Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles

In this episode of Hidden Histories I have released an interview with Terry Watson that I conducted on 25 July 2013 as part of my research for the book Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries. Sadly Terry died in December 2020 after a long illness. His family kindly gave me permission to use this interview for a podcast episode. In the interview Terry talks about growing up in Donegall Pass in the early 1970s and his experiences in the Pass Tartan. Rather than put a sheen on his memories, Terry pretty much tells it as it was and explains how some of the attitudes were formed by the society in which he lived. Terry documented the life and history of Donegall Pass so it seems fitting that this interview will contribute to a better understanding of life in the Pass during the violent early Troubles. This episode is dedicated to Terry and his family. https://www.portadowntimes.co.uk/news/people/ymca-family-devastated-death-popular-mentor-3061663

Tartan Gangs - Interview on BBC Good Morning Ulster - 08/11/2018 by Gareth Mulvenna

A bit of chat about the impetus behind me writing short stories and a reading of No One Leaves (September 1986) Two fellas, a Metallica gig, Belfast 1986. What could go wrong? *This was originally recorded on 8 April 2020.

I thought that rather than leave this podcast stagnant during the Covid-19 crisis I would migrate some of the commentary, observations and spoken word versions of short stories I wrote last summer about loyalism in the early 1970s over here* In this episode of the podcast I talk about Twitter, researching loyalism and read from -The Eve of Revolution (1973) & -The Quiet Ones (July 1972) The short stories can all be found at gmulvenna.wordpress.com *This was originally recorded on 11 April 2020.

Another spoken word version of one of the short stories I worked on during the summer. This is based loosely on an actual undercover operation staged by the RUC's 'C' Division in an attempt to catch the Shankill Butchers. See also Part I

A spoken word version of a piece of fictional catharsis from the early Troubles.

I decided to do a reading of one of my short stories which I wrote during the summer. Hope you enjoy it. Operation Knife Edge – Part II – Peter Gordon’s Story (October 1976) https://gmulvenna.wordpress.com/2019/09/26/operation-knife-edge-part-ii-peter-gordons-story-october-1976/

In this episode I chat to Jeffrey Dudgeon MBE about the gay experience of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Jeff is famous for having brought a case to Strasbourg which led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in NI. He is also the editor of Roger Casement's 'Black Diaries' and most recently wrote a short book about Montgomery Hyde. He was involved in the foundation of Cara / Friend in the mid-1970s and was, until recently, an Ulster Unionist Councillor for the Balmoral DEA in Belfast. Music: Ruefrex - The Ruah Ruefrex - The Sources and the Energies

Welcome back to Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles. It has been a long six months since the last episode was released. I apologise for the silence, but other things - day to day life mainly - took over. In the past few weeks I decided to resurrect HH and set up a GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/hidden-histories-of-the-northern-ireland-troubles People have been extremely generous with their contributions and I have been able to renew a full subscription for SoundCloud and cover some travel costs for future episodes. I have big plans for the podcast and the first couple of episodes I have confirmed for the next series (well, the first proper series) are very exciting. I have decided to release part of an interview I conducted in my home in September 2013 with the late and sadly missed Henry Sinnerton. Henry was a fantastic educationalist who wrote the biography of David Ervine, 'Uncharted Waters'. In 2013 Henry talked to me about teaching in Orangefield Boys' Secondary in East Belfast during the period when the Tartan gangs emerged. He also described the effect of the UWC strike in May 1974 on his ability to get to work. This special interim episode is dedicated to Henry and also to Lyra McKee. Lyra was scheduled to me my sixth guest before she was cruelly murdered in April. *Excerpt of 'Correct Your Fireside Manner' by Ruefrex included at beginning of episode as theme (with permission of Paul Burgess)

In this episode myself and Sam McIlwaine talk to Brian Allaway. Brian is the author of a new book 'Firefighters of Belfast - the Fire Service During the Troubles 1969 - 1994' (Luath Press). Brian joined the Belfast Fire Brigade in 1969, just as the Troubles were beginning, as a 16-year-old trainee. In his book Brian brings together his own often traumatic but courageous experiences with similar memories from former colleagues and friends who he interviewed. The book is available from Luath Press: www.luath.co.uk/productsf/firefighters-of-belfast & Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Firefighters-Bel…ay/dp/1912147459

In Episode 4 of Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles I chat to Paul Burgess about growing up in the Shankill and Glenbryn during the 1970s, co-forming the punk band Ruefrex, supporting Stiff Little Fingers and how the Troubles influenced his music and writing. Paul's first novel 'White Church Black Mountain' (Matador, 2015)is a thrilling 'post-conflict' story which deals with the dark secrets held by the Troubles, and the legacy of decades of bloodshed. The best of Ruefrex - Capital Letters - is available on Cherry Red Records. Follow Paul on Twitter @polbrugha

In this episode I chat to Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent for The Guardian and Observer. He is also co-author of 'UVF' (w/Jim Cusack), 'INLA - Deadly Divisions' (w/Jack Holland) and 'UDA - Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror' (w/Jim Cusack). He has also written a biography of David Trimble and recently 'Martin McGuinness - A Life Remembered'. Henry is also a fiction writer, and his debut novel 'The Swinging Detective' was published in 2017. In this episode we chat about his upcoming second novel, 'Red Army Factions' (Merrion, September 2019) and how Henry's involvement in the punk music scene and Cliftonville's 'Red Army' of late 1970s Belfast provided a real-life cast of characters to choose from when writing the book.

Welcome to Episode 2 of the podcast. In this episode I talk to researcher Iain Turner. Iain is perhaps better known to many people as Balaclava Street. He is currently researching and writing a book about the UVF from the 1960s onwards. The project will bring to light many of the hidden histories of the organisation and present a clearer picture of this part of the loyalist paramilitary story than has hitherto been the case. I talked to Iain about a range of issues including the perils of Wikipedia, challenging the myths surrounding some of the accounts of well known UVF figures and the difficulties of researching the history of Northern Ireland in what is a sensitive climate for oral historians and storytelling. I hope you enjoy Episode 2 - please feel free to share widely. Follow me on Twitter @HistoriesNi or 'Gareth Mulvenna - Researcher & Author' on Facebook. If you would like to tell your story please contact me at gareth.mulvenna@gmail.com I am interested in hearing and broadcasting hidden histories of the NI Troubles from right across the spectrum.

Welcome to the first episode of Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles. This is a new podcast which aims to explore the lesser-known and unique stories of events which occurred during the conflict in Northern Ireland from the 1960s up to the 1990s. I am a Belfast based researcher and author (in my spare time). In 2016 my book 'Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries' was published to wide acclaim by Liverpool University Press. One of the people I interviewed for the book was Robert 'Beano' Niblock. Beano was a member of the loyalist youth gang the Woodstock Tartan in 1971. In July 1972 he joined the Red Hand Commando. The Red Hand was a loyalist paramilitary organisation which had been established in the Oldpark area of Belfast in June 1970. In recent years Beano has written a critically acclaimed play, 'Tartan', about his experience of these early years of the Troubles. Even more recently Beano has written a series of poems from the perspective of a young loyalist growing up during the turbulent and violent maelstrom of Belfast from 1969 until 1972. In this podcast episode I talk to Beano about these poems and the influences and events which inspired them. On 8th November 2018 myself and Beano will be co-hosting a special evening entitled 'Belts and Boots to Bombs and Bullets' which we hope will be the first in a series of events relating to people's experiences of the conflict. ___ Gareth Mulvenna