

The BelTel
Belfast Telegraph
The BelTel brings you some of Northern Ireland's top journalists, Allison Morris, Sam McBride and Suzanne Breen to name but a few, giving you the inside stories behind what is in the news. Presented by Ciarán Dunbar, the Bel Tel investigates, debates and informs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 3, 2023 • 25min
Patrick Devaney: Portaferry man’s reign of terror over teens in detention
Patrick Devaney, an 81-year-old Portaferry man, has been jailed after inflicting years of abuse on teens sentenced to a borstal. His cruelty included beating children with cricket bats, sustained racial abuse and sick games forcing boys to fight. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by victim Andrew Parsons and Belfast Telegraph Journalist Liam Tunney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 1, 2023 • 21min
Ihab Shoukri and the UDA murder of Gerard Lawlor
Gerard Lawlor, a young father and Gaelic football player, was murdered in a drive-by shooting four years after the Good Friday Agreement. He was killed during a night of mayhem ordered by UDA boss Ihab Shoukri - his killing was the fifth gun attack in a four-mile radius that night as Loyalist paramilitaries searched for a Catholic victim. 21 years later, no one has been charged with the murder. Sunday Life Journalist Ciarán Barnes spoke to Ciarán Dunbar about the story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 29, 2023 • 23min
GB News scandal: Wootton sacked from MailOnline in fallout from Laurence Fox interview
Dan Wootton has been sacked by the MailOnline after he was suspended by GB News for his interview with actor Laurence Fox in which Fox made remarks about the appearance of a female journalist Ava Evans. Who are the men at the centre of the scandal and what's behind their thinking?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 28, 2023 • 30min
The DUP: Jeffrey Donaldson and the factions vying for the soul of his party
Suzanne Breen joins Ciarán Dunbar with her assessment of what’s going on behind the scenes in the DUP as the party’s boycott of Stormont continues. The party has been refusing to take part in the Assembly until issues over the Windsor Framework post-Brexit trading arrangements are addressed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 26, 2023 • 18min
Pat Ward: The brutal murder which shocked a Tyrone village
Clogher is a quiet and peaceful close-knit community. But it was, on a Saturday morning in 2019, the scene of a harrowing murder. Father of four, Pat Ward, was beaten to death, who did it and why? Fionnán Sheehan is joined Kurtis Reid.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 24, 2023 • 23min
Jay the Barber: From tragedy to triumph
Jay Miller, aka ‘Jay the Barber’, is an entrepreneur with a successful barbering company and TikTok star. But his life was not always this way. Childhood tragedies saw Jays life spiral into drug addiction. But now he spends his life helping those in most in need. Jay Miller joins Sharon O’Neill to tell his incredible story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 21, 2023 • 25min
Sean Quinn: Bankrupt former billionaire tells his side of the story
Belfast Telegraph journalist Andrew Madden has met Sean Quinn in his Fermanagh home. Seán Quinn says he wants to tell his version of how he lost his business empire. Meanwhile Gardaí continue to hunt for the ‘paymaster’ who ordered the attack on Kevin Lunney – one of the men who took over the Quinn businesses. Sean Quinn has always condemned the incident.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 19, 2023 • 30min
Christine Connor: The ‘lone wolf’ republican
Allison Morris joins Ciarán Dunbar with the history of female republican prisoners, and how Christine Connor landed a 25-year sentence. There are more female republicans in prison now than at any time since the Good Friday Agreement. One of them is Christine Connor – the north Belfast woman used a fake profile picture – of a Swedish model – to lure two vulnerable men into helping with her one-woman campaign. Both later took their own lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 19, 2023 • 22min
Russell Brand: The mounting allegations and now the financial fallout
He was a household Brand; from MTV, Channel 4 and BBC, to a wild night in Dublin, and even conquering Hollywood. What next for Russell Brand after a spectacular fall from grace? Host: Tabitha Monahan. Guests: Allison Morris and Dee Molumby.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 17, 2023 • 26min
The Wolfe Tones: Despite the condemnation, young people are flocking to hear them – why?
The Wolfe Tones sing songs many interpret as pro-IRA. Commentators, politicians and victims of republican violence condemn them. But the Wolfe Tones seem to be getting more popular by the concert, packing out venues with thousands of fans. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Irish Independent columnist Sarah Carey and Irish Independent John Meagher to try and make sense of the Wolfe Tones phenomenon, but he starts off by speaking to the band’s founder, Brian Warfield.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.