3 10 63 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. Yes (signed: 29 September 2014) Ind Delay Access Y/N Y/N for individual story-teller delayed access request (check signed permission form) No Story Available Y/N <span>Yes; </span><strong>deposited</strong><span>. Story extract available in published book.</span> Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled story</em>, by Jim Ryan Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (pages 36-37 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname Ryan Interviewee Forename(s) Jim Interviewee Gender Male Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Irish Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. [1970s] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Keady [County Armagh, Northern Ireland], Drumad [County Louth, Republic of Ireland] Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. British Army (BA); Garda Siochana (GS) Other Keywords Other keywords mentioned in the interview. Border Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Garda Síochána (GS) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Garda Síochána (GS), Former member of Irish Security Forces Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Jim Ryan <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource <span>A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site. This particular story was also </span><strong>deposited</strong><span> with the Accounts archive.)</span> Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/b6b8a3853dec83a292dbd37ef74f88c9.pdf 2914749204d3814189b2c24cbbcf2a1a PDF Text Text Green and Blue Project Jim Ryan Interview Transcript I joined the sixth of March, 1974... back then we, when we came in the door, we were Guards, you were sworn in that evening and all, and you signed your life away, you signed medical aid, you signed... Everything, Saint, yeah that shower... which is another story... and we did our eighteen weeks, three sixes, there was an exam after the six weeks, twelve weeks and eighteen weeks, and the eighteen weeks got us, I think there was ten of us failed the last exam, so... we were told we weren’t passing out... so... there was a new training officer, and... he, I don’t know whether he wanted us to show an example or what, but ten of us failed, anyway, and... negotiations took place and... eventually we decided we would pass out, but we had a problem with... our parents were all coming, and... I had to think very fast what was I going to tell them? Why I was staying on for another two weeks because I couldn’t tell them I was after failing, so... I came up with this story anyway that, when they arrived on the morning, I told them that... you know people had been saying that, you know staying back for the two weeks, and the reason was, I was going, doing a bomb disposal course, I told them, on account of I going to the border... and that was very plausible, they believed it, and I stayed for the two weeks, and they went, they both died not knowing any the wiser, that... I didn’t do the bomb disposal course but, as it happened anyway, after the two weeks we passed out, and... I got the train from... Templemore to Dublin... bus to Cavan... and... patrol car picked us up in Cavan, left one of the lads off in Belturbet, and... I was being taken to Ballyconnell... which, I didn’t know where it was... ‘cause when I heard of Ballyconnell, I looked at the map of Ireland, and there was no... Ballyconnell on the... on the map, even though it had won the Tidy Towns competition, which was a big competition... two years before that, but we left one of the lads off in... Belturbet, and we were going over... some bridge or another anyway, and next thing a call went out on the radio that there was a bomb on the bridge in Belturbet... and I quite innocently asked the driver, ‘where’s that?’ he says, ‘we’re fucking on it’. And sure enough, there was a suitcase... over on the footpath, and the Guard got out the car, coolly... walked over... caught the suitcase and fucked it in over the bridge... as I did myself afterwards, you know, but... this was... welcome, welcome to the war zone, you know? Yeah, but that was my introduction anyway to... life on the border in Ballyconnell, I loved it. Initially I didn’t like it, but... you know, you were nineteen, twenty and... first time away from home, two hundred and fifty miles from home, and... no car, I was lucky, I had fabulous landlord, landlady... the landlord, .. gave me the loan of his car to come home... a couple of times, you know, which was wonderful... and I 1     �didn’t crash it, which was a big bonus... and, I’m still in contact with them, the people up there in Ballyconnell were fabulous people, I played football up there on... I played football up there, and played football in Cork at the same time, and got away with it, and... we’d a lot of activity there, but you know, when you’re young... nineteen, twenty, twenty one... there’s no fear, you know? I remember one night... the Provos used often come up and do checkpoints at the border in Ballyconnell... and... I was after picking up, there was a new guy after arriving, a few classes after me, we had the Army with us, and we were driving around, and next thing there was a call from the station that there was an armed checkpoint down at the border... and I went down anyway, and the Army with me, and sure enough there was, an armed checkpoint, we didn’t know who they were... drove down through them... the Army came with us, we drove right down below behind them, and came back up... and I said to the fella with me, I said, ‘take the radio in your hand, and if you hear anything you shouldn’t hear... call for help’. And I walked back, I told the Army fellas, stay where they were... I walked back, and the relief I found, when I heard the British accent, they were... I got talking to the lads... and they were, it was the time there was a bit of hassle about... the border incursions and all that, you know? And... the lads, and I could explain, be from down Cork, and not knowing where the border was, or anything about it, these fellas came from Glasgow that morning, they arrived in Enniskillen, they were given a map, told go down and do a checkpoint there... they did a check, they did the same as we did, the same as us! They came down, and... ‘where the feck is the line, like? Where’s the border?’ You’re looking for... distinct, this border, where is it? It’s only a line like that doesn’t exist, so... I told them ‘lads you’re doing a checkpoint, but you’re in the wrong country’ I says, and I said ‘I’ll walk you back now to where you should be doing it’, so I walked them back and... they were thankful, and we had a bit of chit chat and... they went off and I went off, and... you know, ‘twas... There was incidents like that, and once they were dealt with locally, you know by... without the media getting at it, or politicians... there were an awful lot of incidents like that happened up there that... were never held up, and... being from down south, and you go up and you’re told, ‘drive this patrol car, but don’t go into the north’, and you’re... ‘where’s the north?’ Nobody was actually... able to tell you... this secret little line... so that... you know, there was... lot of things like that happened up there. Yeah we stayed in Ballyconnell... , a lot of Guards would probably know them, there was fourteen of us staying in the house, thirteen Guards and one banker, and we had a great time, you know we were all young fellas, and we’d come down the morning after... nights, get up at two o’clock and she would have the tea waiting for us, and... she’d be after pouring half the salt into the tea, and you’d take a big swallow and... we’d great fun there you know, she made life so easy for us, you know, with cackling and... fooling and innocent fun you know, like that, with the, I loved it, I loved Ballyconnell, I’d still be in contact with them, you know, up there. 2     �Oh checkpoints, there was a permanent checkpoint outside the station, in Ballyconnell, and... there were eight hour shifts and... funny incident, one night two of us, the S.O. was inside, and the fella on the checkpoint was supposed to be outside, but as the night’d be going along... we had the northerners well trained, they would stop, and wait for the hand, the light through the venetian blinds, you know, and... this night anyway, this car came and ‘twas going down to the north, and I was S.O. and my friend was... on the checkpoint, but we were onside, I don’t know, we were on playing cards, I don’t know whether we were talking... and the car was there anyway, and Terry, out through the venetian blinds, and then waving the torch, and the car wouldn’t go, and he said, ‘go on, fuck off, go on, go, go... go’, he went to the door, ‘go on, go... go on’, no, nothing... he eventually walked out anyway... the Super and the Inspector in a strange car! [laughs] Caught us, but you know it was... really, and we’d great time with the northerners, there was one guy used to come up, the first time he learned the English, he was, he was a Guard, sorry and... I believe he died since, but he was from Donegal, he was from the Gaeltacht, and... he had very little... English, and... all the northerners, you know when they’d be coming up, if they had a couple of words of Irish, they knew we... the rest of us, or most of us had very little Irish, but they’d be yapping a small bit in Irish, but... he used tie them up in knots, because he had fluent Irish and there was... and that time also there was a lot of temporary... Guards and... I think we used to take a bit of an exception to them, because they were earning... treble the amount of money we were earning, because we were permanent, they were getting TT... they were getting the overtime, they were getting everything, but... we all lived together anyway, but still... a few good characters came up, a sergeant, he had the distinction he played with five different counties in football, he played Waterford, Wexford, I think he played Fermanagh, and... Wicklow and some other crowd as well, but he was a great, he used to have great chats with the people on the checkpoint about football, and... and if you were the Guard, and they don’t want to talk... they have to talk... if you don’t let them go... and he used to let them go until they... they talked back, and ‘twas a great little bit of power to have, you know you could stop them and... keep them there, and of course they were all big into dancing, and they used come up and the big country and western... people, there was one girl, she was from down Derrylin somewhere, and she used go away down the country to dances, three or four nights a week, and come back up again, and... you’d meet the bands then, you’d be talking to the bands, all the different bands that used to come through the checkpoint, and it was a great place, I loved it, I loved it. I was there for three years... I was there ‘til ’77, ’74 to ’77, and... let me say it, I love Ballyconnell, I would, anytime I’m talking about the Guards, I always talk about Ballyconnell, I think ‘twas... great place... but I went up there then afterwards, during the BSE, up to Drumad, it must be ’96 or something, and I actually didn’t want to go there at the time, because I was just after... becoming chairperson of my GAA club, and it was very awkward, and... I had a row with the Super over that, and... I ended up going anyway, but... I remember one night... sitting on the main road in Drumad, and... I had it down to a tee, I was sitting on the, I used to bring 3     �the chair out to the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, and I had the chair, I’m sitting on the chair, and I had the blocks, now this is the main... Dublin – Belfast! [laughs] the M1, and there you had the Guard sitting on the chair, and legs up on the blocks... and this lorry beeping beside me, I was sound asleep... in the middle of winter! [laughs] With my big greatcoat on that is, your man, I woke up and looked up and he says ‘can I go on Guard?’ he says... but that time we used to have to stop the... the lorries and then I had this sort of... I stopped this lorry; they had burgers or something on them one night, and... they were... stopped them, two o’clock in the day, and you had to call the vets or something to examine the burgers or whatever, and we were with this fella, stopped here for hours, and next thing a patrol car arrived, followed by another car, and I said, ‘oh God, thanks be to God the vet is after coming’, so I went over anyway and I, this fella got out of the... the second car, and I said, ‘look we have this lorry stopped here, we have him stopped all day, there’s... burgers in it, and... would you have a look at them, and we can either let him go or do whatever’, and... he said, he said ‘what do you want me to do about it?’ I said, ‘sure... aren’t you who we’re waiting for?’ ‘no’ he says ‘I’m Commissioner so-and-so’ I said ‘I thought you were the fucking vet!’ [laughs] So he was saying ‘how are you getting on here?’ and I said ‘not great’ I said, he said... I said ‘I didn’t want to come up here at all’, he said ‘but sure you’ll only be here for another... week or two or so’ he said, I said ‘I’ve no problem with the week at the moment, but ‘tis the “or so” could be the problem, if the “or so” doesn’t work out’, I says ‘we could have a problem’... but... no, Drumad was nice, we stayed in Dundalk and... ‘twas fairly boring, the main road was entertaining all right, but the northern drivers we found had no respect at all, they were coming down... when they were coming down... they were okay, but they, on the way back up, They were heading back north, and they were... And they would... they showed no respect at all... so, I said ‘fuck ye anyway, I’m going to sort ye out’, so... we used to have the checkpoint... and the lorry drivers were the same... they wouldn’t stop either, so... I started moving the checkpoint, further and further over... over towards the other side... until eventually the lorries were driving in the drain... at the far side, and they’d come up and they’d say ‘what are you doing?’ and I said ‘until ye learn to behave’ I said, ‘ye’ll all drive in the drain then’, so I sent the lorries driving in the drain, and the cars driving in the drain, I said ‘that’ll then, slow down’ [pause] it’s probably still the same, you know when they’re going back up, one night I was there, it must’ve been around the twelfth... because I remember stopping... he was an MP, Eddie McCarthy [McGrady] is it? He’s the SDLP fella... and I stopped him one night and there was fierce hassle in... Newry the same night the... they had the place nearly burnt, I just stopped him, I said, ‘I can’t let you go up’, he says ‘I have to go up’, I said ‘no’ I said... ‘can you go back somewhere?’ I said ‘it’s too dangerous’, and... they’d, they’d the main road blocked, just coming into Newry, so I sent him back, I presume he went back up there afterwards, but... but no it was... ‘twas nice, but... enjoyed it, except I didn’t want to be there... you know? 4     �I did... the funny thing was I was sent up there... I was separated... that was the grounds the Super sent me up on... I said, ‘my son is doing the Inter Cert [pause] and I’m going to be up here’... and... I claimed as a married man... and they paid me... for two visits home every week, even though I was sent up as, as a single person... that just shows... you know, the stupidity of the whole thing, you know? In Ballyconnell, yeah, there would be... the Provos’d come up... for the, the Brits would come down to do a checkpoint... the Provos would come there... we’d go in between, and then the Irish Army would go... between us and the Provos... at one stage anyway... oh no, the Irish Army went up over the Provos, I think... Provos pulled out... the next thing up there, the Irish Army were firing down on the British Army! ‘Cause the Provos were gone, and the Guards stuck in the middle. And, we logged one of those incidents, one of the lads who was sent up a different way... and he was up there for about twelve hours, everybody forgot him, everybody was gone home until they... thought to tell him to go away, I was caught in one or two of those, but they were just... there was always the incidents, you know... the... ‘twas a war zone, I suppose... we considered it a war zone, ‘twas the nearest we’d ever get to war... you know? So... This... friends of mine... she was Catholic, and he was... a Protestant in the UDR... and they were finding it hard to... get married... find a priest that would marry them. So, I said ‘I’ll get a, I’ll find a priest all right for you’ and I got a priest anyway that would go to the wedding, the problem was, the wedding was going to be in... is it Kiltyclogher, is it? In Leitrim? Yeah, it’s kind of up there, yeah that’s where the wedding was, and... I got the priest to come to the, the wedding, to just say a few prayers, he wasn’t going to do a mass, ‘twas in a Protestant church, and... we all went off to the wedding, and they off on their honeymoon anyway, and we came back and they used to have a thing called the ‘strawing’, which is an unusual name, ‘twas the homecoming after they come back from the honeymoon, ‘twas known as the ‘strawing’, there’s a different name on it down south, I don’t know what it is, but... I went down anyway, and I was with a friend of mine and... we were stopped by the UDR... down, just outside... in the north... and... the, my friend, she was Church of Ireland, which was grand, her name was acceptable to them, and... they’d always ask you to open the boot, and I just remembered, as I was opening my boot, I had a uniform... in the boot, so I had to start thinking fast anyway that I was going down to... this man’s house, he was in the UDR, and that he was coming back, and did they know him and they knew him, and... generally we would have told him we were teachers or in the bank, we’d... rarely say we were Guards, but I had to say I was a Guard... so... they left us off anyway, we went down to the... the ‘strawing’... and at the ‘strawing’ was me the Guard, there was an RUC man, there was a UDR man, there was a Brit there, there were Provos there... and we were all there, and none of us would leave until it got bright in the morning... and we all left, and we all came home, but the following 5     �night... I was going back down again to get petrol down in Derrylin, and... a different UDR patrol stopped me, ‘and what’s your name?’, ‘Jim Ryan’, ‘ah’ he says, ‘you’re the Guard up in Ballyconnell, aren’t you?’ They had me then, but it was okay, because I was, I had been at... the Church of Ireland function the night before, so... that was a gas one that... I just thought that would be... 6     � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Publication A book, article, monograph etc. Author Author of the publication Jim Ryan Date Type Publication, Submission, Completion date etc. Completion date 2014 Publication Title Full title of publication, as it appears on item. Transcript of audio interview Publisher Location Place of publication: city / town Website Publisher Diversity Challenges Board Publication Type Report, Book, Manual etc. Transcript Publication Status Published, in Press, Unpublished, etc. Published on-line Number of Pages 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Jim Ryan <em>(story transcript)</em> Description An account of the resource Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Jim Ryan which was recorded as part of the Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF version of transcript Language A language of the resource English Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Catalogue ID Non DC - ID for the Catalogue entry that relates to this entry 2880 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/8faf854642c321c7b7205a963b78e646.pdf 73cb7016fd1ec6c17ed439d16e91c674 PDF Text Text Green and Blue Project Joe Lynch Interview Transcript Growing up, I grew up in Donegal... in Inishowen and... it being very close to the border, I suppose I was very familiar with the, the troubles in Northern Ireland. Joined the Guards, 1975... and was delighted to get a posting to... Galway on completion of training, well away from the border, well away from... from hostile areas, it’s funny when I think back on it now, because the... the atmosphere in Galway, and along the west coast, it was so far removed from the troubles that... it was though the troubles didn’t exist, other than what you heard on the... radio or television, apart from when there would be... an armed robbery or some other... big incident that would involve the whole country, or a Garda operation in the country, but apart from that... I spent a year in Galway and I have to say there was... the only time that the troubles became... I won’t say an issue, but even became a topic of conversation, was... invariably in the summer months, Salthill would be... very well attended by... people from Northern Ireland... and invariably there would be trouble, well I’m not saying that that is a... a direct... result of the troubles being in Northern Ireland, but it did seem to follow that when we got a large contingency of people from Northern Ireland, that you had troubles on the streets at night, and that, that was a fact of life. My sojourn to the... idyllic west coast was badly interrupted when, in 1976, oh having said that now... out of Salthill, I was transferred on temporary transfer for two months up to Muff, so... with less than a year’s service in the Guards I got a... an experience on the border... crossings and then that was a permanent checkpoint on the, on the road outside Muff Station, now Muff Station... was that old building along the side of the road, it wasn’t in great repair in ’76... and well, see it today, it’s even, it’s much worse, but it’s no longer used as a Garda station, the... there was a big contingent there, I think there was... there was... Paddy Barnes, the sergeant in