For eleven weeks, Catholic schoolchildren had to walk to school protected by RUC officers in full riot gear, as they were shouted at and jeered by an angry crowd of loyalists. So how did things get to this point? This is the story of the Holy Cross Dispute.

The Holy Cross Dispute

The Troubles were a period of time in Northern Ireland which many people today do not know a lot about. In this podcast we will delve into each individual bombing and attack that happened during the 30-year period. This is a non-partisan podcast that focuses solely on the facts and the accounts of the individuals involved.

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It was a dark evening in February, 1983, when three armed, masked men arrived to the home of Jim Fitzgerald.His family were locked in a room. One of the men said to him "We have come for Shergar. We want £2 million for him." He was taken at gunpoint to a nearby stable where Shergar the horse was sleeping.  The horse was loaded into a horsebox, and never seen again. What followed was a mystery which captivated the people of Ireland, and many around the world in the hunt to locate Shergar the world’s most famous racehorse.

The Disappearance of Shergar: The World’s Most Famous Racehorse

The two socialist Republican paramilitary groups were the INLA, Irish National Liberation Army and the IPLO, the Irish People's Liberation Organization.These were two organisations who sought to fight against the colonial occupation of British Rule and free the working class of capitalistic dominance. However, instead of romantic struggle they would instead set their sights on each other. Former friends would become submerged in a murky world of criminality, revenge, sectarianism and cold-blooded murder. By the end of this feud, many would be dead and both organisations would be shadows of their former strength. So what led to such a bloody and violent feud? Find out in this weeks episode.Written by John Livingstone, you can find him over on Instagram at @thetroublesarchive

'When the Hammer Turns Against the Sickle': Civil War Amongst The Republican Revolutionaries, The INLA vs The IPLO

I'll be putting on a live show in London later this month with Kevin and Jason from Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast. It'll take place on Wednesday, May 22nd at the London Irish Centre. Ticekts are £12 and the show starts at 19:30. Be great to see some of you there!

The Troubles Podcast Live in London on May 22nd

This week's episode focuses on the life of Father Patrick Ryan, a Catholic priest who had a unique relationship with the Provisional IRA and Libyan Dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Through Father Ryan, the Provisional IRA received millions in cash, but it was his engineering work with Provisional IRA bombs, which would end up saving the lives of many paramilitaries… while allowing them to improve the efficacy of their bombing campaign.

The Irish Priest Who Armed the Provisional IRA

It was a Sunday evening in November, 1983 and 65 people were attending service at the Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church Service. The church was a small wooden building on the outskirts of the Northern Irish village of Darkley, in the county of Armagh, which was close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The popular hymn, 'Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb' was playing, and pastor Bobby Bain was leading the singing. It was at this time, three masked gunmen arrived at the church. As the congregation started singing the final verse ‘Lay aside the garments that are stained by sin’, the shooting began. What ensued has gone on to be known as the Darkley Killings and in this episode we will learn about what happened and who was responsible. 

The Holy Cross Dispute

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