Derry was a major US/ British Naval base from WW2 up until 1970, so a lot of British ex-servicemen married local girls and lived in the town, including my father. He'd read the news about the 1st Battalion the paras beating up peaceful protestors on Magilligan beach the week before, and as an ex-serviceman went along to the march to see for himself if his compatriots were behaving as reported. He got more than he bargained for - he was standing at the rubble barricade chatting to a man he knew when the paras drove up, dismounted and immediately started firing into the crowd, killing a man standing a few feet away. Dad helped carry that guy into cover at Glenfada park and took cover there, before making his way to the house of my cousins nearby in the Bogside. The week after, he walked up to courthouse in Bishop St. and put his name down as a witness, as did quite a few other ex-Royal navy men who were present that day. He gave evidence at both tribunals and until he died, he always said the same thing about Bloody Sunday - 'Britain did what it always does when the natives get uppity, we shoot a few of them to shut them up'. I think he felt deeply ashamed at what he saw.

In the early 2000s, I once spoke with Ivan Cooper, the civil rights campaiger who organized the march that became Bloody Sunday. He told me that he still had nighmares about it, and that, in his waking hours, thinking about it too deeply could make him weep.

I grew up in Ireland and studied the history of Northern Ireland in secondary school in the mid-90s. Our excellent history teacher would shake his head and say what happened was madness. When our studies reached the (then) present day, he told us that current events would be studied by future generations as history and that we were incredibly lucky to be witnessing these events. It reframed a lot of things for me. I look forward to future episodes on this topic. Keep up the good work.

This was a brave and complex topic to cover and you were guaranteed to bombarded with accusations about every detail of what you said and how you said it, what you left out and what you said too much about. As somebody who was born in the 60s and spent my formative years hearing so much about the troubles, I have always grappled to understand the context and sequence of the hows and whys. I have researched a lot, worked in Northern Ireland a bit and still couldn't really work it out. Listening to you both unpick it is the first time that I have felt things starting to fall into place and become even vaguely understandable. Thank you - you're doing a fantastic job of presenting a factual and balanced account, delivered with compassion and integrity.

You guys have provided a great history and must be getting flac for this series but.  Such a heated issue, I’m Italian American so I have no skin in the game, but I think you’re brave to do this series.

And with the recent passing of that butcher of Bosnia, I think you should do a series on the Bosnian war so many of us know so a little about it and that it went from the 90s to 2000

Never been this early. Love the podcast!

That story at the end is so so sad. What a brave Son and Father, madness.

I applaud your unbiased reporting of all the events you covered 👍👏

Thank you for this series. Incredibly important and not all "boring" as you might have feared or people might say. It's an awful tragedy that touches and moves anyone who is not closely related to either side but just weeps for the sadness and the "inevitability" of violence.

Thank you all for being brave enough to tackle this topic. I am an Irish American, and I have always been confused about the whole thing. You made the Troubles a lot easier for me to understand.

The Amazon advert in the middle made me violently sick

Well done discussion as always, gentlemen!

I am from Derry, born in the mid 80s. I only remember the tail end of the troubles and the Greysteel massacre in particular in 93. There is so much history attached to Derry, the city is in a much better place now, but it is still divided. Free Derry corner still stands proud, and the youth are still taught sectarianism from a young age on both sides. The waterside area would have a Protestant majority while the city side is largely catholic and nationalist/ republican!
Great podcast and delivered in an unbiased manner 👏🏻

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, this is the pod firing on all cylinders and in top form. I listened to all 3 episodes 2 times over each, the degree of ignorance I had on this topic is shameful.  I can see why Dominic specialized in the UK in the '70s, it seems like a bottomless well of intersection of change. My feeling after watching this series is similar to my feelings of the Cold war, East Germany in particular, how quickly the social memory is lost. (FYI, if you had an interview with Katya Hoya about the GDR that would be amazing). Bonus tip, listening to this podcast while playing the Frostpunk city building game, a great way to relax after work..

Very well presented gentlemen an episode which filled in many gaps .....because this period of history is so often looked at without context......thank you both

Enjoy your video but growing up in Derry as a kid in the 70s we grew up before our time we lost our childhood

Magnificent stuff!  Looking forward to the next series on this tragic story.

Say Nothing is an excellent show I just finished it, I couldn't recommend it more highly

Thank you for discussing this period of Anglo-Irish history. Not a subject that will generate many clicks, so kudos for tackling a subject that can't be forgotten but still brings up very raw emotions, no matter which side you stand on regarding the issues discussed.

Excellent presentation of a very grim and sad time ..some heartbreaking stories of needless deaths😢🙏