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NARRATOR: A derelict compound in
Texas,

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once the epicentre of a violent
revolution.

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It was exciting, but it was also
dangerous.

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Bullets were flying, artillery
shells were going off.

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They had front row seats to this
amazing battle.

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A top secret facility outside Berlin
used by a ruthless dictator

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to escape justice.

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This place should have lost all
relevance,

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but it had one final dramatic
mission to carry out.

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An aristocratic party palace that
became an IRA stronghold.

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The women would use these statues,

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these symbols of colonial
oppression, as target practice.

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And in Spain, a medieval fortress
town abandoned under duress.

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MAN:Events beyond the perimeter of
the walls finally overcame

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these defences and left behind a
tragic legacy.

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NARRATOR: In downtown El Paso, Texas,

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a hollow construction holds a
revolutionary history.

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MAN:It's a very attractive, stately
old building,

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but once you go inside,

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it's a pretty sad state of affairs.

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MAN:There's wires hanging out of the
ceiling.

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Windows are taken out of their
frames and stacked up.

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Nearby, right next to the freeway,
which straddles the border,

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a second abandoned building was
embroiled

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in the same dramatic struggle.

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WOMAN:It's a huge warehouse-style
building.

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It looks like it might have once
been a small industrial operation

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of some kind.

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The rooftop is a prime vantage point
to look right across the border

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into the neighbouring Mexican
city of Juarez.

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And if you look closely, you'll see
that there's damage on the walls.

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Pivotal in the birth of the Mexican
state,

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these bullet holes are remnants
of a time when El Paso was caught

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in violent crossfire.

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So the question is, how are these
two buildings,

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this one here on the border, this
one here in the city,

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how are they connected?

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These buildings might look a little
forlorn today,

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but there was a time when this town
was a hotbed

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of international intrigue.

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From here, a revolution was planned
and a war was launched,

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while citizens watched from the
rooftops.

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El Paso was once Spanish territory,

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but it became part of the United
States

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when America annexed Texas in 1845.

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It began as a trading post and
became one of the most important

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points of contact between the US
and Mexico.

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Between 1890 and 1910, the
population of El Paso quadruples.

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You see this explosive growth
as kind of a window

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on America's southern border, and an
outlet and an inlet for trade.

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This, once ornate, structure was born
during that early prosperity.

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Richard Caples was a former mayor of
El Paso

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and, kind of, a local big shot.

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He had big plans for the city and
wanted to help it grow.

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Construction began on this building
in 1909.

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It was planned as a five-storey
office building

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with retail on the ground floor.

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It was built at tremendous cost,
$135,000 at the time,

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which works out to be $4.5 or $5
million today.

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This is the Caples Building, named
after its owner.

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It was still under construction
when the abandoned warehouse,

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half a mile away, hosted an iconic
meeting of presidents.

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The gathering took place in front
of the El Paso Laundry,

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which sits right on the border.

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There was an historic international
meeting between Mexican President,

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Porfirio Diaz, and American
President, William Taft.

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This was an important turning point
in Mexican American relations.

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People crowded around this street,

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so much so, that the American
soldiers

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had to push back the crowds

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when they saw the carriage of
President Diaz come along.

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And when he came, there was a 21-gun
salute, first by the American army,

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and then it echoed towards the
Mexican side of the river.

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And then, the Mexicans also did a
21-gun salute.

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David Dorado Romo understands the
subtext of this event.

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There seemed to be a lot of
agreement and harmony,

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but that was just for public show.

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Diaz was really the archetype
of a corrupt dictator.

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He maintained his power by crushing
dissent,

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not really allowing a free press,
favouring certain elites.

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He was also known to be in the
pocket of big American businesses.

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In El Paso, Diaz was seeking to
further cement

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American support along the border
in the run-up to a crucial election,

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one that had already been mired in
controversy.

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A couple of years earlier, Diaz had
said that he'd be ready to step down

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and the country could have free
elections really for the first time,

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and he would walk quietly off into
the sunset.

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But when that day came, Diaz
decided to run for president,

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and he didn't exactly play fair.

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Diaz had thrown his main political
opponent, a formidable man

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by the name of Francisco Madero,
in jail during the proceedings.

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This was clearly not a free and
open election.

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And it was Madero

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who became the face of the Mexican
people's burning resentment.

