Pop Goes Northern Ireland blends news footage, archive and the musical hits of the time to provide an enthralling and entertaining potted history of Northern Ireland dealing with our difficult recent past in a way that is entertaining, informative, fresh and accessible to all.

This week Pop Goes Northern Ireland focuses on 1980. The government holds a constitutional conference in the hope of making progress on a political solution to Northern Ireland. The project is fatally undermined by the refusal of the Ulster Unionist Party to take part. The conference is wound up by March without any significant agreement on a way forward. Meanwhile, the violence continues. There is heightened tension in the Maze prison over the demand for special category status. The issue comes to the boil when Republican prisoners end their ‘Dirty Protest’ and commence a hunger strike. The strike is called off in confusing circumstance after a last minute deal between Republicans and the government. However, the government and Republican versions of what has been agreed significantly differ. It is soon apparent that this dispute has not been settled...