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An interview podcast
105 Episodes
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Toby Harnden is the author of one of the best-selling and well regarded books on the IRA and the troubles, “Bandit Country”. Toby’s book lifted the lid on the area where is was most dangerous to be a British soldier in during the conflict and the IRA brigade that made it that way. One of my most requested guests and an author that I’ve been dying to speak to, Toby and I spoke about their history, actions & legacy as well as the reasons why this small rural area was the thorn in the army’s...
Kevin Meagher's book "What A Bloody Awful Country" examines the creation of the state we know as Northern Ireland and how the 100 plus years of existence as gone.We discuss the reasons for partition in the first place, the sectarian violence during the state's early years, the anti-catholic discrimination built into Northern Ireland's governing system, the various forms of civil rights violations that Catholics had to endure and how violence erupted into what we call "the troubles".TIMSTAMPS&...
Rob Millington, ex-british army trooper, spent 6 months in Belfast during the final decade of the conflict that gripped the lives of anyone in the 6 counties.Rob talks to us almost getting caught in an IRA b*mb which was set up to blow up security forces responding to sh*oting, the impact that first seeing dead bodies had on him and aftermath of the 1993 Shankill Road b*mbing.Rob shares his story about meeting Johnny Adair while on patrol and his attempts to extract information from British s...
John Nixon, ex-Offical IRA and INLA member begins this episode at the start of his second prison term in Long Kesh during which he would volunteer for the IRA/INLA Hunger Strike of 1980, led by Brendan “The Dark” Hughes.John speaks about the horrors and trauma of years in prison, beatings and torture from the guards and his account of the hunger strike that preceded the 1981 Hunger Strike, most known for Bobby Sands death.I asked about the effect that 53 days without food has a man’s body and...
Ralph Brooker served in the British army touring Fermanagh, Derry and the infamous South Armagh, better known as "Bandit Country".Having spent the majority of his time in rural, border areas Ralph recounts the British army's constant attempts to counteract the IRA's ever evolving methods and tactics. Ralph speaks to us about being on the receiving end of IRA mortar attacks, explosive booby-traps & landmines and the day-today realities of fighting a guerrilla army.Ralph told me about his v...
****Q&A COMING SOON SO PLEASE SUBMIT ANY QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE ANSWERED IN THE COMMENTS****In a recent episode David Burke re-joined us to talk about the mysterious case of Garda Patrick Crinnion, a spy within the Garda Special Branch (Intel dept) who passed information to the British intel network.The release of David's book on the subject has prompted the unearthing of new information linking former assistant secretary of the Dept. Of Justice Thomas Coyne to British intel according to a ...
David Burke’s most recent book “Puppet Masters” shines a light on mysterious case of Patrick Crinnion, the garda (Irish police officer) who was passing information to Mi6 while he was in the Gardai’s secretive intel department. David, joining me for the third time, tells us about the state of the Republican movement in the years prior to the outbreak of “the troubles”, the resources available to Gardai in terms of intel gathering, Crinnion’s disappearance and the impact that he had on Ir...
In part 2 of my interviews with ex-official IRA & INLA member, John Nixon. In this episode we discussed some of the INLA’s most prolific operations as well as some of the organizations most well known members including Seamus Costello and Dessie O’ Hare. (Part 1 - https://youtu.be/9YOpiW1jU6c?si=81DqiPlwIAz4HOHQ)I asked John about second prison term in Long Kesh where he took part in the blanket protest and the no-wash protest in an attempt to win back POW status. John breaks down the esc...
My guest for this week is James Durney, historian and author of “Jailbreak” which details the various “great escapes” perpetrated by Irish Republican prisoners from 1865 onwards into the 1980s.James tells us about the most daring and dangerous prison escapes, both successful and otherwise, of the troubles-era including the story of the Crumlin Kangaroos, the HMS Maidstone escape, the 1973 Mountjoy Helicopter escape and of course the H-Block breakdown which is still the biggest prison escape i...
Hilton McCabe served in the RUC in both East Tyrone and Belfast during the second half of the conflict we know as “the troubles”. Hilton tells us about policing rural East Tyrone and the horror of cleaning up body-parts after the one of the IRA’s most deadly roadside b*mb attacks, the Ballygawley Bus Ambush. Hilton shares with us his stories of riots, threats to his life, his numerous brushes with death and how he and his colleagues dealt with the stress and trauma from the job.If y...
Ex-FRU agent handler "Will Britten" (alias) actively ran and recruited agents in South Armagh, one of the most dangerous places to be a British soldier during the conflict, in the 80s and is the author of "The Deadly Game". We speak in depth about the recruitment methods of the FRU, how to successfully run an agent in such a dangerous area, the legacy of Robert Nairic and the story of how Dominic McGlinchey's INLA unit planned on setting a trap after discovering a "tout".Due to security reaso...
