Historical Belfast

Using new archival sources and information from some of the relatives of these forgotten activists, in her new book Rebel Women, Margaret Ward gives us a compelling account of the courageous contributions of over fifty women who were members of Cumann na mBan, or who were attached to the IRA between 1914 and 1924 in County Antrim. The book focuses on members of the Belfast branches and of branches in the isolated communities of the Glens of Antrim. Throughout this period of conflict and partition, women played an essential role in the republican movement. Not only did they organise arms dumps, shelter men on the run, hide money and documents, provide weaponry for operations, care for the wounded and organise effective communication systems, they also paid the price in terms of raids and imprisonment.Welcome to Episode 43 of the Historical Belfast Podcast where it is 5 years (almost to the day) since Episode 1, way back in April 2020. In this new Episode I am joined by Dr Margaret Ward to discuss matters arising from her new book. I was really delighted to get Margaret onto the podcast and I began by asking her to give me a sense of Cumann na mBan particularly in Belfast and what set them apart from the rest of the island.Rebel Women available from Beyond The Pale at the following link: Rebel Women: Cumann na mBan in Belfast and the Glens of Antrim — beyond the pale books – books on Irish society and politicsSend us a textSupport the show

Did you know that at Carlisle Circus in North Belfast sits a former church building which is on a World Monuments watch list that once featured other iconic sites such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal? Well, it's true. Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church serves as a sober reminder of the Belfast's architectural legacy and its troubled past. Designed in the Gothic Revival style by noted architect WH Lynn and completed in 1875, the church was home to one of the largest Methodist congregations in Belfast. The sandstone and limestone exterior of the building was renovated in 1966, but the church ceased to be used as a place of worship by 1980, a consequence of the declining congregation and its location at a major interface between Catholic and Protestant populations.At the heart of one of the most troubled parts of Belfast, the congregation shrank rapidly during the late 1960s and 1970s. The church trustees sold the adjacent Church Halls in the late 1970s and finally closed the church in the 1980s.Since then, Carlisle Memorial has been subject to both renovation and rejuvenation from Belfast Buildings Trust and I was delighted when they reached out to me with the idea of creating an episode together for the Historical Belfast Podcast. The Trust introduced me to Emily Brando from Germany who has been carrying out extensive research on the history of the church, and I began by asking her to explain how exactly she came to be involved in researching a church building in Belfast…So, having heard from Emily about the remarkable backstory of Carlisle Memorial Church I decided to pay the building a visit for myself to find out what's going on there at present, but also what the future holds for the site. I was met there by Cara Jones who is the Project and Engagement Officer for the Belfast Buildings Trust and I began by asking her to give me sense of the baron years at Carlisle Memorial since the 1980s… Send us a textSupport the show

On the outskirts of East Belfast is a house that might be considered as one of the most important houses in modern Irish history; Craigavon House. Built for James Craig senior in 1870 to the designs of the Waterford-born architect Thomas Jackson it was once a glorious mansion but now sits in a state of semi-dereliction off the Holywood Road.For me, Craigavon House evokes the imagery of the Home Rule crisis in Ulster, whether that be the unveiling of Edward Carson as the leader of Unionism in September 1911 on the lawns outside, or whether that be the footage of Carson reading the text of the Ulster Solemn League & Covenant from the steps outside to assembled journalists in September 1912, or indeed the audacious gunrunning operation by the Ulster Volunteers in April 1914 which was planned and executed from the Billiard Room of this house. This place acted as a nerve-centre for Unionist's resistance to home rule in Ireland.However, it's history goes back much further than 1911 and I'm very grateful to have been shown around this wonderful house by Carol Walker – Director of the Somme Association – and I began by asking her about the origins of the house…Send us a textSupport the show

