Year ‘21

Latest Episodes:

Episode 24: The First Sitting Jun 12, 2021

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Nationalists, opposed to partition, abstain from taking their seats - so parliament's first sitting at Belfast City Hall is an exclusively unionist affair. Tara and Declan visit Belfast's Theological College, which would become home to the new government, and hear how the promise of a Boundary Commission helped shape the new Northern Ireland.

Episode 23: The Burning of the Custom House Jun 04, 2021

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The IRA's burning of the Custom House in Dublin makes headlines around the world, but is it coup or catastrophe? We hear the account of a Lurgan man in the building on the day Ireland's administrative hub was set on fire. And Declan and Tara hear why this dramatic event brought both sides to the negotiating table. Please be advised that the sound of gunshots feature in this episode.

Episode 22: The North Poll May 28, 2021

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The first election in Northern Ireland is an early try-out for proportional representation. Unionists take advantage of the system of transferrable votes, and most of the seats in the new Parliament. Ireland is split. Not just politically and geographically – but culturally too. Declan and Tara learn how the two states evolve post-partition.

Episode 21: The Periodicals May 21, 2021

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Amid violence and turbulence across the island of Ireland, elections are taking place to establish two new parliaments. Historian Dr Erin Schoepner takes Tara and Declan through a deep dive of archive cuttings to see how newspapers in Britain were reporting “the Irish Question” in 1921.

Episode 20: The Numbers Game May 14, 2021

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It’s the first official election south of the new border in Ireland. The largest party is rejecting the notion of partition altogether. So what will happen when candidates are announced, and how will the first sitting of the new Irish parliament go? Politicians aren’t the only players in this episode – Tara and Declan take a quick dash around the sports pitch and learn how the GAA reacts to partition.

Episode 19: The Big Day? May 07, 2021

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There are many dates which historians argue could constitute the birth of Northern Ireland, but a panel of government-appointed experts have decided that it came into being on the 3rd of May 100 years ago. As the Queen and others send messages marking the centenary, we look back at a clandestine meeting in which the staunch unionist James Craig travels to Dublin for talks with the Sinn Fein leader Éamon de Valera. Meanwhile, in Mayo, a whole village is kidnapped by the IRA.

Episode 17: The Lawmakers and the Lawbreakers Apr 23, 2021

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“The Irish Question” has become the Brexit of its day and as the business of setting up the new administration progresses, there are many in Westminster glad to see what they think will be an end to it being discussed. Meanwhile the IRA has gained expertise in guns and bombs. Tara and Declan visit the police museum to see what IRA weaponry looked like 100 years ago, and see the precursors to the peace walls of today.

Episode 16: The Belfast Pogrom Apr 16, 2021

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Over a period of 20 months, hundreds of Catholics are thrown out of their jobs, homes and communities, and many of them are killed. Official records of these events are scarce, but Declan and Tara learn of a Belfast priest who recorded the names of those who died in what he called 'The Belfast Pogrom' - a term which remains contentious to this day. Historians John Regan and Gemma Clark explore the motives behind the attacks, which Eamon Phoenix tells the story of the first victim. Warning: this episode contains sounds of gunshots.

Episode 15: The First PM Apr 10, 2021

Show notes

Edward Carson may have been the man many associate with the birth of Northern Ireland but behind him all the way was the “granite-faced” figure of Sir James Craig. Once it became clear that Ireland would split, Carson retired from frontline politics. Enter the Ulsterman who reflected the view of many unionists in the new state. Tara and Declan explore how he came to be in that position and how he modelled Northern Ireland in his own image.

Episode 14: The Yard Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

In 1921 Belfast's mighty shipyard is the economic engine of the city and the envy of the world. Tara and Declan explore how events there just months earlier would lead to a wave of violence across the island and change The Yard forever. Warning: This episode contains sounds of gunshots.

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