The Good Listener Podcast

Send us a textFor 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 NAIRIC28:05 Breaking Out Of Max-Security Prison 41:40 Returning to Active Service 43:50 SHOT & CAPTURED BY BRITISH ARMY 49:50 EMPATHY57:28 KINGSMILL 1:14:02 Quest to find Robert Nairac & “the disappeared” 1:16:10 Martin’s thoughts on recent BBC documentary that he featured inPLEASE HELP OUT THE SHOW IF YOU CAN SPARE IT.. THANK YOUhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast CONTACT THE SHOW: [email protected]

Send us a textMy 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 Intro4:10 Paisley’s role in early violence in N.I 16:00 Sources within the IRA26:10 Dealing w/ sources 34:10 Sources lying ?36:40 Meeting with INLA40:30 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 PLEASE HELP OUT THE SHOW IF YOU CAN SPARE IT.. THANK YOUhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast CONTACT THE SHOW: [email protected]

Send us a textThis week I'm joined by the author of "An Accidental Villain: A Soldier's Tale of War, Deceit and Exile", Linden MacIntyre. This book explores the life of Henry Hugh Tudor, a close friend of Winston Churchill who, during the height of Irish War Of Independence, was appointed as the de-facto chief of police (RIC) in Ireland which put him charge of arguably the single most hated group in Irish history - "the Black and Tans".BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Villain-Soldiers-Deceit-Exile/dp/0735282021PLEASE HELP OUT THE SHOW IF YOU CAN SPARE IT.. THANK YOUhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast CONTACT THE SHOW: [email protected] 00:00 Intro 06:30 2nd Boer War10:05 How did his time in Ireland effect Tudor ?18:45 To what degree did Churchill shield Tudor from Cabinet scrutiny ?24:50 Burning of Cork & Sack of Balbriggin 43:00 Life after army

Send us a textMy guest for this episode is Eamon McAuley, a former professional boxer fromArdoyne and author of “Fighting to Find Peace”.Eamon was born in Belfast just before “the troubles” erupted and has experienced a childhood unique to his place and time.From arms dumps on his street to his great uncle being brutally m*rdered by the infamous Shankill Butchers, Eamon’s life is one that has been shaped, in many ways, by the conflict that surrounded him. Eamon also shares many stories about his father “Coco” McAuley, a notorious Ardoyne hard-man who, at one stage, was shot by the IRA, Loyalists and fought the British army Paras in the street, to the point where they had to send a boxing champion over from Germany try to defeat him. 00:00 Coco McAuley (Eamon’s father)08:40 Eamon’s childhood (Shankill Butchers and Johnny Adair) 21:15 Lewis Crocker (Belfast’s newest champ) 34:30 Thoughts on MMA41:35 Did being a vegetarian end Eamonn’s career? 45:25 Coco II59:15 Coco III1:01:25 Coco SHOT BY LOYALISTS 1:06:15 Reality of growing up during the troubles 1:15:00 GFA & thoughts on Irish Reunification https://www.youtube.com/@UCH3Cfhwnw5TxRUlL20A_wuQ https://www.orpenpress.com/books/fighting-to-find-peace-a-belfast-boxers-journey/

Send us a textFor this episode I am joined by author and historian, John Crotty. John has researched extensively the subject of Irelands neutrality during WW2 and the actions the Irish govt took that broke neutrality in favor of the allied side.We discuss the efforts that the IRA of the time made to collaborate with the Germans, how the Irish govt took extreme measures against the republicans (including internment and execution) and DeVelera’s decision to offer condolences after the death of Hitler.John also went over the reasons why Winston Churchill wished to damage Ireland’s image, what declassified British & American intelligence documents tell us Irelands war effort and whether or not Ireland was an anti-Semitic place.PLEASE HELP OUT THE SHOW IF YOU CAN SPARE IT.. THANK YOUhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast CONTACT THE SHOW: [email protected] CROTTY'S WEBSITE : https://johncrottyauthor.com00:00 Intro 10:40 Did the Irish public support the IRA’s actions ?15:10 IRA and German collaboration 19:50 Did the IRA leaders have ideological sympathies w/ the Nazis 26:00 Irish Govt’s pro-Ally actions during WW2 36:50 Did the German’s know that Ireland wasn’t really neutral ?41:25 Decision to not take in refugees 44:10 Dev’s decision to offer condolences after Hitler’s death51:40 Were Irish people pro-AXIS during WW2 ?55:00 Northern Ireland’s role in WW21:02:45 How Ireland helped the D-DAY Landings 1:06:27 Accusations leveled at Ireland re: helping the N*zis 1:10:45 Churchill’s plot to discredit Ireland during WW2 1:19:48 Level of anti-semitism in Ireland at the time 1:28:45 1904 Limerick Pogorm 1:34:30 John’s background in history 1:37:13 US Intel on Ireland during WW2