This year saw the death of the Queen and a major war in Europe. In Northern Ireland we have seen hitmen gunning down their victims in broad daylight. It’s all been very heavy, but we have also had a fair share of farce. Among which was that slap at the Oscars, Kanye West declaring his sympathy for Hitler and the Nazis, and of course there was Liz Truss. Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guests: Eoin Brannigan, Allison Morris, Sam McBride and Gillian Halliday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Dec 23, 2022•42 min
Rural Castlerock in 1991; Embroiled in a sordid affair, Hazel Stewart and Colin Howell plot the double murder of their spouses, disguising them as suicides. Their crimes would not be revealed until 19 years later, when a guilt-ridden Howell confessed and provided evidence against his ex-lover in trial. But is Hazel Stewart truly a cold and callous killer as some think she is portrayed? Or is there more than meets the eye to this former Sunday school teacher?Host: Niamh Campbell. Guests: Allison ...
Dec 21, 2022•25 min
In 2002 the IRA walked into a Belfast PSNI station and walked out with the secret security files they were looking for. Who planned it and why? There was huge interest in this podcast when first published in May 2022.Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guest: Belfast Telegraph security correspondent, Allison Morris. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 19, 2022•20 min
He was a millionaire by 30, but Sean Quinn's rise and fall is documented in a new book, which looks at his many investments, and how nothing, not even an ancient fairy fort, could get in the way of his plans. Host: Siobhán Maguire. Guest: Trevor Birney. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 16, 2022•19 min
Ireland was partitioned in 1921 when most of the island left the UK to form the Irish Free State. Six Counties of the north-east immediately left to form Northern Ireland and to continue in Union. The majority have voted to stay in the UK ever since, but many nationalists want a referendum on the border. Prof Colin Harvey is Professor of Human Rights Law in Queens, he makes the case for Irish unity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...
Dec 14, 2022•41 min
Northern Ireland is come into existence on the the 3rd of May 1921 and Ireland as it was to that point, is partitioned. Most of the island became the Irish Free State but Northern Ireland continued to be a part of the United Kingdom. Lee Reynolds, a former advisor to Arlene Foster, a former Director of Policy for the DUP, and the Northern Ireland Director for the Vote Leave campaign, is the expert witness making the case for the Union. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted ...
Dec 12, 2022•37 min
One of the founders of the SAS, Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne was a great soldier and a hero in his native town, Newtownards. But his legacy is a complicated one, he was not a model officer. His exploits in battle saw him earn many honours but he denied the Victoria Cross. Did the complex nature of the man muddy his legacy? Host: Ciarán Dunbar, Guest: Andrew Madden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 09, 2022•20 min
Northern Ireland’s gangland bloodletting continues with the latest hit has claiming the life of a man in Newry. Mark Lovell was shot up to 15 times by gunmen who had been lying in wait outside his home in the Carnagat area. Sources in Newry predict a blood bath as revenge is sought for his death. Sharon O’Neill and Brett Campbell join Ciarán Dunbar to discuss the bad blood on the border. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...
Dec 07, 2022•24 min
Ballymena company Wrightbus collasped in 2019, now the Department for the Economy’s Insolvency service is taking a civil action against 14 people over alleged unfit conduct as directors And, in yet another twist, Green Pastures, the evangelical mega-church founded by Jeff Wright, is being taken to court by the administrators of the bus company. Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guests: Margaret Canning and Andrew Madden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Dec 05, 2022•27 min
On the night of 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council took a vote which led to instant protests. The union flag had flown every single day from City Hall for over one hundred years, but now Nationalist and Alliance councillors voted to fly it on only 18 so-called designated days a year. The reaction was immediate, passionate, and sometimes violent. Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guest: Allison Morris. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...