charge, God rest him, he’s dead but... there was... three or four then temporary sergeants as well, there’s one, I think there was... temporary sergeant, one in each unit, and there would be... there’s some units had six members on it, and others had... four, there was [pause] protection on, on a house there as well which, you got a, a good variety of work but, the... it was always a place where you were, you had to be on the ball, because it was... it was a busy road, lot of traffic passing, and... I suppose for people not familiar with Garda checkpoints... it is maybe a little bit daunting to be standing on the road with nothing more than a baton in your hand, or in your... pocket, not in your hand, but in your pocket, and... not knowing what could come up the road, or what has happened, you know if you, if there’s an incident and, and something happens then... you’re still out there, and you’re, you’re prepared to meet whatever it is, but you’re not very well equipped to do it, and that was, that was true for everybody, 1     �Youth was about the, the only advantage we had... so [pause] when the troubles in Northern Ireland started the... prisoners south of the border were... sent to... either Mountjoy or... when there was larger numbers then, they went to the Curragh... for a while, and there was a problem then with that because of the... the legal status of... the Curragh as a military camp, provision was made to move all of the prisoners there to Portlaoise prison... or Port Laoise as it should be pronounced. I went over to Port Laoise Nineteen seventy... seventy six [pause] and I think it was September of that year... there was a, a substantial or a major riot in, in Port Laoise... I remember... Dáithí Ó Conaill had just got out of... out of jail a short time earlier, if memory serves me right, and... again being young and active there was... we were coming under a lot of pressure at a barrier... and... the order was given to charge, and we did, but... a small portion of the... major crowd that was there broke away and we... followed them, and we got isolated... and... things were, were very hairy for, for a while, because we were isolated on the side of a road, with a, a large group of protestors... on the Port Laoise side of us, and... the group that we had separated, just up the road... and we were told that... both groups were going to march and come together, just adjacent to where we were, so... with whatever negotiation went on... away from us, the... there was a [pause] a plan put in place that allowed for our... our... for the group that we had put away... up the Dublin Road to come back and... we got out of that, but it was just one of those, one of those situations that could have, I mean... there was so many, so many members... hurt with the... bottles, stones, iron bars... everything that could be found along the road was, was hurled at us, you know that was, and the other thing about Port Laoise Prison that time was that there was... different types of prisoners housed there, you had what were the old, the Official IRA, and you had the Provos, and then you had those who were not aligned to any particular grouping, but were still in the republican movement, and... we were... policing that, if policing may be the wrong word, but we were within the prison confines for the purpose of keeping peace and order. We would have, you could say absolutely... zero relationship with the... with the Provos, and with those who were not aligned... to a particular group, but the, the Official, known as the ‘Stickies’... they were... moving away, they had moved away from, from... armed conflict, and were going down the political route and they had, the perception was that they had... made some sort of an agreement with the government of the day, so... their, they weren’t seen, they weren’t... perceived as a threat... within the prison system, and... the, the floors were all... they were segregated, because each grouping couldn’t be allowed to mingle with the other or it could cause problems... internally, and... they all had recreation areas, now we didn’t, we didn’t go near the recreation areas where the, for the Provos or the others but... the Official IRA... people who were in there, they didn’t mind... the Guards when they, when the prisoners were in their cells at lunchtime or at the different times, they didn’t mind the, the Guards being in their recreational area, and if you were there and there was pool tables and there was the old football machines and that, and... sometimes when you’d be there and the, you’d be let out again, you 2     �know and... you’d be there maybe a little bit late, and they would see the inspector or sergeant coming, they’d say ‘hey, your boss is coming!’ [laughs] So, you had that, it was... different, and again it was because they were perceived as, as not being a threat, I remember a number of them were being... facilitated with... with leaving the country... at the time, or that was, that was the talk at the time, so there was... but the prison wasn’t a nice place to work, and it wasn’t the work that people had joined the Guards to do, so... there was, there was a high level of tension in it, and... in a way I suppose there was [pause] there was no, absolutely no job satisfaction in it, so there was a major incident in the prison around the end of... 1976, or maybe early 1977, where the, the Provisional IRA prisoners decided to burn their cells... and they set... incendiary devices, which they had manufactured, in each of the cells... into, using sugar I believe and whatever else and they had it set so that when they were going outside... for their recreation that within... fifteen minutes of them going out, it would ignite... in the... rubber mattresses, in every cell, now I remember being on the third floor that day, and within... certainly within three or four minutes of the fire starting you couldn’t see the guy standing beside you, and... on top of that, the prisoners on the top floor... who were the ‘Stickies’ or the Official IRA... they... weren’t part of it, and they were left there, and certainly but for the work of the prison officers and the Guards in rescuing them, many of them would have died because the... by the time we got to, down three... flights of stairs it was almost impossible to breath. I remember after that the conditions after that were appalling... to work in, because you’d the smell of smoke, the smell of burning, The prison has its own internal fire fighting system, yeah with the hoses and that, and it was all... hosed down, but it was... as you can imagine a prison open... open style... floors and the water from top to bottom... I mean it was... it really was, it was terrible the... it’s really difficult to paint a verbal picture of... of what conditions were like, and... the, the level of non-compliance by prisoners that time, and... with the [pause] just the, so many things happening, so many different groupings... you know it was, I think that was around the time of the blanket... protest and that, it was, it made for working conditions that really, certainly no member of the Garda Síochána had... signed up for. Yeah, you had blanket protest by some members, and [pause] I’m trying to remember... exactly, and it’s not coming to mind now, but the [pause] I can’t remember, we didn’t, not the same, it wasn’t the same blanket protest as it was in Northern Ireland, no. That fire, that resulted that evening there was a major confrontation because the prisoners didn’t want to come back in, and that was, there was, it’d be wrong to call it a riot, but there was a major, major incidents there, as a result of that. there were a number of attempted break-outs, and... the... some members of the Garda Síochána were very, very fortunate that they weren’t killed during those attempted break-outs, but... it was... it was an experience that if the troubles in Northern 3     �Ireland had not been ongoing, it was an experience that would not have been... had by members of the Garda Síochána, because that situation wouldn’t have arisen, and it is one of those things where... I think that it’s not possible to confine the happenings in Northern Ireland just to a border area, because as we know, sadly within An Garda Síochána, the... those who lost their lives in the course of the conflict, the Garda members who lost their lives, they were mostly away from the border, and so, there was no place that wasn’t affected, anyway the... after spending a good few years down there I... was facilitated with a transfer back to... Donegal, and... found myself at a border station in Carrigans, That was September 1976 as well, because Michael Clerkin, God rest him, he was, he was stationed in Portarlington, that time I was stationed in Mountmellick, which would be the next... next town, next to, and we would have, I mean everybody, everyone knew each other, so I would have known Michael, that happened, again... no, as far as I can... recall no grouping has ever actually claimed formal responsibility, but there was... there was certainly names talked about at the time as to who might be responsible, and... this was another, another indication of, of just how callous the... those who said they were fighting for Irish freedom, how callous they were, because, and this is one of the incidents where... hands can’t be washed as to an accidental or... a killing that... just happened because someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or... They were actually lured to that place, you know, there... there may be occasions in any policeman’s life where you’re going to meet a situation where... but for the grace of God or whatever you escape with your life and it could easily have gone the other way, because somebody... made a hasty decision or... made a wrong decision or something like that, that can’t... you know, that just can’t be put there in this case because... the... information was given to lure the Guards to that location... the... bomb was put in place so that it would... explode in a very particular way, so... in fact the miracle of that was that there was only one member killed, even though there were a number of members seriously injured, but it could easily have resulted in... every member who went to that house being killed I believe a photolight cell that once a torch shone on it... He went in the window, and was going to go to the door to open the door for the... he would have been the younger member in the grouping, and he was... agile, fit... going to... open the door, and... well, never got there, and... you know... again, for his family the, the... people had to put, gather his, his... the pieces of his body together from, from... far and wide there... trees, the surrounding area, and... it was... but it was one of those incidents where it was meant to happen, it was planned, and those who put the bomb there meant for death to follow, for as many as possible, and there’s no doubt about that, so... it... 4     �There was a phone