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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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