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.
- Update frequency
- every 19 days
- Average duration
- 36 minutes
- Episodes
- 68
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Armagh GAA Bags All-Ireland Win As PSNI On Hot Coals Overs Flags
Another 'impromptu' episode! This time I'll be (hurriedly, sorry time waits ... ) discussing the political rants following Armagh GAA winning the All-Ireland title on Sunday 28th July 2024. Moreso, b…
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 like…
Squaring The Circle
Will there be a time when we, in Northern Ireland, see our seemingly parallel divergent histories cross? Our opposing narratives blend with commonality. As a society still raw from sectarian and poli…
Rattlebag II: Addendum - The Forgotten Op
Just a bolt-on tale I omitted to include in the previous episode: 'Rattlebag'.
Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.
Rattlebag: An Interlude
This episode is, in itself, an interlude before I continue my theme of reconciliation and recrimination. I just needed a breather of sorts and to realign my thoughts, which had been threatening to sc…
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…
An Unintended Interlude
I'd just recorded Part II of my consideration of Forgiveness and Recrimination in a post-conflict Northern Ireland when my SSD gave up the ghost. On retrospect it may have been a blessing in disguise…
I Bear No Grudge
This episode is Part One of Two in which I look at two atrocities, one in 1972 and one in 1987, through the words of two fathers who both experienced the murder of one of their children. Ultimately, …
Doorstep Shootings Part II: Tunnel Vision
In this episode I am focusing on two Troubles' murders, those of RUC Sgt Hugh Brendan McCormac and Pat Finucane. Both men were slaughtered in front of their wives and young children. While this episo…
Doorstep Shootings in Northern Ireland. Part I: Just a Uniform
In this episode I return to narrative form through which to recount an actual doorstep shooting that occurred in Belfast 1979. As always, names have been changed as well as the Provisional IRA gunman…
Briefing Book
This is just a very succinct update on upcoming episodes and the future of the podcast.
Many thanks. I owe a massive debt of gratitude to all who have - and continued to - listen to my thoughts, expe…
Use of Force: Behind the Baton Gun with an RUC Officer
In this episode I briefly recount some of my experiences as an RUC baton gunner. Obviously this is a very contentious subject and I am very cognizant of this. Seventeen civilians were killed by rubbe…
Unfinished Revolutions? Dissident Irish Republicanism and its Ideology of Violence
In this episode I take a look at Dissident Irish Republican micro-groups. Rather than a case of considering some of their 'military actions', I'll be focusing on republican ideology as well as theolo…
Blue Lights: PSNI Police Procedural TV Drama. How realistic is it? Part II
In this the second, and concluding part, of my look at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI, I'll be ruminating on aspects such as threats against poli…
Blue Lights: PSNI Police Procedural TV Drama. How realistic is it? Part I
Using this opportunity to have a break, of sorts, from specific topics which I'd encountered throughout my RUC / PSNI career. Instead, I'm looking at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama base…
An undraped fire, flashes its fire within
In this episode I'll be recounting an incident which occurred in Ballymurphy, West Belfast, 1993.
It involved uniformed RUC officers, CID and members of the British Army. The local PIRA ASU were also …
From Banality to Atrocity?
During the Troubles the squeeze of a trigger or flick of a switch could quickly turn the events of the day from mundane to inhumane. For the majority of the time the victims of shootings or bombings …
In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing Part II
In Part II of 'In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing' I continue my thoughts on militant Republicanism in the context of 'Heroic-Sacrifice' and a mythic past to which the Patriot Dead added their na…
In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing Part I
Part I of II:
In this episode I discuss the perception of the Royal Ulster Constabulary held by the Irish Nationalist / Republican community which grew from incidents such as Burntollet Bridge and pol…
Imagined Communities: The RUC and Loyalism
Since the establishment of Northern Ireland in 1921, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary a year later, it has been acknowledged that the RUC was overwhelmingly comprised of those from the protestant …