The BelTel

Rap band Kneecap maintain they have "faced a coordinated smear campaign" in recent days over their pro-Palestinian stance. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wants the band banned and almost all MPs want Glastonbury to ditch them. Anti-terror police are investigating them. Where and when will these controversies end?  Belfast Telegraph reporter Kurtis Reid joins Ciarán Dunbar  Hosted on Acas...

The Northern Ireland under-secretary of state Fleur Anderson has said publicly that opinion polls will determine if and when a referendum on Irish unity is called. It’s never been exactly clear what would trigger a poll on a united Ireland – so has she overstepped the mark, made a mistake or actually let the cat out of the bag.  And who are this middle-ground who have the magic votes?  C...

Brian Stack was the chief officer in the maximum security Port Laoise prison, which housed IRA members. In March 1983, he was gunned down by the IRA in Dublin after attending a boxing match – he succumbed to his wombs 18 months later. Austin Stack has long fought for the truth and for justice for his father, meeting with Sinn Féin and IRA officials, including Gerry Adams, to try and get to the bot...

The Sallins train robbery was one of the most daring and lucrative heists in the history of the Irish State. And for Osgur Breatnach, a journalist and activist, it was the beginning of an ordeal that haunts him to this day. He was arrested that morning in 1976, as one of six accused of carrying out the robbery. One week before Christmas of the same year, he and his co-accused were brought into the...

On the night of March 30th, 1976, a gang of armed men held a family hostage in rural County Kildare and derailed a mail train carrying the equivalent of over €1 million in cash and valuables. It was one of the most audacious robberies in the history of the Irish state—but today, it is remembered for very different reasons. What followed was one of the longest and most controversial trials in the h...

Taoiseach Micheál Martin says that he is “not planning” for a 2030 border poll. He’s currently promoting his Shared Island Initiative – which some unionists fear is a trojan horse for Irish unity but others are comfortable with. Republicans have always been distrustful of the Fianna Fáil leader. Sam McBride recently sat down with the Taoiseach, producing an interview that has sparked debate, satis...

Belfast pensioner Oliver MacCormack has been handed a seven-year sentence for exploiting vulnerable young women by plying them with heroin and forcing them to work as prostitutes. Three other men have already been sentenced as part of the same investigation, the oldest of which being 79. Some question whether the sentences handed out to the gang was stiff enough.  Allison Morris joins Ciarán...

How successful were far-right attempts to influence loyalism and how deep do radical right links with loyalism go today? From the National Front to Combat 18, the English far-right has tried to colonise loyalism but how successful were they?     Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Aaron Edwards.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Sunday night at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a heart-stopping playoff to win the Masters for the first time in his career. The Holywood man has become the sixth person to complete a career grand slam.  In a special edition of the BelTel, Keith Bailie is joined by the Belfast Telegraph’s Chief Sportswriter Steven Beacom and Chief Audience Editor Gareth Hanna. &nbsp...

Joe Lynskey, one of the Disappeared, was murdered by his IRA colleagues in 1972 and his body secretly buried. Remains recently found in a County Monaghan grave were hoped to belong to him, but the DNA says no. The finding leaves a new mystery - who was the extra body in the plot, and if it wasn’t Joe Lynskey - then whose remains are they? What are republican sources saying about the prospects of f...

Ireland has long flirted with the far-right – and has had political movements with profoundly antisemitic views. Historian Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc has written a new book - ‘Burn Them Out – A History of Fascism and The Far-Right in Ireland’ investigating the history of fascism in Ireland.  He joined Ciarán Dunbar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few months ago, one of Stormont’s most senior civil servants vanished. Mark Browne was the top official in Stormont’s Department of Education. But sources have now told the Belfast Telegraph that Mr Browne and the Education Minister Paul Givan clashed over how to tackle what is now a multi-faceted crisis in Northern Ireland’s education system.  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Sam McBride.&n...

