A notorious figure in Waterford city, Conny Mernin made national news on several occasions for his daring escapes from both Ballybricken and Clonmel jails.

A life of crime began at an early age, his first arrest occurred when he was only 11-years-old.

However, did a spell in reformatory and the penal system contribute to Mernin’s criminal activities rather than reform and rehabilitate him?

Repeated attempts to better his lot appeared to be exacerbated by the society in which he inhabited…

This is a truly sorry tale from the history books of Waterford on the harshness of the justice system and how it seems to have failed Conny Mernin and sealed his fate in life.

Listen back to the full story with resident historian Cian Manning, on air every Wednesday morning just after the news at 9.

Keep up to date on all the latest from The Big Breakfast Blaa with Ollie and Dymphna from 6am until 10am daily.

A notorious figure in Waterford city, Conny Mernin made national news on several occasions for his daring escapes from both Ballybricken and Clonmel jails.
A life of crime began at an early age, his first arrest occurred when he was only 11-years-old.
However, did a spell in reformatory and the penal system contribute to Mernin&rsquo;s criminal activities rather than reform and rehabilitate him?
Repeated attempts to better his lot appeared to be exacerbated by the society in which he inhabited&hellip;
This is a truly sorry tale from the history books of Waterford on the harshness of the justice system and how it seems to have failed Conny Mernin and sealed his fate in life.
Listen back to the full story with resident historian Cian Manning, on air every Wednesday morning just after the news at 9.
<a href="https://wlrfm.com/podcasts/the-big-breakfast-blaa">Keep up to date on all the latest from The Big Breakfast Blaa with Ollie and Dymphna from 6am until 10am daily.</a>

Start your day with Ollie Carroll, Dymphna Nugent and the WLR News team on The Big Breakfast Blaa, who will bring you plenty of on-air banter, laughter, great music, fantastic competitions, features and much, much more… And as well as being entertained you’ll also be kept well informed with all the very latest news, sport and traffic updates from our team. It's as much a part of Waterford life as the Blaa itself! The Big Breakfast Blaa is brought to you in association with <a href="https://coffeehouselane.ie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coffee House Lane</a> <a href="https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback">Listen back to The Big Breakfast Blaa here</a>.

Start your day with Ollie Carroll, Dymphna Nugent and the WLR News team on The Big Breakfast Blaa, who will bring you plenty of on-air banter, laughter, great music, fantastic competitions, features and much, much more… And as well as being entertained you’ll also be kept well informed with all the very latest news, sport and traffic updates from our team. It's as much a part of Waterford life as the Blaa itself! The Big Breakfast Blaa is brought to you in association with&nbsp;&lt;a href="<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://coffeehouselane.ie/">https://coffeehouselane.ie/</a>" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;Coffee House Lane&lt;/a&gt;&nbsp;&lt;a href="<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback&quot;>Listen">https://www.wlrfm.com/listenback"&gt;Listen</a> back to The Big Breakfast Blaa here&lt;/a&gt;.