The Troubles Podcast

It was a Sunday evening in November, 1983 and 65 people were attending service at the Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church Service. The church was a small wooden building on the outskirts of the Northern Irish village of Darkley, in the county of Armagh, which was close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The popular hymn, 'Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb' was playing, and pastor Bobby Bain was leading the singing. It was at this time, three masked gunmen arrived at the church. As the congregation started singing the final verse ‘Lay aside the garments that are stained by sin’, the shooting began. What ensued has gone on to be known as the Darkley Killings and in this episode we will learn about what happened and who was responsible. 

David Ervine began as a loyalist paramilitary but had a remarkable change of heart while in prison, and upon his release dedicated his efforts to political discourse, and acting as a political voice for the UVF. But it wasn't easy, and there would be many who wanted to take his life. This is the story of the man who championed constructive unionism.

Peter Taylor is a journalist who had an unparalleled level of access across the divided and sectarian communities in Northern Ireland. He has made multiple documentaires and written many books about the Troubles, and was trusted by paramilitaries to tell the world their stories. In this episode we talk about his life, his memories of Bloody Sunday, and meeting the leaders of the Provisional IRA and the dangers with being a journalist during the Troubles. We then discuss his new book, Operation Chiffon, The Secret Story of MI5 and MI6 and the Road to Peace in Ireland. This book tells the linear story of three decades of violence in Northern Ireland, with a focus on the secret peacemakers, the people who created back channels between the Provisional IRA and the British Government, in an attempt to broker peace.

Chris Thrall deployed as a Royal Marine into Northern Ireland in 1989. He knew very little about the conflict in Northern Ireland before arriving, and it wasn't long before he would see first-hand, what the troubles was like for a member of the British armed forces. Republicans targeted his barracks with mortor bombs, and he was also fired upon while out on patrol one day. This is his experience of the troubles.

In this episode we will focus on the attacks associated with Stephen 'Top Gun' McKeag, his fall from grace from the UDA and the circumstance which would lead to his eventual demise. This episode was written by John Livingstone, and you can find more of his writing by searching @TheTroublesArchive on Instagram.

This two-part episode focuses on Stephen 'Top Gun' McKeag, who was a prominant member of the Ulster Defence Association. He was also responsible for many killings of Catholics in Northern Ireland. This first episode will talk about how the UDA restructured in the early 90's and what led to the rise of C-Company.This episode was written by John Livingstone, and you can find more of his writing by searching @TheTroublesArchive on Instagram.

This week's episode features my chat with academic and historian, Gearóid Ó Faoleán. We talked about the Republic of Ireland's response to the growth of the Provisional IRA and how they dealt with the rise of Republicanism. We talk about how the IRA made explosives, whether they helped or hindered the heroin epidemic in Dublin, how Republicanism and class have changed over the decades and a lot more.

The Remembrance Day Bombing was an IRA bombing which was carried out in the town of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA claimed that they were targeting members of the security forces but instead ended up killing mostly elderly civilians. A lot of this episode focuses on where the IRA were getting their bombs from, which took them to the North African country of Libya.

Bertie Ahern was the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland during the peace talks in Northern Ireland. I sat down with him in March 2023 to talk about his memories during this period, and the many times it felt like it was all going to fall apart. We then talked about Northern Ireland today and what affect Brexit has had on the Good Friday Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement was a mammoth undertaking which was the result of multiple failed agreements and a quest for peace for the people of Northern Ireland, This epiosde focuses on the sheer effort that was involved in finding peace for what many percieved as a neverending war.

This episode is about John Crawley, who joined the US Marines with the intention of returning back to Ireland to then join the IRA. He hoped he could bring his expertise to what he believed was one of the best paramilitary groups in the world. But once he joined, things weren't exactly what he expected, and in the end, the Provisional IRA were more interested in his accent than his expertise with weapons.

Frank Stagg was a Republican prisoner from Ireland who died on hunger strike in 1976. In this episode we will learn about what happened afterwards, as the Irish Government went to significant lengths to prevent his funeral from becoming a rallying cry to the Republican movement.

It’s 9am in the morning of July 29th, 1974 and council workers are cutting grass near the M1 Motorway near Belfast, when they discover the body of a woman lying half submerged in stagnant water. It was clear that the woman had been badly beaten before she was killed. The woman was soon identified as mother of four, Ann Ogillby. But who killed her and why?

It was a sunny morning in Hyde Park in London. On this morning in Hyde Park, the Household Cavalry were taking part in a changing of the guard ceremony. As they passed by a parked car, a nail bomb that was hidden in the trunk of the car was detonated. The bomb was made up of 11 kilograms of gelignite and 14 kilograms of nails which turned into deadly shrapnel upon detonation causing a scene of utter devastation. Just two hours later, in Regents Park, which was nearby, 30 military bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets were getting ready to perform on a bandstand. Unbeknownst to them, a bomb was hidden underneath their bandstand which was timed to go off as they were performing. When the bomb eventually exploded, it turned the entire bandstand into deadly shrapnel which caused utter devastation to the men performing. In this episode, we will look into the two bombings which occurred on this fateful day in Hyde Park and Regents Park which would be considered one of the most devastating attacks carried out on mainland Britain in the history of the troubles.

This is the second part of an episode focusing on the Hooded Men. In this episode Jim talks about his life after being interrned and then I will go into more detail about the complex legal case surrounding the courts definition of the word 'torture'.

With the arrival of internment in 1971, hundreds of Northern Irish men were picked up by the British Army and then detained without being charged for months at a time.The Hooded Men is the name given to 14 men who were subjected to something known as the 'five techniques' by the British Army.In this episode I'll be talking to Jim Auld, who was one of the men who was subjected to these techniques.

To celebrate International Podcast Day here's a short episode where I sat down with some podcasters based in the UK and talked about the process of making episodes.

This episode focuses on the two major feuds that occurred between the UVF and the UDA.

This episode is an introduction to the two largest loyalist groups that took part in the Troubles; the UVF and UDA. This first part focuses how they came to be, their similarities and differences.

Dessie O'Hare was a Republican paramilitary who was known for his brutality as well as his ability to evade the authorities on both sides of the border. This episode tells the story of his life, and the role he played in one of Ireland's most notorious kidnappings.