Send us a textOn the evening of 23 March 1922, in the context of a bloody sectarian conflict that had been raging for almost two years, Owen McMahon locked up his pub on Ann Street with the assistance of his bar manager Edward McKinney. The Capstan was one of several pubs owned by Owen McMahan in Belfast, the others included the International at the corner of Donegall Street, the Century on Garfield Street, and the Great Eastern on the Newtownards Road in the east of the city.McMahon and McKinney made their way towards the Antrim Road and to Kinnaird Terrace where McKinney was living with the McMahon family who had tea together before retiring to bed for the night. As they slept, loyalist gunmen posing as police officers sledgehammered their way into the house before gathering together the eight male occupants in the parlour room where they were chillingly advised “you boys say your prayers”. The gunmen opened fire murdering Owen McMahon, his three sons Thomas, Frank and Patrick, as well as Edward McKinney the bar manager. His other son, Bernard, survived the initial shooting but later died of his injuries on 2 April. Such was the horrific scene at Kinnaird Terrace that an ambulance man collapsed with shock on his arrival at the house. ‘The McMahon Murders', as the incident became known, had ‘shocked almost the entire world' according to Joe Devlin MP in the House of Commons who went on to quote from the pages of the Belfast Telegraph which reported the incident as ‘the most terrible assassination that has yet stained the name of Belfast'. In retaliation for these and other Belfast murders, the IRA assassinated the former head of the British Army, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, and a subsequent British ultimatum to the Irish government sparked the first salvos of the Irish Civil War days later. The reluctance of the unionist Belfast government to pursue loyalist killers drove the rift between Northern Ireland's two main communities even deeper, laying the foundations for the Troubles at the end of the twentieth century.For this edition of the Historical Belfast I've been speaking to Ed Burke, Assistant Professor at University College Dublin about his latest book Ghosts of a Family where he has expertly uncovered the likely murderer of the McMahons in a case that has remained unsolved for over 100 years.I began by asking him what it was that attracted him to this topic as a subject for his new book… Buy Ghosts of a Family here.Support the show

More Stories from Belfast City Cemetery is the latest addition to Tom Hartley's ‘Written in Stone' series of books that use the story of each of Belfast's cemeteries to explore the dynamic history of our city and its people. From Catholic to Protestant to Muslim and Jew, from the great and the good to the poor and the destitute, each grave has multiple stories to tell. Since the publication of the previous edition of his Belfast City Cemetery book in 2014, Tom Hartley has continued to research the graves and the stories connected to them. The new edition looks at further stories that tell the history of Belfast from the political strife of internment and conflict related deaths to those who lost their lives in industrial accidents in its shipyards and linen mills. It is the story of a dynamic city shaped by many fascinating and remarkable people.Tom Hartley is, arguably, one of those fascinating and remarkable people himself.He is perhaps best known for his political activism spanning over 50 years which saw him serve as General Secretary and the National Chairperson of Sinn Fein before being elected for the party as a City Councillor in 1993 and going on to be the city's Lord Mayor from 2008-2009. In his spare time, however, Tom pursues his love of history and is one of Belfast's foremost public historians delivering tours and authoring books which highlight the importance of our burial sites as a repository of the political, social and economic history of Belfast.Tom is supremely wise and endlessly witty – an absolute pleasure to sit down and talk history with. We met at the James Connolly Visitor Centre on the Falls Road, and I began by asking him about his first memories of the Belfast City Cemetery…Support the Show.

If any street, area, or location were to symbolise the rampant neglect of our historical landscape then it surely has to be this one. North Street epitomises Belfast's disregard for its own backstory. At the lower end is the derelict Exchange and Assembly Rooms, once Belfast's most important building; at the other end is a huge sign on a gable end reminding passers-by that this is ‘The heart of old Belfast. Home to the City's Oldest Buildings'. Support the Show.

For this episode I've decided to re-trace some of my steps from last year. Early in 2023, while chatting with Eoin Brannigan – Editor In Chief at the Belfast Telegraph – we came up with a plan for a series of articles to feature in the newspaper. The series was directly inspired by Donal Fallon's brilliant Three Castles Burning book A History of Dublin in Twelve Streets. “Do you think this could be done for Belfast?” Eoin asked me. “Absolutely!” I replied, and so I got to work on it straight away by selecting an initial list of 10 streets to go away and research. The idea was not to provide a dull chronological historical description of each street, rather it was to unearth interesting and lesser-known stories of people & events associated with each street and then attempt to weave them together. The end product, it was hoped, would offer a history of Belfast from the streets – an alternative history, if you like. For me it became a voyage of discovery with every passing street, and I'm pleased to say that the voyage isn't over because the Belfast Telegraph has committed me to another 10 articles starting later this month. Each of these articles will be repurposed as bonus podcast episodes for subscribers on Patreon – so if you haven't checked out the Historical Belfast Patreon yet now is the time to do so!But for now, we're going back to the start - back to the very first article that I wrote which kicked off the series. Part of the fun of these articles was seeing how the editors would choose the titles after I'd submitted them. For this one on Donegall Street they opted for ‘Bleak Street', and here's why.First World War Historical Walking Tour (Sunday 14th July)Support the Show.

