5
10
203
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/560aeca4d9ab92d6c25524fb3fdf9355.mp3
4952ca949789050b5f37df6f9d61a830
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
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription also available
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Digital Audio File: MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3)
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
29 minutes 36 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
192 kbps
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><span>, by </span><span>Tim Kelly </span><em>(story audio)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of interview with Tim Kelly 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
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
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
Audio (MP3)
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
2862
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/8abbcb2db95947fdd92cde84efb214ef.pdf
7de39af40f68b54f075346db5b524b33
PDF Text
Text
Green and Blue Project
Pat Finn Interview Transcript
I’m from Galway. And I came to Clonakilty in May, 1968, and I had my full service in
Clonakilty apart from my temporary transfers.
My first trip to the border was in 1970, I went there in March... of 1970, to
Ballyconnell was on the border ‘twas in the Cavan/Monaghan Division, and... we
thought we’d be there for a couple of months, but as it happened... the Conroy
Commission... was set up prior to that and... the Conroy Commission was published
around that time, and the individuals... most of the fellahs who were on the border,
there was very few females at the border at that time, but we were all brought back
to our stations and for the first of April, because new conditions came into the
Garda... police force, Garda force, in 1970, so that was my first trip to the border.
Well we knew like ‘twas border patrols, but now I knew where Ballyconnell was on
the map, but ‘twas my first trip to the border, and the fact that there was a number
of sergeants there, we were in... all different accommodation... and I replaced some
of the members from Clonakilty, or Clonakilty District, so... I would have gone into
the same accommodation, as they left, so then we would have been on... long shifts
I think that time, prior to the Conroy Commission a long shift would be... maybe...
nine, nine hours maybe or well maybe even ten hours maybe, you wouldn’t have the
same now, when the Conroy Commission came in, this, ‘twas eight hour shifts as
such, but prior to that you could have been on longer shifts, and you would, there
was... in actual fact you got no, you got no pay for overtime in other words.
You could be called out, and there’d be no, there’d be no payment for the longer
hours, but as it happened we were... now, I got to know the... the number of people
that were in the sergeants and the Gardaí and as well, and I got to know the border
areas, now we were told it could be towards the border, it’s one good thing about...
all my trips to the border, is the fact that... each individual... that I met... they were
very helpful... because they knew like that we didn’t know the border areas, and
they also gave us... advice in relation to the people that we could mix with, and the
areas that we should not mix in.
I would have known a bit about it, but not to the extreme, the fact that you see,
sometimes you see people might talk, to talk to you, and they could be... asking you
questions, which, which now though I’m lucky enough that time we got advice, in
the winter when we arrived there, and now luckily enough again I didn’t meet
anybody... that... I got any awkward questions... from.
1
�You had to be vigilant, is right, and ‘twas good experience as well, because... being
only in Clonakilty, and I was in Dublin for... a number of months, way back in 1969,
and outside of Clonakilty that was, Ballyconnell was my... other station, first station
the border, and... again it gave me an insight into what the border was about.
You see, the border was totally different to the... Clonakilty, and to Dublin, because
you met... different people... that could be... subversive in other words, and in
actual fact, crossing the border then, as well as everything else, now you went as far
as the border, but you didn’t cross the border, and the border was new to me,
‘cause I’d never been in Northern Ireland, prior to that... and Northern Ireland was,
to me, even though I had been in England, and I had met a lot of people from
different nationalities... but I did not know people from the north of Ireland, and...
also the fact of the criminal activities that were happening there, I would have
known nothing about that, and a fortnight was too short, so I didn’t learn an awful
lot at that particular time.
I went back up to Kinlough in 1971... Kinlough is in, is in north, is in north Leitrim,
it’s quite close to the Donegal border as well, and I, being single that time, being
single we were sent there for two months, and the one thing about Kinlough that I
remember clearly about Kinlough is the fact that there were a number of people
living in Kinlough Sub-District... and they had escaped from Long Kesh... so we got
to know then individually, and collectively as well, and we did... well we met them
different times, and we’d have stopped them at checkpoints, and we were aware of
who they were, and... that time, there was very few individuals carrying... firearms...
and they would, sometimes you would be accompanied by Army... and then you’d
be quite, you know... happy to stop individuals who you knew like were subversive
and they could be dangerous, maybe we didn’t know, but as it happened, they didn’t
create any difficulty for us, even though they did... tell us that they didn’t like being
stopped... and the fact that if they, you know that if they were stopped too often
that they could, you know they could get angry... but now we didn’t allow anybody
getting angry, because we said we were told to do our work, and our duty, and... it
was part of our work to... stop them, and search the cars, and search themselves if
they need be.
No, no there was nothing found that we, that I, at that particular time, now we did
do, we did some searches, but there was nothing found of... in relation to anything
that... subversives would need, or... would have hidden, so we don’t know whether
they had or not, and these fellas that we knew like that time, came across the
border, and they just weren’t, didn’t want to be part of Northern Ireland, because
they knew they were wanted in Northern Ireland, and... we... did have some...
knowledge, but they will, the [pause] RUC, police in the north knew they were living
there, but and we were... we were... kept notes in relation to the times we stopped
those people, and who they were, you know, just give them some, and would be
passed on, I think it was passed on, we passed it on to our sergeants and
2
�inspectors, and the superintendent, and that would be passed on probably, I assume
it was passed on, I don’t know, but we didn’t do it ourselves.
Just would meet the RUC on the border, we’d have just general conversation with
them now... because again we wouldn’t have been, and see... you don’t talk to
people too long... when you don’t know them, and we just got to know them, and
we knew they were policemen, and they knew that we were from the south of
Ireland, and they didn’t, you know, we just give them the time of day, or maybe just
talked about a few things that were happening, maybe ‘twas... about football, which
they would be... you know, some of them would have known a good bit about
football and things like that as well, because... they wouldn’t know that much about
hurling, and on the border, so... and whatever was happening in the areas as well,
we’d just have a short discussion with them.
In actual fact, that was my first time using the... the car radios, we didn’t have car
radios in... in West Cork at that particular time, so got used to them again in the...
the two-way, because they had a radio... in every station in the border at that time,
and we were able to have communication when we were out, and with the station at
all times, which was a big help as well. It was, we thought it was at that time, but...
‘twas very small compared with communication nowadays.
Well what we did socially now, we... we travelled, you know to Kinlough, and just
before we’d start duty, maybe an hour or two before we’d start duty, and... now,
and again ‘twas eight hour shifts, we started maybe on a, ten o’clock on a maybe a
Monday night... and then we would finish maybe on the... next Saturday, and we’d
go to dances in, the Beach Hotel was one of the places we used to go to in... down
in Mullaghmore... and Mullaghmore in actual fact, that was one of the things, place
we covered actually during the summer, because of Lord Mountbatten.
I was there, there were different times when Mountbatten, the Lord have mercy on
him, Lord Mountbatten was, was coming there on holidays... and we would patrol
that area, and we got to know him, you know casually now, we didn’t, what I mean
casually, we had a... short conversation with him too, from time to time during the
summer that he was there, he was there for a couple of months in summer...
because he had a residence there, and... we seen him go out in his boat as well,
and... some of the people that he would be with as well, you know... again we... just
knew him... and we didn’t know very few, we knew some of the staff, but we didn’t
know them by name, and he was very nice towards everybody, you know, and...
very courteous to us as well, now he seemed a... fine, straight individual, and and...
very friendly.
