A new TV Documentary on RTE ONE examines the events from the perspectives of historian, writers and family members of those involved in the 1970 Arms Trial. GunPlot draws together all strands of analysis in a dramatic narrative of these extraordinary events. The documentary also uses previously unreleased sound recordings from the trial proceedings, which provide a unique and first hand window on Irish history.
GunPlot is a compelling and still much disputed story with a bit of everything – fears for defenceless people in the North, brushes with arms smugglers, political betrayals, missing guns and missing money. The documentary tells the entire story from the eruption of chaos in Northern Ireland in August 1969, right through to the acquittals of the alleged gun runners in October 1970.
At 50 years remove, it’s possible to examine the affair with perspective and an understanding of how these extraordinary events unfolded and reflect the – at times – traumatic evolution within Fianna Fáil (and Nationalist Ireland) of attitudes to Partition and the North.
GunPlot – An eight part Podcast series & TV documentary
Podcast available now on iTunes, Spotify, Acast or wherever you get your podcasts.