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Madero actually managed to escape
from prison, and he headed

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across the border to El Paso.

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At that time, that wasn't a major
division.

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There was no barbed wire. There was
no fence.

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Mexicans could cross freely.

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So Madero snuck into El Paso
disguised as a labourer,

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and took up residence on the top
two floors

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of the newly completed Caples
Building.

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He made it the epicentre of his
endeavours,

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and he really only had one goal,

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and that was to violently overthrow
the Diaz regime.

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So, on this floor, the international
headquarters

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of the Mexican Revolution was
situated in early 1911.

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So this was a place that would
have served for diplomatic,

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administrative, but also arms
smuggling

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and of course, recruitment.

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Madero even managed to gain
the support

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of legendary Mexican revolutionary,
Pancho Villa,

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which earned him some significant
clout.

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With an open border,

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these headquarters were at the heart
of an explosion of activity.

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El Paso then really became this hub
of different revolutionary groups

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who all set up shop in different
bars, restaurants and buildings

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throughout the city.

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Throughout the revolutionary period,

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the American government would change
their allegiance.

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Despite Madero advocating democracy,

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the US eventually issued a warrant
for his arrest.

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During my research, I found more
than 80 buildings,

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that are still standing here in El
Paso, that have connections

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to the Mexican Revolution.

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There were probably hundreds,
if not thousands of spies.

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Every little nook and cranny,

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you're gonna find people plotting
revolution or counter-revolution

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or even counter-counter-revolution.

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A lot of people have compared
El Paso to East and West Berlin

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during the Cold War.

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You had Madero and his associates

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plotting, raising money, building
support.

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Diaz had his spies gathering
information.

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No one really knew who was
on what side or who you could trust.

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And it was all building
to a truly violent conflict.

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On the 7th of April, 1911, Madero
made his move against Diaz

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and his troops.

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A rebel offensive known as the
Battle of Ciudad Juarez.

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Madero had put together a force
of 2500 men,

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but Juarez was well-defended by 700
Mexican federal troops

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who were in a very good defensive
position.

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They had artillery. They had plenty
of weapons.

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Madero was happy to just call it a
stalemate and start negotiating.

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But one notorious gunslinger in the
rebel's ranks had come for a fight.

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The time for talking was over.

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While Madero sought to negotiate
a surrender,

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the more aggressive Pancho Villa
disobeyed orders.

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He went ahead and led his troops
on the attack,

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and a raging battle commenced.

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In the city of El Paso this was
very exciting.

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They were right on the border.

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People climbed to the rooftop
of the laundry building

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where they had front-row seats
to this amazing battle.

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So, this was one of many rooftops
in El Paso

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where people would stand on top.

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There were some where you would
have to pay a quarter to a dollar

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to watch the revolutionary scenes.

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They were treated to a spectacle
straight out of the Wild West.

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One story is that in one moment,

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one of the federal soldiers dropped
his gun,

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and one of the revolutionaries got
out his lariat and lassoed the guy.

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He is able to, like a Mexican
cowboy,

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bring him in together with his gun.

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And people on the rooftops started
applauding,

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just like if it were some kind of
ringside seat.

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But it ended up becoming a much
more deadly spectator sport.

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These citizens didn't realise
how close they were to the danger,

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and five were killed and 18 wounded
in El Paso

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from fighting that was taking place
in Juarez.

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Today we just let the newscasters
take that danger.

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Back then, everybody wanted to be
part of the act.

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So, these bullet holes actually
have a lot more significance

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than meets the eyes.

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They were part of the story of the
Mexican Revolution.

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Eventually, after two days of
intense fighting,

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the Juarez garrison was forced to
surrender.

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This Battle of Juarez became the
decisive battle of the Revolution.

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It was enough to show that the
forces loyal to Diaz

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could not control the revolutionary
troops.

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Diaz fled Mexico, leaving its
leadership up for grabs.

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Madero eventually came to power
in late 1911,

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but he proved to be too moderate.

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By 1913, another Mexican general led
a US-backed coup, and unfortunately,

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Madero died in the resulting
conflict.

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What initially was a relatively
bloodless revolution

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is going to become ten years
of incredible civil strife,

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and you're gonna have hundreds
of thousands of Mexican refugees

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crossing to the United States.

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My grandparents came to Ciudad
Juarez and then later to El Paso,

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fleeing the violence during this
period after the Madero revolution.