We got back into normal routines again, and then that was my, you know, the 1971
was my, I spent two months at that time, and then eight months after I went back,
3
�in 1973... and I spent any number of, I spent eight months at that time, ’72 – ’73...
and again we would have done the same thing, but again like I said, we could have
Bundoran maybe for, you know when we would have... time off, and we would go to
the local dances there, and as well as that, we would go to the beaches in...
Mullaghmore, or Bundoran, and we got to know... you see we were only temporary,
and we got to know the fellas from the different areas, that would have been nearer
the border and we got friendly with them as well too, so we created good friendship,
and again... where we were living where, it was quite good accommodation as well,
we got well fed, and we got on well with the sergeants that were there as well and
they were there permanent, there was three sergeants there at that particular time,
and I remember the sergeant in charge of... Kinlough, and he couldn’t have been
nicer to us, he gave us loads of advice, and... anything we wanted, and if we
wanted change of shifts... you know he would have been, he’d be very helpful that
way as well too.
We went across the border a few times now, we were gone to... different areas and
then the border, but now ‘twas, we went in our own time in actual fact, I went
dancing a few times across the border as well too, but not too often now, but we
would, we would just, have our identification with us, we didn’t, we drove our own
cars, and that was it, we didn’t, you know that... we were, we would be always
terribly... careful as to where we went, and the fact that we didn’t want people to
know that we were in the Garda force, because we were afraid just of the fact that if
they knew we were Gardaí, they mightn’t like it, some of the people that we’d have
met up there, so we just kept to ourselves that way.
There was no, there was no difficulty... no difficulty for our ID, sometimes we
weren’t even asked for ID, But we just made sure that we were, you know that in
case we were stopped and we did have ID with us.
I went to Blacklion then in 1975, I spent two months there actually, and Blacklion
was right on the border, and there was... an Army post as well right on the border,
and... again it was a smaller area, and the fact that even though, what I found
about Blacklion is the fact there was some members from... permanent there, and
they were very young, and they found it very boring, and that’s what I would have
seen, that’s one of the things disappointed me, is the fact there wasn’t enough
facilities for entertainment, or you know, off time, for individuals who were there
permanent, they would have been... get, I know some of the individuals that were
there in my time, they had a problem with alcohol, you know, again that was one of
the things that disappointed me, now I’m lucky enough again like that I was staying
in Manorhamilton, when I was in Blacklion, and we used to go for games of
handball, and different things like that as well with some of the lads, so...
4
�Twas just part of the duties, and I, we didn’t worry about it, the fact that we were,
we became acclimatised to it, and we got good advice at all times as well too, and
we did what we were asked to do.
There was, it was across the border, on both sides, and they, there was... the Irish
Army were right on the, right on the border... and I’d say they found life boring as
well, because ‘twas very very boring, because they, they were doing all their duties
in the one spot.
No, nothing, nothing... nothing to be alarmed about, now the other thing, the other
station I went to, was Monaghan, I was there in nineteen... the 1980s, 1985-86, that
was now, Monaghan was different, because Monaghan was one of the... I suppose
areas where there was a lot of... subversives there... and we knew, we got to know
them, now and I got to know some of them as well too, and there was incidents
when, when I was in Monaghan... because there was... two subversives I can’t think
of their names now, but they were shot in the north of Ireland, and there was
funerals that we attended, and... Scotstown was one of the areas where there was
one of the, those people buried, and... the build up to the funerals was, now... that
was a bit scary... now not for ourselves, but you could feel, you could feel the
tension, the tension that was building up because they, the Garda force knew like
that there was a big funeral coming off, and they knew like that there’d be a lot of...
publicity and the fact there would be so many people, subversives and lots of other
people supporting them, now we, we had no worries about them, deep down, but
you could, again there was tension, but lucky enough I think on all the funerals they
were at, and McIlwaine was one of the individuals I can remember now, I just
thought of his name now, they were shot when I was there you know, and... you
could feel again all the pressure... and... the public themselves were waiting for
things to happen, now there was... fellahs in balaclavas, they would have fired shots
at the grave and things like that as well too, and then there was checkpoints going
to and from the, the funerals, you know that I was at, so again, that was one of the
times that you could feel the tension again, like I said... and also the fact... that
there was always a danger point or the possibility of a danger point.
Ah ‘twas tense in that you could feel a bit, each individual was, every individual was
going out there was... was tense because of the... possibility of something
happening, ‘twas more so the possibility, so... people were delighted when, I can tell
you when the, those... funerals were over, we felt sorry for the, you know the
people who were shot, but there was nothing we could do about it whatsoever,
because the fact that... they were doing probably something they shouldn’t have
been doing, and I mean sure they were in places, where they shouldn’t have been.
I was in Monaghan two different, three, two or three different occasions... matter of
fact I was in two stations in Monaghan, because I was in the old station, and the
5
�new station, because my first time up there was in the, in the old station, and then
by the time I got back again... so again we met, now made a lot of good friends
there, and that’s the other thing about Monaghan that I remember clearly, is the
first day I arrived there, I was told if I, that if I was taking a drink... there was some
of the pubs... that I should avoid... and also the fact that... the pubs that were safe
to go into, and that you wouldn’t be taunted or asked questions, and... that you
would feel... comfortable, which is very very important, and that was great advice
again.
Oh you could, safety... safety comes, is very very important to each and every one
of us, and the fact that you were... because people would get to know you... in a
short period of time if you were inside in a pub, and no matter where you went, that
you’re a stranger... so and then you would, maybe you went with a couple of more
colleagues, and then you like,
They’d recognise is right, and they could be, if you went to the wrong pub, you’d
never know what you... we were advised, got great advice.
I felt in actual fact there was more tension as well too, like Monaghan was... was
now the one station like I said, in relation to all the tension when I was in...
Kinlough, and Ballyconnell and Blacklion, there was less tension up, less tension
because I think the next factor was less fear... even though they... some time
afterwards there was an incident, there was serious, bomb, there was bombing in, in
Blacklion, but that wasn’t in my time now, but you could feel some of the, you know,
this again... the locals in Blacklion were lovely, but it was who was coming and going
through Blacklion was the danger. ‘Twas busy, oh ‘twas busy, yeah... so there was
full-time checkpoints...
It was at your discretion, now again you took, now there’d normally be some of the
local... Gardaí... that were permanently there, and you’ll be supporting them, more
so than anything else, and the same, any station we were in, and they weren’t,
We were lucky with accommodation now, each time I went to the border... in, in
Ballyconnell and Kinlough, we were lucky enough that we got... very good
accommodation, even though there was... now, one in Kinlough, on one occasion...
and one of the time we were there for a number of months, we moved into a house,
four of us moved into a house on our own, so we did our own cooking and our own,
you know, everything else, which was a small bit cheaper than... getting... fed from
landladies and things like that as well, and I can definitely say that... the landladies
looked after us well.
6
�The weather in the north of Ireland, I found now, not so much in Kinlough or... well
Blacklion yes, in some ways there was a bit, a lot colder, now ‘twas the month of
January and February that I was there in 1975... but in 1985 I went to...
Monaghan... and the weather was very very cold there, in actual fact ‘twas so cold
the first couple, I was only there a couple of days, I went back and I decided I’d
buy... pair of long johns, and... because again ‘twas five or six degrees colder than
here, and the checkpoints were longer then too, because we, at that time I was
armed... I was armed you see, now I was in the Technical Branch when I went to
Monaghan, and the fact that you were armed, you’re doing eight hour duties, and...
and if you’re there from ten o’clock at night ‘til six in the morning and it was very
very cold, and there was an occasion actually, on a number of occasions, I suppose
the weather was so cold that fellahs went to light a fire nearly on the side of the
road Yeah, keep themselves warm, that’s what we found now, that there was, other
than that the conditions we were in great accommodation in fairness.
