Best Of Belfast: Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast

Q: What do you get when you cross a New Yorker, creativity, entrepreneurship and resilience? A: Nancy Brown.    Really enjoyed this chat with a personal mentor and friend of mine. We dive deep into the importance of work-life balance, how to bounce back after a freak accident and how getting better quality sleep could take your business to the next level.   Nancy's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.co...

Meet the EY accountant with the coolest hobby ever: founding, running and editing the beautiful Turf & Grain magazine.   Turf & Grain is a super-high-quality, slow-cooked magazine that features in-depth interviews with noteworthy individuals across the whole island of Ireland.   The magazine is a work of art and often feels more like a published book rather than a magazine… That’s all down to Simo...

Aly Harte is a local artist most well-known for her bright, colourful oil-based paintings. But Aly also dedicates her time writing about important issues like grief, producing a podcast about how to build a thriving small business all while using her social media to document/coach people along the way on her own incredible journey. In this episode, we slow things down a bit and get chatting about...

B.O.B is one year old. We've had a great year, but it's time to switch things up. 

We hike up Cave Hill with former EY Accountant turned self-employed Drone Operator David Kenny.   Hear what it's like to quit the day job and follow your passion, how Drones can be used for good and whether or not they will ever replace your post-man.   // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to David (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/david-kenny-soarsca...

  // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Colin (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/colin-geddis-comedian   Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.   To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/   Cheers!...

  // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Lyn (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/naomh-mcelhatton-smart-global   Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.   To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/   Ch...

Gavan Wall is the founder of The Wall Group, a company that owns a series of Spars, Subways and a YoggieBerrie in North Belfast. But he's probably most well known for his charisma, speed-mentoring and being the Northern Irish King of LinkedIn. In this episode, we get to chat about all thing from  The Greatest Showman  why Gavan kicked booze out his life for good and why he didn't go to the hairdre...

In this month's show, we sat with Dillon Osborne in front of a live audience at the Bullitt Hotel.    Dillon Osborne is most well-known for his daily vlog on Instagram stories @diltakesphotos and has just recently made the transition from working for an agency to working for himself.   Hear how Dillon got into photography, videography, what it's been like to go freelance and how you can improve yo...

Alright guys?! Very excited to announce that our next meetup is going to be a LIVE podcast interview with the digital 'jack of all trades' Dillon Osborne. Dillon is the mastermind behind @diltakesphotos and works freelance to create incredible digital storytelling content from photos, graphics to videos and beyond. Come along to hear his incredible story, ask your own questions and connect with th...

In this month's show, we sat down with Jess Lowe, a local headshot photographer with a passion for capturing the portraits of local entrepreneurs, creatives and business owners.   Jess is one of our city's best headshot photographers, and we've been so blown away by her work over the past few months and the process of her craft that we had to get her on the show so we could find out more.   In thi...

Michael Deane is the godfather of fine dining in Northern Ireland and the chef/restaurateur behind the 'Deanes Belfast Empire.'   With 7 establishments in the city and a Michelin star, Michael Deane's career as a chef is unarguably a huge success.   But we caught up Michael to hear about some of the challenges he faced along the way in this incredible journey, how he's seen the city change during...

We caught up with Carol Fitzsimons, CEO of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland to chat about this amazing, empowering entrepreneurial charity for young folk in Belfast/our wee country, what a CEO actually does and what it takes to get an MBE.   // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Carol (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/carol-fitzsimons-young-enterpr...

Hear how a one-for-one luggage company is making a difference to the lives of kids in care.   In this episode, we chat with founder David Linton about what it was like to set up a social enterprise, have brunch with Richard Branson and why you should find your 'black bin bag story'   // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to David (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast....

Last year Belfast went absolutely gin-sane for the old drink that has undoubtedly made a modern comeback.   Hear: how he founded Jawbox Gin, where the name comes from, why 'gin is in,' his favourite street in Belfast and much much more. Gerry is incredibly passionate about our city and his story will get your fired up for the new year and all you want to achieve in it (I know it did for me!)   //...

Belfast has gone absolute burrito-crazy over the last few years... On this week's show, we sat down with Samina Kauser to hear how Kurrito – a Mexican Pakistani restaurant on Botanic Avenue - is spicing up the local Burrito industry. Samina is a highly passionate, driven and entrepreneurial woman with a love of cooking, food and making the customer experience the best it can be. We caught up with...

Hear the founder's story of OutsideIn, a street wear brand that wants to rewrite the story of homelessness here in Belfast and around the world through their unique 'wear on share one' model.   After co-running HumansOfEdinburgh, David Johnston was blown away at the incredible stories from the homeless community and far from the truth public perception really is towards these individuals.   // To...

On this week's show, we caught up with Brian Donnelly and Jenny Holland - the dynamic duo behind Bia Rebel - a food truck located outside  The Big Fish  that dishes out the best Ramen food in Belfast.   Brian (from Tyrone) has a background as a Michelin chef and has worked for some of the biggest names in the industry such as Gordon Ramsey. He enjoys Ramen, running ultra marathons and breaking rul...

We sat down with language teaching legend Paul McMullan who traveled the world before opening a language school in the 'Holylands' in Belfast, Northern Ireland.   In this episode we chat about leaving home/coming back, why Belfast is the perfect place to learn English and some revolutionary new ideas IH Belfast is experimenting with such as VR.   This is a great insight for anyone who is intereste...

Thousands of tourists come to Belfast each year to see and learn the history behind the various political murals scattered throughout the city. But in recent times there has been a dramatic shift away from the traditional political pieces to a new era of urban art. One of the folks at the forefront of this movement is Dean Kane, the street artist known as Visual Waste. We caught up with Dean hear...

Meet Danielle Morgan aka Flax Fox. Danielle is an artist, entrepreneur, mother of '2.5' and a regular at St Georges Market. Her work is some of the most iconic in Northern Ireland and so is her story. Danielle has also kindly offered 10% her online store by using the promo code: 'bestofbelfast' at the checkout.   // To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Danielle (including a photo) pl...

We caught up with Gareth Patterson, founder of the Belfast Coffee Map, a paper publication that features the best cafes and coffee shops.   This episode of Best Of Belfast we discuss the coffee culture/scene in Belfast, what it's like to run a small business alongside a full-time job and how coffee, creativity and culture are all connected.    You can find a written version of this article along w...

For our first story on the Best Of Belfast podcast we caught up with Lyn Magill to hear her incredible story and what it means to be a 'lover of life.' We first met Lyn after seeing a photo on Instagram of her climbing to the to of Divis Mountain despite going through chemotherapy. Lyn claims that "cancer changes you in a lot of ways" and in today's episode we learn how it has changed her.  // To...

A quick intro to the podcast. Hear from Matthew about the story behind the Best Of Belfast Podcast, what you can expect and how you can get involved.  For written stories, links, photos, social media info and upcoming events check out www. BestOfBelfast.org   // For photos/contact information of today's guest, access to our archive of 100+ interviews, or to join the Producer's Club today please vi...