Kew Files: What happened when the Garda arrested the SAS men

About this episode

The episode discusses the international incident sparked by the arrest of SAS men by a Garda in 1976 and the subsequent interference by the Irish government.

When a lone Garda decided to arrest a squad of SAS men found in the Republic of Ireland on 1976, little did he know he had sparked an international incident which would involve the Taoiseach and Prime Minister – or that it would see the Irish government interfere with the justice system. Top secret files have revealed how the PM drew up a law to let two SAS men go on the run from the Irish but that in fact Dublin was determined that the soldiers would never do time.  Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland editor Sam McBride discovered the file at the National Archives in Kew, London.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Sam McBride

Topics covered

• international incident
• SAS arrest
• Irish justice system
• government interference
• top secret files

Keywords

• Garda
• SAS
• 1976
• international incident
• Irish government
• justice system
• top secret files

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Garda, SAS, Irish government, Taoiseach, Prime Minister

Places: Republic of Ireland, Dublin, Kew, London

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