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One of my great aunts had been
kidnapped, literally

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00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,360
kidnapped by one of the federal
officers.

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America's role in the revolution
was a sign of things to come

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00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:14,760
across the continent.

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That's a story that's going to
repeat itself

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for decades in Latin America, where
you have US military intervention

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00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:29,200
or you have the CIA overthrow
democratically-elected governments.

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And as a result, you're gonna have
social chaos,

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people fleeing into the United
States.

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While the laundry would continue
to operate for many more years,

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the Caples Building endured long
periods of vacancy

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before both were eventually
abandoned.

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These structures are symbolic of
tensions that remain

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along the border to this day.

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But a developer has purchased both
properties with hopes

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of transforming them into apartment
buildings.

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00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,200
If that happens, the future
residents can certainly claim

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00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,800
that they live in a location of
historic intrigue.

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00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:14,640
In eastern Germany, just 25 miles
from Berlin,

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00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:18,160
a secretive complex lies hidden in
the woods.

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00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:31,880
HE SPEAKS GERMAN

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00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,080
WOMAN:Looking at the security
around this place,

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00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,600
this must have been one of the most
closely guarded places

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00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,760
in all of East Germany.

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It's only when you go deep into the
heart of the site

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00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,040
that its scale becomes apparent.

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We can see here that nature has
reclaimed something

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00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,320
and it has reclaimed something big.

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You see a collection of buildings
that could house

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00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,000
a city of thousands.

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But as with any ghost town, you
have to ask yourself,

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"What happened to all the people?"

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You go inside - cobwebs, trash,
crumbling masonry,

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00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:23,160
tumbledown structures that are
fading or flecked or graffitied.

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00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,160
But through the thick foliage, a
different style of structure

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00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,280
begins to emerge.

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00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:30,840
We've got something.

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00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,640
It's boarded up, and yet, you can
tell what it is.

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This is a control tower.

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00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:37,720
This is an airfield.

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00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,000
There's one massive building, near
the runways,

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clearly an aircraft hangar.

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00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,000
This facility would provide an
escape route

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00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,640
for a ruthless dictator desperately
fleeing justice.

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00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,640
Sven-Uwe Storm grew up nearby,

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00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,960
eager to understand why this site was
out of bounds.

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00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,040
And access is still forbidden,

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00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,520
due to the high risk of unexploded
ordnance.

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00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:23,280
That's because this location has a
long history as a weapons test site,

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00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,880
which began in the late 1800s.

242
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:44,800
This was a place where they tested
rifles, artillery, rockets,

243
00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,000
and this was a place where Wernher
von Braun,

244
00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:53,400
the father of German rocketry, came
to test his missiles.

245
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:58,840
They even conducted experiments
on uranium for a German atomic bomb.

246
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,600
But in April 1945, Soviet troops
were rapidly approaching

247
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:08,080
through these thick forests, as the
allies closed in on Berlin.

248
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,800
In the aftermath of the Second World
War, this complex was incorporated

249
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,120
into Soviet territory.

250
00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,560
Germany was carved up among the
victorious allies,

251
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,440
with the Soviets occupying East
Germany.

252
00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,400
They split Germany with the Western
powers,

253
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,640
but they also split the city of
Berlin,

254
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,440
which is inside the Soviet zone.

255
00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,960
Initially just a line drawn on a map,

256
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,800
in time it would become a physical
wall,

257
00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,400
as the two camps polarised along
ideological lines.

258
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,200
The formation of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation, or NATO,

259
00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,840
in 1949, was seen by the Soviets
as a hostile act.

260
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,200
West Germany joined NATO in 1955,

261
00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,080
and Khrushchev formed the Warsaw
Pact in response.

262
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,880
So, now you have these two opposing
alliances, one western, one eastern,

263
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,320
and it feels like things are
hotting up.

264
00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:09,000
And for the Soviets, this is the
front line in the clash

265
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,840
with the Western powers in the Cold
War.

266
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,600
With a thousand miles separating
Moscow from Berlin,

267
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,200
this location was earmarked to
supply that front line.

268
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,160
This is Sperenberg airfield, the key
link between East Germany

269
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,320
and the Soviet Union.

270
00:17:26,360 --> 00:17:30,160
In 1958, the first phase of
construction was rolled out,

271
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,360
as the site was converted into a
military airfield,

272
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,160
capable of handling huge transport
planes.