After a busy couple of months I'm back in the hot seat for Episode 36 and the first of 2024. Joining me for this one is Stuart Bailie. Stuart is a Belfast-based journalist and writer who has been working in the music industry since 1985, writing for the likes of NME, Mojo, Uncut, Q, Hot Press and Classic Rock. He is the author of several books including Trouble Songs: Music and Conflict in Northern Ireland which is essential reading for anyone from with part of the world with an interest in music.Stuart's most recent publication, however, is the subject of this episode. Terri Hooley: Seventy Five Revolutions was an opportunity for him to mark Hooley's milestone birthday by delving into his archive of interviews and adventures to find reason in a turbulent Belfast life.  Get a copy of Seventy Five Revolutions from No AlibisSupport the show

Just when you thought that we knew everything that there is to know about the 1916 Easter Rising, yet more perspectives continue to seep from the archives and from locations more obscure.A 49-page document, now in the archives of the Linen Hall Library, offers a sensational eye-witness account of the Rising written in long-hand and on Gresham Hotel headed notepaper. It describes the thrilling experiences of 38 year old James Mitchell, a teacher from The Mount in east Belfast. This is his story.Support the show

'A masterful love letter' is how one reviewer has described the latest book by the prolific Professor Feargal Cochrane. Just when you thought that no more could be written on the history of this place, you'd be wrong, because 'Belfast: The Story of a City and Its People' is a timely and welcome contribution to the past, present and future of the place that many of us call home.I have been itching to have this chat with Feargal ever since the publisher Yale University Press got in touch about the possibility of a podcast episode with the author. And then, of course, I read the book and had so many questions that I wanted to ask.Finally then, after a long wait, I managed to get on a call with Feargal Cochrane and here's the result...Support the show

On 13th November last year I was on holiday in Rome, on my way to St Peter's Square in the Vatican City, when news reached me that Dr Eamon Phoenix had passed away. I was aware that he'd been unwell, nevertheless the news left me in shock and disbelief. Eamon was in my thoughts all of that day as I explored the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Later, I queued for admission to St. Peter's Basilica and, once inside, I decided that I was going to say a prayer for Eamon and his family. I wouldn't describe myself as a religious person, and those who know me will know that I'm not even from a Catholic background, but it seemed like an appropriate thing to do at the time. Because, for me, Eamon was a hero, he was everything that I wanted (and still want) to be, and for that reason this episode is very much a personal and anecdotal reflection on someone who I regard as our ‘Historian Laureate'.*Excerpts Included from an event at Feile An Phobail on Thursday 3rd August 2023 and the Year '21 Podcast Journey from November 2022.Support the show

For this episode I've come to St John's Catholic Church on the Falls Road to meet with the Parish Priest Father Martin Magill. I'm not here to make a podcast episode about the church though, I'm here to find out more from Martin about a project he's been working on looking at the history of Belfast street names…Support the show

The biggest ship the world had ever seen, constructed by the world's biggest shipbuilder Harland & Wolff; Titanic was (and still remains) something that Belfast is immensely proud of. Belfast bore no shame from the tragedy of the ship's sinking, for it was the blood, sweat and tears of our own that built it. “She was alright when she left here” was our tongue-in-cheek way of saying “We did our bit”, and suffered in the process. Eight Belfast lads lost their lives during the two-year construction period; I avoid calling them ‘Belfast men' because the youngest was just 15 years of age – Samuel Scott from Templemore Street in the East of the city – only a child. Samuel had been employed as a ‘catchboy' – a junior member of a riveting squad. His cause of death was recorded as a fractured skull. In many ways Samuel Scott and his 7 mortally injured colleagues are the forgotten collateral damage that was necessary to make Titanic a reality. In stark contrast to the luxury on board the ship and the billions of pounds and dollars that have swirled around the Titanic brand to this day Samuel Scott lay in an unmarked grave in Belfast City Cemetery until 2011 when Feile an Phobail (the West Belfast Festival) provided a headstone to remember him. Titanic is arguably worth more to Belfast today than 111 years ago when she slipped out of Belfast like a palace on the sea. Our Titanic Belfast museum, which took longer to build than the ship itself, cost in excess of £100m and continues to attract millions of visitors who are keen to see and hear more about a tragic maritime tale that has been so often told. It's said that well over 500 books have been written about Titanic in the English language alone – if you count assorted reprints and books in foreign languages the total number of Titanic texts is somewhere in the region of 1,000. You'd think, therefore, that not much else could be written which hadn't been written before – and you'd be wrong, because my guest for this episode has managed to do exactly that and seemingly with great success.Gareth Russell is a Belfast-based historian, novelist and playwright. In 2019 he published his account of the Titanic disaster titled The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era. It was named a ‘Book of the Year' by The Times newspaper and a ‘Best History Book of 2019' by The Daily Telegraph – no mean feat…And so when thinking about the Titanic and Belfast's connections to it I figured there would be no better person to speak to than Gareth. Support the show

Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, will begin a five-day visit to the island in Belfast next Tuesday and it got me thinking about previous visits to Belfast by US presidents. There haven't been many, and you might be hard pushed to name them all, but each have been important in their own way, some more than others, and generally they have all been dominated by one issue; peace for Northern Ireland.Please consider supporting the Historical Belfast Podcast on Patreon.Support the show

When we think of the Dutch and their association with football it immediately evokes images of Johan Cruyff and his iconic ‘Cruyff turn', Van Basten's almost impossible goal in 1988, Ruud Gullit's ‘sexy football', Ajax winning the European Cup in 1995, and the famous ‘sea of orange' that accompanies the Netherlands national team wherever they play. It really is a world away from our own domestic football scene here in Northern Ireland where the prospect of a Tuesday night fixture away to Warrenpoint Town doesn't quite have the same appeal as what the Netherlands can offer.And yet recently I've come across a Dutch historian who is so fascinated by the history of football in Belfast that he has decided to write a book about it – in Dutch, and for a Dutch audience…Wouter Schollema is from the Frieseland region in the north of Netherlands. Through his studies at the Groningen University Wouter gained a keen interest in the history of Ireland and, in particular, the more recent history of Northern Ireland.Football-wise he supports a club called Cambuur who, if the Dutch Erdivisie is turned upside down, are one of the top teams in the Netherlands… In reality they're about the be relegated to the Dutch second-tier. At Cambuur, Wouter provides stadium tours for visitors and he is also the Dutch language teacher for the foreign players at the club.Over the last year or so Wouter and I have struck up a friendship due to our mutual interest in football and so I thought it was only right that I should invite him onto the podcast to talk about his book, and I began by asking him where his fascination with Belfast comes from.Support the show

The story of the UVF's dramatic 1914 gunrunning operation at the height of the third home rule crisis is one that has often been told. What is less well-known about the UVF's gunrunning story, however, is the fate of the man who provided the weapons. Bruno Spiro, a German Jew, was arrested in Hamburg in 1936 by the Gestapo and charged with what were described as “serious allegations”. He was taken to the notorious Fuhlsbüttel Concentration Camp in Hamburg where he allegedly took his own life...Thanks to Elise Bath from the Wiener Holocaust Library for providing some much-needed context to this story.Support the show

You would be forgiven for being completely unaware of the rich Jewish heritage that exists in Belfast. Despite being a relatively small community today (less than 100 and still declining…) the Jews of Belfast have left an indelible mark on the history of our city.    For Episode 27 of the Historical Belfast Podcast I've been speaking to Steven Jaffe, Director of the Jewish Heritage Project.Link for Jewish Heritage Project: https://www.belfastjewishheritage.org/ Patreon link: www.patreon.com/historicalbelfastLink for the upcoming walking tours: www.historicalbelfast.comSupport the show

“Head, heel or toe – slip it to Joe” – the words which are associated with Joe Bambrick, Irish football idol and Donegall Road man.When Ireland beat Wales 7-0 at Celtic Park in Belfast, on 1 February 1930, the man of the moment and the name on everyone's lips was Belfast-born centre-forward Joe Bambrick. That's because, unbelievably, ‘slip it to Joe' had scored 6 of the 7 goals, a double hat-trick — an unprecedented achievement which has never been equalled by any other British international footballer in the 92 years since.Arguably the greatest Irish centre-forward of all time Bambrick achieved legendary status at Linfield FC, though he also turned out for Chelsea and Walsall.Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon.com where you can access exclusive content and receive episodes before everyone else: https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=trueSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

