S13 Ep20: The Shankill Butchers
Blood Ties Podcast
Peter Shevlin
4.4 • 668 Ratings
🗓️ 5 November 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the heart of Belfast during the height of the Troubles, a brutal gang prowled the night, abducting, torturing, and killing innocent Catholics in a reign of terror that would shock even hardened police officers. Known as The Shankill Butchers, this group of loyalist paramilitaries turned the streets into hunting grounds, leaving a city already divided by politics and religion gripped by fear. In this episode of Blood Ties, Geoffrey and Molly Wansell uncover how one man, Lenny Murphy, led a gang whose sadistic killings blurred the line between political violence and pure psychopathy.
CREDITS:
Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell
Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/
Artwork: George Leigh
Music: Dan Wansell
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week on Blood Ties. |
| 0:10.0 | Murphy became a rogue. |
| 0:14.0 | He assembled a rogue unit outside the central commands of the Ulster Volunteer Force. |
| 0:31.2 | His first lieutenant was called Mr. A. |
| 0:34.7 | His second lieutenant was called Mr. B, but it actually was his brother John. |
| 0:37.9 | And then he had some sergeants, one of whom was called William Moore, |
| 0:42.1 | he was a taxi driver, and another was called Bobby Bashar Bates. |
| 0:55.6 | On the 2nd of October, 1975, Murphy and his gang raided drinks premises staffed by two men and two women. |
| 1:01.0 | When Moore discovered that they were all Catholics, he shot three of them dead and ordered the rest to kill the fourth. |
| 1:09.8 | Hi there, Peter the producer here from Pod 60. |
| 1:13.5 | If these conversations matter to you, we'd love your support. |
| 1:17.1 | Following the show and leaving a review might seem small, |
| 1:20.6 | but it's the reason we can keep growing this community. |
| 1:24.0 | You can leave a review by tapping our show's artwork, |
| 1:31.3 | scrolling down past all the recent episodes and hitting writer review. |
| 1:37.1 | It only takes a few seconds and it would mean everything to Molly, Jeffrey and me. |
| 1:42.1 | And keep us on the path to the next season of Blood Ties. |
| 1:44.6 | Now here's the next episode. |
| 1:52.2 | Hi, I'm Molly Wonsall. And I'm Geoffrey Wonsall. We're a father and daughter, |
| 1:56.6 | as those of you who listened to Blood Ties in the past will remember, and we meet every week, |
| 2:02.1 | and often our conversation has turned to murder, which is why we originally launched Blood Ties and why we've now decided to bring it back in its new, fresher form. |
| 2:06.9 | We're really excited to be back, |
... |
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