Stray Bullets

In this episode I look at the construction of victimology in the context of Bloody Sunday as well as that of 'Soldier F'. Also, I consider Organisational Memory, Myth-Making, Blamelessness and Out Group / In Group dynamics.  Cohen, S., States of Denial: Knowing About Atrocities and Suffering , Polity Press, Cambridge, 2001 Eveleigh, R., Peace-Keeping in a Democratic Society. The Lessons...

Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

In this episode I move on to discuss the terms 'victim' and 'perpetrator' and that in post-conflict societies these terms are seldom mutually exclusive of one another.  Are we much too early, in terms of reconciliation, to even begin to think about determining ideal constructs of both 'victim' and 'perpetrator' in Northern Ireland? Never mind 'Hierarchi...

An brief interlude before I get to Part Two of Subtle Alchemies.  Also, please check out the very talented, very brilliant, Emer Maguire who appeared at the Stand Up for Integrated Education Comedy Night at the Ulster Hall. Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

This is the first episode of a series in which I discuss not only the definition of a 'victim' in the context of the Troubles, but also perceptions of victimhood, either justified or unjustified, as well as 'complex victims'.  Works cited: Bar-Tal, Daniel, Lily Chernyak-Hai, Noa Schori, and Ayelet Gundar, A Sense of Self-Perceived Collective Victimhood in Intractable Conflicts,...

Some points in response to a number of queries / comments about police management of sexual offenders. I've spoke about this subject over a number of proceeding episodes, so I'll keep it as succinct as I can and try not to repeat anything (not easy, but …). Also in this episode I'm only touching very, very, briefly upon a very current issue which has yet again brought the PSNI (and...

The concluding (for now) episode in which I discuss the experience of catholic officers in the RIC, RUC and PSNI.  Bibliography Breen, R, Beliefs about the treatment of Catholics and Protestants by the Security Forces , in R. Breen, P. Devine and G. Robinson (eds), Social Attitudes in Northern Ireland: The Fourth Report , Appletree Press, Belfast, 1995 Bourdieu, P. Language and Symbolic Power , Po...

Just a few more RUC memories stirred by recent news. Food delivery driver allegedly threatened and racially abused before footage appeared on TikTok, court hears    Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

Continuing my look at the experience of catholic officers within policing in Northern Ireland. In this episode I begin to look at issues which may affect recruitment from the Nationalist / Republican community. In the following episode I will continue this topic (and most likely conclude same), but with a more in-depth look at some of the selection processes involved when applying to become a PSNI...

The recent 'Hoover-Gate' news report brought back some old memories, as well as a look at the ongoing strategy used to delay and (sometimes) derail being disciplined or summoned to court as a defendant. I should mention also, though, that it's a strategy found in other police service's too. Top police officer facing possible sack retires before misconduct hearing   Click here i...

Cursory thoughts about some of the rot affecting youth culture in working-class protestant areas of Belfast and the cinema of adoration through hate. Upon reflection there's probably more I could have put into - and further expanded upon - in this episode, but time was against me and I didn't want it to run on too long. My early episodes about Belfast look more at territorial spaces and...

Listen to the Catholic Police Officers in the RIC, RUC and PSNI Part IV episode prior to this - I just wanted to expand upon an anecdote I spoke (briefly) about in the above episode.    Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

The fourth instalment in which I discuss the experiences of Catholic Police Officers in the RIC, RUC and PSNI. Click on the link below - it'll make more sense after listening to this episode.  Many thanks!  Isolation     Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

A brief preamble.   Catholic Police Officers in the RIC, RUC and PSNI Part III will follow in the next Stray Bullets  instalment, due very soon! Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

An unexpected interlude. I had planned to bridge episode II and III of 'Catholic Police Officers in the RIC, RUC and PSNI' with a trailer, but unplanned events look set to overtake me and, as such, I'm unsure now of the possible duration between II and III. In the meantime - time of mean-spiritedness - I couldn't ignore the latest disgrace in our ignoble history, that of Goldsp...

The second episode in which I look at the experience of catholic officers within the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. A glimpse of how catholic officers are exposed to isolation, sectarianism and even racism and matters of faith, both external to the job and within it.   Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Méde...

The first of two episodes in which I examine the experience and prospects of catholic police officers in Northern Ireland's RIC, RUC and PSNI.  As ever I'll stray from organisational mythology (RUC) and may go off tangent now and again.  Thanks for your patience.    Bibliography Arthur, P. Government and Politics of Northern Ireland , Longman, London, 1984 Boyce, D.G. Nationalism in Irel...

Forthcoming episode... Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

Sorry, just another impromptu episode, this time impassioned by the disenfranchised youth of our community being exploited by our organised crime groups and the far-right. This time we're othering many innocent people within our ethnic communities and allowing ourselves to be further exploited by fascists, bigots and racist demagogues.       Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or qu...

Some additional musings I ( typically !) omitted. This relates to the John Montague: All the Elements of a Police State episode, so listen to that before this. Many thanks!   Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

A look at John Montague's short story, The Cry . Set in 1959 it offers an opportunity to examine Northern Irish policing practices during the 1950s and 60s. The impetus for Montague's story was his actual witnessing the assault of a young catholic man by members of the Ulster Special Constabulary (B Specials). As such, The Cry offers a window into catholic fatalism and apathy at a time w...

Trailer for my next episode in which I take a look at new look nationalist attitudes towards policing in Northern Ireland prior to the Troubles.    Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Médecins Sans Frontières Unicef PEN International

A look at the concept of ' state-terrorism ' and if such is in itself rendered incoherent in a climate of violent insurrection. Also, the ' showcase ambushes' by British Special Forces. Were these not in effect the lethal confrontation of two opposing forces, one personifying the Irish Republican (understood?) risk of their own blood sacrifice , the other effecting a stop and d...

Another impromptu episode. This time about the Irish hip hop band Kneecap and the recent furore they've stirred. My reasons for talking about them will become evident. I've also added some memories about policing Divis. Kneecap row: police assessing ‘kill MP’ and ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’ footage   Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you. Support the show Méde...

This episode further examines the Provisional IRA's assertion that there was no alternative to armed struggle.  Works cited: White, Robert W., Provisional Irish Republicans: an Oral and Interpretive History, Westport, Greenwood Press, 1993 Hennessey, Thomas, Northern Ireland: the Origins of the Troubles, Dublin, Gill & Macmillan, 2005 Smith, Anthony D., Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, Hist...