The Brighton Bombing - the attempt to kill Ma...

This episode includes discussion of sex and is not suitable for younger listeners.Sex has always been a key part of Irish life. Yet given its intimate and private nature it often leaves little trace in the historical record. One rare exception comes from the Presbyterian Kirk Ses ...  Show more

The forgotten story of the Irishman forced to work on Japan's Railway of Death which inspired the film The Bridge over the River Kwai.In 1942 Britain suffered one of its worst defeats when Singapore fell to the Japanese Army. Tens of thousands were taken prisoner including the Du ...  Show more

Martha Kearney uncovers the secrets within the Government files of 1984.Margaret Thatcher's government faced some formidable adversaries. The long-anticipated battle with the National Union of Mineworkers and its leader, Arthur Scargill, finally erupted, dominating the political ...  Show more

“Who governs Britain?” Britain in the early 1970’s was a state in crisis, and by 1974, things had never seemed bleaker. Held hostage by the Trade Unions, British industry was flailing. England’s sporting record was atrocious, the economy was tanking and the prospect of a miners’ ...  Show more

The top-secret Dambusters mission was one so crucial that British intelligence hoped it would hasten a triumph over Nazi Germany. But it was also highly dangerous, and required the 133 pilots to fly at high speed and exceptionally low altitudes, all in the dead of night. With onl ...  Show more

On 2 May 1982, the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentinian warship, the General Belgrano, killing 323 men. It was the bloodiest event of the Falklands War – and the most controversial. The account of the sinking given by Thatcher's government was inaccurate in every ...  Show more