From student priest to IRA commander. The momentous life of Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane.

Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane’s life could be a metaphor for The Troubles. When he was 16, Bik McFarlane left Belfast to train as a priest in North Wales for two years. But with the nationalist community under siege, he cut short his studies and joined the IRA. During the hunger strikes, he was the commander of the IRA in the H-Blocks, with the unenviable task of being the man whose duty it was to let Bobby Sands and others die. But this was not the whole of Bik McFarlane’s life. On Free State today, Joe and Dion discuss the man who in 1975 was part of the IRA unit that murdered five people at the Bayardo Bar in Belfast during the height of sectarian killings in the north. How does a man like Bik McFarlane, remembered by so many for his intelligence and charm, end up committing acts such as these? Joe remembers his friend who became a key champion of the peace process, while Dion wonders what it tell us about Sinn Fein in 2025, that they can be so effusive in their tributes to Bik McFarlane? Is he missing the point about what was endured during The Troubles or does his view have merit?

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.

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