call to the Guards that there was people acting suspiciously, that I think the... indication was that there may have been the movement of, of guns or something, it must be, around the house, and just to bring the Guards there... it was... it coincided with the... Emergency Powers... provisions within the Dáil, that would have, there was a... the introduction of additional powers, so... that was 1976, And... so I stayed there until 1987... intermittently, admittedly after, after two years of fairly... continuous duty in and around Port Laoise Prison... the rest of the work then, for the following years was, was mainstream policing, and... but 1987... I was facilitated with a transfer to... Donegal, and to border station... in Carrigans, which is just, I mean if it were in any other society, it would be a suburb of, of Derry city, you know, and indeed, that’s what it was, because there was huge interaction between the Derry city and Carrigans, and St Johnston, but it was an area that was... that had its moments in relation to... subversive activity, and we were, it was a place where you had, again you had to be on the ball, the, there were a number of... border crossings there, when I came there we didn’t have... some of the roads were blocked of course, the... the main roads, Dunmore and Killea were the two, the two main thoroughfares that were, that had checkpoints, but... the... while the other roads were... either spiked or had the barriers on them, they were still passable by motorcycle or bicycle and [pause] we had, you know, in... we had a number of incidents, number of finds along the border there with... following searches and namely in the open areas, and then we had... a number of subversives arrested there in the course of a big operation that they were carrying out, so all in all it meant that there was... there was always something happening. I know that my wife and family would have found a huge change because when I was working in the midlands and you went out to work, and you had a time to finish, invariably you did finish, you came home, and these are days long before mobile phones, or... or any other form of instant messaging. On the border, something would happen, maybe towards the end of your shift, you were, you were there, you stayed there, could be three, four, five hours... there was no word sent home... they didn’t know where you were, when you were going to get home, they might turn on the TV or radio, and hear something about something happening, that’d be the first indication, and... we can only imagine the stresses and strains that that would have in a household. Something that’s never touched on, in in the ordinary, when we talk about our experiences along the border, but the experiences for family life those were affected nearly every... every week, there was something happening. I was involved with the International Police Association... and had been for many years, it meant that I would have had interaction with the RUC on a, on a... a social and cultural basis for, for many years, but when I came to the border, it 5     �meant that I was able to put that into more use I suppose, and there was so we would have had a lot of contact meetings, and all, everything that was... that was done, had to be done with a view to security. For RUC members to come out, south of the border, their lives were under threat, and indeed they would have advised us that when we would be going in, especially into certain police stations that there was procedures that we should, should take, to secure our own safety, so it meant that for me, things changed so much when I was in Port Laoise, if I was going in to Kildare Station, or if I was going to any other Garda station, you just went and vice versa if they came to your station, they just came, but even though Derry city was only what, five or six miles down the road again, an exchange between the two stations meant almost a full operational order to get things in place before it could be done. Likewise whether social, social gatherings and from ’87 on, we would have had regular IPA social gatherings in Letterkenny it was maybe for me, and not, not that we didn’t take security seriously, but there was so much red tape involved in it that even some of the RUC guys I’d be very friendly with, would like to take an approach that didn’t involve all of the security. I remember one, one occasion where we had a big social function coming up, and I got word that there would be... half a dozen coming to attend, and I was walking along the corridor in Letterkenny Station, and the Inspector called me, he says ‘are you having a function?’ and I says ‘I am’, and he says ‘do I hear that there could be someone from the RUC coming?’ and I says ‘well it’s not definite yet’ so he said, ‘we need to know’. So I was caught in that, I had to make a report of it, but of course, as soon as I made a report on it, that went up the line, and went across the line, and it landed on desks, and it turned out no-one came, because the red tape just went into play, and even though there was a lot of threats and people were very conscious of their security, there were ways of doing things that were low-key, and, and that was done quite often, under the radar, yeah, but it meant that good relations were built up between, between people and, relationships that lasted the course of time, and then that there was a great element of, indeed of trust was built up, and of course that as well the [pause] the big change I suppose in, came then with the, the ceasefires, and that meant movements away from the border stations and the whole scene of the border changed over a very short period of time all of those stations that were along the border no longer had the big numbers, units were down. Border roads were opened, the camaraderie of that existed because of the close-knit units and the close working conditions that people had, that dissipated as well, and a lot of the history of the of the policing of the border disappeared, almost overnight. Huts that had been in place for twenty, thirty years were gone, not a mark left on the side of the road, and the landscape was changed, the population was changed, because a lot of times along the border, the Guards who were working on the border, especially the single guys, they were in digs or they were in houses locally, so you had all of that interaction with the people that was suddenly just gone, Now you have a criminal fraternity who have a camaraderie, and who, who run the, run the border roads... yeah. 6     � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Publication A book, article, monograph etc. Author Author of the publication Joe Lynch Date Type Publication, Submission, Completion date etc. Completion date 2014 Publication Title Full title of publication, as it appears on item. Transcript of audio interview Publication Status Published, in Press, Unpublished, etc. Published on-line Number of Pages 6 Publisher Location Place of publication: city / town Website Publisher Diversity Challenges Board Publication Type Report, Book, Manual etc. Transcript Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Joe Lynch <em>(story transcript)</em> Description An account of the resource Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Joe Lynch which was recorded as part of the Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF version of transcript Language A language of the resource English Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Catalogue ID Non DC - ID for the Catalogue entry that relates to this entry 2865 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. Yes (signed: 29 September 2014) Ind Delay Access Y/N Y/N for individual story-teller delayed access request (check signed permission form) No Story Available Y/N <span>Not on-line</span><span>. Story extract available in published book.</span> Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled story</em>, by John Riordan Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (page 32 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname Riordan Interviewee Forename(s) John Interviewee Gender Male Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Irish Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Garda Síochána (GS) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Garda Síochána (GS), Former member of Irish Security Forces Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document; Audio Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. 1973 [1970s] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Clontibret [County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland] People Mentioned Major and minor figures mentioned. Ian Paisley Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. British Army (BA); Garda Siochana (GS) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled story</em>, by John Riordan <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource <span>A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site. This particular story was also </span><strong>deposited</strong><span> with the Accounts archive.)</span> Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/8eb24c56192002c6f9cc587516c74078.pdf ede8823de0a3ab0bc06027e94520aaca PDF Text Text Green & Blue Project John O’Riordan and Jim Ryan Interview Transcript I joined in January, ’73... was offered it in November, around the time of my birthday, ’72 in, and like in... listening to Jim’s interview earlier... nobody belonged to me in the Garda, farmer’s son, had been... just after secondary school went to work in the buildings in England, back to do the Civil Service Exams, and joined the Garda, and frightening going into Templemore, and I attested to the force, to swear, without fear, favour or malice or ill will to do your duty, and within five minutes of going inside the door, and getting your head shaved off, literally, and the moustache had to go! And... they were gas times, they were just, it was mass recruiting for this so-called ring of steel around the border. I was posted to Crosshaven, and like that I didn’t know where it was, I didn’t know if it was like Crookhaven which would be like... there’s a station in Cork a hundred miles west of here, like down around Allihies, it’s about a hundred miles west, which is crazy, and I didn’t know whether it was down near Mitchelstown, or was it over near Youghal, Crosshaven, but it turned out to be a beautiful spot, just on the outskirts of the city, of course there’s this fella beside me, ex-Army man in Templemore, [exaggerated accent] ‘come here lucky devil, you got Crosser, boy, Crosser, boy’ and they used to call us the Costa Del Crosser, and there was two types of accents in Crosshaven, there’d be the awfully posh yacht club accent, and there’d be the gougers coming in here of course, ‘twas a great spot, but I mean I was stationed here... we arrived, my first day actually was very funny, arriving at my station [pause] I was dying, dying from drink, because we had passed out the night before, when you’re passing out, and we passed out from alcohol after that, and we came down, and I arrived here at three in the afternoon, and the... it was the old Coastguard station below, and knocked on the door, and the sergeant came, an elderly sergeant came out to me, he was elderly to me anyway, he probably wasn’t... and it, believe it, Crosshaven would only have a population of a thousand people, and ‘twould have maybe anything maybe up to ten thousand here in the summer, with all the caravans and the bay is full of people, and the little summer houses, some ‘bunjalow’ as they used to call them, and everybody say was working in Cork in those days in the Fords and in the Dunlops and that, had a summer house in Crosshaven, and... ‘yes, can I help you?’ he said to me, and I said ‘yes’, and he was having a terrible time that year with boot boys, skinheads and boot boys... and there I am standing in front of him, I had been in Templemore for four and a half months, I was slim, and I had my head shaved, I had a dirty t-shirt, and a big pair of boots on, and I had grown a bit, so I had these jeans at half mast as well, so he’s looking at this boot boy, ‘do you have an appointment?’ I says ‘no, but my name is John Riordan, I was wondering...’, ‘never heard of you, what’s it in connection with?’ and I said, ‘I’m the new recruit’ and I could see the look of disappointment in his face, and Jesus it could only go downhill from there on, because we were, and he was lovely, he was drying out a mattress, and ‘twas like a barracks, there was sleeping upstairs, and another Guard had arrived down from the border, from 1     �Donegal, about two years service more than me, and he showed me around, but he was only here a day, like a day before me, and they were drying my mattress out, there was two bedrooms in the station, and the sergeant says, ‘young fella’ he says ‘tis an awful ordeal’ he says, ‘and look it, take it easy, and come down at ten o’clock in the morning, and we’ll show you the ropes, you know, show you what it’s about’ and I set the alarm, and everything, and at twelve midday I was woken by the sergeant shaking me on the bed upstairs, and he was stuck with this hibernating skinhead, and... he did tell it afterwards at his retirement function, but he did add ‘a fine policeman he turned out to be afterwards’, which was nice. And also [pause] Crosshaven Sub District, Crosshaven and Carrigaline... were in the Cobh District... now this was drawn up in the old RIC times by the British and they just drew a square at the bottom of the, of the county... which encompassed Cobh, fifty miles away by way of road, if you had to go there, and the city was in between us and... superintendent wanted to make his way over from Cobh, now we’d no walkie-talkies, and he always arrives, right going back, he couldn’t find any Guard on the beat, and we were always at the Peace Commissioner’s house talking of matters of police interest, that he could never find us, and there was no supervision down here, ‘twas great, it was a good spot, and then... the border of course came up, and I was sent up there a year later, and if everybody was talking about it, now I was going with a local girl at the time, I wasn’t too anxious about it, and So, and straight up to Clontibret... and again to find Clontibret on the map, listen to Jim earlier, and Jesus, making your way to Clontibret in those days, would you go up through Thurles, and up through the middle of the country? It took you... it was maybe six hours driving, six, seven hours, six, seven hours, driving you know, when you think of it now, you’re in Dundalk in two and a half now if you want to, but we were all the way up into Dublin, through Dublin... up and then left up and into Clontibret, other times I came down through the country, and you’d an old map to follow, and... the idea was to make money up there, and sub and things like that, but we, I arrived up there, and... it was a totally different world, ‘twas February, it was freezing, I found in comparison to down here... and the attitudes of people were completely different up there [pause] we, there was a load of us young Guards, and we were as useful, more useless now than parking cones, because at least you could stack parking cones, and you know what I mean! We didn’t know what it was all about at all, and we were nineteen, twenty years of age like, you know and... all we were, most of the lads were interested in drinking, and carousing and stuff like that, and half asleep on checkpoints, but one incident happened where we were told to be on our best behaviour, dressed up, there was a very fine, tall statuesque Super or Chief in... I suppose Monaghan, Big strong, statuesque man now all right, and I remember him hunting Guards away because their hair were long, because the BBC were coming with us, and we were going out on this so-called ring of steel, and they were doing a documentary about the ring of steel around the border, and the great work being done by the Garda, and we were over in one of those stations we used to go to... we were going around for several days with this BBC, while they maybe do five minute snippets each day, 2     �and ‘twas being shown on the news on BBC, like a few minutes every night, of what was happening, and we’d be... putting things like swords or iron bars into haycocks and stuff like that, but there was this big briefing and I’m sure ‘twas Carrickmacross or one of these... bigger towns up there, anyway near where Big Tom and the Mainliners, Castleblaney and... the Super and the Chief were in there, not the statuesque guy, was a different Super and Chief was there and he was giving a briefing and he looked around, and... ‘right lads’ he says ‘they’re not here yet’ now he says, ‘but I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’ll be talking about bravo charlie and delta five and delta six, I don’t know what this is about, but this is for the, only for the bullshit, the purposes of our friends the Brits’... and they were there! [laughs] But... they were there, but I don’t think they were recording, Paddy... but it was so embarrassing, and Superintendent dressed up in the old greatcoat, in a raincoat, and this was terrible, and even I knew that that was, that was wrong, and this... [laughs] that was so embarrassing, and... Jim also mentioned Ian Paisley, another day I was out... and Ian Paisley was doing something with a church up there, opening a church or... meeting some of his congregation, or meeting members of his, south of the border, and... I was back, getting kind of excited about it, and the [Special] Branch were around and everything, and I was saying ‘like this... be surely trouble here’, and there were a lot of Provos on the move that day that I had, after a couple of months I got to know their cars and that, and I was told by the Branch, ‘no way, they were there to make sure that nothing would happen to Ian Paisley in the south’... and it was just a different ] completely, and... funny times I mean I knew my cars, I loved cars, and particularly this particular make of Volkswagen, the Variant, I mean everybody knew what the Beetle looked like, but... there were shots fired one day, and we could actually hear them at one stage, but we were to rush out the road from Clontibret... to the west, stop these cars coming down some side roads, and I was... private car, our own private car, we’d no patrol car there in Clontibret of course, in those days there was no patrol car, and my own private car, and a local Guard with me, and I recognised one of the cars coming, and they were sure enough three cars... coming, one belonged to a teacher and they were well collated, meaning they were in the, in the... Provos, and I was just about to jump out and do my checkpoint, and the Guard pulled me back, ‘no no, we’ll start in a minute’ he said... I was just the young, but I said ‘but, but... but nothing’ he says, ‘you’re up here now, do what you’re told’ and that’s the way things were done. So did anybody actually, excuse my French, give a shit then like, you know? Different times. I was Just over two months in Clontibret. Two months, yeah. For some reason there was a slow, I was coming up, three rosters like... and... 3     �[Jim:] He was one of these fellas that came up and took the money now from us fellas! Were there permanently, Paddy, like yourself and myself. (Paddy) They filled, filled the car with cheap Northern Ireland petrol, and then went home! [Jim:] Oh yeah, and butter! To get back to, to get back to your digs, the digs, Jim, going back to the digs... yes... the digs were very funny, when we were staying in digs as well up there, and they were putting us into any kind of a room, but they put two men to a bed, and Jesus! So the first, the first night I, I’d a hairy arse behind me, and Jesus! That’s the last thing I wanted, now... strictly heterosexual, I want you to know! But... I was... He was down in Mallow afterwards, and... the first couple of nights until we protested, because you see all the other lads were at least two to a room, we wanted a room to ourselves, we were two to a room, but two to a bed was a bit ridiculous! But they were just... making the money while the sun shone, you know? We used to go to... we used to go to Keady... and the big things to bring down that time... there was lots of things to bring down, car radios were a big thing, everybody’s car... the Customs would be doing the border, checkpoint on the border, car radios, condoms, banned down here of course, like in the ‘70s, stuff like that, and... what, what was the... something else I wanted to say to you now about that, about that, working up there... individual Gardaí that I was with, I was with one thick man from Clare, right Keady was grand, there was a market in Keady where we’d buy all this stuff, and... there was a lovely... smart... brisk... RUC man obviously came up to us, but I didn’t even know at the time, he was armed, and he was ‘oh God, you’re obviously in the Free State, there’s down there, lads’, and... says ‘yeah we are, that’s right and what are you doing?’ and this thick Guard from Clare says... ‘ooh mind your business now, and we’ll mind ours’! [laughs] Well... and it was ridiculous, I’ve never seen anything... thank God he was sacked afterwards, but wasn’t that an awful, wouldn’t that be an awful impression to give an RUC, young RUC officer? And this thick... [Jim:] There was also a market that we told, in Enniskillen, which would have been close to where I was, you know? And... we were supposed to, there was an unwritten rule somewhere that no Guards, no Army, no Customs into the north, [Jim:] So towards the... in Enniskillen, you’d be walking down Enniskillen, and you’d hear ‘come here boy!’ you’d hear the Cork accent, the Kerry accent, and the... all the accents from down... every fella in the Army and the Guards and the Custom, all in the middle of Enniskillen, and everybody knew we were there, and there was no problem, there was... ‘twas very good. 4     �You know, the innocence of it too, I had my lovely little... Triumph Herald, and I’d never seen those humps they put in the road, like we never had them down south like they had in the north, and it was ‘slow down ramps, slow down ramps’, ‘interesting signs, what do they mean?’ and was it Keady or Armagh? But there’s a barracks on the left hand side anyway, and these whores were the size of a, of a... you know oh they were the size of a block, they were the size of a bag of coal, and my little car felt [makes explosion noise] up, it was... blown up in the air, and I nearly broke my lovely little Triumph Herald passing these, never, not an idea, never again drove fast over them of course like you know, they were serious ramps, and [Jim:] And an interesting one about Keady, in that... when I was up in Drumad, the second time for the BSE there was one of the lads, I can’t think of his name in Drumad, I think, who was a referee, a hurling referee, and he had no umpire, and I said I’d go with him up to Keady, it was during the Armagh County Semi Final, Senior, in hurling, and I was umpiring anyway, above in Keady, a fella from Cork and... these two, one team was from Armagh city, and the other team was from somewhere else, and there was some other guy on the, doing the other post... and the ball came in anyway, and there was nobody went near the ball, everybody went over and started belting the post... at the other side... near your man... didn’t know what was going on anyway... it calmed down again a bit anyway, and went into the half time anyway, I went up to the ref, said ‘what the hell was all that about?’ ‘oh’ he says ‘your man was the... secretary of the... Armagh County Board a few years ago and he suspended all of them, and they’re trying to get him back’, and here am I stuck in the middle of this! The, the... I was there, we were called out of bed one night actually, and you wouldn’t realise how historical it was, they were down to how serious it was, but Senator Billy Fox had been shot somewhere near there, while visiting, was it friends or a lady friend and that... [Jim:] He was a senator. He was a senator for five years, Senator Billy Fox, isn’t that right? And we were, we were out for hours and hours on that one, we never realised the seriousness of it until years later when we grew up and got a bit of sense, got a bit more politically aware, and... doing those checkpoints we’d a lot of unapproved roads there of course, blown up by the British Army just north of the border, filled up with JCBs by the local, and they were all being used, they were rough, they were hard to drive on now, the unapproved roads, but they like they were all opened up, and we would do checkpoints on them, even though they weren’t recognised as roads at all, and farmers were completely peed off with this young Guard coming up from, ‘where are you going?’ and ‘what are you...?’ ‘I’m going feeding cattle’, ‘I’m going this’, and that, he’d pass ten times a day, and you’d get to know him the first two or three, sure after that he could be taking whatever he wanted with him, you know, they were really peed off with us asking questions, and they’d answer you, the northern had a bad attitude towards us, you know? 5     �[Jim:] yeah... but once you got to know them, you see you were in a probably a different situation to Paddy and myself, we... kind of knew them... like I played football against northerners, so they kind of, they get to know you, and you’re there all the time, they meet you down the town, like... I think I was [unclear - 14.42] say in Ballyconnell was that you would come through... a Saturday night... or a Friday night, and they’d be all coming up, and they’d be all in the pubs... and the place would be chock-a-block, and I would go down like to raid the pubs, not raid them, but I’d just try and get them out... and leave it just so that the, the town would be free, there was no cars left in the place, so you knew you were safe enough and, but they all got to know us, and one particular night I went down anyway, and this temporary sergeant was up and he was gunning for a road, he wanted to do the pubs, he took a dislike for some publican there, and I liked him, so... we were knocking on the front door, and I said I knew we wouldn’t get in there, I said to myself, we won’t get in the front door anyway, and he didn’t know the way around the back, I did, so... we were banging away on the front door anyway and nothing happened, and I said to, ‘Dinny you stay, now and I’ll go around, I’ll, I think I know how to get around the back’, so I went around the back anyway, and I met all the lads anyway, I said ‘lads come on, past the sergeant to the front, come on, come on, get out, get out, get out’, so... after about ten minutes, anyway after clearing the whole pub, I said ‘oh Jesus’ to the doorman, I says ‘open the front door, the sergeant at the front door’, and then the sergeant came in, and he bollocked me out of it, I said, ‘Jesus... I think they were all gone’, I said ‘when I came in, and I was got a few of them out the back, and... they were all off the premises, I forgot all about you, sorry about that’, [laughs] but you know the way temporary sergeants came up, they got these notions, and you had to play ball up there, with the people and... 6     � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Publication A book, article, monograph etc. Author Author of the publication John Riordan and Jim Ryan Date Type Publication, Submission, Completion date etc. Completion date 2014 Publication Title Full title of publication, as it appears on item. Transcript of audio interview Publisher Location Place of publication: city / town Website Publisher Diversity Challenges Board Publication Type Report, Book, Manual etc. Transcript Publication Status Published, in Press, Unpublished, etc. Published on-line Number of Pages 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by John Riordan and Jim Ryan <em>(story transcript)</em> Description An account of the resource Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with John Riordan and Jim Ryan which was recorded as part of the Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF version of transcript Language A language of the resource English Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Catalogue ID Non DC - ID for the Catalogue entry that relates to this entry 2876 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Story Available Y/N Story extract available in published book.<br /><strong>Interview transcript</strong> available on-line:<br />http://www.green-and-blue.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Liam-Ryan-interview-transcript1.pdf Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled story</em>, by Liam Ryan Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (page 38 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname Ryan Interviewee Forename(s) Liam Interviewee Gender Male Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Garda Síochána (GS) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Garda Síochána (GS), Former member of Irish Security Forces Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. 1971 [1970] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Kinlough [County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland] Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. British Army (BA); Garda Siochana (GS) Other Keywords Other keywords mentioned in the interview. Border Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Irish Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. No Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Liam Ryan <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) external Diversity Challenges Green and Blue Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. Yes (signed: 29 September 2014) Ind Delay Access Y/N Y/N for individual story-teller delayed access request (check signed permission form) No Story Available Y/N <span>Yes; </span><strong>deposited</strong><span>. Story extract available in published book.</span> Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Maurice Walsh Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (page 43 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname Walsh Interviewee Forename(s) Maurice Interviewee Gender Male Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document; Audio Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Irish Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Garda Síochána (GS) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Garda Síochána (GS), Former member of Irish Security Forces Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. 1974 [1970s] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Manorhamilton [County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland] Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. Garda Siochana (GS) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Maurice Walsh <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource <span>A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site. This particular story was also </span><strong>deposited</strong><span> with the Accounts archive.)</span> Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/814a7cf3d52140c103971c4036478515.pdf 5ea935fbcc5b41016cb91df68ac8b9d9 PDF Text Text Green & Blue Project Maurice Walsh Interview with Michele Maloney I’ll be the... the retiring age for Guards, this year I’ll be sixty, in December. I’m from a little village down in Kerry... Castle, Cordal just outside Castleisland. Yeah I suppose there was maybe, ‘twas more of a trend in the past, that you would have a lot of Kerry people here, but I think that has changed, I’d say a lot you know, well the was the guy from Tipperary, there’s more and more Cork people like there was a time like when you know, you were never allowed to... based in your home county or that... I joined the Guards in the 24th of September 1974, that time it was only six months training, so we finished training in January... of ’75 and I was, my first posting from training was in Manorhamilton in County... Straight into Manorhamilton, County Leitrim... on a cold winter’s day, the first job I had to do, the following day was... we went up there on a Friday and the Saturday morning I had to go into the local draper shop and get the warmest jumper that they had, ‘cause I was... the different temperature up there in that side of the country, and what I was used to, down in the, near the, the North Atlantic drift of, in County Kerry... but that was the, I spent six months in Manorhamilton, Manorhamilton would be a district headquarters, with a number of border stations... operating under it, you had Kinlough on the west, on the Donegal coast, you had Kiltyclogher on the Fermanagh coast, and north of Manorhamilton, Blacklion would be north east of Manorhamilton, then there would be one of the more active crossing points, on... on the border, and then you had Dowra, which... Dowra is... a small village