William Matchett is an ex-RUC officer who spent years working in the secretive and murky world of informants and agents during his time in Special Branch while “the troubles” raged on.

William shares with us his motivations for joining the RUC during such dangerous times, the techniques they utilized to recruit informants, death threats he’s received over the years and his encounters with the notorious South Armagh unit of the IRA.

We discussed paramilitaries who have committed m*rders and terror attacks while simultaneously working as an RUC Special Branch agent, the subject of collusion between RUC and Loyalist paramilitaries as well as policing a post-Good Friday Agreement state. 

TIMESTAMPS 
00:00 Growing up, seeing Catholic family petrol-b*mbed out of their house 
08:20 JOINING THE RUC- policing in South Armagh 
22:50 Negative view of the RUC & Threats on William’s life
36:00 SPECIAL BRANCH 
52:30 Martin McGartland, Ken Barret, Mark Haddock, William Stobie 
1:16:00 MEETING WITH INFORMANTS 
1:27:05 THE NUTTING SQUAD
1:30:45 UVF/UDA 
1:35:55 RUC interrogation  
1:44:25 Post-GFA Northern Ireland 
1:52:40 What should the RUC done differently throughout the conflict 

PLEASE EMAIL ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS (if you're reading this and were involved in paramilitary activity please give me a shout if you would like to tell your story, even anonymously to [email protected])

BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Victory-Intelligence-that-beat/dp/1527202054

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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**Sorry for the late upload my good people.. feel free to follow on YouTube where I'm a bit more on top of things**

Fr Sean McManus hails from Co. Fermanagh but was sent, by his superiors in the Catholic, to America early in his career where he continued his fight for Irish freedom.

Fr McManus’ tells us about his early life, his older brother who was killed during the IRA’s border campaign, the death-threats he has received and the attempts by British forces to smear his reputation by implying his involvement with Gaddafi.

Fr McManus speaks about his refusal to stay silent regarding British occupation of Ireland despite attempts by his bosses in the church to get him to keep his head down as well as his work on Capitol Hill.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
05:25 Brothers death in border campaign
06:10 Tempted to join ?
08:00 Becoming a priest
26:20 Sean’s “3 types of Violence” 
28:35 FR MC MANUS ARRESTED 
53:40 Threats to Fr McManus’ life 
1:27:30 Thoughts on Fr. Patrick Ryan 
1:41:10 FBI FILE ON FR MCMANUS 

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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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Mick Hawkes is an ex-SAS soldier and 14th intel company (the Det.) operator who worked against the IRA and Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland as part of his military career. 

Mick tells us about the daily ins and outs of carrying out surveillance on dangerous insurgents, the differences between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, how he helped to prevent a mortar attack on an RUC and much more.

(The first 30 mins or so are a little choppy due to wifi problems but completely fine after that.. apologies and thank you)

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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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00:00 South Armagh
11:00 Any respect for the IRA ?
20:45 Any “off-base” activities 
21:45 IRA men in the area 
27:55 Between Mick’s 1980 South Armagh tour and returning to N.I in 1993- Joining SAS 
33:00 THE DET
39:10 1993 Shankill fish shop b*mb 
42:00 DET work II
1:04:00 Protestant paramilitary groups 
1:08:30 The UDR (Ulster Defence regiment) & RUC 
1:13:05 IRA informers 
1:16:45 Face-to-face encounter w/ IRA man 
1:26:48 Did Mick want to get into a “contact” with a terrorist ?
1:29:25 Foiling a mortar attack on RUC station 
1:31:40 IRA in LONDON- Mick’s work with Mi5 
1:44:20 Miss the “buzz’ from the job?? 
1:55:35 Ex soldiers doing mercenary work 
2:01:35 Are SAS the best ??

My guest this week is Dr Michael Flavin, child to Irish parents who grew up in Birmingham, England during the IRA’s bombing campaign in England during the troubles.

Michael speaks to us about being a part of the Irish diaspora in England, anti-Irish discrimination at the time as well Michael’s writings on IRA leadership and INLA splits.

00:00 “NO BLACKS NO DOGS NO IRISH” sign- was it real??
03:50 Michael’s parents move to England 
07:05 Many other children of immigrants ?
08:50 BIRMINGHAM B*MBINGS impact on Michael’s life 
20:20 Gerry Adams leadership writings 
26:30 INLA splits 
54:30 Do most English people consider Northern Irish people to be “British” ?

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

Dan Lawton’s thrilling new book “The Hunted” explores the story of Kevin Barry Artt and how he was false-convicted of the IRA murder of deputy Maze prison governor, Albert Miles. 

We speak about the so-called “confession factory” Castlereagh, Long Kesh’s Maze prison, the horrors of the “blanket”/“no-wash” protests and how Kevin Barry Artt took part in one of N.I’s biggest jailbreaks. 

TIMESTAMPS 
00:00 CASTLEREAGH “The Confession Factory” 
08:15 LONG KESH & The lead up to Albert Miles’ murder 
18:45 The murder of Albert Miles 
24:30 Maurice Gilvarry (IRA member & RUC Agent) 
27:35 PRISON ESCAPE
39:05 Escape almost goes wrong 
48:00 Film or TV series ??


PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

BUY THE BOOK: www.abovethegroundbook.com

instagram.com/danlawtonwriter/
twitter.com/DanLawtonwriter

For this episode I’m joined by author and lecturer, Thomas Leahy, whose book “The Intelligence War against the IRA” gives a through and detailed account of Britain’s attempts to disrupt and defeat the IRA by way of intel gathering.

We discuss the various methods of intel collection, what “intel” is and can be used for in this context, the various times of ceasefire during the conflict and the reasons for them.

