The History Podcast

The clock – the long-delay timer – nobody is meant to hear is counting down to 2.54am on the 12th October, 1984.It's attached to a bomb, behind the panel of the bath of Room 629 in Brighton’s Grand Hotel, left there by a man who signed in as Roy Walsh. Except he's not Roy Walsh.Who is the man using his name? And how did he go from a childhood in the east of England to attempting to assassinate the Prime Minister and all her cabinet in the biggest assault on a British government since the Gunpowder Plot on 5th November 1605? The long timer to this moment was set many, many years before.Written and presented by Glenn PattersonSeries Producer: Owen McFadden Story Consultant and Sound Design: Alan Hall Producer: Lena Ferguson Archive Producer: Fran Rowlatt McCormick Production Co-Ordinator: Hollie Wallace Composer: Mark McCambridge Sound Engineer: Claire Marquess Mixing Engineer: Mike Woolley Patrick Magee archive courtesy of Peter Taylor and Whistledown ProductionsExecutive Producer: Rachel HooperA Walk on Air production in association with Keo Films for BBC Radio 4

When you get right down to it, everything in life is a matter of timing.The clock that propels this story went unheard for three weeks, three days, six hours and thirty-six minutes…until the bomb it was attached to went off at 2.54am on Friday 12 October, 1984. The day of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Brighton. Which means the Prime Minister and all her cabinet are guaranteed to be in the Grand Hotel. It's the biggest direct assault on the British parliamentary system since the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. And in the bomber's mind, it’s only the start.Written and presented by Glenn PattersonSeries Producer: Owen McFadden Story Consultant and Sound Design: Alan Hall Producer: Lena Ferguson Archive Producer: Fran Rowlatt McCormick Production Co-Ordinator: Hollie Wallace Composer: Mark McCambridge Sound Engineer: Claire Marquess Mixing Engineer: Mike Woolley Patrick Magee archive courtesy of Peter Taylor and Whistledown Productions Executive Producer: Rachel HooperA Walk on Air production in association with Keo Films for BBC Radio 4

Glenn Patterson investigates the IRA bomb that attempted to kill Margaret Thatcher.

Can Northern Ireland ever Escape from the Maze...?Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

The government inquiry into the escape is about to have deadly consequences...Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

As more escapees are recaptured, no amount of effort can hide the state's humiliation... Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

The IRA tells a mother they must take away her 12-year-old son...Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

Knowing they have strength in numbers, the Prison Officers seize their chance...Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

The prisoner's are flying blind as they encounter the biggest obstacle to the escape... Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films

A forensically planned sequence of events is about to be triggered...Across 10 twisting and turning episodes, Carlo Gebler navigates a path through the disturbing inside story of the 1983 escape from Northern Ireland's Maze Prison - the biggest jailbreak ever to take place on British or Irish soil. As former IRA inmates reveal how they pulled off a mass breakout that creates shockwaves at the heart of government - key security personnel explain why they're unable to stop them. Presenter: Carlo Gebler Producer: Conor Garrett Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett Original Music Score: Phil Kieran Archive: Cyprus Avenue Films