To Mega Therion (and beyond!)

Where to begin? If I go right back to my very early teens I remember developing a great interest and fascination with Irish and Egyptian mythology. While the latter was more in the context of archaeological interest, the former held a deeper attraction for me. I was reading The Táin about the same time a

Quick Update

I most definitely neglect repeated opportunities to add news and thoughts on here, so this coming week I’m going to write all about my pagan / heathen / occult life before, during, and after my career in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I bring facets of my musical tastes

Blue Lights: PSNI Police Procedural TV Drama. How realistic is it?

Using this opportunity to have a break, of sorts, from specific topics which I’d encountered throughout my RUC / PSNI career. Instead, I’m looking at the recent BBC TV drama Blue Lights, a drama based on frontline policing in the PSNI.

My Old Goodreads Page

Completely forgot I’d created a Goodreads page aeons ago! Don’t really know if there’s any point updating it? I kind of write something, become enthused about it for a while, then lose interest and it drifts over the edge of my consciousness and away.

NEW STRAY BULLETS PODCAST EPISODE 12

From Banality to Atrocity?

During the Troubles the squeeze of a trigger or flick of a switch could quickly turn the events of the day from mundane to inhumane. For the majority of the time the victims of shootings or bombings would have been vastly unaware of their fate. But sometimes not. How do you process the possibility of confronting someone who wants to murder you?

NEW STRAY BULLETS PODCAST EPISODE

In Part II of ‘In Bloody Protest For A Glorious Thing’ I continue my thoughts on militant Republicanism in the context of ‘Heroic-Sacrifice’ and a mythic past to which the Patriot Dead added their names for ‘Ireland’s freedom’.

The Shrapnel Podcast

‘Shrapnel is the podcast that looks at pieces of the past in Northern Ireland. Hosted by Sam McIlwaine and Gareth Mulvenna, we aim to bring you the voices and conversations that aren’t given a platform by the mainstream media.’



STRAY BULLETS EPISODE SEVEN The Gulf In The Eye Of The Other In this episode I recount a sniper attack upon a joint army / RUC foot patrol in West Belfast. To better relate the incident I have characterised both state and non-state actors. I have also used a narrative framework to provide a clearer

ALL LIFE IS NOISE

mind going backwards to the IED – the one by the path not the car not the firing-point not the one that took a soldier’s face so many – a mind made of sepia voices wrapped in newsprint washed away yesterdays red streams through barren field-dressings drown my mind. Politics is just noise in my

STRAY BULLETS PODCAST

I’ve started recording a podcast about my experiences during the Northern Ireland Troubles. From all the positive feedback I hope to have ‘hit my stride’ with the third episode – The Dialogue of Shadows.