Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy: Innocence Lost

Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy: Innocence Lost

From Lines of Enquiry by GoLoud

March 3, 2026 · 1h 38m · Season 2 · Episode 10

About this episode

This episode explores the cases of Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy, two young women who went missing in Ireland in the 1970s, and the hunt for the country's first serial killers.

In the August of 1976, a young Dublin woman named Elizabeth Plunkett, went missing while on holidays in Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow. Her friends and family searched through sand dunes, forests and along the roads for a trace of her - All to no avail.   Across the country, another young woman Mary Duffy read a newspaper article about Elizabeth Plunkett’s case with tears in her eyes. A few days later, she too vanished.  In this episode of Lines of Enquiry, John takes us back to Ireland’s first serial killers and the cross country man hunt to find them and finally bring them to justice. This episode contains mention of rape and sexual assault. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast help is available. Contact Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s National 24-Hour Helpline on 1800 77 8888. If you might be interested in a Lines of Enquiry live show - Let us know by filling out this survey: bauermediaireland.jotform.com/260255277392057 We would appreciate if you could please follow the podcast on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/linesofenquirypodcast Presented by John Sweetman Created by Darren Cleary Episode Written by Siobhan Walsh and Eoin Brennan…

People in this episode

Host: John Sweetman

Topics covered

  • true crime
  • missing persons
  • serial killers
  • Ireland
  • 1970s
  • investigation
  • justice

Keywords

  • Elizabeth Plunkett
  • Mary Duffy
  • missing persons
  • serial killers
  • true crime
  • Ireland
  • 1976
  • investigation
  • justice
  • rape

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, GoLoud

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