It's May 1970, in Dublin, Ireland.

This is government buildings.

A man is walking down a corridor towards the office of the Taoiseach, the leader of the Irish government.

He's carrying a note.

The note has a few lines on it. Names. Accusations. They are dynamite. The man carrying the note is

serious, but inside he must be quietly pleased. He's waited a long time for this

moment, because when he gives the note to the Taoiseach, it could bring down the Irish government.

That is, if it's true. The Taoiseach takes the note and opens it. It reads,

A plot to bring in arms from Germany worth £80,000 has been discovered.

The note goes on to say that some of those involved are senior ministers in the Taoiseach's own cabinet,

as well as named officers in the country's army. And then at the end it says, in capital letters,

see that this scandal is not hushed up.

The scandal was not hushed up.

Three ministers are out of the government.

The announcement came shortly before 3 o'clock this morning in a statement from the Taoiseach.

The next day, the story of senior politicians and army officers trying to import guns into Ireland

was all over the papers, at home and abroad. I went into the press room and I was typing away and the phone rang and I picked up and said

hello and this guttural voice came on and said hello this is Pravda Moscow here.

We hear there has been a coup d'et in Ireland.

Oh jeez no I said things are pretty grim here at the moment. I said, all right, but the tanks are not at the gate yet, I said, but it is very, very serious.

It was so serious that two government ministers were arrested and one of the most notorious trials in Irish history

took place some months later.

...