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.
'There are no facts, only interpretations.'
Friedrich Nietzsche
Stray Bullets
A Hard and Bitter Circle
In this episode I'll be continuing to look at the aspect of Forgiveness and Recrimination which I began in the episode, 'I Bear No Grudge'. Given the amount of material I've gathered to date, I sense that the topic will continue on for several more episodes.
In this episode I employ two poems by John Hewitt: 'The Iron Circle' and 'The Bloody Brae' in the hope that they may assist in illuminating the complex nature of forgiveness in the context of sectarianism, attendant savagery and subsequent trauma.
Hewitt wrote 'The Bloody Brae' in 1936. It 'lay around until 1953, when [Hewitt] suddenly came on it [...]'.
Both 'The Iron Circle' and 'The Bloody Brae' are taken from:
The Collected Poems of John Hewitt, edited by Frank Ormsby, The Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1991.
A partial glossary for The Bloody Brae:
'boording' entering into conversation
'guddling' catching [fish] by hand
'brae' rising ground
'sheugh' ditch
'yowe' ewe
The following link may be of cursory interest:
‘What about Islandmagee?’ Another version of the 1641 rebellion.
https://www.historyireland.com/what-about-islandmagee-another-version-of-the-1641-rebellion/
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