Historical Belfast
Described in one review as a 'Belfast Tardis', Historical Belfast is Belfast's one and only history podcast on the airwaves. Hosted by historian Jason Burke, it provides an accessible and entertaining insight into the fascinating history of Northern Ireland's capital city, once proclaimed as 'the Athens of the North'.
Episodes
34 episodes
Rebel Women: Cumann na mBan in Belfast, with Dr Margaret Ward
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...
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Episode 43
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32:16
Carlisle Memorial Church
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. C...
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Episode 42
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25:21
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Craigavon House, with Carol Walker MBE
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 Thom...
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Episode 41
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26:09
The McMahon Murders, with Edward Burke
On 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 o...
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Episode 40
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47:29
Belfast City Cemetery, with Tom Hartley
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 Pr...
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Episode 39
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53:51
Exploring North Street
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 a...
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Episode 38
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23:58
Exploring Donegall Street
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 featur...
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Episode 37
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27:24
Terri Hooley - 75 Revolutions, with Stuart Bailie
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, writin...
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Episode 36
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44:08
From Belfast To The Gresham Hotel
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 Lin...
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Episode 35
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32:13
Belfast: The Story of a City and Its People, with Professor Feargal Cochrane
'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 Stor...
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Episode 34
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34:44
Dr Éamon Phoenix: Our Historian Laureate
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 d...
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Episode 33
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21:32
Belfast Street Names with Martin Magill
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...
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Episode 32
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20:18
Titanic: Ship of Dreams with Gareth Russell
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 th...
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Episode 31
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36:56
Days Like This: US Presidential Visits To Belfast
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 pushe...
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Episode 30
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22:52
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Voetbalstad Belfast (Football City Belfast) with Wouter Schollema
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 ...
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Episode 29
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36:21
Bruno Spiro: The German Jew Who Armed The UVF
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 we...
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Episode 28
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25:24
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Belfast's Jewish Heritage
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 ...
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Episode 27
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30:13
The Crozier's Return
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 s...
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Episode 25
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26:49
Sandy Row Orange Hall 1868 - 2021
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 ...
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Episode 18
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25:41
The King's Speech: Opening the N.I. Parliament, 22 June 1921
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’ ...
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Episode 16
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18:39
The Blitz In Blythe Street
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 Vill...
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Episode 14
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40:03
The Belfast Blitz - 80 Years On
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 f...
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Episode 13
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40:52
Glentoran FC and the Vienna Cup, with Sam Robinson
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.<...
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Episode 12
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53:01
Churchill In Belfast, 1912
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...
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Episode 11
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25:33
Belfast Boys with Professor Richard Grayson
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...
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Episode 10
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43:32
