Real Health Podcast: Performing under pressure with bomb disposal expert Ray Lane

Bomb disposal expert, Ray Lane, joined me on this week’s episode of the Real Health podcast.

Ray Lane is a former commanding officer of the Irish Defence Force Ordnance School. On his retirement in 2018, he had been a member of the Irish Defence Forces for 45 years.

In his new book Only a Soldier Knows: Life on the Front Lines with the Irish Defence Forces, former Irish Defence Forces bomb disposal expert Ray Lane details a life in the high stake's world of bomb disposal.

I wanted to know how Ray first got into this unusual line of work. He told me, “I never wanted to join the army. I was working in Trinity College as a lab technician and joined the Communist Party of Ireland, my mother wasn't pleased at all. Anyway, we had two army officers living either side of us, and she said, ‘why can't you be one of those?’ I said, ‘Mam I want to close down militaries!’ Anyway, she put in the application. I went for the interview and got it.”

Once Ray joined the defence forces he knew what he wanted to do. He explained to me, “I’m a scientist, so I had to get into the ordinance core called bomb disposal and that was it. So, I applied, got in and started the course immediately.”

A question I always ask authors is what the main reason for writing the book was. The ordinance expert said, “One of the reasons I wrote the book was that back in 1974 during the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. We sent men out to deal with car bombs with no equipment. They borrowed motorbike helmets and toolkits and dismantled cars looking for devices. They put their lives on the line and never got the recognition they deserved for all that.”

You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Real Health Podcast: Performing under pressure with bomb disposal expert Ray Lane