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. 

Here's the link to The Troubles Podcast live show in January 25th, 2024:www.puntcomedy.com/event-details/the-troubles-live-podcastIn this episode, Kevin Owens talks about life in the Irish army during the Troubles, and explained what life was like... From searching in lakes for Libyan arms dumps to dealing with Gardai who may have been helping out the IRA. He then joined the US Army and ended up serving in Iraq and Afghanistan a number of times.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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 show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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 show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4834164/advertisement

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.

Delighted to be heading along to Glasgow Crimecon next weekend.. It would be great to meet fans of all things true-crime. You can get tickets here: https://www.crimecon.co.uk/glasgow

On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she'd scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando.Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny's killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood'sunderbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny's toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta?From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas.Listen by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App: http://wondery.fm/TTP_TEOBLB

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.

Colin Ferguson served two tours in Northern Ireland as a soldier with the British army and in this episode of the podcast he talks about what life was like as a soldier in Northern Ireland in the nineties.

Gusty Spence was the leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force and was also the man who used his military background to shape the paramilitary group. But it would be the time spent in prison, that would cause him to change his view on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

For eleven weeks, Shannon Irvine walked to school past protestors who threw bricks, fireworks and in one case a blast bomb, towards her. In this interview, we chat about what she remembers about life in Ardoyne and what it was like walking to school during the Holy Cross Dispute.

For eleven weeks, Catholic schoolchildren had to walk to school protected by RUC officers in full riot gear, as they were shouted at and jeered by an angry crowd of loyalists. So how did things get to this point? This is the story of the Holy Cross Dispute.

This is an interview recorded with James (Jimmy) Toye, who is a volunteer at the Museum of Free Derry and who was a witness to Bloody Sunday. As today marks the 50 year anniversary since Bloody Sunday, James talks about the beginning of the Troubles, as well as his memories of what occurred on Sunday, January 30th, 1972.

This episode focuses on the socialist Republican group, the INLA and how their formation deeply angered some members of the Official IRA. Seamus Costello was the man who founded the INLA, but he soon found it very difficult to give orders to men in Northern Ireland, while he himself was living in the Republic and once all hell broke loose, he knew the crosshair would rest firmly on him.

Edward Carson was an Irishman, but with a very different view for Ireland. He believed that Ireland belonged wholly in union with Great Britain. Carson was willing to lead the movement against an independent Ireland, and along the way, he would rally hundreds of thousands of people to his cause, which would eventually lead to the formation of Northern Ireland.

This weeks episode of the Troubles Podcast is about Stakeknife, who was one of the most damaging agents in the history of the Troubles. He was in charge of the nutting squad, which was a squad designed to seek out and execute informers. But little did many know, that he was the biggest, and most treasured informer of the British Army. And when his cover was finally blown, what happened to him was a far cry from what many expected.

The Shankill Road Bombing of 1993 was a bombing which indiscriminately killed men, women and children and threatened to completely derail the burgeoning peace process in Northern Ireland.

The 1981 Hunger Strike was one of the most important moments in the history of the Troubles. This episode focuses on the strike, the men involved and the political discourse going on outside of the prison.

The 1981 Hunger Strike was the culmination of a five-year protest which began with Blanketmen and ended with the deaths of 10 men. This episode focuses on the background and the first 1980 hunger strike, which would act as a precursor for the one which took place in 1981

It's late in the evening in the three steps pub, in the small village of Dromintree in the northern Irish County of Armagh. A stranger has come into the pub, saying that he is a member of the Official IRA from West Belfast. He mingles with the locals, and at one stage leaps up on stage to sing a republican song, in front of an amused crowd. But something isn't right. His story doesn't make sense and as the night wears down he begins to attract the wrong type of attention.As it turns out, this stranger is Captain Robert Nairac, a British Army Officer specializing in intelligence. And at the time, he was alone in an extremely republican part of Northern Ireland, pretending to be a member of the IRA.Shortly after leaving the pub, things for Nairac took a turn for the worse and In this episode we will learn about Nairac, and what happened to him on that fateful night.

August 11th, 2001 and three men are arrested in Colombia. The men were travelling with fake passports and claimed that they that they had been meeting FARC guerrillas to discuss the burgeoning peace process in the country as well as bird watching, but the Colombian security forces had a different view of what they were doing.

The Troubles Podcast returns in October.

As a mid-season bonus, I wanted to release this full interview with Richard Moore. The Richard Moore episode, called Children of the Troubles, received a lot of positive feedback and comments. But the full interview with Richard is a good bit longer than what made it into the episode. So here is the entire interview, virtually unedited. Thanks again and see you in season three.

Pat Finucane was a solicitor who defended a number of high-profile republican paramilitaries. It was for this reason he was targeted and killed by loyalist paramilitaries. I may have said it before about previous episodes, but this is up there as being one of the most complicated legal cases in British history. The basic argument is that the 4 main loyalists who killed him were all informants for various branches of intelligence services and that the intelligence services knew about the plots to kill Pat and did nothing. So the question is raised... Does that make them in a sense responsible? And were these tactics known at the highest level of the British Government? That's what will be unpacked in this episode.

Many children were killed and injured in the conflict known as the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This episode will first focus on the children who lost their lives during the conflict and then will be featuring an interview with Richard Moore, who was blinded at a young age after he was hit in the face with a rubber bullet fired by a British soldier.

It’s August 9th, 1971 in Northern Ireland. The British Army had just launched Operation Demetrius, which was an operation aimed at completely smashing the IRA. Ultimately, the operation was a complete failure, and, in the district of Ballymurphy in Belfast, 11 people would lose their lives at the hand of British soldiers.But it would be almost 50 years later, that the families of the victims would ever get some sort of closure. This is the story of the Ballymurphy massacre.

Dolours Price grew up in a staunchly republican family. From an early age, she joined the Provisional IRA and took part in a number of campaigns before being imprisoned and in later years turning completely against the Provisional IRA. At one stage, Dolours and her sister, Marion were two of the most infamous people in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

In this episode we’re going to talk a little bit about the Good Friday Agreement, what life in Northern Ireland has been like since the Agreement, the impact of Brexit, the Northern Irish Protocol, coronavirus and how all of these things culminated with the rioting that occurred in early April of 2021.

It was a Saturday evening in the New Lodge area of Belfast. There was a jovial atmosphere in the Catholic Owned McGurk's Bar. Outside the pub, a man appeared and placed a parcel at the pub entrance and rushed back to their car before driving off. Moments later the bomb exploded. causing the whole building to collapse, killing and injuring most of the patrons inside.

It was around 7 in the evening in the Divis Flats when there was a knock on the door of the McConville’s. The children answered the door to a number of individuals. They asked ‘where’s Jean’ and when she appeared they told her to put on a coat and they took her out into the night. They told the children that she would be back in 30 mins. That was the last time Jean McConville was seen alive. In the days following her abduction, no neighbours called over to check on the children and no investigation was ever opened up. Jean simply vanished and no one wanted to know where she’d gone.

It was 5.30 in the evening, and sixteen textile workers were in a minibus on their way home from the factory they worked at. Four workers got out at Whitecross and the bus continued on before being flagged down and stopped by a man in a combat uniform. They asked which of the workers were Catholics and the one Catholic man made himself known. He was told to "Get down the road and don't look back". On that fateful evening, the remaining 11 protestant workers who were still on the bus would not be making it home.SOURCES:Article about the massacre:https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/blood-in-the-rain-28255886.htmlArticle about Kingsmill memorial being attacked:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-20573217BBC article from the archives: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/5/newsid_2500000/2500393.stmCAIN Photo of a memorial:https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/victims/memorials/static/photos/408.htmlArticle about Sinn Fein rejecting findings of CAIN report: https://sluggerotoole.com/2011/06/22/sinn-fein-rejects-het-findings-on-kingsmill-massacre/Article about the families campaign for the truth:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-13871535Human kindness and heroism shine out from North’s Kingsmill atrocity:https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/human-kindness-and-heroism-shine-out-from-north-s-kingsmill-atrocity-1.1858395Interview with Alan Black the sole survivor of the massacre, during a chance, encounter on the street.The reporter didn't know who he was and was asking random people on the street about Brexit:https://youtu.be/txcnmz_qiKIArticle regarding the palm print:https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/kingsmill-massacre-man-will-not-be-prosecuted-over-palm-print-1.2969511Account of Alan Black during inquest:https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/coroner-s-court/victim-of-kingsmill-massacre-cried-for-his-mother-inquest-told-1.2660388Alan Black RTE Interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0RRm36vdhU&ab_channel=RTERadio1A documentary about the Glenanne Ganghttps://youtu.be/LUjC5xJrmLk See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

1972 was by far the worst year of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, in terms of death toll. 476 people lost their lives and over half of that number was civilians. It was also the year where the IRA staged their largest ever day of bombings. In the space of 80 minutes, the IRA detonated 22 bombs in and around Belfast, turning the city into a warzone. This is the story of Bloody Friday.SOURCES:The Primary Source for this Episode, an excellent BBC documentary about Bloody Friday:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s1iH3z8EhY&t=2722s&ab_channel=leftofcentreTimeline of the day:https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/bfriday/events.htmPathe footage from the day:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUNyWNIZwVU&ab_channel=SarahRusanowskiFootage of one of the bombs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOC0RqCAoMw&ab_channel=BritishPath%C3%A9IRA Statement:https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/organ/ira/ira_1972-07-21.htmBasic overview:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Friday_(1972)Huge thanks to Podcorn for sponsoring this episode. Explore sponsorship opportunities and start monetizing your podcast by signing up here: https://podcorn.com/podcasters/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