273
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:42,480
Anything that the Soviets were
bringing into Germany,

274
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:48,800
to prepare to fight against NATO,
came into this airport.

275
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,560
In the 1960s, the boundary dividing
Berlin

276
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,240
was fortified by the East German
government.

277
00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:00,360
Desperate to prevent its citizens
from fleeing into West Germany,

278
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:02,240
they installed guard towers

279
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,320
and ordered any escapees to be shot
and killed.

280
00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:09,440
Overseeing its construction was
Erich Honecker,

281
00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,320
and he soon turned his attention
to Sperenberg Airbase.

282
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:20,840
Honecker was one of the key people
in building the Berlin Wall.

283
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:26,800
A ruthless dictator who subjected
all of East Germany

284
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,800
to his unquestioned rule.

285
00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,440
Honecker and the Soviet army began
the new phase of construction

286
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,200
at Sperenberg, turning it into a
military airbase

287
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,480
of unparalleled proportions.

288
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,600
The real expansion is in the 1970s,
when you see Soviet bombers,

289
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,560
Soviet fighters, Soviet combat
helicopters

290
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,720
and lots of Soviet civilian
airliners

291
00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,160
that are shuttling personnel.

292
00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:01,440
It was the fastest and most direct
link between Moscow and Berlin,

293
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,280
and the only Red Army airport

294
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,040
that also had a civilian terminal
building

295
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,760
for use by families, as well as
musicians

296
00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,000
brought in for troop entertainment.

297
00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,480
Sperenberg base became the most
valuable military airfield

298
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,240
in East Germany. There's no doubt
about that.

299
00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,040
But just as Sperenberg had gone
through a major upgrade,

300
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,440
the Soviets' iron grip on East
Germany began to loosen.

301
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:42,600
Numerous pro-independence groups
began to form as people demanded

302
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,360
things like democratic elections,
freedom of speech

303
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,800
and the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

304
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,120
Honecker refused to shift his ground
at all

305
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,520
and kept insisting that using the
security service, the Stasi,

306
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,840
which had informers everywhere and
thousands of agents,

307
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,440
that he would just repress all
dissent in East Germany.

308
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,320
And he nearly pulled it off.

309
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:08,120
The East Germans were one of the
last Warsaw Pact nations to rebel.

310
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:14,360
The Berlin Wall was being ripped
down by Berliners East and West.

311
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:20,120
As the Soviet Union began the
mammoth task of withdrawing

312
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:25,560
360,000 troops and their families
from across Eastern Europe,

313
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,320
the new government brought charges
against Honecker.

314
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:35,160
As East Germany frees itself from
the one-party control,

315
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,800
a hunt is on for these creatures
of the communist regime,

316
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:40,880
chief among them Honecker.

317
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,400
Everybody knew that Honecker had
approved orders

318
00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:51,720
for East German border guards to
shoot to kill

319
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,680
if anybody tried to escape East
Germany.

320
00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:01,880
That meant that Honecker had a
noose around his neck.

321
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,480
On the run, and desperate to avoid a
show trial,

322
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,360
Honecker turned to his overlords in
Moscow.

323
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,440
The last thing anybody needs is a
trial with Erich Honecker

324
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:21,800
talking about the truth of the East
German communist regime.

325
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,160
So, Sperenberg, throughout this
period, is in Soviet hands

326
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,600
as they shuttle people home
using this air base.

327
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:31,120
You know, hundreds of thousands of
Soviet troops and, and family

328
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:32,880
that were housed in East Germany.

329
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:38,480
So, in March 1991, Soviet communists
see an opportunity to spirit

330
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,080
Honecker out of East Germany.

331
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,000
Under the cover of darkness,

332
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,120
he was brought to Sperenberg by
Soviet troops.

333
00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:09,000
The couple then boarded a plane on
the airstrip,

334
00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,160
right beside the building, destined
for Moscow.

335
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:18,040
Honecker was later extradited from
Russia to stand trial in Berlin,

336
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,080
appearing in court in November 1992.

337
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,040
Honecker was defiant until the end,

338
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,640
claiming that the Berlin Wall had
saved lives,

339
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,800
that it prevented World War Three,
which would have killed millions.

