#46 | The Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier

‘My fake name is Mairead Kelly.’

This week on Up To 90 we talk a murder that shook nineties regional Ireland: the as yet unsolved murder of Madame Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

On 23rd December 1996, the body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found in the small community of Schull in West Cork, Ireland. From the outset the case was plagued with unanswered questions and little if any tangible clues; but local suspicion fell on fellow ‘blow-in’; Ian Bailey.

This was a case that explored bias towards divorced women; exposed another social taboo at the time in rural Ireland which was that of domestic violence, threw eccentricities into the spotlight, introduced Irish media to salacious rumours and conspiracy theories, asked questions of Garda policing decisions and remains an open case that has haunted communities and families for over two decades.

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