logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
27m 10s

Finding Samantha: 01 - GPO Girl

RTÉ
About this episode

2013 - A distressed teenage girl is found wandering in front of the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin city centre. As suspicions rise that she’s the victim of serious crime, everyone scrambles to help her and to get to the bottom of her story. But a massive month long investigation by the Irish authorities reveal nothing about her. In desperation, the Gardaí (Police) release a photograph of the girl to the public with spectacular results. And the story of who the GPO Girl is takes us far beyond the streets of Dublin. (Ep 1/7) 

Credits: Finding Samantha is written, recorded and produced by Sharon Davis in Australia and Tim Desmond and Nicoline Greer in Ireland. Soundtrack composed by Paddy Flynn. Sound Engineer is Damian Chennells. Executive Producer is Liam O’Brien.

If you have any information or tips on this story, email us documentaries@rte.ie For further information on the series visit www.rte.ie/findingsamantha   



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 4
Stolen Sister: 06 - Irrelevant Victims
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 ... Show More
26m 27s
Jun 27
Stolen Sister: 05 - The Trials
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 ... Show More
27m 27s
Jun 20
Stolen Sister: 04 - Confessions
With the nation on high alert, two Gardaí in Galway spot and arrest Ireland’s two most wanted men. Quickly brought in for questioning, Shaw and Evans find themselves at the center of a desperate investigation. Gardaí believe Mary Duffy could still be alive, and now they need the ... Show More
28m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
#286 - The Black Cap Farce (Edith McQuaid, Soho, UK)
On 1st January 1932, in the attic room of 27 Old Compton Street in Soho, 19-year-old domestic servant Edith McQuaid gave birth to a baby boy. Whether he died of natural causes, or she took his life by infanticide will never be known. But she wasn't alone. Edith was one of 1000s o ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2025
#287 - The PIN Heads (Xyaire Howard / Chelsea Grant)
On Tuesday 6th of September 2022, 71-year-old Susan Hawkey was last seen entering her flat on Aylesbury Street in Neasden. Nobody saw her, nobody heard her, and – although vulnerable and afraid - no-one was looking out for her. And yet, the quiet isolation of her flat aided her b ... Show More
1h 5m
May 2020
Shapearl
Having taken her investigation as far as she can, Shapearl moves on to an even bigger fight: making sure this never happens to anyone else’s child. She travels to Brazil to speak at a summit of mothers of murdered children and works to honor Courtney’s legacy and advocate for pol ... Show More
28m 51s
Jun 9
MISSING: The Gospel Trio
In 1980, two women and a two-year-old girl seemingly vanish into thin air on their way back from a gospel concert in Lowcountry, South Carolina, and their mysterious disappearance leaves their families pushing for justice for decades.Anyone with information regarding the disappea ... Show More
45m 35s
Aug 2024
Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner - 583
On November 6, 2001, at Keystone State Park in Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Bagby was found dead with five gunshot wounds. Dr. Shirley Turner, a recent girlfriend, became the number one suspect. She fled to Canada, her home country, and awaited a decision on extradition. In July 2002 ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2025
The Eleven Who Went to Heaven: The Case Against Ed Bell Pt. 2
In Texas, convicted murderer Ed Bell claimed he killed 11 girls between Houston and Galveston back in the 1970s. Reporter Lise Olsen and detective Fred Paige investigated those claims and uncovered eerie ties between Bell and several unresolved murders. In particular, they focuse ... Show More
35m 22s
Jun 18
Why Erin Patterson’s lies ‘point to innocence’
Erin Patterson told lies - but that doesn’t make her a murderer. That’s the core of her defence barrister’s argument in the Victorian Supreme Court, where Patterson, a 50-year-old mother of two, has pleaded not guilty to murdering three elderly relatives and attempting to murder ... Show More
9m 45s
Apr 25
Les Miserables storms the barricades with an arena spectacular
Irresistible melodies, stirring lyrics and a ripping story of injustice and revolt: Les Miserables is back. Today: Review editor and Les Mis superfan Tim Douglas on this enduring theatrical delight.  Find out more about The Front podcast here. You can read about this story and mo ... Show More
14m 17s
May 2024
Introducing: Sins of the Child
On November 30, 2021, when Ethan Crumbley opened fire on his classmates at Oxford High School killing four students, the reactions to this modern American phenomenon were sadly familiar. The events that unfolded in the aftermath of the Michigan shooting, however, were anything bu ... Show More
2m 12s