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 members of the 3 man team who committed the heinous m*rders. 

The book also has a personal element for Trevor as he experienced firsthand some of the breaches of his press freedoms by the PSNI following the airing of a film about the Loughlinisland massacre that Trevor was involved in. 

I'll be doing a Q&A episode soon so please drop any questions in the comment section below or email me at [email protected] 


TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro 
5:45 LOUGHLINISLAND MASSACRE 
18:00 History of Loyalists attacking civilian targets 
24:00 “Collusion” and Brian Nelson 
28:40 Extreme-loyalists 
32:40 Police Ombudsman Reports into the massacre 
43:35 PSNI investigate Trevor 


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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 side throughout the entire conflict. 

We discussed the IRA’s guerrilla attacks on the British Army in South Armagh, the ’Slab” Murphy family, Gaddafi & Libyan arms shipments, the anti-helicopter sub-battle within the conflict, the deployment of the SAS, the infamous 90’s sniper teams and much more. 

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00:00 Intro 
16:20 Stats & Facts on The South Armagh IRA 
21:45 Thomas “Slab” Murphy & the Murphy family 
43:00 1970’s
1:03:50 Informers 
1:07:50 Sectarian m*rders 
1:10:00 THE SAS (1976)
1:15:14 WARRENPOINT 
1:28:00 Glasdrumann scrapyard counter-ambush 
1:33:30 Libya and Gaddafi 
1:42:05 Richard Johnson & the American connection 
1:50:45 Anti-Helicopter War 
2:00:00 “SNIPER AT WORK” (1990’s)
2:22:25 1990’s actions

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 
0:00 Intro, ‘What A Bloody Awful Country’
5:30 How Did Northern Ireland Come To Exist 
12:30 Violence in Northern Ireland’s History
16:05 Key Factors Leading To The Outbreak of Violence
32:50 Ian Paisley 
38:10 Kevin’s Irish History Counterfactual 
50:50 Border Poll
56:40 Kevin’s Interest 

(Q&A coming soon so please drop any questions in the comments or email me at [email protected] )

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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 soldiers as well as the surprising reaction that Rob and his men would get while meeting high-level republican paramilitaries in the street. 

00:00 Responding to a sh*oting in North Belfast and almost getting caught in b*mb blast 
17:50 Getting to NI 
34:45 1993 Shankill Road B*mbing 
41:30 Meeting JOHNNY ADAIR 
53:05 See Dead Bodies For The First Time 
1:01:00 Shooting During Tour ? 
1:04:25 Leaving NI

CLIP OF ROB : https://youtu.be/WbcVovb4Kgc?si=cQ9EEqdHSesxJf02

(Q&A coming soon so please drop any questions in the comments or email me at [email protected] )

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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 mind and how John has tried to moved past everything to life a normal life post prison 

Please forgive us for any parts that might overlap or be repetitive, we recorded this part over several sittings as you can tell. 

00:00 2nd Prison Sentence 
12:45 Staying Sane in Prison 
30:50 Would John Meet With an Ex-Prison Guard 
36:45 Brendan Hughes
43:00 Hunger Strikes 
57:42 1980 HUNGER STRIKE 
1:04:42 Selecting Hunger Strikers 
1:13:35 Stages of John’s Hunger Strike (53 days) 
1:29:52 Hunger Strike ENDS 
1:32:42 Prison after Hunger Strike 
1:41:20 Release & Life after prison 

(Q&A coming soon so please drop any questions in the comments or email me at [email protected] )

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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 views on the IRA and how they changed over the years as well as whether he now considers his old foes to be "freedom fighters"

(Q&A coming soon so please drop any questions in the comments or email me at [email protected] )

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00:00 GETTING MORTARED while in a HELICOPTER
12:20 High Profile IRA men
21:40 How Ralph viewed the IRA- Freedom Fighters ??
44:40 Dealing w/ the Public 
51:20 Clashes w/ UDR & RUC 
1:02:50 Derry 
1:07:50 Names in Stormont that Ralph remembers from COP (Close Observational) Days
1:23:05 Were the Loughall “A-Team” set up ?
1:25:15 IRA Booby-Traps 
1:30:40 SOUTH ARMAGH 
1:45:30 IRA’s 
1:52:00 Final Thoughts

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 Irish history.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Pre-troubles republican activity 
06:00 1960’s- IRA activity & Garda intel branch 
17:00 Patrick Crinnion 

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****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 letter written by the afore mentioned Patrick Crinnion.

We discuss the possible implications of such high-level treachery by Irish government officials and the effects that this would have had on Irish politics as well as questions about the information's authenticity/reliability.

If you would like to help out the show please like, subscribe and share. I plan on doing bigger things with this show including walk through of areas, documentary-type videos and more.. if you would like to help fund these efforts please consider donating on Buy Me a Coffee. (link below)
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00:00 Patrick Crinnion’s letter (found in prison cell) 
33:45 Thomas Coyne and subsequent officials with in the DOJ 
38:35 Authenticity of new info

In part 2 of my interviews with ex-official IRA & INLA member, John Nixon. In this episode we discussed some of the INLA’s most prolific operations as well as some of the organizations most well known members including Seamus Costello and Dessie O’ Hare. (Part 1 - https://youtu.be/9YOpiW1jU6c?si=81DqiPlwIAz4HOHQ)

I asked John about second prison term in Long Kesh where he took part in the blanket protest and the no-wash protest in an attempt to win back POW status. John breaks down the escalating steps that led up to the no-wash protest and how these brutal years have effected John’s life forever. John tells us about the beatings and torture that prisoners were subjected to in Long Kesh and what atmosphere in the jail was like following one of the many assassinations of guards by republicans outside the prison walls. 

If you would like to help out the show please like, subscribe and share. I plan on doing bigger things with this show including walk through of areas, documentary-type videos and more.. if you would like to help fund these efforts please consider donating on Buy Me a Coffee. (link below)
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00:00 INLA Operations - Billy Wright 
10:40 Different types in the INLA/IRSP 
16:15 Séamus Costello 
20:10 Dessie O Hare
29:00 SECOND Prison term 
36:20 BLANKET PROTEST & Targeting Prison Guards 
50:15 PTSD and Mental Trauma

My guest for this week is James Durney, historian and author of “Jailbreak” which details the various “great escapes” perpetrated by Irish Republican prisoners from 1865 onwards into the 1980s.

James tells us about the most daring and dangerous prison escapes, both successful and otherwise, of the troubles-era including the story of the Crumlin Kangaroos, the HMS Maidstone escape, the 1973 Mountjoy Helicopter escape and of course the H-Block breakdown which is still the biggest prison escape in British penal history.

If you would like to help out the show please like, subscribe and share. I plan on doing bigger things with this show including walk through of areas, documentary-type videos and more.. if you would like to help fund these efforts please consider donating on Buy Me a Coffee. (link below)
Thanks a million!!

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https://www.irishacademicpress.ie/product/jailbreak-great-irish-republican-escapes-1865-1983/

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Jailbreak
8:30 HMS Maidstone escape 
14:30 Mountjoy Helicopter 1971
22:30 Portlaoise Max. Security Prison Escape 1973
28:10 M60 Gang Escape & Long Kesh Escape 1983
40:25 War of Independence & Civil War Escapes and more