For this episode of the Historical Belfast Podcast I visited St. Matthew's Parish Church, consecrated 150 years ago on 11 March 1872. I chatted with Sam Guthrie (Queen's University Belfast) who has been busy working on an exhibition about the social history of St. Matthew's and the surrounding community of the Shankill.Your support on Patreon would be hugely appreciated: https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Historical Belfast Podcast – the first episode of 2022 but also the last in the Sandy Row mini series which has been an absolute pleasure to make.I've decided to come to Sandy Row for the final episode and take a walk along the road we've been exploring over the last few months. The focus will be on the historical plaques that I encounter along the way – so, come and take a walk with me and see what I have found…Click here for Historical Belfast on PatreonSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

For this episode of the Historical Belfast Podcast I've decided to take a walk around Belfast City Cemetery on the Falls Road, a remarkable burial ground that, when inspected more closely, offers its own insight into Belfast's complex and multi-layered history. However, I'm going to avoid providing a history of the cemetery on this occasion, because I think that deserves an episode of its own later down the line. So instead, as part of the Sandy Row mini series (which only has one episode left after this one), I've had a look for some Sandy Row related graves in the cemetery… Come and take a walk with me and see what I've found…PS. If you'd be interested in joining me for a walking tour of the cemetery please get in touch: info@historicalbelfast.com

In July 2021 it was reported that a 17th century bridge had been discovered by archaeologists in Belfast, encased within its 20th century reconstructed successor.According to local folklore, the Saltwater Bridge – which crossed Belfast's Blackstaff River close to where it enters the arterial River Lagan – was on the route taken by King William III and his forces on their journey to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. You'll have heard in the previous episode about Sandy Row Orange Hall of King William's connection to the Sandy Row area. Indeed, there is a connection to King James II too as he is also thought to have retreated across the bridge in the wake of his defeat at the Boyne.As part of an archaeological survey, a series of cores were taken from the modern bridge. These confirmed that remains of the older bridge had been fully encapsulated by the later structure. The Boyne Bridge was initially intended to be a transport solution for Belfast, but ironically it's a future is in doubt as a result of a new transport solution for Belfast. In 2017, Belfast City Council voted in favour of a new £208m Translink ‘transport hub' which will lead to the bridge's demolition. A spokeswoman for the Department of Infrastructure (who approved the project in 2019) said earlier this year: “The department can confirm that the Boyne Bridge is due to be removed during the development of the Belfast Transport Hub”. As part of the stringent planning conditions for the Belfast Transport Hub (BTH), the older remains of the bridge will be preserved in situ within the final development, but the 1936 structure will be lost.However, some local residents are opposed to the plan and have called for the bridge to be retained, refurbished and incorporated into the plans.Billy Dickson is one of them. He has been leading a campaign to save the historic Boyne Bridge and I've been speaking to him about it. 

The 3rd of 3 parts exploring Sandy Row and The Great War.This Sandy Row mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. Support the show

Having explored 1914 and 1915 in Part 1, Part 2 will look at aspects of The Great War in 1916.This Sandy Row mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. 

In the preface of his 1922 book The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division the author Cyril Falls made a noteworthy prediction:  ‘A hundred years hence, men will be delving into our records of the late war. Soldiers will be studying the lessons of its battles. But yet a greater number of seekers will be demanding with curiosity how men lived in such circumstances, how they reacted to the strain of war, and what compensations they found.'This episode delves into the records of that 'late war' searching for evidence of Sandy Row involvement. So plentiful was the content discovered that it will require 3 episodes to explore, and so this is part 1 of 3.This Sandy Row mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. Support the show

Standing weathered and tall at the Lisburn Road end of Sandy Row is the district's Orange Hall; now over 150 years old. Episode 18 of the Historical Belfast Podcast takes a closer look at the history of the hall which has acted as a community centre for generations of people living in Sandy Row.This Sandy Row mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. If you're enjoying the episodes please remember to give the podcast a rating and to share on your social media. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

This episode of the Sandy Row mini-series is on Thomas Carnduff ‘the shipyard poet' from Sandy Row. The series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. For this episode I was joined by broadcaster and Ulster Scots enthusiast Mark Thompson.Song of the Unemployed (read by Andrew McNeill) The Song of the Unemployed - Thomas Carnduff - YouTubeSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