340
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,520
The trial was quickly abandoned due
to his deteriorating health,

341
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,560
and he died two years later.

342
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:46,240
At that point in 1994, the last
of the Soviet equipment and people

343
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,440
were still being moved out of
Sperenberg,

344
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:54,520
but since then the site has remained
abandoned and largely untouched.

345
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,520
Local residents have formed a Museum
Association,

346
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:08,280
offering guided tours and are pushing
for the 2000-acre complex

347
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,840
to become a Unesco World Heritage
Site.

348
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:21,160
In the Republic of Ireland, lie the
remains of a doomed vanity project.

349
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,400
We're in County Carlow, an hour
south of Dublin,

350
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,160
in a wet and windy Irish
countryside.

351
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:39,080
One structure casts a long shadow
over the surrounding landscape.

352
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:42,360
WOMAN:When you first see the
building,

353
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,840
you almost can't believe it's still
standing.

354
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,680
The place has been hollowed out,
but the walls are still intact.

355
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,400
It's got the parapets and
battlements of a medieval castle.

356
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,520
MAN:Anybody looking up at this tower

357
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,120
would realise that these people
were in charge...

358
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,720
..in charge of their lives, and in
charge of their destiny.

359
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,960
But the owners of this house felt
the ground shifting under their feet.

360
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,800
The building once housed a powerful
and influential family.

361
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,360
But a tide of change was coming to
Ireland,

362
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,960
and this place was caught in the
middle of it.

363
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:20,960
It went from an aristocratic party
palace to an IRA stronghold.

364
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,200
But one organisation took up
residence here,

365
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,480
whose role in Irish independence
has been almost entirely forgotten.

366
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,040
It's really a privilege to have this
at our doorstep,

367
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,720
and lots of people in Carlow don't
actually know that it's here.

368
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:43,280
Danny McDaid has dedicated much
of his time to researching this site

369
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,400
and dispelling the many myths that
surround it.

370
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,080
When you look upon this house now
you see a ruin,

371
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:54,440
a Gothic mansion which has suffered
horrendous damage.

372
00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,480
But for me, looking upon it, I see
life.

373
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,040
I see what it was.

374
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,960
This is Duckett's Grove, historical
home of the Duckett family.

375
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,440
The Duckett's were married into the
Protestant elites

376
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,600
and moved to Ireland during the
years of English plantation

377
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:12,840
and colonisation.

378
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,840
With the marriages that they made
and the money that they made,

379
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:22,560
they built the Georgian-style house,
a very square basic house.

380
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:28,240
But then in the 1820s, the Duckett
family starts to massively expand it

381
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,840
and makes it into this gothic
dreamland castle.

382
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,360
This was all about impressing
their rich friends.

383
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,400
So, their rich friends would come
around the corner.

384
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,760
They would look up at this
structure.

385
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,760
You have this magnificent tower,

386
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,840
and even today, almost 200 years
later,

387
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:53,320
you can see how impressive it still
is.

388
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,520
Duckett's Grove was not just
architecturally impressive,

389
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,800
it was also ahead of its time.

390
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:08,280
The technological achievements of
the Ducketts was quite amazing.

391
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:12,240
What you had was pipes leading into
a boiler house

392
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:13,760
just around the corner.

393
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,240
So they were able to temperature
regulate greenhouses

394
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,920
in the 18th century, and from that
they were able to grow exotic fruits

395
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,800
like melons and strawberries and
tomatoes

396
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,960
and, quite amazingly, pineapples.

397
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,240
This would have seemed like the
lap of luxury to the tenant farmers

398
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,720
who are just living in absolute
poverty in the area around.

399
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,360
The family had a reputation
that matched the extravagance

400
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,240
of the building and surrounding
grounds.

401
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,160
The last of the Duckett line was a
man named William Duckett,

402
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,600
and he was known as quite the
eccentric, quite a philanderer.

403
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,680
He married a much, much younger
woman.

404
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:57,600
Maria Duckett and William Duckett,
liked nothing more than to party.

405
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,720
They loved a good party. And then
William Duckett

406
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:05,880
would have ran downstairs to play
the organ to welcome the people in.

407
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,280
Some of the parties would have
lasted for days.

408
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,960
During the Irish Famine, Protestant
William Duckett

409
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,360
extended his generosity to residents
across the county,

410
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,000
regardless of their faith.

