The BelTel

The Belfast Telegraph’s Northen Ireland editor, Sam McBride, joins Ciarán Dunbar with his assessment of what’s going on at Stormont. Is Sir Jeffrey Donaldson about to jump, and if he does will his party jump with him? The DUP says there’s ‘still some way to go’ in the negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework – others say the deal is done and we are just haggling over the price.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Considered the richest man in the world, South Africa-born tech moghul Elon Musk is rarely out of the news. His controversial social media statements have made him a villain to some, but a hero to others. A father to eleven children from three women, Musk has also expressed worries of a global population collapse. Who is Elon Musk, where did he come from, and what does he want? Belfast Telegraph Technology Reporter Kurtis Reid joins Ciarán Dunbar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glasgow-born Alan Scott led the ‘Causeway Coast Vineyard church’ until June 2017. Having felt called by God, he and his wife decided to take roles in the original Vineyard church in Anaheim California. Scott eventually decided to take the church out of the Vineyard movement, leading a group of members to sue him for 62 million dollars. This has led to reports into his ex-North Coast leadership alleging “public shaming” and “spiritual abuse” of members. Liam Tunney joins Ciarán Dunbar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edgar Graham was murdered in broad daylight at Queen’s University on 7 December 1983. A law lecturer and unionist politician, Sam McBride examines his life and legacy and tracks down the colleague accused of setting Edgar up for the IRA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edgar Graham was just 29 years old when the IRA gunned him down at Queen’s University in Belfast.  The young law lecturer and unionist politician was widely believed to be a future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. Forty years later, Sam McBride investigates why the IRA targeted him, whether he was set up by a colleague, and where this lost leader of unionism might have led Northern Ireland.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did the IRA split in two, into the Provisionals and the Officials? The so-called ‘Stickies’ abandoned their armed campaign but never their guns – could the Official IRA still exist? Who were the personalities involved in the split and what became of the Workers’ Party?  Ciarán Dunbar spoke to Dr Brian Hanley, co-author of ‘The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers Party’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shane MacGowan has died at the age of 65. From a poetry-fuelled middle class upbringing to the chaotic UK punk scene, MacGowan was an innovator, marrying punk with Irish music, the chronicler of the Irish émigré, and a poet who wrote about love, loss and the chaos of addiction. Fionnan Sheean and John Meagher look at the life he led and thelyrics he wrote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tullylish is a quiet rural parish, in the east of county Down. But during the troubles, it was known for being part of a ‘murder triangle’. From the 1970s to the mid-90s, over 20 people in the area were killed by paramilitary violence, with the UVF commander Robin ‘The Jackal’ Jackson co-ordinating many of these attacks. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Sunday Life editor Martin Breen and Martin Doyle, author of “Dirty Linen” - a book about his experiences growing up in Tullylish.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mysterious double murder in Co. Longford in 1986 has been tied to Loyalists from Derry. Killed in their kitchen on a cold November night, Marie Murtagh (43) and Tom Taaffe (50) were mysteriously murdered in their farmhouse in the village of Aughnacliffe, Co Longford in 1986. Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Liam Collins, journalist with the Sunday Independent, who reported this gruesome murder at the time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a restaurant review is published in the Belfast Telegraph, they can often attract a huge number of readers – especially if it is negative!Many dream of being a food reviewer, but what gives them the right to publicly slate local restaurants? What sets an establishment apart? And exactly how disastrous is a bad review for the business? Belfast Telegraph food reviewer Joris Minne joins Ciarán Dunbar. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.