The Catholic Bishop of Derry has warned of “illicit” masses being held in the city by clergy not recongnised by the hierarchy. Bishop Dónal Mac Keown claims these services are being carried out by an ultra-conservative splinter group of the Society of Pius the Tenth known as SSPX Resistance. SSPX Resistance are certainly uncompromising traditionalists, but the splinter group has been accused of an...

The owner of a controversial Ballymena based ‘brand building’ company has announced its closure. FBA Brand Builder was run by 34-year-Darren Campbell – he charged clients for his guidance on selling products to the US Market on Amazon. The Belfast Telegraph has revealed some questionable practices, including encouraging clients to lie on credit card applications and facilitating paid amazon review...

In a speech on America’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’, Trump accused the global community of stealing American jobs and ‘ransacking’ US industry. The President has imposed tariffs of 20% on goods from the EU, while goods from the UK, including NI, will be subject to a 10% tariff.  What do the tariffs mean for Northern Ireland, how has Brexit changed our situation, and could the tariffs start a...

Internment was a key event in the history of the Troubles; In an effort to deal with increasing violence Stormont and the British Government decided to introduce internment. Almost 2,000 people were interned up until its end in December 1975 – imprisoned without a fair trial.  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Dr Peter McLoughlin and by Dr Martin McCleery.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

The assassination of US President JFK in November 1963 shocked the world and has inspired conspiracy theories for over 60 years. President Trump has ordered the release of classified files from the period, which have revealed that the CIA kept files on both Ireland and the UK’s military intelligence services, despite being close allies.  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph reporter A...

One year ago, 29th of March, journalists began to realise that a massive political story was breaking - -the DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson had deleted his website and social media accounts. Then a statement emerged from the DUP, Donaldson had resigned and had been suspended from the party after being charged with historical sexual offences. Jeffrey Donaldson’s wife, Eleanor Donaldson, was also faci...

Captain Robert Nairac was meeting an informer when he was abducted and murdered, secret military documents indicate. Those files, discovered by the Belfast Telegraph’s Sam McBride, also show that the Ministery of Defence was desperate that that fact would not be revealed, so desperate that it would rather his killers walked free from court than answer questions about what he was up to. Robert Nair...

From Conor McGregor to Andrew Tate, why are fans and prominent figures in the MMA and sports-combat world embracing extreme politics? Are teenage boys in the sights of the far right? And what threat does the manosphere pose to society? Host: Ellen Coyne             Guest: Dave Hanratty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary wants a two-drink airport limit as his airline threatens a clampdown as it tries to recover losses against disruptive passengers. Many of us simply love ‘airport pints’ but alcohol is a major source of trouble on planes. There have been a plethora of incidents involving air rage and disruptive passengers in recent years, some resulting in criminal convictions and even...

Dublin secondary school Coláiste Éanna has been embroiled in controversy after it was claimed online that one of its teachers is the notorious GAA catfish. Teacher Niamh Farrell denies being the catfish who deceived at least 40 people, including multiple Ulster GAA players. But an investigation at the school found that she confided in its principal that she was the catfish. She has now won an...

NI21 appeared to many as a great idea. But the enthusiasm and positivity did not last long and the party’s collapse into chaos was a spectacular one. Just a day before the party’s first electoral test in 2014 – the party decides that they are now agnostic on the issue of the border, it was then torn apart by controversy and infighting.  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Sam McBride to talk about how...

NI21 – A party that sought to change the direction of a century of unionist politics but ended in disaster. Two charismatic Ulster Unionist MLAs – Basil Mccrea and John McAllister - quit their party in 2013 for pastures new. But following a last-minute decision to become agnostic on the border, sexual misconduct allegations against its leader, and a host of other fiascos, things quickly fell apart...

Rosemary Nelson died in March 1999 after a bomb exploded under her car. The Red Hand Defenders took responsibility. High-profile clients like IRA man Colin Duffy and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ association had made her a target for sectarian animosity. It was alleged she had been threatened by RUC officers.     Ciarán Dunbar is joined by co-author of the book, ‘Who Killed Rosemary...