Harry McCallion is an ex-paratrooper and SAS solider who served in the north during some of the troubles’ most violent years. Harry tells us about the brutal training regime they underwent before deployment, his thoughts on the mistakes that the British army made, his views on the “Ballymurphy Massacre”, his emotional state while policing violent riots and the effects that the job had on his mental health at the time.
Harry shares his insights on the uniques challenges of taking on a “guerrilla” army, rural vs urban warfare, his own personal relationship with violence/killing and much more..

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Joining the British Army (Paras) & becoming brutalized
12:45 Pre-deployment, does Harry consider N.I people to be British & do Irish people “live in the past” too much?
25:50 DEPLOYMENT TO NORTHERN IRELAND - Internment roundup
28:55 Thoughts on BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE & 2021 Inquiry
39:35 RIOTS - “absolutely terrifying”
APPEAL
51:15 Harry’s relationship with KILLING & violence
57:35 Does Harry know how many people he has killed?
58:40 Fist-fight w/ an INLA member
59:55 Joining the SAS
1:05:00 Loyalist dual membership of UDR & UVF/UDA
1:07:30 Were UVF/UDA as competent as the PIRA ?
1:12:50 SOUTH ARMAGH & TYRONE IRA
1:19:00 Gerry Adams story
1:23:00 Fighting against guerrilla soldiers
1:29:00 Protecting intel sources within the IRA
1:33:55 GUERRILLA OR TERRORIST ??
1:49:20 Rural or urban soldiering.. which was more difficult ?
1:52:00 The MRF
1:58:35 Harry’s latest book

Author, lawyer and past guest of the show, David Burke reveals a previously unreleased statement from ex-Tara member and close-friend of Robin 'the jackal" Jackson, Charlie Simpson uncovering Jackson and the British Army's involvement in one of the trouble's most heinous attacks. We talk through the events of the tragic day, the logistics of the UVF operation and the political goings-on at the time of attack.


DAVID'S FREE E-BOOK (much more detail on the topic)
https://coverthistory.ie/2024/05/04/returning-the-serve-the-jackal-collusion-mi5-and-the-dublin-and-monaghan-bombings-by-david-burke/

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com

If you would like to help out the show please like, subscribe and share. I plan on doing bigger things with this show including walk through of areas, documentary-type videos and more.. if you would like to help fund these efforts please consider donating on Buy Me a Coffee. (link below)
Thanks a million!!

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Brendan Hughes (not to be confused with the deceased Brendan ‘The Dark” Hughes) shares his truly extraordinary life story, a life shaped by his membership of the East-Tyrone PIRA in the early days of the conflict in the North.

Brendan tells us about his time ambushing British soldiers in the countryside and robbing banks to fund raise for the IRA and his thoughts on having to take human life for his cause. Brendan shares the incredible story of how masterminded the second ever prison escape involving a helicopter on Halloween 1973 and how he himself ended up leading a 19 man jailbreak from Ireland’s most secure lock-up.

His tale later involves a split form the movement and a team of assassins being spent to NYC to take out Brendan, one of whom Brendan would later meet.

PLEASE SEND ANY & ALL SUGGESTIONS FOR GUESTS & EPISODE TOPICS to thegoodlistenerpodcast@gmail.com

BUY THE BOOK: https://uplikeabird.com

If you would like to help out the show please like, subscribe and share. I plan on doing bigger things with this show including walk through of areas, documentary-type videos and more.. if you would like to help fund these efforts please consider donating on Buy Me a Coffee. (link below)
Thanks a million!!

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/goodlistenerpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Growing up in Tyrone, first contact with sectarianism
07:20 Joining the IRA
13:10 Robbing banks
24:40 AMBUSHING BRITISH SOLDIERS
31:00 Becoming an intel officer
35:50 Lead-up to MOUNTJOY HELICOPTER ESCAPE
45:30 DAY OF THE ESCAPE
56:50 Getting caught & jailed
1:05:27 Planning the Portlaoise prison escape
1:14:20 DAY OF ESCAPE FROM PORTLAOISE
1:22:25 Immediately after escaping
1:36:25 Split from IRA (hit-team sent to NYC to get him)
1:42:40 Back to prison
1:44:25 Thoughts on united-Ireland