{"podcast":{"title":"Irish History Podcast","slug":"irish-history-podcast-778168","podcast_index_feed_id":778168,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/9190bee0-95f3-400b-842d-3232974654ec","website_url":"https://www.irishhistorypodcast.ie/shop","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/619566332eacc3a360702518/show-cover.png","author":"Fin Dwyer","episode_count":481,"summary":"From the Norman Invasion to the War of Independence, the Great Famine to the Troubles, the Irish History Podcast takes you on a journey through the most fascinating stories in Ireland's past. Whether it’s the siege of Dublin in 1171 or gun battles in the 1920s, the podcast vividly recreates a sense of time and place. Each episode is meticulously researched, creating character-driven narratives that are engaging and accessible for all. Since the first episode was released back in 2010, the podcast has covered scores of captivating stories. Major multi-part series have explored the Great Famine, the Norman Invasion, and Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War. If you are looking for standalone episodes, there are lots of great interviews with leading Irish historians covering topics from medieval sex magic to Irish connections in the Jack the Ripper murders! Why not start with 'Three Days in July', an acclaimed mini-series from the summer of 2024. It explores the early years of the Troubles and the forgotten story of a young Londoner who was shot dead by the British Army in Belfast in 1970. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-24T02:24:15.633780+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168"},"episode":{"title":"The Rise of the Provisional IRA: Conspiracy vs Reality","slug":"the-rise-of-the-provisional-ira-conspiracy-vs-reality","published_at":"2026-09-16T03:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168/the-rise-of-the-provisional-ira-conspiracy-vs-reality","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168","url":"https://shows.acast.com/irishhistory/episodes/the-rise-of-the-provisional-ira-conspiracy-vs-reality","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/irishhistory/e/6aa8e61c3512576d7245693b/media.mp3","summary":"In the late 1960s, the Provisional IRA and what became modern Sinn Féin emerged from a bitter split in the Irish republican movement. This split would shape not only the Troubles but also Irish politics down to the present day. However, for the last five decades, the story of how and why that split occurred has been clouded by enduring conspiracy theories. The most prominent of these claims that the Irish government in Dublin orchestrated the split to create a more conservative force in the Provisional IRA and neutralise left-wing republicanism. Many opponents of the Provisionals in the rival Left Wing Official IRA understood these events through this lens.  Meanwhile, unionists believed the Provisionals had been created by politicians in Dublin in the hope of destabilising the Northern state. The theory also found adherents among the political enemies of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, two politicians whose actions lie at the heart of these claims. Yet the history of those fateful years tells a different story: one of uncertainty and desperation. Conspiratorial interpretations also overlook how politicians in later decades were happy to court such understandings to suit their own ends. In this episode, I am joined by Dr Brian Hanley to thrash out what happened in late 1969 and 1970 and why the IRA split. We discuss where conspiracy theories come from, why they are more common than we might imagine and what purpose they serve. We then explore how the Provisional IRA emerged and became the dominant force in Irish republicanism. The picture that emerges is far from straightforward and at times, disquieting. Rather than being controlled by a handful of people, events sometimes seemed to gather a momentum of their own. There were many forces at play, but no hidden ha…","meta_description":"In the late 1960s, the Provisional IRA and what became modern Sinn Féin emerged from a bitter split in the Irish republican movement. This split would sha…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3194,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/irish-history-podcast-778168/episodes/the-rise-of-the-provisional-ira-conspiracy-vs-reality/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-history-podcast-778168/the-rise-of-the-provisional-ira-conspiracy-vs-reality.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}