Documentary on One Podcast

As a combined project of a podcast series and TV documentary, First Conviction was over 15 months in production. In this bonus episode - and in a first for RTÉ - we give an insight into how the entire production was made through all of those involved.

 Hosted by Aoife Hegarty (Deputy Editor, RTÉ Investigates), we hear from Tim Desmond (Producer, RTÉ Documentary On One), Philip Gallagher (Director, RTÉ Investigates), Pamela Frah...

Having spent two years in jail, Sayeed and Halawa are relieved when the Court of Appeal make a ruling on their case. As they return home to their children, they hope life might begin to return to normal - but nothing about their lives is now normal. The DPP continues to pursue this case. A second trial takes place, before a third is scheduled - until the moment they’ve waited so long for, arrives - and everyone finally starts to be...

Just a quick message to say we’re pausing the release of the concluding episode of this series until this day next week - Wednesday November 12th, the same day on which our TV documentary from RTÉ Investigates airs on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.

If you do have any knowledge or information on this story please contact us immediately and in confidence by emailing documentaries@rte.ie or investigations@rte.ie or you can leave an anonymous tip o...

Having been found guilty and sentenced to 5 years in prison, Sayeed and Halawa are taken to separate jails in Ireland to serve out their sentences. Deprived of their freedom, and with their children now placed in the care of relatives, life in prison is hard beyond belief. But they cannot give up hope - and from inside their prison cells, they begin to fight back to get justice… If you have any information or knowledge about this s...

Sayeed and Halawa are facing two charges in court - an act of FGM against their daughter, and child cruelty. If found guilty, they face up to 14 years in prison. Despite all medical witnesses agreeing FGM did happen, as Sayeed takes the stand to give evidence, he is confident the truth will come out… If you have any information or knowledge about this story please email us documentaries@rte.ie or investigations@rte.ie or you can gi...

Having had their children under supervision and monitored by authorities for three years, and having had to sign on bail twice weekly during that time, Sayeed and Halawa finally face trial, the first of its kind in Ireland. They continue to say the crime never happened and hope that finally, someone will listen… If you have any information or knowledge about this story please email us documentaries@rte.ie or investigations@rte.ie o...

It’s only after four days in hospital that Sayeed and Halawa begin to understand they’re in real difficulty. No one appears to believe them. Within a week of arriving to hospital with their injured daughter, they’re sitting in a police station, answering questions about what happened. It’s beginning to feel like the entire system is closing in around them… If you have any information or knowledge about this story please email us do...

September 2016 is where this story begins. A young married couple are at home in Dublin on a Friday morning with their two young children. Having changed her nappy, their 21 month old daughter turns, runs and falls. Her cries startle her parents who go to comfort her. As they pick her up, they notice she’s bleeding. Panicked, they take her to hospital - where everything begins to spiral out of control… If you have any information o...

An investigation into the case of a couple imprisoned for a crime against their child - that never happened…

Publishing weekly from October 8th 2025 - a new 6-part podcast series & TV doc (Nov 12th) from RTÉ Documentary On One and RTÉ Investigates.

Previous series include Stolen Sister, Where is Jón?, The Real Carrie Jade, Runaway Joe, Finding Samantha, First Consignment, GunPlot, Tiger Roll and The ...

Over the last seven weeks we have heard from many people who have had interactions with John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. Up to twenty people have provided us with accounts of attempted abductions, sightings and various interactions with Shaw and Evans. In this episode, we bring you these accounts in full. An Garda Síochána have now appealed to anybody with information to report it to any station in the Wexford/Wicklow Garda divisions....

As this series has been publishing, we’ve been contacted by many listeners, including about a dozen contacts from people who are new witnesses to events around Ireland in September 1976 - and who it appears could have been potential victims of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. Even after all these years, new information is still out there on Elizabeth’s story - and with new witnesses stepping forward, the pressure now increases on the ...

Having lived over 40 years with the loss of Elizabeth, the Plunkett family are taken aback when in 2023, they’re approached by the Parole Board. John Shaw is looking to get out of prison. Elizabeth’s family are invited to submit their views on his potential release. Can they stop him from getting freedom? This process unlocks a series of events where Elizabeth's siblings begin to realise that nothing is as it seems - and that their...

With the heartbreaking recovery of both Elizabeth and Mary’s remains, the investigation’s focus sharpens. The men, isolated in solitary confinement for months, are finally brought before the courts. But things take a strange twist when Shaw and Evans, once united in their actions, now turn on each other—each blaming the other for the murders. This results in a judge deciding there’ll be four separate trials, ensuring each man faces...