Send us a text My guest for this episode is Eamon McAuley, a former professional boxer from Ardoyne and author of “Fighting to Find Peace”. Eamon was born in Belfast just before “the troubles” erupted and has experienced a childhood unique to his place and time. From arms dumps on his street to his great uncle being brutally m*rdered by the infamous Shankill Butchers, Eamon’s life is one that has been shaped, in many ways, by the conflict that surrounded him. Eamon also shares many st...

Send us a text For this episode I am joined by author and historian, John Crotty. John has researched extensively the subject of Irelands neutrality during WW2 and the actions the Irish govt took that broke neutrality in favor of the allied side. We discuss the efforts that the IRA of the time made to collaborate with the Germans, how the Irish govt took extreme measures against the republicans (including internment and execution) and DeVelera’s decision to offer condolences after the death ...

Martin Galvin is the former publicity director of The Irish Northern Aid Committee, better known as "NORAID", and to many, the face of the group. A proud Irish-American, Martin joined NORAID in 1976 and, along-side his day job as a district attorney, worked tirelessly to bring awareness to the American public and political leadership about Irish republicanism and the injustices suffered by the people of Northern Ireland. He was barred from entering Northern Ireland and defied the order by sn...

My guest for this episode is Ali Watkins, author of “This Next One’s For You”, a book which explores the world of Irish-American gun-running in the early days of the troubles in Philadelphia and New York and how this impacted the conflict. We discuss Clan na Gael, an Irish-American group that pre-date the IRA and how they have been aiding the Irish Republican movement for decades and their efforts to arm the Provos however they could. Ali tells us about the methods they used to get the rifle...

For this special episode I’m joined by Ciaran Shiels, human rights lawyer for the Madden & Finucane law firm. For almost 30 years, Ciaran he has represented the majority of the Families and Wounded throughout the Saville Inquiry, the subsequent civil actions, and in all of the Judicial Review challenges related to the criminal investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the shootings of 27 unarmed young men and a woman on Bloody Sunday, as well as approximately 50...

For this episode I'm joined by a man well known ex-loyalist paramilitary and one-time leader of the Lower Shankill Road's infamous UDA (Ulster Defence Association), Johnny Adair. Johnny speaks about his growing up in Belfast during some of it's most turbulent and violent times, his lifelong friend with UDA k*ller Sam McCrory and he came to join, and later lead the Lower Shankill Road's UDA C- Company. We discussed his days as an active paramilitary, his many near brushes with death an...

For this week's episode I'm joined by ex-investigative journalist and MP, Chris Mullin, who though his efforts, was able to help free the falsely convicted Irishmen known as "the Birmingham 6". We speak about the sequence of events on the November 21st 1974 which left a mark on the city and people of Birmingham, k*lling 21 people and injuring over 200 and how the 6 innocent men ended up in prison for this heinous IRA b*mnbing. Chris also talks about his own involvement in the case and how h...

This week I’m joined by Austin Stack, son of murdered Portlaoise Maximum Secruity Prison Officer, Brian Stack, who was shot and later died after a planned IRA attack in 1983. Austin tells us about the night his father was shot, what his life was like in the 18 months between Brian being sh*t in the head and his eventual passing and how he would later come to a place of forgiveness. I asked Austin about his quest for truth surrounding his father’s death, those who were involved and where the...

This week I’m joined once again by Fr. Sean McManus, Fermanagh priest who shared with us the story of meeting IRA intel officer, Joe Lynsky prior to his eventual execution and the hands of his fellow Provos. Fr McManus didn’t know it at the time but it would transpire, decades later, that he had likely given Lynsky his last confession before he became one of the IRA’s 17 “disappeared”, 13 of which have had their bodies recovered but not Lynsky. 00:00 Joe Lynsky’s background &...

For this episode I’m joined once again by author and ex-solider, Jon Trigg to speak about his new book “Death In Derry” which tells the story of the Derry IRA and it’s perpetual leader, Martin McGuinness. Jon joined us last year when he released “Death In The Fields”, his excellent book on the East Tyrone IRA, for what was one of my personal favorite interviews. Jon tells us about Derry’s significance in Irish history as well as “the troubles” period itself. We discuss Martin McGuinness’ ro...

For this episode I'm speaking with Martin Dillon, well renowned author and journalist who has spent his career writing about the conflict in the North of Ireland. Martin's latest book, "The Sorrow and The Loss" deals with the women of the troubles and how the conflict affected the lives of the area's females including those who become combatants themselves , those whose husband/partners were in a paramilitary group, members of the security forces and much more. We speak about Mairead Farrell...

My guest this week is ex Irish Defence Forces soldier Kevin McDonald. Kevin served in Irelands Special Forces during the conflict that rocked the island. Kevin tells us about his involvement in the one of the biggest man hunts in the state’s history when INLA kidnapper Dessie O’ Hare was on the run. He shares with us the atmosphere amongst his fellow soldiers as they searched for one of the North’s most infamous paramilitaries. Kevin talks about IRA training camps in the south and his...

On June 18th 1994 while watching Ireland play in the World Cup, 6 completely innocent men were slaughtered by a loyalist paramilitary gunman who sprayed the bar with an assault rifle in an act of cold blooded sectarianism. Trevor Birney's book, "Shooting Crows" tells the storey of this tragic event, the hatred and bitterness that provide the basis for it, the history of loyalist collusion with various security forces branches, the arms shipment that the weapons came in on and the member...

Toby Harnden is the author of one of the best-selling and well regarded books on the IRA and the troubles, “Bandit Country”. Toby’s book lifted the lid on the area where is was most dangerous to be a British soldier in during the conflict and the IRA brigade that made it that way. One of my most requested guests and an author that I’ve been dying to speak to, Toby and I spoke about their history, actions & legacy as well as the reasons why this small rural area was the thorn in the army’s...

Kevin Meagher's book "What A Bloody Awful Country" examines the creation of the state we know as Northern Ireland and how the 100 plus years of existence as gone.We discuss the reasons for partition in the first place, the sectarian violence during the state's early years, the anti-catholic discrimination built into Northern Ireland's governing system, the various forms of civil rights violations that Catholics had to endure and how violence erupted into what we call "the troubles".TIMSTAMPS&...

Rob Millington, ex-british army trooper, spent 6 months in Belfast during the final decade of the conflict that gripped the lives of anyone in the 6 counties.Rob talks to us almost getting caught in an IRA b*mb which was set up to blow up security forces responding to sh*oting, the impact that first seeing dead bodies had on him and aftermath of the 1993 Shankill Road b*mbing.Rob shares his story about meeting Johnny Adair while on patrol and his attempts to extract information from British s...

John Nixon, ex-Offical IRA and INLA member begins this episode at the start of his second prison term in Long Kesh during which he would volunteer for the IRA/INLA Hunger Strike of 1980, led by Brendan “The Dark” Hughes.John speaks about the horrors and trauma of years in prison, beatings and torture from the guards and his account of the hunger strike that preceded the 1981 Hunger Strike, most known for Bobby Sands death.I asked about the effect that 53 days without food has a man’s body and...

Ralph Brooker served in the British army touring Fermanagh, Derry and the infamous South Armagh, better known as "Bandit Country".Having spent the majority of his time in rural, border areas Ralph recounts the British army's constant attempts to counteract the IRA's ever evolving methods and tactics. Ralph speaks to us about being on the receiving end of IRA mortar attacks, explosive booby-traps & landmines and the day-today realities of fighting a guerrilla army.Ralph told me about his v...

David Burke’s most recent book “Puppet Masters” shines a light on mysterious case of Patrick Crinnion, the garda (Irish police officer) who was passing information to Mi6 while he was in the Gardai’s secretive intel department. David, joining me for the third time, tells us about the state of the Republican movement in the years prior to the outbreak of “the troubles”, the resources available to Gardai in terms of intel gathering, Crinnion’s disappearance and the impact that he had on Ir...

****Q&A COMING SOON SO PLEASE SUBMIT ANY QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE ANSWERED IN THE COMMENTS****In a recent episode David Burke re-joined us to talk about the mysterious case of Garda Patrick Crinnion, a spy within the Garda Special Branch (Intel dept) who passed information to the British intel network.The release of David's book on the subject has prompted the unearthing of new information linking former assistant secretary of the Dept. Of Justice Thomas Coyne to British intel according to a ...