June 18th, 1994 in the small village of Loughinisland the Northern Irish county of Down. There was a crowd of people in the tiny heights bar, watching the Republic of Ireland play Italy in the 1994 World Cup. At 10 minutes past 10, two men dressed in boiler suits and balaclavas walked into the bar. They were armed with assault rifles, and as they walked in, they shouted ‘Fenian Bastards’ and then opened fire on the unarmed crowd, killing five. They then disappeared into the night. The incident went on to become known as the Loughinisland Massacre and what went on to be revealed over the next 20 years has led this massacre to become one of the most stark and startling examples of collusion between the police and loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF. SOURCES:Hutchinson Report:https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/police/ombudsman/po240611_loughinisland.pdfMaguire Report:https://www.policeombudsman.org/PONI/files/17/17aea3d1-c4c6-4f02-8ebc-4eb39af9b168.pdfNo Stone Unturned Documentary (Only available in certain regions):https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Stone-Unturned-Aidan-OToole/dp/B078HFQG7JArticle about the Republic of Ireland Football Team's gesture:https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/article16160468.eceArticle about the arrest of the journalists:https://www.thejournal.ie/loughinisland-journalists-4672007-Jun2019/Article about a survivor of Loughinisland:https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/others/survivor-loughinisland-massacre-1994Owner of the Heights bar speaks of the massacre:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-36494898Article about retired policemen trying to quash the Maguire Report:https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/police-ombudsman-michael-maguire-overstepped-mark-in-loughinisland-report-criminal-findings-court-rules-39296069.html See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rose Dugdale is an Englishwoman born into an extremely wealthy family and had a comfortable, lavish life ahead of her. But instead, she chose to join the IRA and stage an ambitious bombing raid and one of the most talked-about art heists in Irish History. This is her story. SOURCES:Article about the art theft:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rose-dugdale-the-british-heiress-who-joined-the-ira-stole-two-vermeers-wk2mqdv3tSecond article about the heist and sentencing:https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/26/archives/british-millionaires-daughter-sentenced-to-9-years-in-art-thefts.htmlIrish language documentary about Rose called 'Mná an IRA - Episode 1':https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czlVSwwuLJc&ab_channel=AnGhaeilgeAnother article about the heist:https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/no-regrets-for-renegade-ira-art-robber-rose-Rose-30238446.htmlArticle about the kidnap of Tiede Herrema:https://web.archive.org/web/20071120144708/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/10/19/story213067566.aspArticle about her life: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8704105/She-debutante-turned-IRA-bomber-whos-frame-infamous-1970s-art-heist.html See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

October 5th, 1974 in the small town of Guildford, England. It was a Saturday evening and the pubs were packed full of people, who were relaxing after a week spent working. The Horse and Groom was one of the more popular pubs in the town as it was rumoured to have the cheapest pints around. Amidst the jovial atmosphere, a man and a woman slipped into the pub, stayed for one drink and then left. Then, a short while later, a bomb detonated that would cause absolute carnage in the pub. Four soldiers and one civilian were killed outright with 65 others injured. Of the five people killed, four of them were teenagers. The wave of revulsion that came from the Guildford Pub Bombings would set in motion one of the greatest injustices in the British Judicial System, one which neither the victims of the bombing, nor those accused would get any closure. SOURCES:Channel Four Documentary on the Bombing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZg6LIyczyk&ab_channel=PortersOwnRTE One Documentary Following Paddy Armstrong:https://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2014/1113/658974-small-lives-and-great-reputations/Letters Written By Paul Hill While in Prison:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29429010Gerry Talking About his Life:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyaIHMEQq4&t=38s&ab_channel=AfriGerry Talking About Life After Prison:https://www.irishnews.com/paywall/tsb/irishnews/irishnews/irishnews//news/2017/10/05/news/gerry-conlon-blew-almost-1-million-1154156/content.htmlGareth Pierce Speaking:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQHjshw4w8s&ab_channel=swpTvUkAlso if interested check out the movie 'In The Name Of The Father. Here's the trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ZYTB2ZXVc&t=1s&ab_channel=MovieclipsClassicTrailers See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode is based around the life of Billy Wright. He was one of the most prominent loyalist icons involved in the troubles. After waging war on the Nationalists and then clashing against the UVF, Wright went on to found his own paramilitary group called the Loyalist Volunteer Force, or LVF. There was a target on his head for many years, but no one expected that it would be inside the Maze Prison, where Wright would meet his end. SOURCES:Excellent BBC Documentary featuring Wright:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcehKOuLWI&t=7s&ab_channel=Monkiesocks56Interview with Billy Wright shortly before his death:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnaT90pHvPk&ab_channel=ULETLegacyArchiveJohnny Adair talking about Billy Wright:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_6VA4BoKw8&ab_channel=AnythingGoesWithJamesEnglishArticle about Wright's murder:https://magill.ie/politics/murder-king-rat-billy-Wright Another (bad quality) interview with Wright:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuHcCX1A3xk&ab_channel=swiftubag1001BBC article about the life of Wright:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-11112737Inquiry findings: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11306492 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.