Listen to the full interview above via the podcast
Twenty years ago, at the height of Ireland's USA '94 campaign, tragedy struck the small village of Loughinisland, Co Down.
It was a time when Northern Ireland was still in the grip of The Troubles but on what should have been a day of celebration, UVF gunmen entered a pub and shot six people dead.
That Loughinisland pub was chosen for the attack because it was mostly frequented by Catholics.
Tonight, people in the United States will learn about the tragedy via a new ESPN 30 For 30 documentary Ceasefire Massacre on the events.
On Off The Ball tonight, Joe spoke to the documentary's producer Trevor Birney about the massacre and the making of the documentary.
"It was one of those days where it was euphoria," Birney explained, detailing how Irish fans were in great spirits after a Ray Houghton goal had helped the Boys in Green beat Italy at the World Cup. Fans had gathered at Loughinisland's Heights Bar to watch the game when the atrocity occurred and the mood changed.
The atrocity came on a day which should have been marked by celebration ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Two members of the UVF entered the bar and fired on the 15 people within, eventually killing six.
"The gunmen were from the UVF and it was right at the tail end of the conflict in the North, just a few months before the ceasefires came in. This was one of the last bar-room slaughters that Loyalists had become known for," said Birney, who added that ESPN had backed the project which was directed by renowned filmmaker Alex Gibney.
It is easy to forget but the events marred a big year in Ireland's cultural history highlighted by Riverdance, USA 94, the beginnings of the Celtic Tiger and the dying embers of The Troubles, Birney explained.
He also touched on the fight by the Loughinisland victim's families to find justice for their loved ones and some participated in the documentary.
"Unfortunately still today, there's plenty of questions to be asked why a bunch of supporters who had gathered in a bar simply to watch a football match were singled out for murder," said Birney who discussed the efficacy of the investigation into the murders.
Parts of the documentary were filmed in the Heights Bar itself and Birney told us how the owners had been incredibly accommodating and that the patrons of the bar in 1994 still frequent the establishment 20 years on.
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