey – then Minister for Finance, Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and Telecom CEO, Alfie Kane revealed the share price – €3.90 per share. Only one in ten of the almost 600,000 new shareholders sold their shares for a quick profit. Most people were in for the long haul. Flotation fever turned to mild concern when the share price reflected market unease and began to trend downwards. But the message from above was quite clear: ‘don’t panic. Everything will be all right.’ The Government gave the added incentive of an end-of-year share bonus if people held on till then – and that’s what most of them did. But the share price continued to go in one direction only and that was down. Disbelief turned to anger as it emerged that executives and company directors had received huge bonuses and stock options on foot of the flotation. Senator Shane Ross and broadcaster Eamon Dunphy took up the fight. Ang

The story of the Dunnes Stores strike of the mid-80s in which twelve workers went on strike against the company's handling of goods from apartheid South Africa. The case lasted for over two years, with many international humans rights organisations became involved.

The story of disgraced Fianna Fail politician, Ray Burke. A popular man who had status and power but lost it all because of his involvement in corrupt politics. Contributions from Cathal MacGiolla, Sean Duignan, Frank Buckley, Oliver Barry of Century Radio, James Gogarty, Cilm MacEochlaidh, and developer Michael Bailey.

The story of the Aer Lingus Tuskar Rock air crash in 1968, the single biggest loss in the history of Ireland aviation with fifty seven passengers missing. The programme attempts to investigate some of the causes of the accident and the various conspiracies that followed in its wake.

The Republic had qualified for their first major tournament in 8 years. The country was awash with colour in the build-up, the feel-good factor was in evidence and fans were spending thousands of Euro travelling to support the Boys in Green in the Far-East. The team were based on the tiny, idyllic Pacific island of Saipan, for a bit of R&R, before the tournament began. Then we were hit with the biggest bombshell of all time in Irish sport: team captain and our most famous player Roy Keane was being sent home. What followed can only be described as madness. Keane, McCarthy and Saipan was the only topic of conversation in the home, in the workplace and on the street. Why was he sent home? Who was to blame? Could it be resolved? Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy had never seen eye to eye, but the average fan thought they could have put their differences behind them for the sake of the nation. Everything came to a head when Keane gave an interview to the Irish Times which was printed in full, where he let his feelings be known about what he felt was the lack of ambition and organisation within the Irish set-up. Mick McCarthy was extremely unhappy and called a team meeting where he brought up the topic of Keane’s article. This was like a red rag to a bull. Keane is reputed to have vented his spleen in an attack which lasted ten minutes, as he told McCarthy what he really thought of him. With the backing of the senior players, the Irish manager had no option but to send Keane home. Back home, the country was split down the middle. Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern was asked to get involved. Niall Quinn liaised from Japan with Keane’s agent and his own agent, Michael Kennedy, hoping to find a compromise. Eventually, it looked like there was a chance Keane could come back into the squad, if he apologised. The stage was set. Keane decided to give an exclusive interview to RTÉ and it was felt that he needed to give some concessions. He never did apologise howev