Stray Bullets
The Stray Bullets podcast, hosted by E.S. Haggan, frequently discusses the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), often drawing on Haggan's experiences as a former RUC/PSNI officer.
The podcast delves into various aspects of the RUC, including:
- The Troubles: Haggan openly addresses policing during the Troubles, including religion, politics, sectarianism, and related ideologies.
- Collusion: Episodes explore allegations of RUC collusion with loyalist paramilitaries and related inquiries like the Stevens Inquiries.
- Catholic officers: The podcast examines the experiences of Catholic police officers within the RUC and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), highlighting challenges like isolation, sectarianism, and racism.
- Specific incidents: Haggan discusses specific events and atrocities related to the Troubles, using his novel "The Bitter End of Dreams" as a framework to explore these topics while avoiding potential libel.
The podcast provides a unique perspective on the RUC and the Troubles, informed by Haggan's personal experiences and detailed discussions of his novel.
Stray Bullets
Our Troubled Past: The Glory and the Grief
In this episode I attempt to conclude my thoughts on the aspects of Forgiveness and Recrimination in Northern Ireland's post-Troubles' society. In saying that, I'll add the caveat that I'll most likely be revisiting nuances of such topics threaded through future episodes.
For the time being I'm looking at how we memorialise the past in terms of 'isolating' sacred spaces from the eyes of the 'other', along with other related aspects, and how this may hamper reconciliation.
Some works cited:
Michael Ignatieff, The Liberal Imagination: A Defence, Toronto Star, 1998
Jenny Edkins, The Rush to Memory and the Rhetoric of War, Journal of Political and Military Sociology 31, 2003
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“I know from experience that the isolation of those who try to forget the past is as terrible as the isolation of those for whom the past is an obsession; I’ve learned that the question is never whether or not to forget, that this is a false dichotomy; the only question [...] is how to remember the past without repeating it.”
Édouard Louis, Histoire de la violence
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