In this episode I take a look at Dissident Irish Republican micro-groups. Rather than a case of considering some of their 'military actions', I'll be focusing on republican ideology as well as theology.

How do dissidents view themselves as opposed to  Sinn Fein? 

What drives their appetite for continuing violence?

Is there much difference between dissidents and organised crime groups?

I hope to, if not answer some of the above then give food for thought, plus look briefly at the statement by PIRA / Sinn Fein that there was 'no alternative' to waging a campaign of violence.           

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Médecins Sans Frontières

In this the second, and concluding part, of my look at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI, I'll be ruminating on aspects such as threats against police, extra-marital affairs in the RUC / PSNI, the depiction of MI5 and Special Branch in the drama.

Obviously this episode is peppered with SPOILERS,    

I do think I saw a little subtext in the drama too - I'm most likely wrong, but I thought I'd discuss it anyway to see if it makes sense. This element would very briefly concern the RUC's transition into the PSNI. 

Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy this episode.

Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

Médecins Sans Frontières

Using this opportunity to have a break, of sorts, from specific topics which I'd encountered throughout my RUC / PSNI career. Instead, I'm looking at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI. 

I'll spend this episode and the following looking at some of the characterisations and narrative strands within Blue Lights while reflecting upon similar in the context of my career in policing both the Troubles and the 'peace'. 

I hope you enjoy them. From looking at my notes I think my concluding Blue Lights episode will be slightly longer as I'll be looking at affairs between the ranks (anonymous, of course), MI5 and Special Branch, as well as how - I interpreted - the scriptwriters had embodied the RUCs transition into the PSNI.

Thank you, as ever.   

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Médecins Sans Frontières

In this episode I'll be recounting an incident which occurred in Ballymurphy, West Belfast, 1993.

It involved uniformed RUC officers, CID and members of the British Army. The local PIRA ASU were also involved in the planning and preparation of an attack on the security forces. 

I'll also be reflecting upon our memorialising and structuring of folk-memory in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The episode is presented within a narrative framework.  

Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

Médecins Sans Frontières

During the Troubles the squeeze of a trigger or flick of a switch could quickly turn the events of the day from mundane to inhumane. For the majority of the time the victims of shootings or bombings would have been vastly unaware of their fate. But sometimes not. How do you process the possibility of confronting someone who wants to murder you? 

The following occurrence in this episode actually unfolded in the manner recounted. I was present along with two of my colleagues. We were in uniform and on duty. It's a shorter episode that those which have gone before and I hope its brevity does not dilute the gravity of the situation.  

Thanks for listening.         

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Médecins Sans Frontières

In Part II of 'In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing' I continue my thoughts on militant Republicanism in the context of 'Heroic-Sacrifice' and a mythic past to which the Patriot Dead added their names for 'Ireland's freedom'.

Ultimately what I wanted to do was look at the literary and historical sources extant in Irish Republicanism which informed its evolving ideology as well as providing PIRA volunteers with the mental tools whereby they could quite happily someone like myself while feeling wholly justified and unconcerned. 

Maybe the oppressed learn from the brutal methodology of their oppressor? One thing I have come to understand - a long time ago - is that our conflict, the Troubles, is far from simply black and white. The interpretations of who is on the 'Good side' as opposed to who is on the 'bad side' is very subjective and depends on the narrator at the time.

This was an incredibly difficult episode for me to assemble, construct, and complete. My mental health took a bit of a bashing, but I think it remains therapeutic in some way?

Anyway, thank you again for your generosity of interest. In the next episode I would like to recount several occurrences which happened to me while in the RUC, but which may be a little more light-hearted than those proceeding.
        

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Médecins Sans Frontières

Part I of II:

In this episode I discuss the perception of the Royal Ulster Constabulary held by the Irish Nationalist / Republican community which grew from incidents such as Burntollet Bridge and police baton charges in Derry during the beginning of the Troubles. To do so I look at the actions of the State in respect of that community as well as some of my own encounters and thoughts. To conclude I consider the Hunger Strikes of 1980/81.

In Part II I continue my thoughts on the legacy of the Hunger Strikes through to the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent dissolution of the RUC. I will pepper this episode with my own thoughts and experiences in respect of the ceasefires, policing for change and the advent of the PSNI.

Thank you to all who continue to indulge my podcasts. I am immensely grateful.   

*'In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing' is a line from The Mother by Patrick Pearse      

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Médecins Sans Frontières

Since the establishment of Northern Ireland in 1921,  and the Royal Ulster Constabulary a year later,  it has been acknowledged that the RUC was overwhelmingly comprised of those from the protestant community within Northern Ireland. This factor led, in small part, to a lineage of 'police families'; fathers, mothers, sons and daughters continuing the tradition of their forbearers by enlisting as RUC officers.  When the Troubles ignited in 1969 it saw the RUC become over-stretched and constantly having to adapt and counter an increasingly hostile landscape of terrorism  which took a heavy toll on mundane policing practices. It wasn't long before Loyalist paramilitaries assumed a role by which they envisaged themselves as having to protect their own communities given a, perceived, growing absence of police from those areas.  But just how did Loyalist terrorists see themselves in relation to the RUC and how did that relationship  crumble over the period of the Troubles? This is what I hope to discuss in the episode. However, I have not been able to include all I wished and therefore there may be a further episode considering Loyalism and the RUC.                   

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Médecins Sans Frontières

In this episode I recount a gun and rocket attack against members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary which took place in Newry during the very late 1980s. The attack was coordinated by the south Armagh Provisional IRA along with elements of the Newry PIRA.

As ever, the identity of any individuals involved has been heavily cloaked through changes and alterations to names, locations, characteristics and nuances. The location of the attack remains the same. 

In the following episode I will be taking a break from these retellings and focus on attitudes towards policing in Northern Ireland, both in a Troubles and post-Troubles context.     

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Médecins Sans Frontières

In this episode I recount a sniper attack upon a joint army / RUC foot patrol in West Belfast. To better relate the incident I have characterised both state and non-state actors. I have also used a narrative framework to provide a clearer image of those involved. This account is lifted from personal involvement as well as information available to me at the time, and later. As ever, names and some details have been omitted or altered.

The primary characters in this episode are:

Dee - a member of a PIRA Belfast Active Service Unit

Samuel - a British Army a PFC based in Springfield Road RUC Station, Belfast

Sandy - a RUC neighbourhood officer stationed in Springfield Road RUC

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Law in the Country of Cats 

When two men meet for the first time in all
Eternity and outright hate each other,
Not as a beggar-man and a rich man,
Not as cuckold-maker and cuckold,
Not as bully and delicate boy, but
As dog and wolf because their blood before
They are aware has bristled into their hackles,
Because one has clubbed the other to death
[...]
When two men at first meeting hate each other
Even in passing, without words, in the street,
[...]
There will be that moment's horrible pause
As each looks into the gulf in the eye of the other,
Then a flash of violent incredible action,
Then one man letting his brains gently to the gutter
[...]

Ted Hughes

   

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Médecins Sans Frontières