Churchill: The Finest Half Hour

Winston Churchill's relationship with Ireland and Irish politics was complex and controversial.Churchill had a hand in partition and the creation of the Irish Free State. In the Irish Civil War. Then in the Second World War, Churchill's desire to access Irish ports led to testy dealings with the Irish government - and radical plans for the unification of north and south.Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore the complexity, controversy - and drama - in this episode of Churchill: The Finest Half Hour.

Professor Richard Toye and Dr Warren Dockter discuss Churchill's role in the war which began in Ireland in 1919, including Churchill's journey from the 'hawk' who refused to condemn atrocities by British troops to the 'dove' who argued for a negotiated settlement.They explore Churchill's role in the treaty of 1921 which led to the creation of the Irish Free State and Churchill's relationship with the Irish military and political leader Michael Collins, who established a rapport with Churchill but noted to himself: "Don't actually trust him."

Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore Winston Churchill's long, complex and controversial relationship with Ireland and Irish politics.Beginning with Churchill's earliest childhood memories, they follow Churchill's political journey on most intractable political issue of the age, Irish Home Rule. They explain how Churchill abandoned the Conservative Party and the outspoken Unionism of his father, joining the Liberals and, as a Cabinet minister, making forthright speeches in favour of Home Rule - endangering his personal safety in the process. Until the outbreak of the Great War changed everything...

Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter discuss Winston Churchill's role in ending the General Strike on the government's terms, the enduring effect on his relationships with trades unions and the Labour Party - and the impact on his reputation in subsequent decades.

May 1926. The General Strike is underway and dividing the nation. Winston Churchill leads the government's propaganda effort through its newspaper 'The British Gazette' highlighting alleged Soviet support for the strikers and casting the dispute as a threat to the parliamentary democracy. Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter deliver the inside story in this episode, 'The Red Menace and the Blue Pencil'.

Marking 100 years since Britain's General Strike in May 1926, Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore Winston Churchill's central - and controversial - role in the government's response to the nation's first and only General Strike.They tell how Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill put himself in the front line of a propaganda war, founding a newspaper to promote the government's line, attempting to take over the BBC and casting the strike as an attack on the constitution rather than an industrial dispute. For Churchill, there was no middle ground here. It was a case of being on the side of the fire or the fire brigade.

Winston Churchill continues to pursue distinction - and fame - by joining the British army's expedition in the Sudan. With the help of his mother pulling strings to secure him a a position - and despite the scepticism of the British commander. Plus Churchill's love of bathing and a strange request to make contact from beyond the grave. All this and more in this episode of 'Churchill: The Finest Half Hour'.

Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter continue the dramatic story of the young Winston Churchill's adventures on the Northwest Frontier. A journalist. A soldier. And determined to make his name.