The story of the so-called 'GAA Catfish' has re-emerged more than two years after her story was first revealed on the Irish podcast "The 2 Johnnies."
Tipperary duo Johnny McMahon (aka Johnny Smacks) and Johnny O'Brien (aka Johnny B) host the popular "The 2 Johnnies," one of Spotify's top ten most popular podcasts in Ireland.
In May 2022, the podcast revealed the sensational story of a serial catfish in Ireland who had targeted dozens of men, including podcast host Johnny B, as well as a top GAA player.
The term 'catfish' describes "a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes," Merriam-Webster Dictionary states. It was popularized in the 2010 US documentary "Catfish."
The 2022 podcast episodes explained that the 'GAA Catfish' used a social media profile under the name Cora O'Donovan, however, the 2 Johnnies determined that a woman they call 'Nicki' (not the real person's real name) was behind the fake account.
In part two of the riveting podcast, the 2 Johnnies revealed that more than 40 people, including GAA players and famous media personalities, had been catfished by the same 'Cora O'Donovan' account since 2014.
The 2 Johnnies said in the days after the first two installments of their GAA Catfish podcasts, more than 100 people had come forward claiming to have been directly targeted.
The duo added at the time that a third installment would be coming.
More than two years after the first two 'GAA Catfish' episodes were released, the 2 Johnnies returned with their highly-anticipated third installment on Monday, January 13.
On Instagram on Monday, The 2 Johnnies prefaced the new episode, writing: “In 2022, when we released the GAA Catfish podcast, we never intended to revisit the topic or produce a third episode.
“However, in recent months, several individuals have reached out to us, and as we began to understand the scale of the issue, we felt compelled to take action.
“This episode addresses a deeply concerning pattern affecting many, particularly young men in Ireland.
“Our goal is not to harm or shame anyone but to ignite a crucial conversation and help prevent further harm.
“The experiences shared with us highlight a situation that cannot be ignored, and we feel a responsibility to present these stories respectfully in the hope that others might find support, and call on social media companies to do more to combat fake profiles.
“Most importantly, we aim to bring an end to this pattern of catfishing once and for all.”
The 2 Johnnies shared screengrabs of seven different Instagram accounts, urging people to “avoid” them.
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The new episode lays out the complicated web weaved by the catfish who initially goes by the name of 'Aoife Kennedy.'
Just like the catfish chronicled by the 2 Johnnies in 2022, 'Aoife Kennedy' targeted GAA players and would sometimes post about them on her private social media accounts.
Also like 'Cora,' 'Aoife' would produce a myriad of excuses to avoid meeting her targets in real life.
Worryingly, the new episode also traces how catfish 'Aoife' spread false stories of being sexually assaulted and being forced to get an abortion after claiming to have gotten pregnant by another GAA player.
'Aoife' also posted photos of one of her GAA targets and his children on one of her profiles that she is believed to have taken from her victim's social media pages. The 2 Johnnies note that this practice is illegal in Ireland.
The 2 Johnnies ultimately determined that the Aoife Kennedy account - and subsequent fake profiles - was run by the same catfish from 2022, the so-called 'Nicki.'
"We hope she finds the help she needs, and we hope that this stops," the podcast hosts said at the end of their new episode.
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