In a recent episode I interviewed author Dan Lawton about his book focusing on the fallout from the murder of dept Governor, Albert Miles, of the infamous Maze Prison in November 1978 in which an innocent man was convicted.Alan Miles witnessed his father’s brutal murder as a young man at the hands of the IRA but almost immediately got to a place in his mind where he was not interested in revenge or retribution.Alan tells us about his childhood growing up with a prison guard as a father, his f...
Jonathan Trigg’s book “Death In The Fields” examines, in great detail, the infamous East-Tyrone IRA and how this rural group complied some of the republican’s biggest wins and conversely, their most devastating losses.We examine the early days of the unit and how they were formed, the autonomy they enjoyed, the Jim Lynagh “A-Team” era and their deadly attacks, the Loughall ambush & how it effected the brigade plus the post-Loughall activities of the East Tyrone IRA including coming under ...
William Matchett is an ex-RUC officer who spent years working in the secretive and murky world of informants and agents during his time in Special Branch while “the troubles” raged on.William shares with us his motivations for joining the RUC during such dangerous times, the techniques they utilized to recruit informants, death threats he’s received over the years and his encounters with the notorious South Armagh unit of the IRA.We discussed paramilitaries who have committed m*rders and terr...
**Sorry for the late upload my good people.. feel free to follow on YouTube where I'm a bit more on top of things**Fr Sean McManus hails from Co. Fermanagh but was sent, by his superiors in the Catholic, to America early in his career where he continued his fight for Irish freedom.Fr McManus’ tells us about his early life, his older brother who was killed during the IRA’s border campaign, the death-threats he has received and the attempts by British forces to smear his reputation by implying ...
Mick Hawkes is an ex-SAS soldier and 14th intel company (the Det.) operator who worked against the IRA and Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland as part of his military career. Mick tells us about the daily ins and outs of carrying out surveillance on dangerous insurgents, the differences between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, how he helped to prevent a mortar attack on an RUC and much more.(The first 30 mins or so are a little choppy due to wifi problems but completely fi...
1My guest this week is Dr Michael Flavin, child to Irish parents who grew up in Birmingham, England during the IRA’s bombing campaign in England during the troubles.Michael speaks to us about being a part of the Irish diaspora in England, anti-Irish discrimination at the time as well Michael’s writings on IRA leadership and INLA splits.00:00 “NO BLACKS NO DOGS NO IRISH” sign- was it real??03:50 Michael’s parents move to England 07:05 Many other children of immigrants ?08:50 BIRMINGHAM B*M...
For this episode I’m joined by author and lecturer, Thomas Leahy, whose book “The Intelligence War against the IRA” gives a through and detailed account of Britain’s attempts to disrupt and defeat the IRA by way of intel gathering.We discuss the various methods of intel collection, what “intel” is and can be used for in this context, the various times of ceasefire during the conflict and the reasons for them.Thomas details why the rural IRA brigades were tougher infiltrate, how technological ...
Dan Lawton’s thrilling new book “The Hunted” explores the story of Kevin Barry Artt and how he was false-convicted of the IRA murder of deputy Maze prison governor, Albert Miles. We speak about the so-called “confession factory” Castlereagh, Long Kesh’s Maze prison, the horrors of the “blanket”/“no-wash” protests and how Kevin Barry Artt took part in one of N.I’s biggest jailbreaks. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 CASTLEREAGH “The Confession Factory” 08:15 LONG KESH & The lead up to ...
Harry McCallion is an ex-paratrooper and SAS solider who served in the north during some of the troubles’ most violent years. Harry tells us about the brutal training regime they underwent before deployment, his thoughts on the mistakes that the British army made, his views on the “Ballymurphy Massacre”, his emotional state while policing violent riots and the effects that the job had on his mental health at the time.Harry shares his insights on the uniques challenges of taking on a “guerrill...
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love the podcast It's a great oral history of northern Ireland would love to know more from people involved south of the border ie Kerry unit ferris or O'Callahan. the engine dept or Garda penetration of the southern units. keep up the good work look forward to all the new episodes
I'm disappointed although not surprised at this guest's belief in the British empire. Talking about anti terrorism in other parts of the world that Britain raped and pillaged, the lack of self awareness never fails to astound me. They never see that they were and are the terrorists. Britain has caused mayhem, division and misery wherever it went.
Billy I do believe you have been misinformed about standards of living and cost of education etc. This fallacy about a free NHS and free education. It ain't free It's all pre-paid by tax payers. It's also scaremongering to suggest you and other ex loyalists would be persecuted in a unified Ireland.