Dec 02, 2022•30 min
August 2013 and Dungannon woman Michaella McCollum – along with her travelling companion Melissa Reid, attempted to leave Peru with €1.6million worth of cocaine. Nabbed by the airport authorities – they both would begin a perilous and treacherous life behind bars at the notorious Ancon 2 prison. We look at the story of the ‘Peru Two’ that is now the subject of a new series on Netflix - ‘High: Confessions of an Ibiza Drug Mule’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast...
Nov 30, 2022•24 min
Portadown teenager Marian Beattie was just 18 years old when she was murdered. She had gone to a dance in the company of her brother and best friend near the Co. Tyrone village of Aughnacloy in 1973. She left in the company of a young man and was never seen alive again. The Police Ombudsman found failings in how her killing was investigated by the RUC. Belfast Telegraph reporter Niamh Campbell tells Ciarán Dunbar Marian’s story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acas...
Nov 28, 2022•28 min
A judge has revealed new details about the NAMA controversy, one of Northern Ireland’s biggest ever political scandals. Among the controversies surrounding the sale of Nama’s entire loan book here eight years ago was disagreement about the purpose of £7.5m - transferred to an Isle of Man bank account in highly unusual circumstances. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Sam McBride, to explain the significance of these developments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See ...
Nov 25, 2022•39 min
Men are more likely to commit crimes, but why is that, is the system stacked against them, or do men simply have a greater propensity towards ‘evil’? At the time of recording this podcast almost 1,650 men were incarcerated in Northern Ireland. That compared to about 80 women. The difference is staggering but why is it so great? Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guests: Dr Michelle Butler and Prof David Canter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
Nov 23, 2022•28 min
Monica McWilliams tells the story of the Northern Ireland Womens’ Coalition From 1996 to 2006, Northern Ireland had a political party with a difference. It was a party, for women- just for women. In 1998, two of its members, co-founder, Monica McWilliams and Jane Morrice, were elected to the assembly, playing an integral role in the Good Friday Agreement. Jessica Rice interviews Monica McWilliams on the party that changed the political landscape of NI forever. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Nov 21, 2022•28 min
The latest Belfast Telegraph Lucid talk polls tells us Sinn Féin is soaring above the pack but that the DUP has launched a successful fight back. 41% of voters think that if it stays like that – it should mean Dublin sharing power in Northern Ireland but is that possible under the Good Friday Agreement? The Belfast Telegraph’s political editor Suzanne Breen gives us an in-depth analysis into the state of Northern Ireland’s parties, the decisions in front of the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson and explai...
Nov 18, 2022•30 min
In 1974, two IRA bombs in Birmingham pubs took the lives of 21 people. The incident would result in six innocent Irishmen being wrongfully convicted of the crime. We tell the story of the Birmingham Six and how those responsible have not been brought to justice. Host: Siobhan Maguire. Guest: John Downing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 16, 2022•21 min
It’s possible you mightn't notice that the price of some individual items in your trolley has gone up in recent months but when the cashier totals up – you notice All of us have noticed it’s getting harder and harder to get to the end of the month and to reach the next paycheck. We are in a 'cost-of-living crisis,’ but what exactly is it, whose fault is it and how did we get out of it? And are some companies simply taking advantage of the situation to up their prices and profits at our expense? ...