411
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,480
He was generally well liked for a
British landlord.

412
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,600
He provided food for the workhouses
and paid good wages.

413
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,320
Here in Carlow, the death rate
during the famine

414
00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:35,920
was less than in other counties, in
part due to Mr Duckett.

415
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,400
But while he offered charity to his
Catholic neighbours,

416
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:44,080
his wife Maria, a staunch Protestant,
held a different attitude,

417
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,400
one born of bigotry and paranoia.

418
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,240
She felt that she was way above
everybody else.

419
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,800
She had almost a disdain for local
people.

420
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,920
She had a big distrust and probably
a big fear of Catholics.

421
00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,800
She was always looking over her
shoulder at her Catholic staff

422
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:05,320
and the grounds workers.

423
00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:09,760
Anti-British and anti-Protestant
sentiment was sweeping Ireland,

424
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,040
stoking Maria's fears.

425
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,680
And that was soon compounded
by the death of her husband.

426
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,640
William Duckett died in 1908.

427
00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:25,160
But when he died, this house died
with him.

428
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,480
Maria Duckett stopped all the
parties.

429
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,680
She fell out with some of her
neighbours.

430
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:35,160
So, for eight years, Maria Duckett
led a very solitary life.

431
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,680
And her worst fears were soon
realised.

432
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,880
In April of 1916, Irish Republicans
launched an armed insurrection

433
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:48,280
against British rule, known as the
Easter Rising.

434
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,120
You can only imagine, if she was
paranoid before,

435
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,280
this must have felt like the end
of the world.

436
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,160
She believed that she'd be rounded
up and be killed.

437
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,160
So she packed it all in, abandons
Duckett's Grove

438
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:01,600
and leaves for England.

439
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,080
The house became a sitting duck

440
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:09,840
as the newly-formed Irish Republican
Army prowled the countryside.

441
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,760
The IRA targeted big houses like this

442
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,880
as a symbol of British colonial
oppression

443
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,240
in their fight for independence.

444
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:24,200
Between just 1919 and 1923, the IRA
looted and burned

445
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,640
almost 300 of these country mansions
across Ireland.

446
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:32,040
But William Duckett's lasting
reputation in the county

447
00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,960
ensured a different fate for his
grand house.

448
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,800
Because they had supplied food
into Carlow during the famine

449
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,920
and because they had kept employment
high, the local people asked the IRA

450
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:48,040
not to burn Duckett's Grove.

451
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:52,320
Instead, the army devised a use
for the sprawling mansion

452
00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,240
that would grant it a new life.

453
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:57,800
It's practically already a fortress.

454
00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,880
You've got these walled gardens
where you can garrison troops.

455
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:04,120
There's this giant tower where you
can see everywhere

456
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,000
from over 100 miles.

457
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,880
The property was turned into an IRA
training centre.

458
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:14,840
Soon three new arrivals would make
their mark on the mansion.

459
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,800
During the Irish War for
independence,

460
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,040
three women were locked up in the
Mountjoy Prison in Dublin,

461
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,800
Mae Bourke, Eithne Coyle and Linda
Kearns.

462
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:27,480
They were imprisoned for various
Republican activities.

463
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,760
Trading guns, possessing seditious
materials,

464
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,080
generally aiding the revolution.

465
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,520
What happened next made
international headlines.

466
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:42,680
And a story straight out of the
great escapes from World War II.

467
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,560
They fastened ropes and ladders,
and they escaped.

468
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,760
When they broke out of Mountjoy
Jail in Dublin,

469
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:55,160
they stole bicycles and they cycled
from Dublin to Duckett's Grove.

470
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,640
The escape plan was orchestrated
by Michael Collins,

471
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,760
the IRA's Director of Intelligence.

472
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,280
Three of the women cycled the 50
miles

473
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:08,400
to find the previously abandoned
mansion transformed.

474
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:14,400
It was now a fully-fledged IRA base
occupied by 400 men.

475
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,800
The women quickly set about getting
the camp in order.

476
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,560
They set up an officer's mess,
nursed the wounded back to health,

477
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,360
and even organised concerts to keep
up morale.

478
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,080
But they weren't here just to
support the troops.

479
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,080
They were part of what was known
as Cumann na mBan.

480
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,480
Cumann na mBan was the Irish
Republicans Women's Association.

481
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,440
They were at the heart of the
rebellion in Ireland.