Well we had to keep walking in matter of fact, because if you stayed standing you
would get, you’d be very very cold altogether, so what we’d do was we used to go in
pairs and... pace the road as much as we could, and everything was stopped that
particular time as well.
We also did escorts as well too from time to time from the Post Office, from Sligo,
when I was in Kinlough, now, the escorts of the mails, and we used to go to the
different village, you know we’d be in Sligo in the mornings, especially if there was
any morning they’d be carrying cash could be the first Tuesday... and then on the
Friday mornings, we did, you know we did that fairly regular from Kinlough, that’s
the only other thing I can remember now, there was...
I was married when I was in... Monaghan...We had, yeah, we had children in, two
children in 1985, ’86 but sometimes they would have stayed in Galway because my
wife’s from Galway as well, and they might have stayed in Galway for some period,
so then times they stayed in Clonakilty.
There was no mobile phones in other words, yeah you would’ve... kept contact with
the Garda station, the Garda station was, you know you could ring the Garda station
and... you’d make the time, that you’d be there.
Well yeah, maybe on occasions, yes... but then we were home on our rest days, we
were home for the... two or three days, in you know every week, so that was...
7
�Ah ‘twas yeah, it was two hundred and fifty miles from Clonakilty to Monaghan, but
you, at that time when you’re younger you don’t take as much notice as you would,
The roads were bad, but lucky enough like, that there was only one occasion that I
had a mishap, a slight mishap, when I was travelling from, there was a lot of snow
on the road from... Kinlough to Galway... my car skidded and snowed very very
heavy snow, and I just... touched a wall, lucky enough I didn’t do... I just broke a
headlamp, that was all,
It was, but you knew, you see, you would be only away for a week, you know,
Come back is right, then you didn’t mind that, and you knew like that things were
going... you know, that you would saw [sic] them... regularly.
8
�
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
Patrick Finn
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
8
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><span>, by Patrick Finn</span><span> </span><em>(story transcript)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Patrick Finn 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
2855
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/741a8901595dd820c818bb7861d673d9.mp3
a87a3e581bbab69489eefa2621698551
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
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription also available
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Digital Audio File: MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3)
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
25 minutes 06 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
192 kbps
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><span>, by </span><span>Patrick Finn </span><em>(story audio)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of interview with Patrick Finn 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
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
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
Audio (MP3)
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
2855
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/d6a11c1e959919a4e5bdbbeb0ffe887b.pdf
07905f2bc82852bc14e97c877086fbd4
PDF Text
Text
Green and Blue Project
Myra McCarthy Interview Transcript
It was tough being the wife of a Guard we had four small children and... there was
four and a half years between the four of them, and the baby was only eight weeks
when he went away... and... no mobile phones, had to wait until he got to the other
end to say he got there safe... and it was tough because... when he got home
then... it would be late, very late in the evening by the time he got home, and we
would try to keep the children up... see their daddy, and then we will be gone,
whatever day or two later, he’ll be gone before they get out of bed in the morning,
and they’ll be looking for their daddy... and... it was, you know, because I’d no
family near me,
We were in Kanturk, North Cork, and... I had no family near me, nobody to call,
nobody to come at all, so... if any adult that I knew in Kanturk, they’d visit me...
some people were very good, and kept in touch and came to, you know, came to
visit me... I’d know now and then, open the door, I’d say ‘oh thank God for an adult
conversation’! because I only had baby talk all day long, and... but... I suppose the
good side of it, and it made it a bit easy for me is the kids were all healthy, you
know, and that... so...
Communication, he’d ring when he’d get up to say he arrived safe, and... that’d be
it, and he might ring then, do you know, during the... maybe... during the week,
there’d be no regular phone calls because... he wouldn’t be near a phone, and you
know everything like that, and... yeah communication was very sparse, yeah.
We had a phone at home, so it would have been that little bit easier, but you’d still
wait for that call, and as I say, when he say he got up safe, and... I remember one
time and that’s a piseog [superstition], and I know it’s, it came from his mother’s
side, robins, robin in the house for a... he left one morning, and the kids obviously
were up, he must have left a bit later or something, and the next thing he came
running in, he said ‘mammy, mammy there is a... a robin in the house’, or there’s a
bird inside... a robin, and I put him out, and I came back in, there was another one
there... and I tell you, I nearly died between that and when he got up to say he’d
arrived safe, and I don’t believe in piseogs, but... I thought this is awful strange, you
know?
We would have had a television all right like, so it was sitting in front of the
television, get the kids to bed, but yeah this girl had started school then I suppose,
I’m not sure he started, or she started when he was there, and... I’d have to walk
down in the morning, until I got the car, we were about half a mile from the town,
1
�was a matter of put... two kids into the double push chair, and... strap the other two
children... in their cots, really and said our Hail Marys on the way up the road,
He might get down maybe... maybe every three weeks or something, sometimes...
he’d come down, it would scare me... be on duty all day, and he’d arrive down like
at whatever hour, late at night, without any sleep, you know which was very,
extremely dangerous, then we kind of went through two winters where we’d frosts
only, we’d a lot of frost as well, because in Kanturk you would get snow and frost,
where in West Cork we don’t anyway, and... I remember him coming home one
evening with the other Guard, Sergeant at the time, and they were all wrapped up
with coats, the windscreen was after breaking on the way down! They were frozen,
you know and... and that and...
He, maybe one or two days, I can’t quite remember now, depending on his roster,
on the roster, you know?
Oh the kids were hyper, hyper... now once or twice he came on the train, and we
were kind of lucky enough there was a train station about... three miles, four miles,
Banteer Train Station, outside Kanturk, and... we went... went to Mallow actually I
think, went to Mallow to meet... one time! And everybody got off the train, and all
the kids were excited about their daddy coming, and even the small little fellah,
and... no sign of him... and I thought, ‘oh my God, no mobile phones, what do you
do?’ so I went to the office and he says ‘he’s after getting off, he fell asleep on the
way down and got off’... there was two fellahs asleep and once he woke up, he was
‘get up, grab this, wake up, wake up, it’s Mallow!’ the two of them out there and the
train off!
So that was okay too, but you know these kind of little disappointments for the
children, that’s understandable you know, and that, but... it was mostly he drove
now, the odd time as I say he... came down in the train and that...
Well we got another car then we got... and it was a banger of a car, it got me from
A to B, which was great really it gave me freedom then, I had a bit of freedom then,
because I could visit one or two friends of mine, do you know that I had, friends I
had made in Kanturk, and right, I plagued them, probably, I probably ended up at
their door one particular... maybe ten o’clock in the morning, I’d be outside their
door, do you know, and I stayed there for most of the day with the kids playing with
the other kids, just for an adult conversation.
But we did went up then... oh some time in that summer...
2
�I took the four of them up with me, yeah up in the train, and he was to pick me up
in Dublin, and that we’d drive the rest... and... I went up and I said ‘now we’ll be
leaving, my own children won’t be leaving me now, because when they come to visit
me the kitchen sink comes, the bags... I went with four children, one on my arm,
and two big bags, cloth nappies and clothes, and that’s how I went travelling with
the two, or four kids, I said if anyone saw me! But lucky enough the other sergeant
above and his wife were very good, we stayed with them in Lifford, and... we are
still friends today.