Nov 14, 2022•24 min
It reads like the blurb on the back of an improbable spy thriller, but it’s a true story. The French Secret Service hacks an exclusive mobile phone system. Known as an ‘EncroChat’, it has an exclusive client base, it’s the phone of choice for the underworld. Some of those phones ended up at the bottom of Belfast’s Lagan River. Host: Ciarán Dunbar, Guest: Allison Morris. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 11, 2022•25 min
Louis Mountbatten was a beloved member of the Royal family and mentor to King Charles. But now allegations of child sex abuse at Kincora, a notorious Belfast children’s home, have been made against him. The Indo Daily uncovers the story of the man known in the royal family as Uncle Dicky. Host: Fionnán Sheahan. Guests: Senan Molony Political and Sharon O'Neill. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 09, 2022•17 min
Addicts shooting up in broad daylight and needles discarded all over our streets. Belfast is in the midst of a new pandemic- DRUGS.Coroner Joe McCrisken talks to Sharon O’Neill about the drugs crisis here in Northern Ireland and the deadly pills flooding the streets that are even BANNED in the States. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 07, 2022•25 min
Dermot Nesbitt was one of the negotiators of the Good Friday Agreement and then a key backer of David Trimble in the years after the deal was struck in 1998, The Crossgar man has had a remarkable life in politics and academia and went on to become a Stormont minister. He was standing beside the unionist politician and academic Edgar Graham when he was murdered by the IRA on Queen’s University’s Belfast campus in 1983, Northern Ireland Editor, Sam McBride, interviews Dermot Nesbitt as he reflects...
Nov 04, 2022•32 min
As an attack on an Irish government target is allegedly called off at the last minute there are serious concerns about the future of the loyalist ceasefires. A letter from the Loyalist Communities Council saying support for the ceasefires may be weakening has been interpreted by some as a veiled threat of potential violence. How did we get here? Host: Ciarán Dunbar, Guest: Allison Morris. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...
Nov 02, 2022•28 min
Sinn Féin, and others, continue to call for a border poll in Northern Ireland, a referendum on a United Ireland. But it takes two to tango, not only would Northern Ireland have to vote for unity – so would the Republic of Ireland. Fionnán Sheehan is Ireland Editor at with the Sunday Independent and Irish Independent – Ciarán Dunbar asks him the simple question – would the south vote for a united Ireland? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Oct 31, 2022•27 min
Liz Truss was the UK’s shortest serving Prime Minister, ever. How did it come to pass that the UK has seen three prime ministers in two months and why did the Conservative Party lose faith in Truss in a matter of weeks? David McCann explains the chaos in the Conservative Party and if new leader Rishi Sunak can bring it to an end. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 27, 2022•21 min
What could we expect from a Sinn Féin government and more importantly what do we know about its leader Mary Lou McDonald? Former TD Shane Ross attempts to answer the question in his new book ‘Mary Lou McDonald : A Republican Riddle’.Host: Fionnán Sheehan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 25, 2022•35 min
Ian Paisley was the the founder of both the DUP and the Free Presbyterian Church. He was the firebrand preacher and uncompromising street agitating politician always seeming to prefer confrontation. But in the end, he compromised, sitting down in joint-office with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, becoming one half of the so-called ‘Chuckle Bros’. Joining Ciarán Dunbar to discuss Ian Paisley’s career, from a very personal point of view, is the Belfast Telegraph’s political editor - Suzanne Breen. S...
Oct 23, 2022•28 min
The prestigious global body that governs Irish dancing is mired in allegations of competition fixing and cheating. Irish Independent News Correspondent Ellen Coyne reveals the revelations that have rocked the Irish dancing world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 20, 2022•22 min
Patricia Curran’s mutilated body was discovered just 40 yards from her home at 2 o’clock in the morning on the 13th of November 1952. She was a judge’s daughter – savagely stabbed to death - the pressure was on to find her killer. An innocent - but compromised man - Iain Hay Gordon, was eventually blackmailed into signing a confession and sent to a Psychiatric hospital – only to be quietly released and packed off to home to Scotland. In this episode of the BelTel, Journalist Stephen Gordon, tell...
Oct 18, 2022•25 min
The early hours of the morning on the 12th of November 1952, a judge’s daughter, Patricia Curran, is found dead in the garden of her family home. She had been stabbed 37 times. The BelTel looks at the shocking killing and how Iain Hay Gordon, a young Scot doing his national service in the RAF, was intimidated into signing a false confession, frightened that his mother would find out about his sex life. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by journalist Stephen Gordon, who’s been fascinated by this horrific m...
Oct 16, 2022•28 min