on the Cavan/Leitrim border near Lough Allen... it was, I was posted to Dowra after spending six months in Manorhamilton, I was transferred out to Dowra, and no more than when I was leaving Templemore and looking to know where I was going, in Manorhamilton I had to get a map out and find out where Manorhamilton was, but even when I was being posted to Dowra I had to get the map out again and find out where it was... and I spent three years... It’s a pretty long spell, but I was young, like I was twenty one when I... went to Manorhamilton, so... that time when you’re young and single you were inclined to be left on the border, longer than who were married, and that and with families. In Manorhamilton it would have been general I suppose, you know that you would have a mixture of, of both border security and you know I suppose the very first night I remember being out in the patrol car there, there was a protest by some... Sinn Féin members in relation to something or other, I can’t... in the town, like that kind of stuff was alien to me, coming from far down south, but you know it was always a case of you know you were taught to note all the... the minute details of we’ll say the description of the people who were taking part in the protest, the numbers of any cars that they were using and that, and I suppose it was quite �obvious the, the relationship that I would have had in the community down in Kerry, and even I had worked in, in England on the buildings for a while before I went in, in to the Guards, was always open and friendly and that, there was, whereas now I was going into a situation where you were treated with suspicion by the people that you were interacting with, even the local people there would have been wary of you, you know, we’ll say got on well with them, but they still, the distrust when you had to be careful where you went to because there was some pubs and things like that where... what they might call republican... strongholds and you stayed out of them, you know it was a learning process, and that’s why they didn’t send you directly to the border station at that time, to the Kinloughs or the Kiltycloghers, the Blacklions... that you needed that bit of grounding in, in a place like Manorhamilton and doing general police work, rather than just being solely concentrating on border security. There would have been a number of incidents at that time, when I was... between Manorhamilton and, and Dowra I was in the, that area from 1975 to May of ’78... there would have been a number of incidents, both locally and nationally that you know you would... certainly have a role in, involved in, and the likes of, I suppose one of the more serious ones that I would come to light for me, come to mind is one night we were working in Dowra, and part of the Dowra border area would be a place called Glangevlin, and I remember being in that area with, in the patrol car, and getting a report over the radio that three RUC officers had been blown up in Belcoo... and like for me, but like Glangevlin is literally as the crow flies, within four or five miles of, of Belcoo, ‘twas just across the border from, from Blacklion... and you know the shock I suppose of... something like that happening so close, you know, you’d have heard the news reports and the media reports on on these incidents, but when it happens that close to... to the bone, it registers much stronger, and do you know, that is... what you’d find that there is no understanding as to why, why that should happen in a small sleepy village like Belcoo, you know and even to this day I still can’t... figure out why a lot of those... the bitterness is so deep that those kind of incidents did occur... there was, there’d have been other ones, like I mean we, Dowra would have been... what they call a cordon point, so it, Dowra bridge, Cordon point, you had a cordon system set up around, around the country, so that if an incident happened within in a certain area, then the cordon system would come into play then to monitor the movement of, of traffic from one part of the country to another, you had it right throughout the twenty six counties, but I suppose on the border there was, it was more, there was more, it was used more often, these, what they call these cordon system, and implementing the, the checkpoints then, and Dowra bridge was one of those I suppose the fact that it is... bordering two counties, it’s actually the first bridge that crosses the Shannon, so you’re going from, from Ulster into, into Connaught, at Dowra... and there was many occasions that we would have had to set up cordon points there, like I suppose in Dowra in one way we hadn’t the interaction with, with our northern colleagues to the same extent that they would have maybe in, in to the west of us in Blacklion, or to the east of us in �Swanlinbar, because there’s actually, even though Dowra was a border station, there was no road crossing the border, because it’s all mountainous area, Well, ‘twould, and even then I, I didn’t have a problem with it, but you know I’d often get out on my bicycle doing what they call intelligence gathering, you know which is basically going out and keeping, keeping a close link with the community around Glangevlin and Dowra... but you know so, but that was one of the things I suppose that I... I would say for the three years I was in Dowra that I, there wasn’t any interaction with our colleagues in the north, even as close as, as we were... you know. Oh the only time that I would, not when I’d be working, you know like Enniskillen I suppose was the local market town, and shopping town that... we would you know at least once a month I’d say we would visit in there, so you were going to encounter... the British Army checkpoints if you crossed either at Blacklion or in Swanlinbar, and you would, you would see the local police, but you know we never, there was never interaction... between us... and you know I don’t know why, you know, ‘tis a... it’s a pity that there wasn’t like you know, there should have been. I think it was a missed opportunity though we didn’t have that interaction, but whether that was distrust, you know I suppose there was, there was a lot of, not so much with the... with the RUC, but with... the UDR, we would certainly have had, well I suppose going by my own personal view of, of that organisation, would have been pretty... negative, but... but we just, there wasn’t any, I never had the opportunity and I would have liked to, to have had to interact with. You’d produce your driving licence, you’d... I don’t think I ever... you’d probably have your Garda ID it on you all right, on your person, but I would never produce it... it wasn’t just the done thing, don’t ask me why. My recollection now is the checkpoints now that I would mostly be going through would be Swanlinbar, and that that checkpoint... was Army, Yeah, you know you were never comfortable going through them, because like when you see the barrel of a gun coming out through a turret, facing in your direction, you know you’re never more than a hair’s breadth away from... with the finger never more than a hair’s breadth away from the trigger, you just, anything is possible, and I would, can recall it where there was a few incidents I think over on the Monaghan side, where people crossing the border were shot in... mysterious circumstances, so accidents can happen as well, and so there was never that comfortable feeling, you were always anxious to just to get through it and make sure that you didn’t, you �know make any sudden movements or... that you know, when you were crossing those border checkpoints. Well, I suppose you had a southern reg see that there was... I would you know, that there was, was a lot of southern cars going up and down, so that there wouldn’t have been that terrible lot of notice, even though mine probably would bring a bit more notice, ‘twas probably a Kerry registration, you know at that time, so... it might bring a bit more than normal, but still it didn’t, it didn’t seem to... cause me any concern or, or nobody ever pointed out to me that, ‘oh right you shouldn’t be going in’, or... ‘twas never an issue. Well, I suppose one of the things at that time like you know, you’re the Enniskillen was, goods were a lot cheaper up there, like if you wanted your car radio or you know, the likes of that, car, car equipment, car radios, stereos and things like that were much cheaper than what we would be in the south, so I’d say we’d have supplied a few of them down to the friends down in Kerry over the years. Well like communications were shocking, you can imagine and that... like the ‘phone system was, you know you were Manorhamilton Two-One, or something like that, and or Dowra Two, so you had to go through the local exchange, and then you know you’d have to go through the regional exchange, so I would say as regards confidentiality you were well aware like that, that you couldn’t say much over the ‘phone, and then the radio system, that we’d have in the patrol cars wouldn’t be sophisticated either, so that was only used to relay the most basic of messages, you couldn’t go having any element of discussion or anything confidential over that, so like it was written, the written document was the, was the main means of communication, which was slow and tedious... You would, the patrol book, the patrol book was the, that was your... your, your gospel of, of events, you know? And then you know sometimes if there were a quiet night duty, you’d have to be inventive to...! Just get something in there to justify your existence, but they, and like the other one that was a tedious process in the likes of Manorhamilton and later when I came down to, to Bantry, you got your fax messages, came in, the fax machine was, was a main means of relaying information about different activities along the border, and you had to photocopy that, make copies of it, put it in envelopes for all the outside stations, and a copy of it would go... sure by the time... the information got to the outside stations, they could be three or four days old, obsolete completely, you know? So it was antiquated, and even well I suppose the Guards were always slow to, were to catch up with modern technology, again I suppose the resources were not put into it, by by government, and probably at this stage now like I’m retired out of it seven years now come, just seven and a half years, but... you know the email systems that I would operate in the job that I’m now... seventy five, eighty per cent of my correspondence with all �outside agencies now with staff, is all done by email, and it’s instantaneous, rather than the antiquated systems of communication that we had. It was, it was, it was about four, five hours drive back to Kerry at that time roads wouldn’t always have been great, so I did that we’ll say, roughly once a month for the three, three and a half years that I was up there. Well, I suppose my mother I suppose more than anyone else, would have always said to me, you know ‘for God’s sake will you try and get out of there as soon as you can?’ You know, others like didn’t take any notice because I suppose there was, there would have been a, a good few people from around the area, doing the same thing, you know and they would’ve... there was always a sense that you were, you were safer operating south of the border than you were, north of the border, that the same risk wasn’t there, like that you know, apart from, there was incidents now likes of Gerry McCabe, or Kevin Morley and, and there was two of them shot there in that bank raid in Ballaghaderreen in Roscommon, and you know you had incidents in Portlaoise then that where, you know there was... an explosion in a house there where there was a Guard blinded, and... you know other bank robberies, you know, Kevin Morrissey, that were terrorist-related but at the same time it wasn’t, it didn’t appear to be the policy of the IRA to target... the members of the Garda Síochána... for... assassination... you know which was obviously their, in the north it was... I suppose... you, there would always be the concern like you know, when you’re doing these checkpoints up in the likes of remote areas like Glangevlin... you never know... what’s going to come across, you know we would have been, I now remember one incident where there was a Guard doing a checkpoint over in a place called, near the Black Banks over towards Swanlinbar, and some... IRA people came along, and like we were unarmed, you know right there would have been certain, after bank robberies and that you might have the [Irish] Army there to, in support at some checkpoints, but invariably most of our checkpoints would have been unarmed checkpoints, and you know there was one incident there where a Guard stopped a car and... you know they just stripped him of his uniform and left him there on the side of the road... and like you know if you met the wrong people you don’t know what they would have... what they could have done, so you never knew, but like you didn’t think too much about it, you just went out and did... what you had to do, without, I suppose we were young, and you know when you’re young and that you can be a bit more fearless than you can maybe if you had... married with kids around, you know? No I would have, when I came back I came down here to Bantry I suppose in ’78 and that was, that has been my home since, even though I would have worked in... different areas, including working abroad in Cambodia, in Bosnia, in Dublin and you know going in different, in different times, but when I came down here, when I got a transfer down here in May ’78 I was at the time I was engaged to Pauline, from �she’s from Drumshanbo... so we got married in October ’78, and I suppose because her, of her home being in Drumshanbo in Leitrim we’re obviously regular... Which is close enough to the border, there you know? Plus she has family in Ballinamore, which is again even closer to the border there than Swanlinbar, so all throughout the years, and I have a sister-in-law in Pomeroy up in the heart of Tyrone, and we’re actually planning to visit up there in December, haven’t been up there now in a number of years, but you know so... we’ve, I’ve kept in touch and... even there now two or three years ago we did a cycle from Mizen Head up to Malin, and we crossed over, like all these places now and like and it would run through your mind that the change, you know, even even in the, like say I’d even remark that that time the roads in the mid-seventies and that they were much better up in the north than they were down our way, and I’d say it’s nearly the other way ‘round now, the road’s surfacing is poor enough up there out on the road... network, certainly you don’t have the hard shoulder for cycling on in the same way as we would have had down on the south side of the border, I found it a bit more scary cycling up there, than on this side, so it’s amazing how things have changed over the thirty years or so, yeah. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Publication A book, article, monograph etc. Author Author of the publication Maurice Walsh Date Type Publication, Submission, Completion date etc. Completion date 2014 Publication Title Full title of publication, as it appears on item. Transcript of audio interview Publisher Location Place of publication: city / town Website Publisher Diversity Challenges Board Publication Type Report, Book, Manual etc. Transcript Publication Status Published, in Press, Unpublished, etc. Published on-line Number of Pages 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Maurice Walsh <em>(story transcript)</em> Description An account of the resource Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Maurice Walsh which was recorded as part of the Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF version of transcript Language A language of the resource English Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Catalogue ID Non DC - ID for the Catalogue entry that relates to this entry 2885 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Story Available Y/N Story extract available in published book.<br /><strong>Interview transcript</strong> available on-line:<br /> http://www.green-and-blue.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Milne-Rowntree-Interview-Transcript.pdf Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled story</em>, by Milne Rowntree Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (pages 34-35 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname Rowntree Interviewee Forename(s) Milne Interviewee Gender Male Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Northern Irish Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Former member of Security Forces. Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. 1978 [1970s] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Derry [County Derry, Northern Ireland] Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC); Garda Siochana (GS) Other Keywords Other keywords mentioned in the interview. Border Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. No Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled Story</em>, by Milne Rowntree <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site.) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) external Diversity Challenges Green and Blue Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Green and Blue Across the Thin Line (<em>collection</em>) [NC] Description An account of the resource A collection of 39 stories that were compiled as part of a project with the aim: "To develop a storytelling project reflecting the cooperation and interaction between former members of Royal Ulster Constabulary and former members of An Garda Síochána along the border from the establishment of the two Police Forces to 2001." (From the Green and Blue website.) Extracts from the 39 recorded interviews were published in book format in 2014. The associated Green and Blue website contains full transcripts for 24 of the interviews. The website also contains 18 interview audio files (as of 22 January 2016). URL Non DC - URL of Organisation / Project http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Stories Collected Non DC - Number of stories recorded as part of the project. 39 Stories Deposited Non DC - Number of stories deposited with Accounts of the Conflict. 18 Collection Permission Form Non DC - Collection permission form signed and returned. Yes (signed: 21 March 2015) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Published book; and Web site Language A language of the resource English Delayed Access Non DC - Yes/No on request for delayed access. No Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Ind Permission Form Yes/No - Individual permission form signed and returned to Accounts. Yes (signed: 30 September 2014) Ind Delay Access Y/N Y/N for individual story-teller delayed access request (check signed permission form) No Story Available Y/N <span>Yes; </span><strong>deposited</strong><span>. Story extract available in published book.</span> Story Title The title, if any, of the story or account. <em>Untitled story</em>, by Pat O'Leary Story Format Main format of the story (video; audio; etc.). Text (page 33 in the book) Story Source Source of where the story can be found. Story contained in: <br /><strong>Moloney, Michelle.</strong> (2014). Green and Blue Across the Thin Line - Policing the border: The voices of those who policed the border and their families. Diversity Challenges Board. Interviewee Surname O'Leary Interviewee Forename(s) Pat Interviewee Gender Male Marital Status Marital status of the interviewee. Married Nationality Details of Nationality / Citizenship. Irish Occupation during conflict Occupation status at the time of the conflict / story. Police officer, Member of Garda Síochána (GS) Status Details of status of interviewee during conflict (civilian; security force; combatant; paramilitary; political party; loyal order; etc.). Former member of Garda Síochána (GS), Former member of Irish Security Forces Published Format Video; Audio; Document; Image. Document; Audio Themes/Topics Mentioned Major Themes/Topics first, then sub-themes and topics. Policing Dates Mentioned Specific dates, or ranges. 1972 [1970s] Places Mentioned Places mentioned: cities, towns, villages, etc. Burnfoot [County Donegal, Republic of Ireland] Organisations Mentioned Main organisations mentioned. Garda Siochana (GS) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource <em>Untitled story</em>, by Pat O'Leary <em>(story details)</em> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Green and Blue – Across the Thin Line project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Diversity Challenges Board Description An account of the resource <span>A personal account from a collection of 39 interviews recorded as part of the Green and Blue Across the Thin Line project. The interviews were conducted with former police officers who served in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Extracts from the interviews were published in a book of the same title in 2014. (This account is one of 19 for which the audio file and full transcript were made available at the project's Web site. This particular story was also </span><strong>deposited</strong><span> with the Accounts archive.)</span> Availability Online Non DC - Availabilty Status (deposited, delayed, external, cain) deposited Subject The topic of the resource The experiences of former police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC; Northern Ireland) and the Garda Síochána (GS; Republic of Ireland), especially in relation to the border between the two jurisdictions. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Relation A related resource See also the Green and Blue website: http://www.green-and-blue.org/ Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Police Services; Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland; 1920s to 2001 Diversity Challenges Green and Blue