We stayed a week. Now they were very good, but I mean in, in turn Con and the
other sergeants would have been good, there was six of them went up at the time,
they were promoted, and there was only one house available... and that lady was
pregnant, she was the only one was pregnant, so everybody said that... they could
have the house, so nobody else moved up, the other sergeant moved up, only that
sergeant, and we are great friends today... we visited there recently, but to arrive
into anyone’s house with four children!
Yes, you see I knew that I could wash the clothes there for the kids, so I didn’t have
to take the kitchen sink with me, you know? Back down I think, I’m not sure if he
drove, I can’t remember that now, we drove down, did Con bring us all the way, did
he come home that time with us, or not, but yeah.
The loneliness, yeah... the loneliness of everything at that time, like you know, and
what would be on television like you had to... do you know, the loneliness and
then... even if you were sick, you had, or felt unwell, you had no-one to help you, do
you know I remember one time... the youngest girl, we had three girls first and then
Niall is the only boy, is the youngest, and the youngest girl, she got croup, I was
told, and there was a shortage of petrol as well, right, so that was being rationed,
and we had frost... so we had to get the doctor to come up, I couldn’t go down, and
I was extremely sick myself, I never... remembered pain I had in my face, I never
understood, sinus, was the first attack of sinus I ever got, got three in my life, but
that was the first one... and I, he had to come up to the two of us... he had petrol, I
had no petrol, and then... he told me like the croup, so... well she had croup and I
had sinus, so he had given me some kind of medication, that you dissolve them in
water, like Alka Seltzers, they were the old... tablet long ago, I don’t know what
these were, but they were similar to that, and oh... was... I... sick... couldn’t keep it
down, I had Clare sick in the other room, and the other three running around, so... I
felt like... if I could get sick when I had help I would be delighted! That you could
stay in bed yourself, you know? And I had to ring him again the following day and
he’d come up and inject me to stop me from vomiting... and you know, I still had to
get up and do the things with the children, and... with the other three lively ones.
The children missed him ... and so much now where, the youngest nine could never
understand his daddy going away, he could never never understand daddy going
3
�away, and... the others were just that little bit two, three, four... so but when we
came... to Skibbereen, that’s jumping a bit now, we going to Skibbereen, we had
rented a house, kind of the street below the Garda station... you could see, and
Con’s office actually was facing the house we had rented and we had to rent a
house with a railing because Niall was a divil, that would keep him in off the street,
and he spent the first... week I’d say... standing at the front window looking at his
daddy had gone, and he couldn’t understand, and daddy’d come down maybe, see,
he came down, we were trying to settle in, and... he’d come down a few times out
of the office, you know, probably shouldn’t be down, but I mean he’d call down to
know was everything all right, and Niall couldn’t understand his daddy coming in
uniform, and he was gone to work again, and he could be back in two hours, when
he was gone to work before he could be gone for a week, you know, for a child of
two and a half to you know, take that in, was...
Like Niall he developed an impediment then as a result of all the coming and the
going, and that yeah, and I was putting him to bed one night and he said to me, I
said ‘come on, say your prayers’, two and a half, two and a half, and he said ‘I don’t
like Holy God’... and I said ‘why don’t you like Holy God?’, ‘because he makes me
say Kay, Kay, Kay’ – that’s the eldest girl, and he’s you know, he was trying to
explain that while God was making him repeat the word,
It was in kind of a quiet way for them I suppose, and... they weren’t the experts
there, never the inspectors then, he’d only call for daddy and I’d say he’ll be back in
a few days, and you try to keep him occupied, and you know...
Madness when he came home. But the morning he left, was extremely sad, they
were up that morning, and I have pictures of that, and he crying, and they crying.
He was going to the unknown, we didn’t know what it was going to entail, but I
suppose what that was through it really is... we didn’t know where it was going to
end, and it was kind of a journey for us, maybe a rough journey, but... you know,
we didn’t know when it was going to end, so you’re hoping it’s going to end and I
think that’s what kind of what kept us going, do you know?
He was up there from... oh was it two, eighteen months or something, and he had
to dig in two winters yeah I think.
And he came down I think in October and we did move to Skibbereen, we had to sell
our house then as well, and the eldest there was making her Holy Communion, so
she would have been seven... before we came down to Skibbereeen, so yeah.
4
�It cause adjustment really, because I had him in the house one day, you could kill
him!
I had a routine, yeah exactly, and you know like he’s bringing, have three quarters
of an hour for their lunch, that time, and we’d have our dinner in the middle of the
day, so... dinner had to be on the table when he came in, no matter what, how...
what the children were doing, or how sick, or whatever they’d be, you know you had
to have whereas, when he was away then I could be that little bit... relaxed ‘cause I
wasn’t set to a... time clock like, yeah. It’s still raw! You know we used to think
about it, yeah, I didn’t think now it would be but it is.
The kids don’t talk about it at all now, yeah... the move then I think, the move was
another thing in, in the Guards like, the move didn’t go too well at all from Kanturk
to Skibbereen with them, no, no no... yeah.
I mean the eldest one of them was gone to school and the second one was in school
there and the third one just had a day or two for you know, they... take them to
school a day or two, they used to do that a day or two before the summer holidays
and they would be starting then in September, so she had started there as well,
and... he was talking, he was... talking about going back to Kerry, because of his
parents, go back nearer, because we moved from Kanturk, I moved a little bit nearer
to home, but say not very much,
I am from Kinsale, but he lived, he moved twice as far from home, from Listowel, to
Skibbereen, that made that journey twice as far, I didn’t gain much... road at all like,
but... you know he wanted to go back maybe to Kerry, and... one time he got a
transfer to... Macroom, and... when I mentioned, when the eldest girl came in and
she, I said we’re moving to Macroom, now he had turned it down at that stage, he
wasn’t going to, and... didn’t take it, and... she just ran up the stairs crying, and I
said ‘come down, I’m only joking, daddy’s not going to take it’, she was so upset...
the other two... didn’t take any notice, the little small fellah, then when he came in I
said it to him as well, and he said ‘well we’re not going until we can take Skibbereen
in the trailer’! so Skibbereen to Macroom, that’s innocence, you know. Everything’s
good at that stage.
We’re in Skibbereen since ’79, oh ’79.
You know, my father died, yeah we’d just were moved... I was staying in Kanturk,
yeah he died in February, yeah we moved here in August.
5
�Con found it as tough as the children really, tougher probably, because... he couldn’t
say goodbye to them in the morning, he’d be leaving, he might be gone at six
o’clock in the morning, you know, and he wasn’t able to say goodbye to them then,
either when he was going back, you know, and...
Then you’d have to keep them up until he got home,
Yes, daddy’s coming home, yes, now in fairness he brought down clothes to them,
and that, that kept him going, and shopping across the border, you know, washing
powder and things now were much cheaper, so he’d come down with the boot full,
and he always got, you know, they always got something, but ‘twasn’t sweets or
things they got, they got... clothes, dresses, or... you know things like that, and
there was always a kind of a little, well not every time, now he didn’t bring it every
time, he would have brought the household stuff maybe all right, but... that kept
him sane as well above. Doing that little bit of shopping and achieving and getting...
something for them,
Yes, in that way was kicking out the brushes for the kids, you know, when they’ve...
photographs, they’re always saying... ‘Jaysus’!
Oh he was losing out time, with them growing up, and the things they were doing,
and going to school, and they doing the homework with them, like at that stage, and
with your first child, you need to be around for things like that, because that’s all the
new experiences, God help the second and third they’re just told ‘do your
homework’!
