This week I’m joined once again by Fr. Sean McManus, Fermanagh priest who shared with us the story of meeting IRA intel officer, Joe Lynsky prior to his eventual execution and the hands of his fellow Provos.
Fr McManus didn’t know it at the time but it would transpire, decades later, that he had likely given Lynsky his last confession before he became one of the IRA’s 17 “disappeared”, 13 of which have had their bodies recovered but not Lynsky.

00:00 Joe Lynsky’s background & m*rder
2:12 Request from IRA Chief of Staff, Sean Mac Stiofain
27:45 Any other pre-m*rder confessions that Fr Sean knows of ??

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For this episode I’m joined once again by author and ex-solider, Jon Trigg to speak about his new book “Death In Derry” which tells the story of the Derry IRA and it’s perpetual leader, Martin McGuinness.

Jon joined us last year when he released “Death In The Fields”, his excellent book on the East Tyrone IRA, for what was one of my personal favorite interviews.

Jon tells us about Derry’s significance in Irish history as well as “the troubles” period itself. We discuss Martin McGuinness’ roots and his rise power including Chief of Staff. Jon discusses the battle of the Bogside, Bloody Sunday as well as the army’s early days in the city and how it’s relationship with the locals changed over time.

We discuss the types of attacks and operation carried out by the Provos in the city, the various “own-goals” that the IRA inflicted on itself, the role of the SAS in the city/county, the various notorious informers or “touts” that severely damaged the group’s capabilities, how the conflict wound down and eventually ended and much more.

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Reaction to previous book & interview (East Tyrone)
1:30 Derry’s significance in Irish history
8:30 Martin McGuinness & pre-troubles Derry
15:20 BATTLE OF THE BOGSIDE
22:05 British army come to Derry
41:50 “Wild West” early days and Commercial b*mbing campaign
56:20 BLOODY SUNDAY
1:06:30 Operation Motorman & Claudy b*mbs
1:15:50 Poster boys
1:35:20 THE SAS
1:44:25 DET shooting 1981
1:51:48 Why the “cell structure” didn’t suit Derry as much as Belfast
1:56:23 Events damaging the Derry IRA’s image
2:13:50 Successful SAS ambushes
2:23:40 Raymond Gilmour, Willie Carlin & Frank Hegarty
2:34:40 WAS MARTIN MCGUINNESS AN INFORMER
2:42:25 Loyalist activity in Derry
2:48:20 The End
2:58:10 Thoughts on Say Nothing tv series
3:04:17 Future Belfast Brigade books

For this episode I'm speaking with Martin Dillon, well renowned author and journalist who has spent his career writing about the conflict in the North of Ireland. Martin's latest book, "The Sorrow and The Loss" deals with the women of the troubles and how the conflict affected the lives of the area's females including those who become combatants themselves , those whose husband/partners were in a paramilitary group, members of the security forces and much more.

We speak about Mairead Farrell, one of the IRA's most effective female operators, Dolores Price, Jean McConville's execution, Martin's opinions on the book "Say Nothing" and more.

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Revaltions in Martin’s book about 1987 Enniskillen b*mbing
18:40 Martin’s new book “The Sorrow & The Loss”
27:40 MAIREAD FARRELL
45:58 Fallout from 1987 Gibraltar k*llings: Michael Stone attack & Corp. Howes and Wood
51:40 Dolores Price & Jean McConville
1:13:10 Tracy Doak (RUC officer)

My guest this week is ex Irish Defence Forces soldier Kevin McDonald. Kevin served in Irelands Special Forces during the conflict that rocked the island.

Kevin tells us about his involvement in the one of the biggest man hunts in the state’s history when INLA kidnapper Dessie O’ Hare was on the run. He shares with us the atmosphere amongst his fellow soldiers as they searched for one of the North’s most infamous paramilitaries.

Kevin talks about IRA training camps in the south and his efforts to thwart them as well as some of the techniques used by the provos to conceal their camps.

I asked Kevin about levels of support within the Army for the IRA or at least its aims, feelings towards the British Army and much more.

00:00 DESSIE O’ HARE HUNT
13:45 Joining Army
26:30 Bloody Sunday
35:54 Support for the IRA within the Army ?
44:40 IRA TRAINING CAMPS
52:35 “Shoot to Kill” policy ?

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00:00 DESSIE O’ HARE HUNT
13:45 Joining Army
26:30 Bloody Sunday
35:54 Support for the IRA within the Army ?
44:40 IRA TRAINING CAMPS
52:35 “Shoot to Kill” policy ?

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 thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com


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 thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com )

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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 thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com )

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