Last month I was extremely privileged to join with a panel of 6 esteemed historians in a meeting with HRH The Prince of Wales in Belfast City Hall. The location was significant because almost exactly 100 years previous, King George V (Charles' great grandfather) visited Belfast to open Northern Ireland's first parliament in the same building. Charles was acutely aware of his great grandfather's contribution and invited historians to comment on the impact made by King George's speech in the context of island-wide violence and tumultuous Irish politics.The event will be commemorated by Belfast City Council on Tuesday 22nd June when a re-creation of the speech will be made for a live stream. There will also be an unveiling of two chairs, used on that day by King George V and Queen Mary which have since undergone some specialist conservation work. A talk on the matter will also be provided by the brilliant Dr Eamon Phoenix, and finally a performance of a specially commissioned play by Terra Nova productions which will explore the speech in more dramatic detail.Had I been aware of all this before I started researching the episode I probably wouldn't have written it, but nevertheless I'm here now and so are you – so here it is, Episode 16: The King's Speech. 

In the context of the recent scenes of violence in Belfast (including in Sandy Row) I thought it might be worth looking back at some of the more notorious riots in the city's history.Some of the worst rioting that Belfast has ever witnessed occurred in the second half of the 1800s. Indeed, the most violent districts of Belfast in this period were the Pound area (populated by Catholics) and the Sandy Row area (populated by Protestants). And therefore, when I saw the footage recently of trouble in the Sandy Row area in connection with loyalist protests my interest was peaked and my mind was cast back to the somewhat darker episodes of the 19th century.This is the second episode in a new mini-series dedicated to the history of the Sandy Row area in South Belfast. The series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative.Support the show

The first in a new mini-series dedicated to the history of the Sandy Row area in South Belfast. This mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. There will be 10 episodes in total covering various themes from Sandy Row orangeism, to the formation of Linfield Football Club, the infamous riots with The Pound in the 19th century, and a few more besides. The first release, however, remains in keeping with the current 80th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz covered of course more generally in the previous episode of the podcast. Blythe Street off Sandy Row took a direct hit from a high explosive mine during the Easter Raid of 1941. The destruction was terrible and the tales of loss are heart wrenching. This is the story of The Blitz in Blythe Street…Thanks to Scott Edgar from www.WartimeNI.comReference for Hazel Collins testimony: https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/42/a4508642.shtml Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

This month's episode of the Historical Belfast Podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the Northern Ireland War Memorial museum on Talbot Street who have kindly given me access to their oral history archive. I am also extremely grateful for the research and writing of the late historian Jonathan Bardon on this subject and, as such, this episode is dedicated to Dr Bardon.80 years ago, in the course of 4 Luftwaffe attacks during the Second World War, lasting 10 hours in total, 1,100 people died, over 56,000 were homes damaged, and 100,000 people were made homeless.The first attack on Belfast came on the night of 7th April. The docks area was attacked with great accuracy, though residential housing was hit too. The ‘docks raid', as it became known, was small in comparison to the Easter Raid which followed on the night of 15th April, and the focus of this episode.Northern Ireland War Memorial - World War II Museum Belfast (niwarmemorial.org)Delia Murphy - The Spinning Wheel: (4) Delia Murphy - The Spinning Wheel - YouTubeBlitz sound effects: (4) LONDON BLITZ 1940 - ORIGINAL AUDIO - YouTubeSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