But there’s always something with the first child, you know, it’s all new experience
for parents, but then... yeah, I don’t think, I don’t think there’s anything else now in
fairness, yeah, you know,
[End of Recording Part One / Start of Recording Part Two]
He was in good digs, and they were in Lifford, down... and... they were excellent
people, then we went up and stayed with them, and... we’ve been friends today, her
husband is dead now, and... she’s still alive, she’s eighty five, we talk every year for
her birthday, and if I don’t ring, she said is something, if I don’t ring early in the
morning, sometimes I may go late on the day, but I’d always ring her on the day,
and... she’ll say ‘oh that Myra, is Myra all right? I didn’t hear from Myra today’, you
know so, but that made it easy, being in with a good digs made it much much easier
for Con, because the first place he was in... I think ‘twas kind of... you roll out of
6
�bed, and I roll into bed, and you roll out of bed... but, when he got into that digs like
it made so, so homely, and they, yeah.
He was able to ring, he was able to ring more often then, from them, yeah.
They’d the phone at home as well, yeah so... that definitely made it easier for both
of us, yeah.
Yes, and being up there and staying there, and knowing where he was staying,
and... you know, seeing where it was, and... what kind of people were... and that,
yeah.
7
�
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
Myra McCarthy
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
7
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><span>by Myra McCarthy</span><em> <em>(Story transcript)</em></em>
Description
An account of the resource
Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Myra McCarthy 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
2870
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/e27da3f414bbf9f6058e790b8e6c90fd.mp3
c65759c604240414a993569bdb11d9a5
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
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription also available
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Digital Audio File: MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3)
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
18 minutes 44 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
192 kbps
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><span>by Myra McCarthy</span><em> <em>(Story audio)</em></em>
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of interview with Myra McCarthy 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
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
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
Audio (MP3)
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
2870
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/7f436a4b2da8322f1b398e7f92a95b81.pdf
966eb6adcac5f9b9ab450a453b50d54b
PDF Text
Text
Green and Blue Project
Eileen Twomey Interview Transcript
Yes I went up in May ’72.when my husband J.P. was serving on the border
We had two children, a two and a half year old... and about a six week old.
We had an apartment in the monastery, which was the... Christian Brothers had...
and I suppose the Christian Brothers left, they left Carrickmacross, and a lady
bought the... monastery, and she converted it into... oh maybe there was five or six
apartments in it. So we had people we new. They were transferred from Galway,
and we just happened to go at the same time, because his dad had died... and he
put back his transfer until the fourth of April as well, so that, you know to get, get
his father... sorted out, buried and all that kind of thing... so, yeah only for them I
don’t know, would I have... or maybe it made it easy not to mix... having people...
Yes, it’s like say our apartment was here, and maybe theirs was at the end of the
house, just a corridor away... and we just had... kind of kitchen/living... room, sitting
room, and... a bedroom, shower and toilet, and for the kids we got maybe our
bedroom divided in two just... so we’d a double bed and a single bed at the other
side of the partition.
Probably... maybe busy... busy you know, you washed the clothes, we didn’t have a
washing machine, we washed by hand.
And... you know, trying to get to the clothes line with kids, and you know, all that
kind of thing...that owned the apartment was just fantastic, and just loved the kids,
and loved to talk to them, and... or maybe J P might take us shopping, and I
presume the local Guards didn’t know whose... wife was who. People in
Carrickmacross were... nice people I suppose once you understood... their accent.
Right, so that was a complete, like you’d never been up that side of the
country, had you?
There was some lovely women, and we had children, I remember the first time I
went for a walk with Clare after being born... a friend came down and we walked
together, do you know, my first outing with the pram, you know, nice people, and I
suppose ‘twas hard, you only saw that... relationship I suppose... and... maybe one
or two nights we were out on our own in Carrickmacross... and the Guards that were
there came over and asked us to join them, which was... very nice of them... and
1
�they would mainly have been from... you know, a line from Galway to Dublin up,
where we were from the south completely, yeah.
Well I suppose being a Guard’s wife at that particular time, very few had their own
homes. Now they did in Carrickmacross... they did have their own homes, we had
rented in Clonakilty, and... this is our first home, you know, we came here [pause]
as I said the twenty second of December, ’72 and J P had bought this site, so I had
no input at all into it!
I [pause] loneliness, probably was number one, And... I suppose the hours that the
men worked, you know ‘twas case of... do you know, you’re in for lunch, you’re in
for dinner, and... the phone would ring, he was gone again like the squad car would
arrive... I suppose there was a lot of stress attached to it, that you didn’t know
where they were. How handy mobiles are today, lack of communication, probably
was a huge I suppose it was bound to happen, with stress, stress.
And... you know, sometimes you’d, I suppose nine times out of ten you’d turn on the
radio and say, ‘what’s happening around... where would he be?’
Yes, and you know I remember he saying one time, say here, down south... one guy
would go off in the squad car on their own, or maybe two at night, but ‘twas four to
a car...
Always... always... you’d be on the alert all the time, you know?
Yes, that when you went into the, into the supermarket you had to put your
basket... on the window sill, and then went along and did your shopping and picked
it up as you had your shopping done, I probably found that very strange,
Presumption on my part it must have been, presumption it must have been, but I
didn’t, wasn’t used to it, and... kind of felt guilty, you know just, gee am I going to
take anything, or what is the idea of it, but I got used to it, it didn’t... you know and
I suppose you go in with a pram, and two children like you know that probably the
ways and means of, you know I just forgot about it afterwards, but I found it very
strange,
‘Twas a different, yeah, you know I still have that thing, the box, the basket is still in
the house,
2
�‘Tis, yeah full of Lego, but... yeah I found that... probably a country town [pause]
you know, cattle were walking the street, Yes, it reminded me of home, really,
Castleisland.
It was very like, well home isn’t, my home is Tralee really, but Castleisland was our,
would be a shopping town for us as well, and it was a huge wide street and fair days
there were something similar, and I suppose that reminded me of home as well.
J P was there from April to December, And I was there from May to December.
I suppose we were anxious to get back south, we were [pause] I think he did apply.
He heard at that particular time there was a vacancy in Bantry, and he applied I
think three times, so when it came, oh! we were to leave in November, and Darren
was in hospital with meningitis,
So we had to put it back again, so... you know ‘twas tough times I suppose with the
kids sick, and...Very stressful, you know it was very stressful, yeah.
Being so far away and if you wanted to make a phone call you’d to go to town to a
telephone kiosk. It was, and you, we were about a mile out from town, so... it was a
lovely setting like, it was lovely... but you know, I suppose that’s what we did, and...
you know we kind of moved in... lock, stock and barrel... would go in a car, a carry
cot, and... pram on top of the car.
Well he did several stints on the border, he did, yeah kind of a month at the time,
but sure sometimes twice a year. I suppose he started going to the border... in
nineteen sixty... seven I suppose, with the foot and mouth disease.
It was, he did a fair, I couldn’t tell you now exactly how many he did, but he did...
Totally different... well of course, if somebody’s away from home, you’re worried
anyway.
But, I have to say overall the people were very nice, I never had a... everywhere, no
matter what group we dealt with, they were quite nice.