482
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:39,920
They ran guns.

483
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:41,400
They supplied intelligence.

484
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,880
They worked in Dublin Castle,
supplying Michael Collins

485
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,120
with information.

486
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,360
They used Duckett's Grove
as a command control centre

487
00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,920
for operations against the British.

488
00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:59,080
You might see in old paintings that
there were statues once covering

489
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,600
the grounds of Duckett's Grove,
but most of them are gone now.

490
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,960
The women would use these statues,

491
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,520
these symbols of colonial
oppression,

492
00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,880
as target practice, blowing them to
smithereens.

493
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:14,840
One particular photo of the women
survives, rifles in hand,

494
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,720
standing triumphantly in the door
of the house,

495
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,040
with the Union Jack firmly under
their boots.

496
00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:27,000
In December 1921, the Anglo-Irish
treaty was signed by Michael Collins.

497
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,240
And the IRA training grounds were
dissolved.

498
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,000
But the treaty partitioned the island

499
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,040
into the largely Protestant north

500
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,640
and the predominantly Catholic South,

501
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,600
which would be named the Irish Free
State.

502
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,520
Its status was somewhere between a
province of the British Empire

503
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:46,240
and an independent republic.

504
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,320
Collins knew this was a compromise
many of his comrades wouldn't abide,

505
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:57,200
and reportedly said, "I may have just
signed my actual death warrant."

506
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:03,960
This prophecy came true just months
later as the IRA split in two

507
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,760
and he was assassinated by
Anti-Treaty forces.

508
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,280
Ireland was plunged into a terrible
civil war.

509
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,360
Brother against brother.

510
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,040
After that, the fledgling Irish
state needed money,

511
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,440
so they were selling off lands
belonging to these big houses

512
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:22,080
all across Ireland.

513
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:24,560
And Duckett's Grove was no different.

514
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:29,200
The mansion was sold and its
contents auctioned off.

515
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,440
Stripped of its original grandeur,

516
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:35,800
it then suffered further humiliation
when it was consumed by fire.

517
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:40,400
I believe the cause of the fire was
financial,

518
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:42,880
either insurance or taxes.

519
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:46,520
Because the bigger the house,
the more taxes people had to pay.

520
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:49,960
And if a house didn't have a roof,
you didn't pay taxes.

521
00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:54,960
But this magnificent house
was left in ruins...

522
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,520
..in 1933.

523
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,480
Many big houses in Ireland remain
derelict,

524
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,440
but the work of volunteers like
Danny,

525
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,880
has opened Duckett's Grove up to the
public.

526
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,760
The building is wonderful, but it's
the story behind the building.

527
00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,440
It's the people that truly bring it
to life.

528
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:20,680
The role of the Women's Army is
becoming more widely acknowledged,

529
00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:24,880
but the full scope of their
activities may never be known.

530
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:25,920
As they grew older,

531
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,120
the women who had participated
in revolutionary activities

532
00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:31,960
were very secretive and silent
about their role.

533
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,440
So sadly, because no one documented
what women did cos of patriarchy,

534
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,520
we'll probably never know the full
extent of their role

535
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:40,840
in the revolution.

536
00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,600
In a secluded region of western
Spain,

537
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:50,560
a peninsula juts out over a vast,
shimmering lake.

538
00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:00,640
WOMAN:We're about 180 miles west
of Madrid.

539
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,400
It's a beautiful area, a glorious
green landscape.

540
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:06,680
MAN:It's picturesque. It's peaceful.

541
00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:08,320
It's like something out of a fairy
tale.

542
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,560
Except that, there's not a single
soul to be seen.

543
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,520
This imposing ghost town displays
all the hallmarks

544
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:18,960
of an ancient stronghold.

545
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,640
WOMAN:The whole town is protected
by this high stone wall,

546
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,640
and it's even got its own kind
of castle tower

547
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:27,720
near the gates guarding it.

548
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:31,800
Within the walls, the town is laid
out around a large central plaza,

549
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,480
which is bounded by grand
townhouses and civic buildings.

550
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,640
You can imagine that this place
was once bustling with life,

551
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:39,840
but not any more.

552
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,400
It's a classic frozen-in-time
scenario.

553
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,360
Everyone just up and vanished.

554
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:50,400
And there's general decay, but no
big obvious clue

555
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,920
as to what caused this abandonment.

