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

Samuel Davidson (1846 – 1921) was an engineer from Belfast who invented the air conditioning fan, brought tea to Northern Ireland and founded Sirocco Works — a manufacturer of machines that employed over 1000 people.   He was also a self-taught musician, photographer and world-traveller in a time when ‘a business trip to India’ meant a 66-day journey!   Yet few people in Northern Ireland have ever...

One of the most talked-about moments on the show.   Found it on the hard drive the other day and couldn't resist sharing it. Hope it gives you a laugh.   Full episode with Emer here: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/emer-maguire-comedian  

Sheree Atcheson is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Expert from Sri Lanka/County Tyrone currently living in London!   Listed as one of the UK's Most Influential Women in Tech, Sheree ( @nirushika ) worked for the likes of Deloitte and Monzo before becoming the Global Director Of Diversity and Inclusion at Peakon .    Alongside being a regular contributor at publications like Forbes, Fast Company an...

Ever since she was little, Lydia Hodgins has dreamed of working with food (even though the teachers wanted her to study Latin instead).      During the lockdown, this dream became a reality when she and her partner Justin launched Local Box — a digital ‘corner shop’ that delivers high-quality NI food to your door.     In this episode we caught up with Lydia to hear why more people are shopping loc...

Ian Richardson has come a long way from cleaning glasses in his parent’s pub. As a Landscape Architect and the founder of multiple start-ups he now spends his days reinventing the way cities work.     Being deeply passionate about the environment, he believes entrepreneurship is the solution to global problems like climate change and his current ventures — StreetDock and Circle — exist to make urb...

10-years ago, Terry from Mumbai proposed to Judy from Budapest at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. From there they travelled all over the world, launched a business and moved to Belfast to start a family.     But when the pandemic hit — causing Terry to lose his job — the couple were put in a tricky situation… especially since Judy had just had baby #2.      In today’s episode, we discover t...

When Eva, Josh and Donal signed up to go university, they would have laughed if you told them that a few years later they’d be directors in their own Animation Studio.      But when COVID wiped out all of their placement opportunities, they decided to go out and create their own — launching Aura Digital in the process.      In today’s episode, hear how three students found a gap in the market, bui...

Murphy & Bailey is a luxury pet boutique on the Belmont Road in East Belfast that launched during lockdown.     It’s founded by Jude and Karen — two dog-loving, high-flying corporates who met while walking their dogs Murphy and Bailey at the local park.      In today’s episode, hear why they traded established careers for the start-up life, what it was like starting a business during the pandemic...

Just hopping on to give a quick heads up about an exciting new mini-series we're launching next week in collaboration with Belfast City Council.   Also give a quick life update from the mother-in-law's basement...

Paul Moore is the Director of Future Screens NI and the Professor of Creative Technologies at Ulster University.   He's also a TEDxSpeaker , fellow Ormeau Baths resident, lifelong Deadhead and has even spent a few years riding with the Hells Angels for part of his PhD.   In today's episode we talk about: What it was like growing up in the 50s/60s in Belfast The future (and past) of NI's creative i...

Helen Lewis (1916-2009) was a dancer, choreographer and Holocaust Survivor who moved to Belfast after WW2.   Growing up in Czechoslovakia, she witnessed attitudes towards her Jewish friends and family change with the rise of Nazis Germany. When the war broke out, she, her husband and her parents were moved to the Jewish ghetto Terezín before being imprisoned in separate concentration camps — where...

Anna McKeever is an Irish Artist based on the Ormeau Road in Belfast.     Predominantly a palette knife painter, she is inspired by both urban and rural Ireland; and her work is a celebration of the spirit and warmth of the Irish landscape and its people. She is also influenced by Celtic Mythology.     When she's not painting Anna works as a medical doctor specialising Public Health Medicine, part...

Donna Dooher and Kevin Gallagher are second and third generation Northern-Irish-Canadians who first burst onto the hospitality scene by introducing the phenomena of brunch to Toronto through their restaurant Mildred Pierce before publishing the award-winning cookbook Out To Brunch .   Driven by her passion for food, Donna went on to star in the popular Food Network show The Cookworks with Donna Do...

