Assume Nothing: Breakup: Burned or Buried

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BBC Radio Ulster - Assume Nothing, Breakup, Episode 3: Burned or Buried

Ophelia Byrne finds out what really happened when the Irish border was finalised in 1925.

When Ophelia Byrne goes to find out what happened when the border in Ireland was finalised almost a century ago, a discovery in the archives makes her question the entire process

Across three dramatic episodes, Ophelia Byrne follows a line on the map into the world of the Irish Boundary Commission – set up in 1924 to finalise the shape of the Irish border. It takes her into an improbable world of high statecraft, split communities, broken promises and many thousands of lives changed forever. 

Through original testimonies, secret letters and classified police reports, Ophelia tries to uncover what really happened up to the moment in 1925 when proposals for the new, final border line in Ireland hit crisis point. Then, both the British and Irish governments were prepared to take drastic action to have the Commission’s report ‘burned or buried’. Why? And what does it mean now?

Episode Three: Burned or Buried

With both the British and Irish governments in crisis, the final shape of the border in Ireland is agreed at speed and not in the way that's been anticipated. At the stroke of a pen, the fate and future national identity of thousands of lives is decided upon as the frontier is fixed. In the wake of Brexit, the Northern Ireland Protocol and with increasing calls for a referendum on Irish reunification, Ophelia realises the story of the Irish Boundary Commission could matter more now than ever before. 

Presenter: Ophelia Byrne

Producers: Conor Garrett & Ophelia Byrne

Exec Editor: Andy Martin

Assume Nothing: Breakup

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