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Christopher “Pinta” McKnight grew up in Derry’s Bogside as this city erupted in violence and as a 15 year old boy he lied about his age and joined the Provisional IRA. Chris talks to us about his life in the IRA which included moving weapons and explosives as a young member , training camps in the Donegal Mountains and working closely with one of the troubles most notorious figures, Martin McGuinness. He tells us about his time on the “blanket protest” and being in Long Kesh during the pivotal 1981 Hunger Strike led by Bobby Sands as well as being the victim of one of Derry’s famous “touts”.

My guest recalls being there for the Battle of Bogside and how losing a childhood mate on Bloody Sunday turned him from a Catholic teen who was friends with a British solider to a young man intent on joining the IRA and waging war on the security forces.

Chris has since ran for public office for Sinn Fein and earned a degree in Law & Politics from Ulster University.

00:00 Growing Up In pre-conflict Derry

06:35 BATTLE OF THE BOGSIDE 

18:25 Bloody Sunday 

41:15 Joining The IRA

46:50 Training Camps

53:00 Martin McGuinness, Claudy B*mb & South Derry 

58:50 Prison

1:16:10 In Long Kesh When Bobby Sands Died 

1:22:45 Martin McGuinness as Chief of Staff

1:25:58 Thoughts on Commercial B*mbing Campaign 

1:26:30 INLA in Derry?

1:28:00 Ray Gilmour 

1:31:45 Did Steaknife come to Derry ?

1:34:40 Cell Structure in Derry

1:43:45 Frank Hegarty 

1:47:50 Derry IRA vs Belfast IRA 

1:50:00 Attempt to recruit Chris as an informant 

1:51:20 Was Martin McGuinness an informant or agent ?

2:01:55 Did Chris see Martin McGuiness change over time? 

2:06:30 Thoughts on “Proxy B*mbs” and Joan Mathers M*rder (1981)

2:10:20 “Pinta” Nickname 

2:11:55 Move towards Politics 

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Stuart Griffiths is an ex-british paratrooper who was stationed in Belfast and East Tyrone during the late 80s/early 90s. His book “Pigs Disco” explores the sub-culture of hard dr*g use in his regiment including LSD and other substances which would get a soldier kicked out of the army.

He speaks about the reality of life on patrol in some of Belfast’s most hostile areas, facing both the IRA and also a population who had particular contempt for the parachute regiment, for obvious reasons. Stu tells us about the toxic environment in the paras and how this plus the conflict itself took it’s toll on his mental health.

He also talks about his time in East Tyrone and how his friend getting his legs blown off by a landmine had an effect on Stu as well as adjusting to adjust to life after the army while dealing with the mental scars of PTSD.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 “Pigs Disco” 
17:45 On Patrol
23:00 BORN THE DAY AFTER BLOODY SUNDAY 
37:10 Memorable Night in Belfast 
52:05 Colluding With Loyalists??
57:40 Working with RUC (Police) 
1:02:10 East Tyrone 
1:14:30 Running into Ex-IRA member in Belfast 
1:18:15 PTSD

BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/ParaTripper-Para-Pap-STORY-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSVXF7M9?ref_=ast_author_mpb

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In June 1987, Thomas Emanuel Wilson, a member of the Official IRA, was abducted and subsequently m*rdered by the Provisional IRA’s “nutting squad”. Like so many of the killings involving Freddie Scappaticci, better known as “Agent Stakeknife”, the victim was lifted and m*rdered on the pretense of being an informer or a “tout”, but he wasn’t. 

Paul Wilson was a very young child when his father was m*rdered and since taken it upon himself to dig as deep as he can to find the truth and possibly get the authorities to do more.

Paul discusses his father’s life, the circumstances of his death, his dealings with the Operation Kenova team and the additional names & information that he has unearthed in the course of his own hunt for the truth. 