Martin Lynch is a playwright from Belfast, Northern Ireland who started out in Community Theatre at Turf Lodge before being appointed Resident Playwright at the Lyric.     A 35-year career has seen Martin's work produced in many parts of the world including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brighton Festival, the USA, Romania, Russia, Canada and Australia.     He's also written many plays for BBC Rad...

Steve Strange is an agent from Carrickfergus who started his career in the music industry as a drummer for Northern Irish rock band No Hot Ashes.   Since then he worked with some of the biggest names in the world including Eminem, Coldplay, Snow Patrol , Queens of the Stone Age, Jimmy Eat World, Foy Vance , Ash, Ryan McMullan, Alice in Chains and many, many more.    In today's show, Rigsy sits dow...

Sir John Lavery is a painter from Northern Ireland best known for his portraits of Michael Collins, Churchhill and Queen Victoria.   But besides being the most famous painter of his day, the Belfast-born boy came from humble-beginnings.   Baptised in St. Patricks Church, the Cathedral Quarter native was orphaned at a young age when his mother died in childbirth and his father died at sea — after w...

Neil Walsh is Chief of the Cybercrime, Counter-Terrorist Finance and Anti-Money Laundering Department at the United Nations where he and his team advise the UN Senior Leadership on conflict prevention in cyberspace.   Prior to joining the UN, Neil served for over 15 years within the UK National Crime Agency countering international organised crime and terrorism — including long-term postings The H...

Hannah Crowdy is the Head Of Curatorial for National Museums NI.     In 2009 she relocated from Brighton to Belfast and e leven years later, she is very happy to call this place home.     As a museum professional for eighteen years, Hannah has worked in museums of all shapes and sizes.     At National Museums NI she has taken a leading role in such major projects as the Titanica exhibition at the...

Steve Ilardi is a professor of psychology and a clinical researcher specialising in the treatment of mental illness.  He's worked with several hundred patients suffering from clinical depression and other serious disorders and has authored over 50 scholarly articles and papers on mental illness.      Over the last two decades, Dr. Ilardi and his research team have developed and refined a promising...

Noel McKee was a firefighter in North Belfast for 32 years before training as a counsellor and launching his own practice in 2004.     Since then he has logged over 6,500 supervised counselling hours of one-to-one therapy and has become a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.     His company East Antrim Counselling serves the Northern Trust, local Health...

Leah McCourt is an MMA Fighter from Belfast Northern Ireland.     Alongside being a blackbelt in Judo and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Leah was also the first female in Europe to Headline a Mixed-Martial Arts Fight.     In today’s episode we talk about: The challenges of training The importance of visualisation How to manage a personal life alongside a professional one And the greatest chall...

Greg Bradley is the founder and CEO of BLK BOX Fitness: a company that specialises in the design, manufacture and delivery of fitness equipment.      Since 2012, the Belfast-based team have worked with some of the leading sports clubs in the world, including Irish Rugby, Arsenal, Google, LinkedIn, The Royals in Dubai and many more.     BLK BOX operates from the Titanic Quarter, right beside the Ha...

John Elliott is a serial-entrepreneur from Larne, Northern Ireland.     He’s best known for starting Clements Coffee, a chain of over 10 cafes launched in 1999 that has paved the way for Belfast’s now thriving coffee scene.     (Though Clements is still the only café in NI to have held the highly acclaimed UK Barista Champion title!)     Alongside his other three businesses, John also served as th...

Frank Morris is a tinkerer, builder and inventor from Northern Ireland.   After growing up on a "farm" and being inspired by the handiness of his grandas, he always messing about with stuff at a young age including radios, field cars and household appliances.   While touring in a band, he also got into building his own speakers and amplifiers before going to work full-time for BT.   Alongside his...

Lillian Bland was the first women in the world to design, build and fly her own airplane.   She was also a sports journalist, photographer, investor, gambler, smoker, mechanic, hunter, markswomen, the owner of Belfast’s first Ford Dealership and the first woman in Northern Ireland to apply for a jockey’s license.   Living at Tobercorran House in Carnmoney near Glengormley, her curious, defiant fre...