The BelTel

The Hunger Strikes had led to a surge in support for Republicanism and in October 1984, Margaret Thatcher herself, narrowly escaped death in the Brighton bombing. Her intelligence chiefs were clear; they weren’t going to defeat the IRA by purely military and security means – she decided something had to be done. Meanwhile in Dublin, fears over the rise of Sinn Féin and frustration with a lack of progress in advancing nationalists’ interests led to an openness to fresh ideas. The stage was set for secret talks which led to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed on the 15 November 1985. Ulster’s Unionists were outraged by what they saw as a betrayal. What was the background to the agreement, why was it so controversial, and what did it really involve? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Professor Fergal Cochrane, commentator, Alex Kane, Professor Graham Walker, and Dr. Peter McLaughlin.   

“I’m still working because the thieving HMRC came after me...  at the most vulnerable time in my life,” Eamonn Holmes has revealed to the BelTel.  He spoke to Ciarán Dunbar about his tax troubles, Donald Trump, working for GB News and growing up in the New Lodge area of Belfast.  The GB News presenter is currently touring Northern Ireland with his one man show, ‘This Is My Life’.  He joined Ciarán Dunbar in the studio. 

Jonathan Walton describes himself as a ‘con-hunter’ but that’s not what he set out to be. The tv producer turned vigilante after he was scammed by con artist Marianne Smyth, the so-called ‘Queen of Con’. Over several years he had handed his supposed best friend Smyth, who claimed to be an Irish heiress, over $100,000. She was a lifelong con-artist, using a range of strategies, lies and aliases – posing as Jennifer Anniston, becoming a satanic priestess, claiming to be on the IRA’s army council, pretending to have cancer. Smyth was sentenced in September to 4 years in jail at Downpatrick crown court as it was revealed that she had scammed over £100,000 from people in Northern Ireland.  Jonathan Walton has written a book on his experience with the fraudster. It’s called ‘ Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves and is host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con, he joined Ciarán Dunbar on the BelTel.  

An east Belfast woman has been jailed after promising to donate a kidney over Facebook. Nicola Hutton reached out to Billy and Joanne Cullen over social media after Billy’s diagnosis of a serious disease. A stranger to the couple, Hutton continued to keep in contact with them to assure that she was a match and the transplant process was underway – but in reality, she had never intended to hand over the organ. Hutton has now been sentenced to five months in prison. Olivia Peden is joined by Belfast Telegraph reporter Kurtis Reid. 

Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan has been the focus of attention and anger over his visit to Israel. The UUP have lost a councillor, Linzi McLaren resigned her seat and quit the party citing concerns over Irish language policy and the absence of female voices. Plans are afoot to install street signage in Greek, Mandarin and Hebrew in Belfast – but will it actually happen? And finally, who keeps trying to flood Stormont?  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by commentators Tim Cairns and Ursula Savage to discuss the week in NI politics. 

The Fethard-on-Sea Boycott was a notorious event in Irish history. In 1957, Sheila Cloney, the Protestant wife of a Catholic farmer, fled her home with her children.  Associates of Ian Paisley hid Sheila and her children in Belfast before eventually getting them to Scotland. Sheila Cloney left the Wexford village after refusing to bow to the demands of the local Catholic clergy to educate her daughter as Catholics. In response, the priests launched a boycott of Fethard's Protestant shopkeepers and farmers.  Tim Fanning tells Ciarán Dunbar the story of Sheila Cloney of the boycott of Protestants in Fethard-on-Sea.  

 The Rev Ian Paisley rose to prominence as the face of hardline unionism but the first time some would have heard of him would have been in connection with Maura Lyons. In 1956, the west Belfast teenager was smuggledto Scotland by members of the Free Presbyterian Church. She was a 15-year-old Catholic girl who converted to Free Presbyterianism, in the face of the strong objections of her family. They accused the Rev Ian Paisley of “abduction”. At one point, he gathered his supporters in the Ulster Hall to listen to a recording of Maura’s voice at the Ulster Hall, renouncing her Catholic faith as a “religion of fear and dread”.  Ciarán Dunbar is joined by journalist Malachi O’Doherty, who grew up in west Belfast. 

The latest BelTel / LucidTalk polling reveals Sinn Féin keep the top spot as both the DUP and UUP see a slight boost in popularity, but the trend is worrying for Alliance. But Almost half of unionists say they would vote for Reform UK.  And as talk of a border poll refuses to go away, most people want to know what exactly the criteria for calling one would be. And finally, as Catherine Connolly wins the presidential elections down south, the polling reveals how NI voters would have voted. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Journalist Aoife Moore and political commentator Alex Kane.  

Members of the UVF unit responsible for the Dublin and Monaghan bombings have been named for the first time. The bombings in May 1974 killed 33 civilians and injured almost 300 – it was the deadliest attack in the Republic’s history. Three car bombs exploded in Dublin during rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost 90 minutes later. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by the Belfast Telegraph’s security correspondent Allison Morris.