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Story Notes
Some call it treasure hunting, many more would call it looting. During the 1980’s and 1990’s archeological treasures in Ireland including coins, gold and stone carvings were stolen, exported and traded by gangs operating mostly in the midlands of Ireland. Tim Desmond uncovers a story of archeological theft and international intrigue and how one man became a suspect in a theft that continues to cause mystery and mischief.
In January 1990 a Sheela na Gig, a medieval stone carving featuring exposed female genitalia, was taken from the ruins of Kiltinan Church, near Fetherd in County Tipperary.
A publicity campaign was organised to find the carving which was estimated to be worth millions and the story flashed around the world. A local archeology enthusiast Jim O’Connor was questioned by Gardai about the theft. Jim maintains he was innocent and offered to carve a replica to replace the missing Sheela na gig.
Some time later, in the United States, an attempt was made by another Irish man to sell stolen carvings to the Burns Library at Boston College, an institution which hosts a large archive of Irish historical material. That case also received international attention and led to a sting by the FBI, with the assistance of the Garda Siochána to recover the stolen goods. But was the Kiltinan Sheela na Gig part of that haul? Tim Desmond follows the story of the Two Sheelas.
Since first broadcast, A Tale of Two Sheelas has won a 2019 New York Festivals Radio Awards Finalist Certificate.
Narrated and produced by Tim Desmond
RTÉ Radio 1; Saturday September 15th @1pm
An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries
Awards
2019 New York Festivals Radio Awards Finalist Certificate.
Story Credits