One Saturday Before the Great War, thirteen players from Glentoran Football Club, industrial workers to a man, each of them living in the cramped housing of Ballymacarrett, became the unlikely heroes of a tale which is scarcely believable.Those not familiar with the story are to be forgiven for thinking that Sam Robinson, a writer and Glentoran fanatic, has let his imagination run wild during these gruelling months of lock-down, however the reality is quite the opposite. Sam has spent many months trawling through online archives including those of foreign countries, tracking down individuals, and writing an historical account of the underdogs from East Belfast on the European stage. The comedy element of the pub crawls and players going AWOL helps us relate to the players as people that we recognise – they weren't the professional footballers of today, but normal people like you I – and excited to see the world.The winning of the cup in Vienna was the high water mark of the story – in many ways, the events surrounding it almost made the cup irrelevant, such were high stakes. The glory of Vienna was followed by a dark twist – heading into the mouth of the First World War the Glentoran party were forced to “run like hell” to escape being caught up in the opening exchanges of the conflict. When the war eventually did begin, some of the Glentoran players served in the British Army. Indeed, some of the players who they had faced on the tour served also, but on the opposing side – Hertha Berlin, for example lost 36 men in total during the Great War.And as if that wasn't enough, when the Second World War began in 1939, some of the characters in this story became victims of the Holocaust, while one man was executed for an attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler. You literally couldn't make it up…The Second World War touched Glentoran too of course, the club was virtually destroyed during the Belfast Blitz, including the Oval grounds, the kits, the records, and the trophies all lost except one which sat on the chairman's mantle piece – the Vienna Cup.Welcome to Episode 12 of the Historical Belfast Podcast, this episode being dedicated to Sam Robinson's new book on the Glentoran side that toured Europe in 1914 and brought home a cup won in Vienna. Copies of the book can be obtained by contacting Sam via the ‘One Saturday Before The War' Facebook page – also, if you've any further information to add to the story, particularly on the players, Sam would be delighted to hear from you.If you're new to this podcast, please check out the previous 11 episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast content, and most importantly, share the episodes on your social media, it really helps people to find it.After reading the book myself, Sam joined me on Zoom for a chat and I began by asking him how his relationship began with Glentoran Football Club...(Bless 'em All piano version by Calikokat Piano: (4) Bless ‘Em All – Piano - YouTube)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

When we think of Sir Winston Churchill we might think of cigars, Gallipoli, the Second World War, fighting on the beaches, and accolades such as 'Man of the Century' and the United Kingdom's greatest ever leader. More recently, Churchill's name came to the fore during the Black Lives Matters protests, accused of being a racist, while his statue in London was afforded protection due to concerns that it may be defaced.What we don't tend to consider when evoking Sir Winston Churchill is a long and complex relationship with Ireland, a relationship that has been described by one historian as being duplicitous.This episode will not be exploring Churchill's relationship with Ireland, instead it will focus on his infamous and lesser known visit to Belfast in 1912, right at the beginning of the third Home Rule crisis.Please remember to share the episode on your social media and, if you can, review it on whatever platform you are listening. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

For Episode 10 of the Historical Belfast Podcast I've been chatting to Professor Richard Grayson, head of history at Goldsmiths University London. Richard Grayson has many publications to his name, too many to list here certainly, but I will mention two in particular: Dublin's Great Wars  - The First World War, the Easter Rising and the Irish Revolution, published in 2018 and one that I know listeners of this podcast would enjoy.  And secondly, Belfast Boys – How Unionists and Nationalists Fought and Died Together in the First World War, published in 2009, it is a book that I have leaned heavily on over the years, it's become almost like a bible in the sense that it's the one book that I keep going back to in order to find solutions for my own research conundrums and it generally always comes up with the answers.Belfast Boys fundamentally changed how I approach the writing of history. It led me into a world of history by numbers, an scientific approach to the craft which is underpinned by statistics. However, Richard has cleverly taken that scientific approach and weaved through it the individual and local stories which make it relatable for the reader.The late Professor Keith Jeffery, my one-time supervisor at Queen's described Belfast Boys as ‘An extremely important book. This work of humane scholarship deserves to become a classic'. For me, 12 years on from its publication, it is already a classic, and as relevant today as it was when it was first released.

Tim McGarry has become a familiar face on our tv screens over the last 20 years or more.He is perhaps best-known for his role as a fictional Sinn Fein spokesman ‘Da' in the evergreen comedy series ‘Give My Head Peace'.These days he might best be described as a comedian, actor, broadcaster, and as his Wikipedia page points out, a fan of Cliftonville Football Club…Having said all that, I haven't invited Tim onto the Historical Belfast Podcast merely for the sake of it. His work, at times, has strayed into the field of history. More recently, a radio series titled ‘The Long And The Short of It' has been investigating complex matters of Irish history from different perspectives.In previous years I've seen him do a stand-up show on the events of 1916 as well as a hilarious overview of Irish history called ‘Tim McGarry's Irish History Lesson'…And so, when I thought about Tim, and how he engages with history, it intrigued me. At times he uses his comedy to confront contentious issues from our past and he seemingly gets away with it where others might not.In this episode you'll hear from someone who is extremely well-read in their history, instilled during his younger years at a Christian Brothers School and then at St Malachy's College, itself steeped in history. Tim is endlessly witty and open minded about history and identity, but more importantly he's an all-round good guy. Don't forget to listen to the previous 8 episodes of the Historical Belfast Podcast. You can subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your content and this will ensure that you never miss an episode. But for now, I hope you enjoy Episode 9, I'm calling it 'The Famine's Not Funny' with Tim McGarry, and I started off by asking him to describe his relationship with history…Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

