In The Dark
Also in Documentary
True Crime
Pirate Predator
by RTÉ Documentary on One
Today: #192 in True Crime, Australia on our combined chart.
Today: #132 in True Crime, New Zealand on our combined chart.
Today: #18 in True Crime, Ireland on our combined chart.
Today: #104 in True Crime, Philippines on our combined chart.
Today: #143 in True Crime, South Africa on our combined chart.
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Ranking history · Canada
No ranking history for this show in Canada over the last 7 days.
Latest episodes
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Unsolved: Philip Cairns New Development
September 23, 2026 · 32 minIn this special episode of Unsolved, documentary maker Peter Mulryan of Pirate Predator joins Barry and Katja to exclusively reveal a new development in the case of missing schoolboy Philip Cairns, who disappeared almost 40 years ago, in…
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Pirate Predator: Bonus - Tips and Full Statement
June 29, 2026 · 34 minThroughout the making of this series, nearly 100 people came forward - by phone, by email, or under the cover of anonymity - all with something to say about Eamon Cooke. This bonus episode features the contacts we just couldn't fit into…
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Pirate Predator: 07 - Endgame
June 22, 2026 · 40 minAfter decades of abusing children with apparent impunity, the law was finally catching up with Eamon Cooke. Determined to stop him, Siobháin took her case to Gardaí—sparking what would become the case of Detective Inspector Gerry Kelly’s…
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Pirate Predator: 06 - Duplicity
June 15, 2026 · 33 minThe 1980s was the decade in Ireland in which Pirate Radio hit both its peak, and also its lowest point when legislation enforced blanket closures. Except of course for Radio Dublin – under Eamon Cooke - who kept on broadcasting. He behaved…
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Pirate Predator: 05 - Defiance
June 8, 2026 · 33 minAs the 1980s dawn, a new breed of super pirate radio stations arrive to rewrite the Irish rulebook, leaving authorities scrambling to respond. But as the decade progresses, Eamon Cooke’s dark, hidden double life continues in the shadows…
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Pirate Predator: 04 - Secrets and Lies
June 1, 2026 · 32 minWith Eamon Cooke at the helm of Radio Dublin, his true image begins to emerge. When child abuse allegations are brought to light, it's hoped that will put a stop to his behaviour. But Captain Cooke grows even bolder and sets out to bury…
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Pirate Predator: 03 - Mutiny
May 25, 2026 · 33 minIn 1978, Radio Dublin made history as Ireland's first 24-hour station. But behind the scenes, a darker story was unfolding. Eamon Cooke, already a convicted criminal, was now in control of the pirate station Radio Dublin and began using…
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Pirate Predator: 02 - The Innocent
May 18, 2026 · 32 minHaving spent much of his youth and early adult life in some serious tangles with the law, all of a sudden, Eamon Cooke turns the other cheek. It’s as if he was trying to build a shield of protection around himself while at the same time…
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Pirate Predator: 01 - The Electrician
May 11, 2026 · 31 minLong before he ruled the airwaves of Dublin’s pirate radio scene, Eamon Cooke was a man defined by a different kind of interference. His youth wasn't just rebellious; it was at times violent, volatile and unpredictable. These were the…
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Pirate Predator: Trailer
April 29, 2026 · 5 minPublishing weekly from May 11th 2026, Pirate Predator is a new series from RTÉ telling the definitive story of Eamon Cooke, a man of many faces who, on one hand, became a cult like figure - filling a void for disillusioned youth through…
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First Conviction: 02 - Waiting & Hoping
October 8, 2025 · 29 minIt’s only after four days in hospital that Sayeed and Halawa begin to understand they’re in real difficulty. No one appears to believe them. Within a week of arriving to hospital with their injured daughter, they’re sitting in a police…
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First Conviction: 01 - The Incident
October 8, 2025 · 29 minSeptember 2016 is where this story begins. A young married couple are at home in Dublin on a Friday morning with their two young children. Having changed her nappy, their 21 month old daughter turns, runs and falls. Her cries startle her…
About the show
Pirate Predator tells the story of Eamon Cooke, a man of many faces who, on one hand, became a cult like figure - filling a void for disillusioned youth through Radio Dublin in the 1970s and 1980s- while on the other became one of Ireland's most prolific child sexual abusers.
Narrated by Peter Mulryan, who encountered Cooke in the 1980s, Pirate Predator uncovers the chilling true story of 'Captain Cooke' and how he used the cover of pirate radio to groom and abuse, hiding a decades-long reign of terror in plain sight.
This series features scenes of child sex abuse. If affected by any issues raised, please visit rte.ie/helplines
If you have any information or knowledge about this story, please email us documentaries@rte.ie.
Previous RTÉ Documentary On One series include Stolen Sister, Where is Jón?, The Real Carrie Jade, Runaway Joe, Finding Samantha, First Consignment, GunPlot, Tiger Roll and The Nobody Zone.