The Kerry Babies: An Irish Scandal

On 16th of April 1984, a man jogging on a beach in West Kerry found the body of a newborn baby. The child had been stabbed to death. Nobody knew who his parents were, where he had come from, how he handed up on that beach – and nobody knew his name.

The discovery on the beach would lead to multiple garda investigations and would see a small family from rural County Kerry thrown into the national spotlight. It would become a case centred around staggering claims made against one young woman, and allegations of intimidation and coercion against the country’s leading detectives.

In this episode, John tells us about how the search to solve the case of that baby on the beach in County Kerry would become a national scandal that would change Ireland forever.

Presented by John Sweetman

Created by Darren Cleary

Episode Written by David Malone

Script Edited by Eoin Brennan and Siobhan Walsh

Produced by Siobhan Walsh & Aoife Plunkett

Executive Produced by Eoin Brennan

Executive Produced by Ruth Fitzsimons

Sound Design and Editing by Neil Kavanagh

Audio Editing Support by Ed Smith

Marketing Support by Laura Bracken and Róisín Reilly

Social Support by Mark Hayes and Robyn Ree

Artwork and Graphics by Eric Rowntree