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HistoryExtra podcast

Spying in the Troubles: the murky world of double agents in Northern Ireland

HistoryExtra podcast

HistoryExtra

History

4.34.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Troubles in Northern Ireland was a difficult, bloody period, which lasted for almost 30 years. During that time, the British secret services ran an extensive intelligence operation to infiltrate the IRA, the details of which are only now coming to light. Speaking to David Musgrove, Henry Hemming discusses what he uncovered about this secret web of spies, agents and double agents for his new book Four Shots in the Night. (Ad) Henry Hemming is the author of Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland (Quercus, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Four-Shots-Night-Henry-Hemming/dp/1529426758/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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slash UK slash AI for people. Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC

0:41.1

History magazine. It's now over a quarter of a century since the Good Friday Agreement of

0:49.4

1998 ended most of the violence of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

0:55.2

And 26 years on, more information is coming to light

0:59.0

that helps us to study the history of the conflict,

1:02.4

and particularly the role of the intelligence services.

1:06.7

Henry Hemming has written a new book, Four Shots in the Night,

1:10.3

which examines this topic in more

1:12.1

depth. And he spoke to David Musgrove. I'm delighted that we have got Henry Hemming on the podcast.

1:19.7

He's written a new book, which is Four Shots in the Night. And the book centres around the story

1:24.4

of a man, Frank Hegarty, who was murdered in Northern Ireland in

1:27.7

1986. He was Catholic, this was the time of the troubles, he was assassinated by the IRA,

1:33.8

and he was an IRA man, but also a British agent. So, Henry, in your book, you explore how

1:39.5

this execution came about, and you consider an even darker undercurrent to the murder that

1:43.6

reveals something of

...

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