TIMESTAMPS 
00:00 Recent Meeting with Kenova Team
1:35 Paul’s Father’s 1987 Life & M*rder (Thomas Emmanuel Wilson)
18:15 When Did Paul Become Aware of Scap (Stakeknife)
23:15 Mi5 Tampering in Kenova Investigation 
29:25 Paul’s Journey Of Discovery 
35:05 The PIRA’s “Internal Security Unit” 
47:35 Further Investigations ?
56:50 Freddie Scappaticci 
1:11:15 Kenova Team 

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John O’Brien is a retired Detective Chief Superintendent of An Garda Síochána, the national police service of Ireland. Over the course of a distinguished policing career that spanned more than 38 years, he held a succession of senior operational and strategic leadership roles.
 
John also served as National Head of Interpol and Europol, playing a pivotal role in fostering cooperation between Irish law enforcement and international policing organisations.

His assessment regarding the Mass Murder of 34 innocents on the 17 May 1974  is that the UVF — acting alone — did not possess the technical, operational, or organisational capacity to execute the Dublin car bombings. John lays out the case based on a layered accumulation of forensic findings, expert military testimony, comparisons with the UVF’s historical bombing record and analysis of the sophisticated planning required for the Dublin operation.

00:00 Could the UVF have acted alone ?
03:20 THE DAY OF THE B*MBINGS ??????
13:25 “The Killing Years”
29:20 The B*mb Signature
47:23 EXPERT MILITARY OPINION
58:20 British Strategy & Kenova
1:09:35 Did the UVF get help planning the attack
1:31:00 Final Thoughts

BUY JOHN'S BOOKS : https://www.jaobrien.ie/home

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**NOT A CLIP FROM MARTIN'S LAST INTERVIEW**

Ex-republcian prisoner Martin McAllister joins us again to share the story of one of the IRA's most brazen and risky one-man prison escapes, an escape that was masterminded & executed in the space of 2 hours. It resulting in an IRA man walking straight out of the British internment camp, all while being assisted, unwittingly, by one of the top prison guards.  

Martin, not content with having once taken part in a mass-jailbreak from Portlaoise max-security prison, employed his skills of observation and opportunism to free a fellow republican prisoner who started the morning completely unaware that he would walk straight out of Long Kesh that day.

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For the episode I’m joined by ex Royal Ulster Constabulary and PSNI officer Sam Thompson. Sam spent his teen years growing up in a 1970s Belfast and remembers seeing his city descend into chaos and violence as the conflict erupted. Despite this Sam elected to join the police force which brought him face to face with danger in some of Northern Ireland’s most deadly areas including East Tyrone, Armagh and Springfield Road in Belfast.

Sam shares stories about narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the IRA 3 times within a week and how some of his fellow officers weren’t so quite lucky.

We spoke about the importance of conversations about the conflict and of preserving the stories/memories of those who were there as well as how Sam ended up making friends with ex republican paramilitaries. 

00:00 Making friends with ex-IRA men 
06:25 Growing up 
19:30 Joining the RUC 
38:40 INLA in Armagh 
43:45 British soldiers telling Loyalists that they’re “Not British”
47:07 BELFAST (Springfield Road station)
57:00 UDR 
59:55 Collusion ?
1:29:15 Most memorable moments from Sam’s career
1:32:15 Thoughts “Say Nothing” tv series 
1:35:45 Sam’s writing 
1:43:00 Common misconceptions 

 BUY SAM’s NOVEL: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nights-Armour-Samuel-Thompson/dp/178117699X

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For this episode I'm joined by ex- South Armagh man Martin McAllister who you may have seen in the recent BBC documentary on Captain Robert Nairac.

Martin shares his experiences including guerrilla warfare in the fields of South Armagh, being part of one of the IRA's biggest prison escapes and being shot while attempting to ambush British soldiers. He tells us about the british army medic who intervened and potentially stopped his fellow troops from k*lling Martin and how this had a profound effect on him.