3
�4
�
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
Eileen Twomey
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
4
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><span>, by Eileen Twomey </span><em>(story transcript)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Eileen Twomey 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
2883
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/dc23cf4c8617b889889c8b7ffba8b82e.mp3
361cc17b10c919e161169fca4d3041a4
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
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription also available
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Digital Audio File: MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3)
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
9 minutes 40 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
192 kbps
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><span>, by Eileen Twomey </span><em>(story audio)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of interview with Eileen Twomey 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
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
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
Audio (MP3)
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
2883
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/7ab21b321a35f1c1e026e6beed39a89f.pdf
9ff672e8bfd20737d3e4303f2224ef77
PDF Text
Text
Green and Blue Project
Dónal Cullinane Interview Transcript
I am coming up... sixty five born 1949
I suppose I was on the force for two to three years... and mostly all single people
were drafted up that time, because of... I suppose, it costs... cost less to send...
single fellahs more than married people. So I was stationed in Waterford, and... I
think ‘twas a month or two months at the time, I’m not sure, but I remember
anyway, people were dodging Christmas, and... you know, people were drafted in
for that, so I was sent up... over the Christmas period, and I think I spent two
months there. From Waterford city to Kiltyclogher County Leitrim.
Oh no, ‘twas just an ordinary Garda station, in the little village... of about... I
suppose a hundred or two hundred people. I don’t know how many were stationed
there that time, but they were all like myself, there was... probably two local Guards,
and a sergeant, and I was I suppose one of... about ten I suppose who were, who
came up from... the Waterford/Kilkenny Division filled different stations, and that
was one of the stations that they...
When you arrived... you might think like that someone would say look, we’ll drive
you down now to... this is, this is actually the line, or... no, I never saw! I never saw
the line or I never was shown... the line, I was told ‘twas down there, just down by
the bridge, down there, but we never went down, and you know, that was to me a
little... a little, I suppose... I thought if I was in charge that’s the first thing I would
do, was...Yeah, this is our area, and... but that was, that was it... and you did the
ordinary week of nights and the ordinary... earlies and that... and we spent
Christmas... over Christmas, I’d say I was one of the only Pioneers there.
And I remember Christmas day, I was the only fellah working.
Well, they were all working, but I was the only, So... I did all that, and we had
absolutely the most fantastic... lodgings I ever had, hot and cold water in the room,
back in nineteen seventy one or two.
Unbelievable now, unbelievable... the nurse, what was her name? She was an old
midwife nurse, and she had one daughter, and they were all winking at her.
But... she was a lovely lady, they were fantastic, I’d say she made no money out of
it.
1
�The grub was so... Oh supreme, yeah.
Oh yeah, ‘twould be oh full Christmas Diner yeah and she was, I tell you now the
food there was... now better than home if you know...
You’d be, I suppose you’d be assigned... you’d be given I suppose certain vehicles to
watch out for, or certain people to... if you did come across them, to log, to log
down same, to drive such roads... to drive, we’ll say the main... the main ones,
but... not necessarily down to the actual border, which may not, you know these
were... you see a lot of the roads... they were all coming into Kiltyclogher, now
especially, was one of these roads that was blocked off, so there wasn’t much good
in driving down there per se, because there was all these concrete prisms or...
Pylons in the middle of the road, you know, but other than that we didn’t get any
specific... you know, we were there as, I’d say, to me, looking back on it now, you
were there as a token, as a presence on the border, and sure we’d nothing...I wasn’t
told anyway.
Sure I didn’t question it, really, I didn’t question it, sure I was only a raw recruit
really, at the time, I mean I was only... joined the Guards in... March ’69, this was
seventy one or two, surely... you know... you were only beginning to get to know
people more than, you were still, and I was still only twenty two, twenty two years
of age. You did not question authority at that time.
Oh Jesus, not really, no [pause] there was another incident now, I just recalled it...
there was a reformatory school over in, was it Black...No, that’s in, that’s in
Galway... I’ll think of it now in a minute, but on Bloody Sunday we were sent, we
were sent there because they were expecting refugees, the Sunday after Bloody
Sunday, and that was over in... ‘twas one of these, the priest’s houses... where
they’re training priests, and... I’ll think of it in a minute... but I remember spending a
day, the full day over there, just patrolling around, walking around, and I met... I
remember... a fellah... and actually the, we... if we go back far enough, he’s... he
you know, came from Durrus, and I had... an uncle who joined the Guards from
Durrus, and they were actually related, so we had a... anyway eventually came, I
worked with him here in Cork afterwards... what is that place? No harm anyway, but
nothing arrived that day. I suppose ‘twas a contingency plan really, I mean the
Bloody Sunday was... a horrible day, and then it was... do we know if it was going to
flare up afterwards, and I suppose they had these places if people did, had to run
across or whatever, or get out, they had these billets, or these, ‘twas like these, one
of these schools, reformatory schools... ‘twas down in Blacklion I’d say, or...
2
�I’ll think of it now before I go, but... that was at another day, anyway as such...
but...
Oh I was only on one, one... I’ve a feeling ‘twas for two months, because of the
Christmas now and wanted to... and then you were young, I suppose the only good
thing about it, there was extra money in it, you got subsistence allowance, and that
was tax-free, and I suppose there was some bit of compensation for... but we used
travel up and down to home then, I suppose it was our long weekends off, and... ‘tis
only now, you’re, when you’ve children of your own, that you can understand what
they (my parents) were thinking... but... ‘cause I’d no fear, you know, you’ve no
fear, really... not... not in the slightest, like you know.
Yeah, there was a bit of drinking going on all right, but I just, I never drank until... I
won’t tell you when! When I broke it, but I broke it anyway, but I, I never drank at
the time, and then, I imagine now in days of... Christmas Days and days like that...
you were saddled with... and all these things, but... it didn’t matter to me, I mean if
you there doing your thing, so you might as well be doing something.
The phone now was a thing... you’d have to dial... you’d have to crank up the
machine... there was no such thing as the dialling, and you were told to be careful
about... phone numbers that... you were, it was alleged... that people were listening
in... you know? Do you know, as I know... from exchanges, that can happen, like
and it was just, just be careful and, yeah... because that was I suppose one of the
IRA’s avenues of getting information.
It wouldn’t be that much discussion of pliitics like, but... I mean I, from what I
understand a local married a Guard. But... she was completely... you know, you felt
completely at home with her, but then there was local Guards... staying with her as
well, the two local guys, one of them actually was from Fermanagh, he was a native
of Fermanagh, which was... just past the border... and I thought was... unusual, you
know, I did think... and [pause] but I never mixed, I never mixed with... people that
really, you know, I suppose I’d say... in our meetings, I’d often say what we did in
the winter time, when it snowed or anything, we were playing cards, you know, and
‘twas... harmless stuff, now.
Yeah, well you had, you hadn’t any... you hadn’t any, I suppose great uniform like
what I suppose they have... up to today. But still... it never bothered me that way,
right I never, I felt... I was absolutely delighted to join the Guards, when I, since I
was a child... I wanted to join the Guards.
3
�Well he’d be an uncle-in-law, through marriage, but there was no, there was no
connection that way, but... where I was from, we used to keep lodgers, and there
was always two or three Guards in the house, and I just had great respect for it,
like, and... since whenever I did, that was my, my aim at the time, and I
remember... joining and talking to the local fellah below, and he said ‘look’ he said,
‘go in there now’, he says, ‘you’ll be in there now’ he says ‘for about six months’ or
whatever it is, ‘keep your nose clean in there’ he says, ‘when you come out’ he says
‘you’ll have a good time’. And I absolutely loved it, loved it, now I mean there were,
you know I had ups and downs but... and when I left it, I had no problem with
leaving,
I was stationed in Waterford for three years, Buttevant for ten months, my mother
died... and I was transferred then to the city, and to traffic, and I spent my last nine
years at immigration. ‘Twas lovely, immigration was great for a start, but... the
influx came then, and it became stressful enough... people thought it was lovely
because you were in... you were dressed up like, but... could be stressful enough,
you know?
