THE TROUBLES, IRA, SECRET PEACE TALKS & WHAT IS A TERRORIST ?? | Peter Taylor, author of “Operation Chiffon"

The Good Listener Podcast

Peter Taylor has covered “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland since Bloody Sunday in 1972 and has written several books on the subject. His latest work is “Operation Chiffon” (link below) revels and details the back-channel communications that existed between the IRA and British intelligence and helped form a path towards eventual peace in Northern Ireland.

Peter and I spoke about the extent to which British Intel agencies operated in Northern Ireland and sometimes even the Republic, the recently deceased British spy within the IRA: Stakeknife and the investigation that just took place into British troubles-era handlers of informants.

We also discussed the elusive topic of how to actually define what a “terrorist” is, how they differ from freedom fighters if at all and the motivation for Peter's coverage of N.I.

Peter’s latest book : https://amzn.to/3oUZhpj
Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll: https://amzn.to/3NrqtFR
*** TIMESTAMPS***
00:00 Intro
5:20 Ramping up of British intelligence agencies role in Northern Ireland
16:20 Why the meetings between IRA and British intel were kept a secret
20:50 STAKEKNIFE (IRA’s biggest rat)
32:20 Any possible repercussions for Troubles-Era British intel handlers ?
36:40 Operations that cross the R.O.I/ N.I border
37:45 Garda (Irish law enforcement) Special Branch
42:15 IRA attacks on UK mainland- effect on peace talks
48:45 WHAT IS A TERRORIST??
58:10 What drew Peter to covering “The Troubles”/Northern Ireland
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