On 27 August 1979, Lord Mountbatten, great uncle to Prince Charles, was blown up at sea by the IRA off the west coast of the Republic of Ireland. Three others were killed on the boat that day, including two teenage boys. Later that afternoon, in a second strike, the IRA killed 18 British soldiers, across the border in Northern Ireland.  Forty years on, this is the story of that remarkable Bank Holiday Monday – movingly told by those directly affected by it.

The Day Mountbatten Died

In a uniquely personal journey to mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland in 1921, award-winning reporter Peter Taylor revisits the films he has made over the past 50 years to reflect on the controversial issue of a united Ireland. With frank and intimate observations, Peter reveals how his own understanding of the issue has evolved: from the early days when he took a Hull bus driver and his wife to Belfast, and a group of Catholic and Protestant children to Wales, to his revelatory interviews with MI6 officers and others involved in the secret talks between the British government and the IRA that eventually led to peace.

Peter Taylor: Ireland After Partition

Journalist Peter Taylor reveals the story of how a former undercover MI5 officer put his life and career on the line to encourage the IRA to end its violent campaign and embrace politics.