A Thursday morning, I couldn’t tell you what year now, but I’d say ‘twas ’72, I have
a feeling. I was on six to two, and... hoping the eight hours would go by, because
we were going home for the weekend, and we were going home with... a fellah by ,
in police station back in... He’s stationed back in Skib... I was on anyway, and
around, what... I would say it was around half past nine or ten, we could hear
some... some hammering and... like... I suppose machinery going below... at the
border, which would be... down a narrow road from the village, but you could not
actually see it... so [pause] I was in the car anyway, and... next thing is the sergeant
arrived, and he said, ‘come on’ he said ‘we’ll go and we’ll have a look... to see what’s
happening’... so I drove away and he said ‘come up here now’ he said ‘we’ll have a
vantage point here’ and we drove up and in through a kind of a... I suppose a small
hill where there was furze and heather... and that type of surface... and there was
no, I don’t think there was any kind of a road... so we stopped anyway, we could
look down and we could see... not... I suppose, as the crow flies they’d be about
four or five hundred yards away, the British Army, and they... I suppose reinforcing
the barriers at the, this kind of border road... so we were there looking, we’d... a
black Avenger car... and we’d no roof sign... and, we’d only our uniform on us, and
well... ‘twas a black car and, you could be identified if you wanted to be, I suppose,
but... there was no sign, there were no signs on the car like they are today or
anything like... so after about ten minutes anyway, we could hear... shooting...
‘Jaysus!’... now, it’s hard to say where it came from... but it looked like as if it came
from behind us... firing across at the... at the British Army, or whatever, whatever it
was down there... so... and next thing we could hear machine gun firing, [makes
shooting noises].
Not a fear of my life, like... you know yourself, the next time we’re going to, what’s
going on, you’re not going to get out of here now, you’d say that all right, but... I
remember it, I never had nightmares about it! You know what I mean? That to me is
afraid.
4
�So we, we lay on our, we got out of the car, and we threw ourselves down on the
ground, and kind of, half under the car, and next thing there was a lull, and it would
come again, from both sides, well we thought enough, now definitely it was the, the
machine gun was from the... from the north side, and I would think that the... it
sounded like rifle fire now to me, from behind us, which would be the south side...
and... after there was a lull came anyway, and the fellah who was with me, and he
said ‘come on’ he said, ‘we’ll try and get out of here’, so we put on our hats anyway,
see could we... see would they see us with our caps on, and... I got into the car and
tried to turn it, there was no space to turn it, I can recall, and I backing in, with this
Avenger, and eventually headed slowly, drove slowly, as they say you’re no threat!
[laughs] and... got out of the place, now it took us I suppose... by the time we got
up off our belly, into the car and ran it... it took us... three to four minutes before
we... we’ll say we got out of fire, and we went back down into the station, and... the
next thing the helicopter arrived, and ‘twas over us, and ‘twas over... I would say
‘twas over the station, like. ‘Twas in our, in Irish aerospace, we’ll say, and people, I
remember some local coming along, and he saying... ‘that shouldn’t be up there’, he
says ‘that’s over...’ and you know, and I was saying... ‘what can I do about this at
the present, go in there and make a complaint’ or whatever, so [pause] we were, we
wouldn’t take much notice, I mean... the fellah that was with me went in, and I
suppose he notified the authorities, I went in and I rang my mother... and I said...
‘we mightn’t be home this evening, there’s a, there’s a kind of an incident here’, and
I mentioned cross-border, and ‘shut up!’ he says, don’t say cross-border, he said,
‘because this could be an international... thing more than’, do you understand what
I’m saying? That, we’ll say if you...
Incident, like and I was... it meant nothing to me, an incident or same, but ‘twas
some... I suppose ‘twas an incident, seemingly ‘twas on the one o’clock news all
right, and... people at home heard it when I came... so... I finished my tour of
duty... at two o’clock, got into our car, three of us, and we drove off down to West
Cork... so, I wasn’t asked anymore reports on it.
Well, I’ll just give you one incident now, And this is just internal, now... and there
was... a man in charge of us we’ll say, not in the station now, but we’ll say from
Manorhamilton, he used come out visiting, and doing a parade, and we’d parade in
front of him... every now and again... and this fellah who... he, he, kind of [pause] a
good clump of hair behind, you know? And he was... he picked them and he said...
‘hi’... I won’t mention his name now, he says, he says ‘you’ he says ‘you go away
and get a haircut’ he says... and this to me now, the first bit of... someone talking to
authority, he says... ‘I will, superintendent’ he says, ‘when you forward to me’ he
says ‘my advance subsistence allowance’.
And he was right, and he was right, like, and your man had no, but they thought he
could pick him for, imagine now and me above on the border, and this... rubbish...
you know? But... I can still remember that... but, and your man then... he was a bit
of a... the Guard now, was a bit of a... you know, you know how a kind of a
5
�sloucher, like... Jaysus he became... he became a sergeant afterwards... kind of...
called in fellahs himself, like... I hate that... I fucking hate that... I do, like, Jaysus if
you’re not true to yourself... if I ever got I don’t think I’d change a day, like...
sincerely.
Looking, in hind... you know what I mean, people were maybe saying that the
Guards should be... in hindsight to me anyway, I think you were... you were a way
better off without them, because... you see Ireland being a neutral country, you’re
no, you’re no threat... right? And being without, you’re a Guard, unarmed Guard,
you were no threat, and that to me was a safeguard in itself.
You know all these things about Ireland now, you know, you’re loved nearly around
the country, , we’re not, we’re not going to, we’re not like Britain, like we’re not
going to plunder anyone, you know we haven’t the forces to do it, you’re no threat
to anyone, and that to me was, would be that...
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
Donal Cullinane
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><span>, by </span><span>Donal Cullinane</span><span> (</span><em>story transcript</em><span>)</span>
Description
An account of the resource
Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Donal Cullinane 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
2850
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/a143600a2e1691ac5974cf08add589f9.mp3
1c3fb3c8787a8cc27be2b87b020d94cd
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
Sound
A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds.
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Transcription also available
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Digital Audio File: MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3)
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
21 minutes 38 seconds
Bit Rate/Frequency
Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio)
192 kbps
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><span>, by </span><span>Donal Cullinane</span><span> (</span><em>story audio</em><span>)</span>
Description
An account of the resource
Audio recording of interview with Donal Cullinane 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
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
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
Audio (MP3)
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
2850
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue
-
https://accounts.ulster.ac.uk/repo24/files/original/eaa07efeaaff8b4e2a6654fdbec01bc2.pdf
1bbdd6516f04397f327689a4188a6528
PDF Text
Text
Green & Blue Project
Declan O’Callaghan Interview
I’m seventy five. I’m originally from Cork city.
I suppose when I first heard I was going to the border, first of all I knew it was
coming anyway, I knew it was going to come, I kind of was... at time, felt it was a
step into the unknown, because I hadn’t been there before, and didn’t know what
was involved before I went, in other words, so what happened was, you just got
your... your forms and you were sent, for a month.
I was married. I was leaving my family. I had three children. That was a big change,
‘twas. I went to Blacklion. On the border there, yes. We were looking across at, ‘tis a
twin village between Belcoo in the north, and Blacklion in the south. I suppose it’d
be the ‘80s, would it? I suppose it’d be the ‘70s or the late ‘70s I’d say, yeah. I’m
going now on the age of my children.