556
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,360
Not many people are left

557
00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,440
to keep alive the story of what
happened here.

558
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:05,240
But sisters Vicenta and Rosario, are
some of the last

559
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:07,480
and recall a vibrant community.

560
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,920
SHE SPEAKS IN SPANISH

561
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:23,280
The square has been a focal point
since medieval times,

562
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,840
when the town adopted its name,
Granadilla.

563
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,360
The walls went up in the 12th
century.

564
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,920
A couple of hundred years later,
the imposing castle was added.

565
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:40,080
By the 20th century, this town was
home to over a thousand inhabitants.

566
00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:44,200
It had evolved over more than a
millennium into a bustling town

567
00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,360
with 300 family homes.

568
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:58,560
Though she was young, Vicenta
still fondly recalls family life

569
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:00,240
in her now ruined home.

570
00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:16,640
Life here was rooted in agriculture
and farming.

571
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:40,760
But in 1955, Vicenta's childhood
was shattered.

572
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:45,880
This ancient town was about to have
the life sucked out of it,

573
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:50,640
thanks to a dictator who came to
prominence in the 1930s.

574
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,920
The Civil War was brutal, a bloody
and violent conflict that claimed

575
00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:03,120
hundreds of thousands of lives.

576
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:08,960
General Francisco Franco, aided by
his fascist allies, Adolf Hitler

577
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:14,000
and Benito Mussolini, emerged as
leader in 1939.

578
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,680
But the country had torn itself
apart.

579
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:26,200
Poverty, poor housing, disease,
drought and famine were rife.

580
00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:30,880
The challenges that Spain faced must
have seemed insurmountable.

581
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:33,480
Essentially, Franco needed to turn
around

582
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:36,440
the battle-scarred country's
fortunes.

583
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,960
So, one of the approaches that
General Franco took

584
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,880
was to back these vast civil
engineering projects.

585
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,480
Central to this plan was advances
in irrigation.

586
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:53,240
Over 600 dams were built between
1939 and 1975.

587
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,760
This was construction on an immense
scale.

588
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:03,160
The largest of these hydroelectric
dams was to be in the Alagon River,

589
00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:07,080
just 24 miles from Granadilla.

590
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:11,840
In 1955, officials declared the town
a flood zone

591
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,720
and ordered its inhabitants to
evacuate.

592
00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:31,000
Some began leaving, but to force the
remainder out,

593
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,360
the government declared that the
land,

594
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:37,600
including the town and the farms,
would become state property

595
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:42,000
and insisted that not even a chair
be left behind.

596
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:02,440
Can you imagine what that must
have felt like?

597
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:04,360
Just to be told to get up and leave

598
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,080
what had been your family's home
for generations?

599
00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:09,760
It must have been absolutely
devastating.

600
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,640
The situation here was far from
unique. The same approach

601
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:17,520
was being taken to towns and
villages right across Spain,

602
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:21,040
to make way for these grand
infrastructure projects.

603
00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:27,640
In 1963, the dam was complete and
the floodgates opened on Granadilla.

604
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,960
It completely altered the
surrounding landscape.

605
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,160
These roads that used to lead into
this town

606
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,440
kind of slip beneath the rising
tide.

607
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:01,760
But there would be a cruel twist to
this tale.

608
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,440
The rising waters turned the hill
on which the town sat,

609
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:10,560
into a kind of peninsula, but
that's as high as the water got.

610
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,200
The town was completely cut off.

611
00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:19,320
It was surrounded, but the town
itself never actually flooded.

612
00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:21,360
This was the plan all along,

613
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:24,120
and engineers would have known that
the town wouldn't flood.

614
00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:27,240
In the end, it was either
bureaucratic blunder

615
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:29,400
or bureaucratic deception.

616
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:34,920
Either way, for the people there,
what happened was unforgivable.

617
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:57,480
The key question here is, why
hasn't anyone come back.

618
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:10,720
In order to prevent the residents
from ever returning to Granadilla,

619
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,040
the flood zone status is still in
effect,

620
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,720
ensuring that no one can live here
permanently.

621
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:20,360
The town is now a tourist site

622
00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:23,680
and a monument to the many
communities across Spain

623
00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:27,720
that suffered a similar fate at the
hands of the dictatorship.

624
00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:31,880
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