To the sound of church bells at 9am on Sunday morning of 21st November 1920, as the IRA's ‘Bloody Sunday' hit squads moved towards their 15 victims, a desperate search for an East Belfast military man was underway in a remote area of County Cork.  This is the story of Captain Joseph Thompson, an Intelligence Officer for the Manchester Regiment, executed by the IRA in Ballincollig, County Cork on 20th November 1920.Support the show

A couple of years back I was asked to lead some historical tours of Campbell College school in Belfast. The school, situated on the Belmont estate near Stormont was primarily a boarding school and a firm favourite of prominent families in Belfast such as Davidson of Sirocco Works, Jaffe of Strandtown, Sharman Neil the jeweller, and also of clergymen who received a discount on their fees. C.S. Lewis who grew up nearby attended the school for a short period. Indeed, the gas lamppost on the school driveway is claimed to have been the inspiration for the one represented in The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe though this has also been disputed. Also worth mentioning is Fred Crawford, the UVF gunrunner in 1914 who was on the school's board of governors.Anyhow, while carrying out the research for these tours I came across a lesser-known story of an IRA raid on the armoury of the Campbell College Officer Training Corps on Friday 27th December 1935.

As we approach the centenary of the covert operation to bring home the body of The Unknown Warrior on behalf of the nation at the end of the First World War, new research has unearthed a fascinating story which suggests that a Belfast man was at the heart of it.In this episode, Jason Burke chats to Mark Scott who is the author of the soon-to-be published book 'Among The Kings' which tells the story of Ernest Fitzsimmons, who went by the name of 'Fitz', and resided at 172 Roden Street in South Belfast. 'Fitz', by his own account, oversaw the operation to bring home the body of the Unknown Warrior only to be subsequently written out of the story and anonymised himself.   

On Saturday 14th September 1912, two weeks before Ulster Day and the signing of the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant, Linfield and Belfast Celtic clashed on and off the field at Celtic Park as the Home Rule crisis gathered momentum.In this episode, Jason Burke takes a closer look at what happened on that fateful day in Paradise and how it proved to be the beginning of the end for the greatest rivalry in the history of Irish football.Don't forget to check out Historical Belfast Tours and the Historical Belfast Blog at www.HistoricalBelfast.com 

Episode 4 is on the forgotten poet and Irish rebel Joseph Campbell who penned the words to the traditional airs My Lagan Love and The Gartan Mother's Lullaby. Not only that, Campbell was a founding member of the Ulster Literary Theatre (c.1904) and the Irish Volunteers (1913), he took part in the Easter Rising (1916), became a Sinn Fein Councillor in 1921, and was interned by pro-treaty forces during the Irish Civil War in 1922/23.Podcast theme music via Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com Cover image produced using the A R Hogg Collection: PRONI Ref: LA/7/8/HF/3/9Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

In Episode 3 of the Historical Belfast Podcast, going out on 1st July, Jason Burke talks to Dr Jonathan Evershed who has spent several years researching how the Battle of the Somme is commemorated in Northern Ireland. Use discount code '14SUM20' for 40% off Jonathan's book 'Ghosts of the Somme' at the following link: https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268103859/ghosts-of-the-somme/?fbclid=IwAR0hkzbqbQbJzv1eeN3uaiqK-YMseX27hTucD1KOwt_PocRjVaS632e4nOoPodcast theme music via Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com  

In Episode 2 of the Historical Belfast Podcast, Jason Burke takes a look back at the lesser-known engineering strike of 1919 which brought the city to a standstill for a period of four weeks in an attempt to secure a shorter working week.Podcast theme music via Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com Cover image produced using the A R Hogg Collection: PRONI Ref: LA/7/8/HF/3/9Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/historicalbelfast?fan_landing=true)

In Episode 1 of the Historical Belfast Podcast, Jason Burke takes a closer look at how VE Day was celebrated in Belfast in 1945. From burning effigies of Adolf Hitler, to all-night parties on the Shankill Road, the people of Belfast marked the occasion in style. This episode is intended to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day.Podcast theme music via Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com Cover image produced using the A R Hogg Collection: PRONI Ref: LA/7/8/HF/3/9