The Hipstorians

Huw Bennett reaches deep into the archives on a journey that took 8 years to produce this piece of historical importance in the understanding of the period. Rich in detail offering the reader a birdseye view of the political machinations and the knock on affect of actions taken that in hindsight may seem foolhardy and disastrous but given the information the armed forces had at the time seemed logical. The outcomes on the ground could be superimposed on an army of occupation before or since and shows how despite the best equipment and intelligence available history does repeat itself.

Mairia Cahill has released her book ‘Rough Beast” speaking about her traumatic experience of sexual abuse by a member of the IRA and how the organisation handled it internally and offered her no protection against her abuser, ultimately staying quiet whilst a case was built with the PSNI after Mairia courageously made a complaint to a police force not recognised by the Republican movement that essentially ruled the area where she lived and this movement was also started by her Great Uncle Joe Cahill. Mairia recounts the difficulties she encountered and how she has manageged to get on with her life.

Tom Petch uncovers the true origins of this maverick unit introducing a whole cast of unique individuals who showed huge courage to change the face of modern warfare and risked their lives deep behind enemy lines. The U.K Official Secrets Act has kept the identity of main man Dudley Clarke from the public realm until now. Tom’s experience as an SAS Commander shines through in his writing clearly explaining strategy and succeeding in delivering a pacy narrative.

Fr. Patrick Ryan a Pallotine Father returns from missionary work in East Africa to East London in the late 1960’s just as ‘The Troubles’ so called begin in Northern Ireland. Discover how this complex character came to take off the collar to buy arms form Col. Ghadaffi in Libya and ultimately use his engineering mind to join the dots and see how a simple parking timer could solve one of the IRA’s biggest bomb making problems, the own goals! Journalist Jennifer O’Leary had exclusive access to The Padre as he recounts his part in The Thirty Years War.,

In this episode Gretchen untangles the complexities of life in Ireland as a nation emerged from its colonial bind. We discuss the characters involved and Gretchen an Australian by birth is a master of the subject matter. We enjoy a fantastic history lesson that puts some context on previous episodes giving us more to think about how the war in the Northern Ireland evolved and how this country is not simply divided along sectarian grounds but rather there are many layers of opinion on the politics of Ireland. A worthy investigation in the midst of our series on recent Irish history.

We conclude our intensely absorbing tale of IRA Prisoner 1082 Donal Donnelly’s daring escape from Crumlin Road Gaol. We also discuss the current peace process and the prospects of a unites Ireland and some of what needs to change within Northern Ireland before that can happen.

Donal born in 1939 Omagh County Tyrone eloquently describes life in Northern Ireland after partition offering a balanced opinion albeit from a Nationalist perspective. This is Part 1 of what is a beautifully described story told as if it happened yesterday, Donal is a delight to speak with, enjoy.

Journalist Michael Thomsen’s new book Caged Kings takes us through the beginnings of what might have been called a hobby project that seemed to capture a Zeitgeist in American culture just at the right time when cable television began experimenting with pay per view. We discuss some of the characters that shaped our view of what is now the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and try and grasp what it is that has made this company such a success.

Anne having covered the stories on the ground in Northern Ireland left journalism to work with the Pat Finucane Centre to help families seek justice for loved ones who died as a result of collusion of British State and loyalist paramilitaries. We have an honest conversation about a conflict that no longer takes up space in the press but the story is not yet complete.