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Three young Londoners discussing socio-cultural issues.
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Having served over thirty years in the RUC / PSNI I was medically retired with CPTSD. Dissociative Identity Disorder also evolved in me as a residue of CPTSD. I wrote a novel, 'The Bitter End of Dreams', through which I hoped to reflect the experiences of working class folk caught in the grip of a sectarian conflict. I set my story in Belfast, but replaced the Judeo-Christian god with that of Mithras. I also gave Northern Ireland an extra county. Such counterfactual alterations opened up for ...
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Will there be a time when we, in Northern Ireland, see our seemingly parallel divergent histories cross? Our opposing narratives blend with commonality. As a society still raw from sectarian and political conflict many are trying to step away from hate, but there are still those who fear any admission of culpability will render them vulnerable. In …
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Rattlebag II: Addendum - The Forgotten Op
18:57
18:57
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Just a bolt-on tale I omitted to include in the previous episode: 'Rattlebag'. Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.By E.S. Haggan
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This episode is, in itself, an interlude before I continue my theme of reconciliation and recrimination. I just needed a breather of sorts and to realign my thoughts, which had been threatening to scatter. Just some (brief) ruminations herein on a few innocuous memories from my time in both the Royal Ulster Constabulary and PSNI. Many thanks to tho…
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In this episode I'll be continuing to look at the aspect of Forgiveness and Recrimination which I began in the episode, 'I Bear No Grudge'. Given the amount of material I've gathered to date, I sense that the topic will continue on for several more episodes. In this episode I employ two poems by John Hewitt: 'The Iron Circle' and 'The Bloody Brae' …
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I'd just recorded Part II of my consideration of Forgiveness and Recrimination in a post-conflict Northern Ireland when my SSD gave up the ghost. On retrospect it may have been a blessing in disguise as I wasn't completely happy with the experimental format of the episode, besides I'd only noticed several dropouts in the recording just as I was com…
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This episode is Part One of Two in which I look at two atrocities, one in 1972 and one in 1987, through the words of two fathers who both experienced the murder of one of their children. Ultimately, this episode will, I hope, help me explore the aspect of 'forgiveness' in the context of conflict, specifically the Troubles. In Part Two (the concludi…
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Doorstep Shootings Part II: Tunnel Vision
50:14
50:14
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In this episode I am focusing on two Troubles' murders, those of RUC Sgt Hugh Brendan McCormac and Pat Finucane. Both men were slaughtered in front of their wives and young children. While this episode concludes the theme of 'Doorstep Murders' I felt that these two cases - from the thousands murdered during the Troubles - demonstrated how the kille…
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Doorstep Shootings in Northern Ireland. Part I: Just a Uniform
49:43
49:43
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In this episode I return to narrative form through which to recount an actual doorstep shooting that occurred in Belfast 1979. As always, names have been changed as well as the Provisional IRA gunman's ground support being slightly altered. After the main body of the occurrence there follows an account of the victim's recollections and thoughts (th…
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This is just a very succinct update on upcoming episodes and the future of the podcast. Many thanks. I owe a massive debt of gratitude to all who have - and continued to - listen to my thoughts, experiences and reflections on my time as an officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary during the Northern Ireland Troubles. Click here if you’d like to sen…
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Use of Force: Behind the Baton Gun with an RUC Officer
33:30
33:30
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In this episode I briefly recount some of my experiences as an RUC baton gunner. Obviously this is a very contentious subject and I am very cognizant of this. Seventeen civilians were killed by rubber or plastic bullets during the Troubles, eight of the dead were children, all of the dead were catholic. Many others have been gravely injured by the …
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Unfinished Revolutions? Dissident Irish Republicanism and its Ideology of Violence
32:42
32:42
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In this episode I take a look at Dissident Irish Republican micro-groups. Rather than a case of considering some of their 'military actions', I'll be focusing on republican ideology as well as theology. How do dissidents view themselves as opposed to Sinn Fein? What drives their appetite for continuing violence? Is there much difference between dis…
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Blue Lights: PSNI Police Procedural TV Drama. How realistic is it? Part II
31:11
31:11
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In this the second, and concluding part, of my look at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI, I'll be ruminating on aspects such as threats against police, extra-marital affairs in the RUC / PSNI, the depiction of MI5 and Special Branch in the drama. Obviously this episode is peppered with SPOILERS, I …
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Blue Lights: PSNI Police Procedural TV Drama. How realistic is it? Part I
21:12
21:12
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Using this opportunity to have a break, of sorts, from specific topics which I'd encountered throughout my RUC / PSNI career. Instead, I'm looking at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI. I'll spend this episode and the following looking at some of the characterisations and narrative strands within Bl…
