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. 

Here's the link to The Troubles Podcast live show in January 25th, 2024:
www.puntcomedy.com/event-details/the-troubles-live-podcast

In this episode, Kevin Owens talks about life in the Irish army during the Troubles, and explained what life was like... From searching in lakes for Libyan arms dumps to dealing with Gardai who may have been helping out the IRA. He then joined the US Army and ended up serving in Iraq and Afghanistan a number of times.

David Ervine began as a loyalist paramilitary but had a remarkable change of heart while in prison, and upon his release dedicated his efforts to political discourse, and acting as a political voice for the UVF. But it wasn't easy, and there would be many who wanted to take his life. This is the story of the man who championed constructive unionism.

Peter Taylor is a journalist who had an unparalleled level of access across the divided and sectarian communities in Northern Ireland. He has made multiple documentaires and written many books about the Troubles, and was trusted by paramilitaries to tell the world their stories.

In this episode we talk about his life, his memories of Bloody Sunday, and meeting the leaders of the Provisional IRA and the dangers with being a journalist during the Troubles.

We then discuss his new book, Operation Chiffon, The Secret Story of MI5 and MI6 and the Road to Peace in Ireland. This book tells the linear story of three decades of violence in Northern Ireland, with a focus on the secret peacemakers, the people who created back channels between the Provisional IRA and the British Government, in an attempt to broker peace.

Chris Thrall deployed as a Royal Marine into Northern Ireland in 1989. He knew very little about the conflict in Northern Ireland before arriving, and it wasn't long before he would see first-hand, what the troubles was like for a member of the British armed forces. Republicans targeted his barracks with mortor bombs, and he was also fired upon while out on patrol one day. This is his experience of the troubles.

In this episode we will focus on the attacks associated with Stephen 'Top Gun' McKeag, his fall from grace from the UDA and the circumstance which would lead to his eventual demise. This episode was written by John Livingstone, and you can find more of his writing by searching @TheTroublesArchive on Instagram.

This two-part episode focuses on Stephen 'Top Gun' McKeag, who was a prominant member of the Ulster Defence Association. He was also responsible for many killings of Catholics in Northern Ireland. This first episode will talk about how the UDA restructured in the early 90's and what led to the rise of C-Company.This episode was written by John Livingstone, and you can find more of his writing by searching @TheTroublesArchive on Instagram.

This week's episode features my chat with academic and historian, Gearóid Ó Faoleán. We talked about the Republic of Ireland's response to the growth of the Provisional IRA and how they dealt with the rise of Republicanism. We talk about how the IRA made explosives, whether they helped or hindered the heroin epidemic in Dublin, how Republicanism and class have changed over the decades and a lot more.

The Remembrance Day Bombing was an IRA bombing which was carried out in the town of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA claimed that they were targeting members of the security forces but instead ended up killing mostly elderly civilians. A lot of this episode focuses on where the IRA were getting their bombs from, which took them to the North African country of Libya.

Bertie Ahern was the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland during the peace talks in Northern Ireland. I sat down with him in March 2023 to talk about his memories during this period, and the many times it felt like it was all going to fall apart. We then talked about Northern Ireland today and what affect Brexit has had on the Good Friday Agreement.