Rattlebag: An Interlude

This is the concluding episode in which I look at issues related by a retired RUC Special Branch officer as quoted from the work cited below, as well as my thoughts on such.  Work cited in this episode:Barker, Alan, 'Shadows: Inside Northern Ireland's Special Branch', Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Ltd, 2004     Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

This episode continues my look at allegations of collusion against the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Obviously, there's nothing revelatory within (other than some aspects of agent handling and possible pitfalls of such). There's nothing to breach the Official Secrets Act either. In saying all that I sincerely hope that the biographical book extracts, I'll quote from, by a retired member of RUC Special Branch are of some interest, together with my own thoughts on the issue - plus the odd anecdote. As this episode slightly overran the time I had initially allowed for it I've continued it on to conclusion in a follow-up episode which will carry the same title as this one albeit with the addition of a 'Part II'.Again, thank you all very much for your support, continued understanding and questions.Work cited in this episode:Barker, Alan, 'Shadows: Inside Northern Ireland's Special Branch', Mainstream Publishing Company (Edinburgh) Ltd, 2004     Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

This is an interim, or rather impromptu, episode of sorts. In it I consider my working relationship with an Intelligence Cell within the British Army during the very early years of my career, and how it became affected following the brutal murder of Loughlin Maginn in 1989.As such I hope to complete a more comprehensive and concluding episode looking at allegations of collusion and the RUC.I hope you enjoy these episodes - if that's the right word?! - and I am once again heartened by the continued encouragement and very positive feedback from folks right across Northern Ireland's religious, as well as political / ideological, divide together with interaction with folks beyond Ireland.Thank you.Work cited:Lost Lives (Revised ed.), McKittrick D., et al, Transworld, 2001  ----Link:Loughlin Maginn: Family of man shot dead by UDA settle claim against police and MoD            Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

Another unplanned episode, but one generated from a number of questions I've received from listeners asking if I'd planned to discuss Blue Lights Season 2 in much the same way as I did for Season 1. Also, the anecdotes about illicit love trysts in the PSNI was of great interest (which also featured as part of the Blue Lights episodes). To be honest they still occur and, as such, follow similar paths (maybe not so much with GCHQ involvement, though!) as I've previously alluded to.However, I recalled some love in the RUC and, well ... hence the 'love squad'      Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

Given the contentious nature of the subject topic discussed in this episode I've added some caveats which I've outlined at the beginning. I'd just have to reiterate that the episode just reflects my own personal observations plus awareness of incidents, and remain my own interpretations of such.Having said that, I feel this subject will inevitably run into another episode. It's much too deep a topic to bottom out in under an hour. Before I begin work on Part II then if there's anything you think I can answer - or even clarify or expand on from this episode - just click on the link below, or drop me a line on Twitter.Given the state of my mind at the moment I think there may be some thoughts I've left out, and / or incidents I've forgot to mention. If so, I'll rectify this in Part II.As ever, thank you very much for your time and continued support for this podcast.      Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

Another 'impromptu' episode! This time I'll be (hurriedly, sorry time waits ... ) discussing the political rants following Armagh GAA winning the All-Ireland title on Sunday 28th July 2024. Moreso, because a PSNI Community Policing Officer joined in with his community celebrating in Camlough (I used to just be flown over it and dropped off nearby for foot patrols) by proudly flying the Armagh GAA flag from his livered vehicle.As ever, in Northern Ireland this divided sections of the community. As I said - or wrote - somewhere(?) I've felt for sometime now that instances like this are as if unionism believes that nationalism has taken its (policing) toy off it and wont give it back. Maybe I'm being too harsh? It works both ways, of course. It always has.Policing in Northern Ireland is unable to untether itself from political moorings partly because of our history and, partly, because that is the way of the world and 'civilisation'. This conundrum is - and never was - the sole possession of Northern Ireland.Anyway, I felt it important to conclude the episode by deferring to extracts from an interview by Peadar Heffron who suffered traumatic amputations and injuries following the placement of a UCBT under his private vehicle in 2010. You can read the interview here.      And you can view the Camlough footage here     Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

In this episode I attempt to conclude my thoughts on the aspects of Forgiveness and Recrimination in Northern Ireland's post-Troubles' society. In saying that, I'll add the caveat that I'll most likely be revisiting nuances of such topics threaded through future episodes.For the time being I'm looking at how we memorialise the past in terms of 'isolating' sacred spaces from the eyes of the 'other', along with other related aspects, and how this may hamper reconciliation.Some works cited:Michael Ignatieff, The Liberal Imagination: A Defence, Toronto Star, 1998Jenny Edkins, The Rush to Memory and the Rhetoric of War, Journal of Political and Military Sociology 31, 2003     _____________“I know from experience that the isolation of those who try to forget the past is as terrible as the isolation of those for whom the past is an obsession; I’ve learned that the question is never whether or not to forget, that this is a false dichotomy; the only question [...] is how to remember the past without repeating it.”Édouard Louis, Histoire de la violenceClick here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

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 this episode I'll be talking about such and more. If there's a way, or even the beginnings of an answer, that will lead us towards healing and away from hate.Work cited:Biggar, N. (2008) Divided Past: Shared Future: Essays on Churches addressing the legacy of the Troubles, Belfast: Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland.         Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.

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.

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 those who've sent me some questions, clarifications as well as very kind feedback. A lot of interest in my Blue Lights themed episodes, plus some requests for the same on Season Two.     Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.