The Good Listener Podcast

This week I’m joined by Austin Stack, son of murdered Portlaoise Maximum Secruity Prison Officer, Brian Stack, who was shot and later died after a planned IRA attack in 1983.

Austin tells us about the night his father was shot, what his life was like in the 18 months between Brian being sh*t in the head and his eventual passing and how he would later come to a place of forgiveness.

I asked Austin about his quest f...

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 recover...

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 his...

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 paramilita...

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 paramilita...

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 secu...

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...

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 ...

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 J...

John Nixon, ex-Offical IRA and INLA member begins this episode at the start of his second prison term in Long Kesh during which he would volunteer for the IRA/INLA Hunger Strike of 1980, led by Brendan “The Dark” Hughes.

John speaks about the horrors and trauma of years in prison, beatings and torture from the guards and his account of the hunger strike that preceded the 1981 Hunger Strike, most known for Bobby Sands death...

Ralph Brooker served in the British army touring Fermanagh, Derry and the infamous South Armagh, better known as "Bandit Country".

Having spent the majority of his time in rural, border areas Ralph recounts the British army's constant attempts to counteract the IRA's ever evolving methods and tactics. Ralph speaks to us about being on the receiving end of IRA mortar attacks, explosive booby-traps & ...

****Q&A COMING SOON SO PLEASE SUBMIT ANY QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE ANSWERED IN THE COMMENTS****

In a recent episode David Burke re-joined us to talk about the mysterious case of Garda Patrick Crinnion, a spy within the Garda Special Branch (Intel dept) who passed information to the British intel network.

The release of David's book on the subject has prompted the unearthing of new information linking form...

David Burke’s most recent book “Puppet Masters” shines a light on mysterious case of Patrick Crinnion, the garda (Irish police officer) who was passing information to Mi6 while he was in the Gardai’s secretive intel department. 

David, joining me for the third time, tells us about the state of the Republican movement in the years prior to the outbreak of “the troubles”, the resources available to Gardai in terms of intel g...

In part 2 of my interviews with ex-official IRA & INLA member, John Nixon. In this episode we discussed some of the INLA’s most prolific operations as well as some of the organizations most well known members including Seamus Costello and Dessie O’ Hare. (Part 1 - https://youtu.be/9YOpiW1jU6c?si=81DqiPlwIAz4HOHQ)

I asked John about second prison term in Long Kesh where he took part in the blanket protest and the no-was...

My guest for this week is James Durney, historian and author of “Jailbreak” which details the various “great escapes” perpetrated by Irish Republican prisoners from 1865 onwards into the 1980s.

James tells us about the most daring and dangerous prison escapes, both successful and otherwise, of the troubles-era including the story of the Crumlin Kangaroos, the HMS Maidstone escape, the 1973 Mountjoy Helicopter escape and of...

Hilton McCabe served in the RUC in both East Tyrone and Belfast during the second half of the conflict we know as “the troubles”. 

Hilton tells us about policing rural East Tyrone and the horror of cleaning up body-parts after the one of the IRA’s most deadly roadside b*mb attacks, the Ballygawley Bus Ambush. 

Hilton shares with us his stories of riots, threats to his life, his numerous brushes with death and how ...

Ex-FRU agent handler "Will Britten" (alias) actively ran and recruited agents in South Armagh, one of the most dangerous places to be a British soldier during the conflict, in the 80s and is the author of "The Deadly Game". We speak in depth about the recruitment methods of the FRU, how to successfully run an agent in such a dangerous area, the legacy of Robert Nairic and the story of how Dominic McGlinchey&apos...

In a recent episode I interviewed author Dan Lawton about his book focusing on the fallout from the murder of dept Governor, Albert Miles, of the infamous Maze Prison in November 1978 in which an innocent man was convicted.
Alan Miles witnessed his father’s brutal murder as a young man at the hands of the IRA but almost immediately got to a place in his mind where he was not interested in revenge or retribution.

Alan t...

Jonathan Trigg’s book “Death In The Fields” examines, in great detail, the infamous East-Tyrone IRA and how this rural group complied some of the republican’s biggest wins and conversely, their most devastating losses.

We examine the early days of the unit and how they were formed, the autonomy they enjoyed, the Jim Lynagh “A-Team” era and their deadly attacks, the Loughall ambush & how it effected the brigade plus the...