Thomas details why the rural IRA brigades were tougher infiltrate, how technological change effected the British army and the reasons for the peace talks at various points in the conflict. 

00:00 What is INTEL ??
5:50 Structure of Thomas’ book 
13:50 Derry IRA
18:55 Rural areas more difficult to affect in the Intel War
35:05 Technological changes thru-out the troubles 
39:50 Tasking & co group 
45:40 Misconceptions surrounding the subject

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

BUY THE BOOK: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/intelligence-war-against-the-ira/A34D7CEFB3118C4C2F9553F4D30D91ED

Harry McCallion is an ex-paratrooper and SAS solider who served in the north during some of the troubles’ most violent years. Harry tells us about the brutal training regime they underwent before deployment, his thoughts on the mistakes that the British army made, his views on the “Ballymurphy Massacre”, his emotional state while policing violent riots and the effects that the job had on his mental health at the time.
Harry shares his insights on the uniques challenges of taking on a “guerrilla” army, rural vs urban warfare, his own personal relationship with violence/killing and much more..

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Joining the British Army (Paras) & becoming brutalized 
12:45 Pre-deployment, does Harry consider N.I people to be British & do Irish people “live in the past” too much?
25:50 DEPLOYMENT TO NORTHERN IRELAND - Internment roundup  
28:55  Thoughts on BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE & 2021 Inquiry 
39:35 RIOTS - “absolutely terrifying” 
APPEAL 
51:15 Harry’s relationship with KILLING & violence   
57:35 Does Harry know how many people he has killed? 
58:40 Fist-fight w/ an INLA member 
59:55 Joining the SAS
1:05:00 Loyalist dual membership of UDR & UVF/UDA 
1:07:30 Were UVF/UDA as competent as the PIRA ?
1:12:50 SOUTH ARMAGH & TYRONE IRA 
1:19:00 Gerry Adams story 
1:23:00 Fighting against guerrilla soldiers 
1:29:00 Protecting intel sources within the IRA 
1:33:55 GUERRILLA OR TERRORIST ??
1:49:20 Rural or urban soldiering.. which was more difficult ? 
1:52:00 The MRF 
1:58:35 Harry’s latest book

Author, lawyer and past guest of the show, David Burke reveals a previously unreleased statement from ex-Tara member and close-friend of Robin 'the jackal" Jackson, Charlie Simpson uncovering Jackson and the British Army's involvement in one of the trouble's most heinous attacks. We talk through the events of the tragic day, the logistics of the UVF operation and the political goings-on at the time of attack.


DAVID'S FREE E-BOOK (much more detail on the topic) 
https://coverthistory.ie/2024/05/04/returning-the-serve-the-jackal-collusion-mi5-and-the-dublin-and-monaghan-bombings-by-david-burke/

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

Brendan Hughes (not to be confused with the deceased Brendan ‘The Dark” Hughes) shares his truly extraordinary life story, a life shaped by his membership of the East-Tyrone PIRA in the early days of the conflict in the North. 

 Brendan tells us about his time ambushing British soldiers in the countryside and robbing banks to fund raise for the IRA and his thoughts on having to take human life for his cause. Brendan shares the incredible story of how masterminded the second ever prison escape involving a helicopter on Halloween 1973 and how he himself ended up leading a 19 man jailbreak from Ireland’s most secure lock-up.

His tale later involves a split form the movement and a team of assassins being spent to NYC to take out Brendan, one of whom Brendan would later meet.

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected] 

BUY THE BOOK: https://uplikeabird.com

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!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Growing up in Tyrone, first contact with sectarianism 
07:20 Joining the IRA
13:10 Robbing banks 
24:40 AMBUSHING BRITISH SOLDIERS 
31:00 Becoming an intel officer 
35:50 Lead-up to MOUNTJOY HELICOPTER ESCAPE 
45:30 DAY OF THE ESCAPE
56:50 Getting caught & jailed 
1:05:27 Planning the Portlaoise prison escape 
1:14:20 DAY OF ESCAPE FROM PORTLAOISE 
1:22:25 Immediately after escaping 
1:36:25 Split from IRA (hit-team sent to NYC to get him)
1:42:40 Back to prison
1:44:25 Thoughts on united-Ireland

My guest this week is ex-b*mb disposal man, Steve Smith. Steve worked as a EOD officer in Belfast during the early 80s and worked to rid the city of IRA & Loyalist b*mbs.

Steve gives us his insight into the various types of explosives used throughout the conflict, the differences between IRA & Loyalist b*mb-makers, how it feels to put on the b*mb-suit & approach an explosive device and the effects that such a job can have on one’s mental health.

Steve tells us about the unique challenges of b*mb-disposal in rural settings vs urban, the physical sensation of being caught in a b*mb blast and much more.

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.
Thanks a million!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to [email protected]


TIMESTAMPS 
00:00 Putting on the “B*MB SUIT”
03:35 Training 
10:00 Psychological aspect 
14:20 The Hurt Locker (film) & mental toll of the job 
17:00 FIRST EXPLOSIVES DISPOSALS 
24:45 B*mb Disposal in RURAL AREAS
27:20 Robots  
30:40 TOUGH JOB
35:10 Dealing with trauma from the job
37:25 IRA calling in car-b*mb 
44:10 Loyalist b*mbs (better or worse b*mb-makers?) 
46:13 TYPES of b*mbs throughout the conflict 
55:10 Remote b*mbs & Mercury tilt 
59:30 Light-activated explosives 
1:00:30 Closest Steve has been to b*mb exploding 
1:07:30 Cutting wires