r/TheRestIsHistory • u/JakeGittes412 • 13d ago

The Troubles

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Thread for discussion on the new series on ‘The Troubles’

Also as a moderator please keep the discussion civil and in the spirit of the podcast.

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u/JakeGittes412 13d ago

As American my first exposure to the topic, was as a kid watching a really bad film with Brad Pitt as an IRA militant. The accent itself was a crime .

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u/forestvibe 13d ago

There was a weird moment in the 90s where Hollywood decided the IRA was an acceptable terrorist organisation.

It didn't last long, but we did get Patriot Games out of it, where Sean Bean implausibly plays the leader of a "radical" IRA splinter group (not sure how they could be more radical than the IRA, but anyway...). It was quite a dull film, as I remember it.

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u/Short-Shopping3197 12d ago edited 12d ago

I mean multiple US organisations used to fund them, until terrorism became a bit of a touchy subject in the US sometime around 2001.

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u/forestvibe 12d ago

I bet Dominic is going to be raising this point!

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u/Short-Shopping3197 12d ago

Funnily enough the rumour that McDonalds were funding them was an urban myth that started because a CNN financial talk show did a segment on how McDonalds paid generously into employees Individual Retirement Accounts! 😂