The Balcombe Street Gang were an active service unit based in London, and one of the Provisional IRA’s most efficient units operating outside of Northern Ireland. Their 14-month campaign saw them planting upwards of 40 bombs around the London area, which killed and injured many and struck terror in the hearts of Londoners.  Their reign came to an end after a six-day siege took place between members of the gang and the London metropolitan police and in this episode we will learn about the gang itself, and the siege which was watched live on TV by millions of people around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Stothers was an officer in Northern Ireland and was a part of the new rebranded police force, the PSNI, which had replaced the RUC. But this period of peace time policing was anything but, and Chris ended up shot in the stomach at point blank range by dissident republicans during a protest in 2010. In this episode Chris tells his story, and talks about life after policing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dominic McGlinchey, was one of the most wanted Republican paramilitaries in Ireland during the Troubles. First with a small unit of freelance paramilitaries, he then joined the PIRA before changing sides and joining up with the INLA. He would soon gain full control of the INLA and under his control, the group carried some significant attacks on the security services. But when he tried to leave paramilitary life behind, his violent past would catch up with him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the conclusion of my conversation with former undercover agent Martin McGartland, we dive into the aftermath of his dramatic escape in Belfast and the challenges he faced while living under threat in England, as gunmen would eventually find out where he was living. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an interview with Martin McGartland, who is a former informer who was kidnapped by the IRA after they became suspicious of his activities. There is a lot in this interview, including first hand accounts of how he became an informer, the activities he carried out, and then what things were like when he got caught. This is the first part of a two part episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get Troubles Podcast Merch here: https://visualanticsapparel.com/collections/the-troubles-podcast Also over on Patreon I have just released a bonus episode. It is a bit older than my usual ones and focuses on one of the seminal moments during the Irish War for Independence, which saw British Soldiers shooting dead Irish civilians attending a GAA match. The day, which is known as Bloody Sunday did not occur during the Troubles, but has so many similarities with the one that occurred in 1972. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this final episode of season 5 of the Troubles Podcast, I talked to Eddie Kinner who joins the UVF at a young age and then was involved in a gun and bomb attack on a pub when he was 17. We talk about his past, and how he feels about life in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of the troubles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode focuses on Martin McGuinness as a politician and the rocky path to peace, which would be strained on many occasions. There was peace, then the threat of it all falling apart, problems with decommissioning and even a presidential bid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast comes the first in a two-part series on the life of Martin McGuinness. In this episode we cover Martin's rise to prominence and the role he played in some of the pivotal moments of the troubles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sergeant Joe Campbell was a Catholic RUC officer who was well respected by the people he looked after in the small seaside village of Cushendall up in the Glens of Antrim. At the time, the RUC was an overwhelmingly Protestant police force and Joe knew that there were some in the organisation who didn't want a Catholic working in their midst. In 1977 Joe was killed by loyalists and in this episode his son, Joe Campbell Junior, talks about his father and the 33-year quest for justice. Get an Exclusive NordVPN deal here: https://nordvpn.com/troublespod It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The La Mon House Hotel Bombing was a no-warning incendiary bomb attack on unsuspecting patrons in a hotel, which saw 12 people lose their lives. This attack was a complete disaster for the Provisional IRA and firmly cemented the thought in the minds of Unionists, that they were a sectarian group. Get an Exclusive NordVPN deal here: https://nordvpn.com/troublespod It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raymond Gilmour was born and raised in Derry and decided to become an informer as a teenager. He joined the INLA and then the Provisional IRA and all the while he was passing information on to the RUC and British Army. Then when he was exposed as an informer, upwards of 100 people were arrested on his testimony alone. But the toll paid by an informer is indeed a heavy one, and was it worth it? Get an Exclusive NordVPN deal here: https://nordvpn.com/troublespod It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don Tidey was kidnapped by the Provisional IRA in the hopes that his employer would pay the significant ransom that they demanded. What ensued instead was the largest manhunt in the history of the Irish State, which would see people lose their lives as a result of paramilitary violence. Journalist Ronan McGreevey comes on to tell this story. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/troublespod Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this second episode we examine James Mitchell and his farm at Glenanne. We then dive deep into two bar attacks, one which was carried out by serving members of the RUC, and the other which took place under the watchful eye of the British military. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This two-part episode focuses on the Glenanne gang, who were a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists based in the village of Glenanne. These were a group of loyalist which included members the the paramilitary group, the UVF, but also members of the police force the RUC and the British military regiment the UDR. In this first episode we learn about the infiltration of the UDR and then hear the claims made by former Glenanne gang member, John Weir. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a short episode to explain why there has been rioting in the streets of Belfast in the early days of August, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was a dark evening in February, 1983, when three armed, masked men arrived to the home of Jim Fitzgerald.His family were locked in a room. One of the men said to him "We have come for Shergar. We want £2 million for him." He was taken at gunpoint to a nearby stable where Shergar the horse was sleeping.  The horse was loaded into a horsebox, and never seen again. What followed was a mystery which captivated the people of Ireland, and many around the world in the hunt to locate Shergar the world’s most famous racehorse.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 be shadows of their former strength. So what led to such a bloody and violent feud? Find out in this weeks episode.Written by John Livingstone, you can find him over on Instagram at @thetroublesarchive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices