A brutal mass shooting shocks the world. In its wake, leaders vow to find those responsible and bring them to justice. But instead, the investigation goes nowhere. Evidence mysteriously goes missing or is destroyed. Suspects are tipped off before they are questioned. Leads are allowed to go cold.

This episode delves into the murky history of collusion in Northern Ireland. Naomi O'Leary and Tim Mc Inerney speak to investigative journalist Barry McCaffrey about the damning information he discovered linking the the infamous Loughinisland massacre to the British state's so-called "Dirty War". Naomi traces how Brexit has re-politicised Northern Ireland for the British right, and how modest progress in digging up the truth about the path has led to a backlash at the top of Westminster politics.

This is the first of a two-part series on the issue of dealing with the past, dedicated to the memory of murdered journalist Lyra McKee. You can listen to part two here: https://www.theirishpassport.com/podcast/s3-episode-4-poetry-and-pain/

Editing by Alan Meaney http://alanmeaney.ie/

For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport.

Season 3 of The Irish Passport podcast is made with the kind support of Biddy Murphy, online sellers of genuine Irish goods. Check them out on www.biddymurphy.com.

The music you heard in this episode is Night II, by Swelling, and Serial Killer, by John Bartmann.

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A transcript of this episode is available here: https://theirishpassport.com/transcript-collusion/

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