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An undraped fire, flashes its fire within
31:32
31:32
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In this episode I'll be recounting an incident which occurred in Ballymurphy, West Belfast, 1993. It involved uniformed RUC officers, CID and members of the British Army. The local PIRA ASU were also involved in the planning and preparation of an attack on the security forces. I'll also be reflecting upon our memorialising and structuring of folk-m…
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During the Troubles the squeeze of a trigger or flick of a switch could quickly turn the events of the day from mundane to inhumane. For the majority of the time the victims of shootings or bombings would have been vastly unaware of their fate. But sometimes not. How do you process the possibility of confronting someone who wants to murder you? The…
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In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing Part II
39:46
39:46
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In Part II of 'In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing' I continue my thoughts on militant Republicanism in the context of 'Heroic-Sacrifice' and a mythic past to which the Patriot Dead added their names for 'Ireland's freedom'. Ultimately what I wanted to do was look at the literary and historical sources extant in Irish Republicanism which informe…
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In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing Part I
29:49
29:49
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Part I of II: In this episode I discuss the perception of the Royal Ulster Constabulary held by the Irish Nationalist / Republican community which grew from incidents such as Burntollet Bridge and police baton charges in Derry during the beginning of the Troubles. To do so I look at the actions of the State in respect of that community as well as s…
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Imagined Communities: The RUC and Loyalism
34:48
34:48
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Since the establishment of Northern Ireland in 1921, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary a year later, it has been acknowledged that the RUC was overwhelmingly comprised of those from the protestant community within Northern Ireland. This factor led, in small part, to a lineage of 'police families'; fathers, mothers, sons and daughters continuing the…
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In this episode I recount a gun and rocket attack against members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary which took place in Newry during the very late 1980s. The attack was coordinated by the south Armagh Provisional IRA along with elements of the Newry PIRA. As ever, the identity of any individuals involved has been heavily cloaked through changes and …
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In this episode I recount a sniper attack upon a joint army / RUC foot patrol in West Belfast. To better relate the incident I have characterised both state and non-state actors. I have also used a narrative framework to provide a clearer image of those involved. This account is lifted from personal involvement as well as information available to m…
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West Belfast. Early 1990s. Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are lured to address. Waiting for them is an Improvised Explosive Device and a 'murder corridor' engineered and primed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Presented in a narrative framework this episode explores the impact on ordinary members of the public who find themselves caugh…
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This episode details a gun attack on members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary at Grosvenor Road RUC station, Belfast in 1992. One officer received a gunshot wound as a result of the attack. The incident also involves a Special Branch asset (tout / agent) and his handler. To better relate the incident I have created three narrators: Jude - a member …
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A narrative account of the attempted murder of a RUC officer during August 1987. This incident occurred in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. Like so many other incidents at the time it went unreported by local news outlets (during the 1980s and early 1990s the frequency of terrorist attacks usually meant only those causing death, serious injury…
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This episode is based on an actual occurrence I experienced a number of times in the 1980s. It's recounted in narrative form using three narrators, the primary one being an RUC officer. If this format is preferred by you please let me know (Twitter: @redbrickedslums). If it proves so I'll upload further tales from the Troubles using this form. Than…
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In this episode I'm looking at how Troubles era Belfast has been represented in fiction. I'll be providing some thoughts and examples of such. Another aspect I touch on is that of 'The Other', which gives me an opportunity to recite some Heaney, too. In Part Two - which will form Stray Bullets episode 3 - I'll be talking about my observations and t…
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Episode One: Why a Northern Ireland Troubles novel, and why Mithras?
38:09
38:09
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In this first episode - or introduction - I talk a bit about my background, how I came to write a novel set during the Troubles, and why I decided to blend genres. I'll also give an explanation as to why I chose Mithraism over Christianity as the novel's primary religion. Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.…
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"Seeing No Colour" (w/ Ladan Takow)
1:43:32
1:43:32
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The trio are joined by Ladan Takow (@LadanTakow)as they discuss how picking on minorities is the new marketing strategy for corporations. Women walking alone especially at night. Struggle differences between black men and women. Finally Ladan reveals the motivation behind some of the taboo topics she discusses on social media.…
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