logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2022
13m 16s

IRA gun-running in America

Bbc World Service
About this episode

How an undercover FBI agent bust an IRA gun-running plot in New York in 1981. We hear from retired FBI agent, John WInslow, who posed as a gun dealer to infiltrate a network of Americans supplying weapons to the Northern Irish paramilitary group, the IRA. The United States was a key source of money and guns for the Irish republican cause.

Photo:

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Yesterday
How a Maasai community in Kenya overcame a deadly drought
In 2013, after losing most of their cattle, a Maasai community in Kajiado County formed an organisation to protect their land and culture.It's called ‘Ildalalekutuk Maasai Action for Development' and was formed by Dalmas Tiampati.He tells Megan Jones how the aim was to help the c ... Show More
10m 42s
Mar 24
The only Pope to visit New Zealand
In November 1986, Pope John Paul II visited New Zealand as part of his longest ever world tour.He gave an open-air mass at Auckland Domain in front of thousands of people.He remains the only Pope to have visited the country.Jen Dale speaks to Michael Jarka who was in the crowd an ... Show More
10m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
The IRA ambush in Central Park, New York
<p>On April 13th, 1922, three IRA volunteers chased a man through Central Park in New York. In front of dozens of witnesses, they shot him four times before escaping. This event marked the culmination of an international manhunt as the IRA tracked an informer across the world.</p ... Show More
29m 23s
Oct 2023
1. Miami, 1985
When Jesus Garcia is arrested on gun charges, he explains to his lawyer, John Mattes, that he has been set up by members of a CIA-backed operation running guns into Central America. As Mattes investigates, he finds supporting evidence and gets the attention of a newly elected Sen ... Show More
41m 53s
Mar 2023
Episode 250: The new IRA and the attempted murder of PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell
A car has emerged as a key piece of evidence in the attempted murder of PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell after football training in Omaha last week - a callous shooting which has shocked all Ireland.The second hand Fiesta purchased in a private sale on February 8th wa ... Show More
31m 59s
Jun 2024
Episode 600: New IRA leader Thomas Ashe Mellon arrested after failing explosives swab at Portlaoise prison
<p>New IRA leader Thomas Ashe Mellon found himself arrested by police over the border this week hours after he failed an explosives test when he went to visit inmates in the Republic’s high security Portlaoise Jail. </p><br><p>So what was Mellon doing meeting with the New IRA’s s ... Show More
36m 9s
Oct 2022
The Hunt for Nazi Spies in World War II
<p>While Ireland remained neutral in the Second World War several Nazi agents were smuggled into the country. Their aims varied, some sought to establish contact with the IRA while others were spies. </p><br><p>In this episode, I interview historian Marc McMenamin about the attem ... Show More
27m 55s
Mar 2023
The Mystery of Henry Wilson’s Assassination
<p>On June 22nd 1922, the British Field Marshall, Henry Wilson was shot dead in London. The assassination sparked a major political crisis in Ireland. The British government blamed the killing on a faction of the IRA opposed to the recent Anglo-Irish Treaty. When they demanded ac ... Show More
28m 27s
Feb 2022
Crime and Terror in South America
South America’s Tri-Border Area has been described as “the United Nations of crime.” Along the porous borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, counterfeiters scheme, narco-traffickers move product and launder funds, and criminals sell fake or stolen goods on the open market. S ... Show More
35m 50s
May 2021
The Unabomber | 47
In the 1990s the FBI’s most wanted criminal was an elusive mystery bomber who had been mailing dangerous and deadly packages to executives and university professors since 1978. The UNABOMBER had left a trail of destruction around the United States, but the FBI had very little har ... Show More
48m 14s
Oct 2023
Episode 392: The life and crimes of IRA mole Freddie Scappaticci
The intriguing story of IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci is one of mystery and fascination and for years has been the subject of the Operation Kenova investigation due to be published in coming weeks.Nicola speaks with author and former Provision IRA prisoner Richard O’Rawe w ... Show More
1h 12m
Aug 2023
The Brighton Bombing - the attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher
<p>In 1984, the Conservative Party, lead by the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, gathered in the seaside town of Brighton for their annual conference. In the early hours of October 12th a bomb ripped through the Grand Hotel where Thatcher and several other conservative l ... Show More
50m 5s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami