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 ..read more

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 ..read more

As British counter intelligence improved, the IRA began to think of different methods of waging war against the British Army and Northern Irish Police Force. They began using humans as bombs and this all came to a head on the night of October 24th 1990.SOURCES:Harrowing account from Patsies wife, Kathleen:http://wavetraumacentre.org.uk/stories_from_silence/kathleen-gillespie/Information regarding a proxy bomb and its use around the world:https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Proxy_bombArticle about the Irish men who trained rebels in Columbia: https://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/as-manhunt-g ..read more

Richard O'Rawe joined the Provisional IRA when he was a teenager. He was eventually arrested and spent a number of years taking part in the blanket protests which would eventually lead up to the hunger strikes. Richard was there for it all and in this episode we talk about his role during the hunger strikes as well as his thoughts on Freddie Scappaticci who also went by the name of Stakeknife.  ..read more

The two socialist Republican paramilitary groups were the INLA, Irish National Liberation Army and the IPLO, the Irish People's Liberation Organization. These were two organisations who sought to fight against the colonial occupation of British Rule and free the working class of capitalistic dominance.  However, instead of romantic struggle they would instead set their sights on each other. Former friends would become submerged in a murky world of criminality, revenge, sectarianism and cold-blooded murder.  By the end of this feud, many would be dead and both organisations would b ..read more

I'll be putting on a live show in London later this month with Kevin and Jason from Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast. It'll take place on Wednesday, May 22nd at the London Irish Centre. Ticekts are £12 and the show starts at 19:30. Be great to see some of you there!  ..read more

This week's episode focuses on the life of Father Patrick Ryan, a Catholic priest who had a unique relationship with the Provisional IRA and Libyan Dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.  Through Father Ryan, the Provisional IRA received millions in cash, but it was his engineering work with Provisional IRA bombs, which would end up saving the lives of many paramilitaries… while allowing them to improve the efficacy of their bombing campaign.  ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more