The Murderer, the Memoirist & the Mystery That Lingers

On episode 123 of The Fifth Court, we’re joined by Mark O’Connell, Irish Times contributor and author of the acclaimed A Thread of Violence, his gripping account of the life — and crimes — of Malcolm MacArthur.

In conversation with barristers Peter Leonard BL and Mark Tottenham BL, and recorded at the inaugural Kilkenny Law Festival 2025, O’Connell reflects on:

• The extraordinary access he had to MacArthur
• The unsettling contradictions at the heart of the man and the murders
• And the personal and ethical tightrope of writing about someone capable of extreme violence

He also shares behind-the-scenes stories and details that didn’t make it into the book — including a few surprises even seasoned observers may not know such as his preoccupation with dust...

If you thought you knew the MacArthur story… think again.

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook and discussed by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL.

These cases are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

This episodes cases include;

• A professional negligence action against two firms of solicitors
• A Judicial Review of a Compulsory Purchase Order of a farm brought against a Local Authority
• And, a Summary Judgement case involving a loan that had a number of previous 'owners'.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or at thefifthcourt.ie

#TheFifthCourt #IrishCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #LegalPodcast #MarkOConnell #ATreadofViolence #MalcolmMacArthur #IrishLaw #TrueCrimeIreland #IrishWriters #BarristersView #PodcastRecommendation #LinkedInVoices

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E122 The Fifth Court

Frank McNally, author of Irish Times 'An Irishman's Diary', on Bloomsday, June 16th 1904 - The many legal themes running through one of the great English language books.

His cultural recommendation, 'The Third Policeman', by Flann O'Brien

His movie choice is 'All the President's Men'

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook and discussed by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL.

These cases are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Cases include

• A Personal Injuries case involving the Hotel Kilkenny and a claim about a wet floor
• A case where a businessman breached several equitable reliefs
• A judgement debt that had not been extinguished by a previous settlement agreement

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

Episode 121 of The Fifth Court is the first of a mini-series of the podcast recorded at the Kilkenny Law Festival 2025, held from May 16–18 in Kilkenny City. It offered a dynamic weekend of discussions on contemporary and historical legal topics aimed at making legal discourse accessible and engaging, blending serious analysis with entertainment - a bit like our own podcast!

The event featured a diverse lineup of speakers, including judges, journalists, academics, and legal practitioners. Topics ranged from the impact of AI and blockchain on the legal profession to discussions on censorship, defamation, and constitutional reform.

• On this episode co-host Peter Leonard chats to Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger, appointed as a Judge of the High Court in January 2022. She is very well known for work in employment and equality law. She co-authored seminal legal texts such as Criminal Law (with Peter Charleton and Paul Anthony McDermott), Sex Discrimination and the Law, and Employment Equality Law and served as Chairperson of the Employment Bar Association of Ireland as well as being a member of the executive board of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
• Notable Judgments:
• In a 2024 case, emphasized the importance of firsthand recollections in traumatic events, stating that assumptions about memory fading shouldn't apply to unusual incidents like witnessing a death outside a nightclub.
• In 2025, ruled that a plaintiff's claim regarding defective breast implants was sufficiently pleaded, allowing the case to proceed.

Her cultural recommendation, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia (2025) by Phillipe Sands. He examines the cases of Augusto Pinochet and Nazi officer Walther Rauff, highlighting issues of impunity and international justice.

The episode also includes recent important cases drawn from the Decisis casebook and discussed by Mark Tottenham BL and Peter Leonard BL.

These cases are brought to you thanks to Charltons Solicitors and Collaborative Practitioners, Georges St. Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Cases include

• A case involving a failure to comply with a court order
• A wind turbine operation restriction to minimise noise, particularly at night
• A High Court decision involving a Norwich Pharmacal Order, a type of court order compelling a third party—usually an innocent but involved party, like an internet service provider, bank, or social media platform—to disclose information that can help identify a wrongdoer.

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