Martin speaks in depth about the importance of empathy, even during a violent conflict, and how he came to hold such views. Martin has spent decades searching for the remains of "the disappeared", a group of people who the IRA m*rdered but have never disclosed their place of burial, including one of the most enigmatic figures from the troubles, Captain Robert Nairac. 

 00:00 Early days of the troubles in Crossmaglen 
06:05 Joining the IRA 
12:05 Training 
17:20 British Army “No-Road” Policy & Helicopters In South Armagh 
20:30 “Bandit Country” Nickname 
23:30 ROBERT NAIRIC
28:05 Breaking Out Of Max-Security Prison 
41:40 Returning to Active Service 
43:50 SHOT & CAPTURED BY BRITISH ARMY 
49:50 EMPATHY
57:28 KINGSMILL 
1:14:02 Quest to find Robert Nairac & “the disappeared” 
1:16:10 Martin’s thoughts on recent BBC documentary that he featured in

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My guest for this week is long-time Belfast -based journalist, Hugh Jordan. Hugh explains what being a journalist was like during some of Belfast's most turbulent years as elements of the Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries tried to derail the peace-process and plunge the North back into violence.

Hugh tells us about how he acquired and kept his sources during this time, often members of the IRA, UVF, UDA and more. He speaks about the dangers that come with his role, threats that have made against his life, being assaulted on the job and meeting some of the conflicts most famous "touts"/informers.

He also shares stories about the Shankill Butchers, ex- SF publicly director Danny Morrison and how Hugh repaired his relationship with Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair. Hope you enjoy!!

00:00 Intro
4:10 Paisley’s role in early violence in N.I 
16:00 Sources within the IRA
26:10 Dealing w/ sources 
34:10 Sources lying ?
36:40 Meeting with INLA
40:30 Willie Carlin & Ray Gilmour 
52:25 Paramiltaries post- troubles 
57:00 Cameron Hastie 
1:00:30 Basher Bates 
1:06:45 Danny Morrison story 
1:10:50 Naming Thomas “Slab” Murphy 
1:15:00 Patching up relationship with Johnny Adair 
1:24:50 RUC man Ronnie Flanigan 
1:32:30 Hugh gets PUNCHED on the job 

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This week I'm joined by the author of "An Accidental Villain: A Soldier's Tale of War, Deceit and Exile", Linden MacIntyre. This book explores the life of Henry Hugh Tudor, a close friend of Winston Churchill who, during the height of Irish War Of Independence, was appointed as the de-facto chief of police (RIC) in Ireland which put him charge of arguably the single most hated group in Irish history - "the Black and Tans".

BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Villain-Soldiers-Deceit-Exile/dp/0735282021

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TIMSTAMPS 
00:00 Intro 
06:30 2nd Boer War
10:05 How did his time in Ireland effect Tudor ?
18:45 To what degree did Churchill shield Tudor from Cabinet scrutiny ?
24:50 Burning of Cork & Sack of Balbriggin 
43:00 Life after army

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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 stories about his father “Coco” McAuley, a notorious Ardoyne hard-man who, at one stage, was shot by the IRA, Loyalists and fought the British army Paras in the street, to the point where they had to send a boxing champion over from Germany try to defeat him. 

00:00 Coco McAuley (Eamon’s father)
08:40 Eamon’s childhood (Shankill Butchers and Johnny Adair) 
21:15 Lewis Crocker (Belfast’s newest champ) 
34:30 Thoughts on MMA
41:35 Did being a vegetarian end Eamonn’s career? 
45:25 Coco II
59:15 Coco III
1:01:25 Coco SHOT BY LOYALISTS 
1:06:15 Reality of growing up during the troubles 
1:15:00 GFA & thoughts on Irish Reunification 

https://www.youtube.com/@UCH3Cfhwnw5TxRUlL20A_wuQ 

https://www.orpenpress.com/books/fighting-to-find-peace-a-belfast-boxers-journey/