It was tense enough, it was yeah, it was, but what we were basically in was a small
little village, there was a large number of gardaí there, you just went up, you got
digs, and you stayed there, you did your work, and that was the most difficult part,
would be because there was no recreation there as such, nothing to do, this was the
worst, the worst part of it really, you know, the fact that you were stuck in this
village, and where I suppose maybe the number of gardaí outnumbered the,[locals]
could well have been the equal, or outnumbered the number of people who lived
there! And... I suppose the feeling in the... in the area that at all costs you kept your
mouth shut, ‘cause you didn’t know where you were, who you were talking to, as
such, you know.
There’s only just a bridge between the two, between them, the bridge was there
between, and the river, between the twin villages, as such, and they were split by
the border, the centre of the bridge was the border.
Well, they, the RUC were generally very nice, and I remember the sergeant in the
RUC across the border at one stage contacting the sergeant on our side, and
offering us to come over and meet them, and... he, well more or less what he was
actually told was, he’d be better off not to, because of the security situation, you
didn’t know who was watching, or you didn’t know what the situation was, and we
felt it wouldn’t be safe for us to come across, as such, you know. Now, we’d one
experience with them... across from the border at one stage, I remember, and I
think there was three of us in the car, went across the border, and... to Belcoo on
the far side, and we were coming back, there was nothing on the bridge when we
were going, we were coming back, there was a giant RUC... checkpoint on the
�bridge when we were coming back, and they stopped us, and it was one of the
reserves that stopped us, and I remember the driver saying to him, he’s saying,
asking the driver who he was, we told him, where we were coming from et cetera,
and he then asked us to open the boot, which the driver did, he was one of the
gardaí who was actually stationed there at the time, and he opened the boot, and he
looked into the boot and then we closed the boot and got back into the car, and...
the driver said to him, ‘is that okay?’ and he said that he wasn’t satisfied... so he
said, ‘if you’re not satisfied, what I can do for you?’ so at that stage, there was an
RUC sergeant on the bridge, and he came over and he said, ‘what’s the problem?’
and the driver said to him, ‘well, he has asked me to show him the boot, I’ve done
that, and I’ve done as he requested’ he said, ‘and he says he’s still not satisfied, and
I’m just asking him to know what I can do for him’. So the sergeant, the RUC
sergeant said to him, ‘well what can he do for you? What’s the problem?’ and he
was more or less, what I call humming and hawing about it, and the sergeant said
to him, ‘get back on the bridge’ he told us to go ahead. But it brought home to me
like that, for example if the RUC hadn’t been there with the... it could have been a
difficult enough situation, you know, it could have been difficult kind of situation,
‘cause the first experience I had of the... the reserves, you know as such... it was a
hostile experience.
‘Twas the UDR, yeah and ‘twas a hostile experience for us, they were very, he was
very hostile, and aggressive and wasn’t a bit you know, wasn’t a bit nice, so we just
went back over and drove home, ‘twas one experience I had with them, and it
always stayed with me like that, you know, I just felt like that, you know if people...
we’ll say, if you were held up at night-time, now somewhere by these, by the UDR
and you met these type of people, you know, they could make it really rough for
you, they could really, you know?
The RUC station across the way was all sandbagged, as such, and behind us in...
Blacklion was a big high hill, you know, and that was always the worry, because you
know, in case there’d be... a crossfire between the, you know that they were
attacked, that they would attack the RUC station from the southern side, let’s put it
that way, and the checkpoints, they were all sandbagged, like...
We were, well we were to that extent, you know we were to that extent, there was
always a certain degree of, of... extra care that let’s put it that way, you know? And,
you did what you were supposed to, you didn’t, you didn’t, you didn’t venture
beyond that, you know, didn’t venture beyond that.
It was, it was, it stood out, well you get used to that up to a certain extent, but then
there was a, there was, every other... garda was stationed there had have had a
southern accent often, yeah... as such, you know, most of them had a southern
accent, so and I suppose they were quite used to it there at that time, like you
�know, ‘cause there was a regular turnover obviously of members going and coming,
you know?
The other experience of the RUC, of the British forces another time, where we went,
we went into... into the north itself... to... oh let me think of the town now, across
the border, I can’t remember the town, I’ll think of it in a minute, but we went there,
just for the day, and we were coming back, and we were stopped by the Army,
British Army, they had these Land Rovers, you know, across the road like as such,
and we stopped anyway and there, but... I found them to be very nice, once you cooperated, once you did what they asked you, then there was no problem with them
actually, they just said ‘go ahead’, you know, they were okay, the ones we met
anyway were okay, you know?
Oh you would, yeah, you would, you would, you would have to identify yourself like
if they ask you to identify yourself, and they’d check the vehicle, obviously like, you
know et cetera, as anyone would do, and but once, once you answered their
questions, you know, it’s quite straight-forward, they would say, ‘go ahead’, there
wasn’t, didn’t find any problem with them, you know as such.
I was, so happy to get out of it, because it was, it was very confined as I say, you
know, and like when you were finished work,
My colleague took up bingo, did he yeah? Yeah, I wasn’t interested in bingo
unfortunately! Of he was stationed there as such, yes that was the difference like
you see, he was stationed there and as such like that he would be, he would know
the locals and he would get to know them, we lasted just the month, so we didn’t
really come in contact much with people, other than stopping them at checkpoints
as such, you know.
Well, accommodation was bed and breakfast there, in the village, you were, ‘twas
kind of a standard thing like, one left, another came, you know, and ‘twas a
standard thing to get bed and breakfast accommodation there as such, you know?
I had a car going up there, we were okay, you were never, before you went
through, never got any information as to what you were... facing, or nobody like
this, asked you if you had accommodation or anything else, you were just expected
to look after all that yourself, you know?
No briefing about what we were going to, just that you were going to go there like
and that’s it, like, and you went to the station and you just, you just, you were put
on checkpoints, you were shown where to go, that’s what you did.
�Stopping cars coming in, coming from the north and going, coming and going, you
know.
I can never remember any hostility, ‘cause they were used to it, ‘twas an everyday
occurrence for them, so like I mean these checkpoints were manned round the
clock, you know, they were manned the whole time, like so, so they were used to it
like, you know.
That’s all, doing the same thing, yeah except you’d very seldom see the RUC out.
No, we’d never see them except, they were doing a checkpoint on the bridge or
something like that, it’s the only time I ever saw them, and they’d be, they were
always armed of course, they’d have to be. But they would just, they would just
come maybe and be on the bridge for an hour and then gone, you know, they never
had set times, I’d say, yeah they were never, they made sure they weren’t being
predictable, that’s the way I looked at it anyway, you know, which was the proper
thing to do, because you could be set up very easily if you were, if you were going
to be there from two to three every day, you know?
They were very vulnerable, they on that line, they were really, and... you know,
that’s why, that’s why I’d say they were, you’d very seldom see them out, you know,
‘cause they could be, like they could be attacked or anything.
‘Twas only the RUC. I’ve no recollection of the Army ever being there, on that
bridge, ‘twas always the, the one time that as I say now, ‘twas a joint RUC/UDR
patrol.
�
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
Declan O'Callaghan
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
4
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><span>by Declan O'Callaghan </span><em>(story transcript)</em>
Description
An account of the resource
Transcript (PDF) of the audio recording of interview with Declan O'Callaghan 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
2874
Diversity Challenges
Green and Blue