The BelTel

The Kinahan cartel is Ireland’s most powerful crime gang, and one half of its most notorious gang war. After a failed hit on boss Daniel Kinahan, the cartel recruited a team of killers to retaliate against the Hutch gang. One of the men they hired was Estonian Imre ‘The Butcher’ Arakas – but the eccentric hitman was soon caught. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by crime editor with the Irish Sun and co-author of ‘Kinahan Assassins’, Stephen Breen, to tell the story of the Kinahan-Hutch feud, its victims and its hitmen. 

Sinn Féin controversies snowball as party member resigns after a portrait is damaged in Belfast City. Is the party suffering from a media pile-on before an election or a self-inflicted meltdown caused by a lack of professionalism? All this just before an election – one which might feature well-known crime figure Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Dublin based news reporter Gráinne Ní Aodha and commentator and politics lecturer David McCann to talk politics.

On 24th March 1922, five men dressed in RIC police uniforms broke into the north Belfast home of well-known Catholic publican Owen McMahon. The men shoot and kill McMahon, along with four of his sons, and an employee of the family. What happened next changed the course of history on the Island of Ireland. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by historian and author Dr Edward Burke to explain why the murders changed so much. 

Mary Lou McDonald has been accused of orchestrating an “elaborate cover-up” after admitting didn’t divulge why former Sinn Féin senator Niall Ó Donnghaile resigned from the Seanad. The former Belfast Lord Mayor has now admitted he had resigned over inappropriate texts to a teen. What will all of this mean for the Republic’s looming election?  Ciarán Dunbar joined by the Irish Independent’s political editor – Philip Ryan. 

In the past six weeks, four women have been killed in NI, bringing this year’s total of alleged femicides up to six. At the time of recording, a further two deaths from this weekend are under investigation. Why is femicide so high in Northern Ireland, how does the PSNI deal with domestic violence here, and can anything be done? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Allison Morris. 

On the 13 October 1994, six weeks after the IRA announced a ‘complete cessation’, the Loyalist paramilitary groups declared their ceasefires. The UVF’s Gusty Spence announced loyalist violence was over, in a step that is seen as one of the vital steps towards a lasting peace in Northern Ireland. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by former PUP leader Billy Hutchinson, Historian Aaron Edwards, and journalists Allison Morris, Mark Simpson, and Vincent Kearney. 

22 people died in the 2017 Manchester Bombing, and over a thousand were injured. Former TV producer Richard Hall has been in court for allegedly harassing victims of the bombing to show that the event was an ‘elaborate hoax’. He believes that the bombing was staged, and the people involved were ‘crisis actors’. What are they, and why do so many people believe in them?Olivia Peden is joined by Belfast Telegraph journalist Kurtis Reid to find out why conspiracy theorists deny events like these. 

Michelle O’Neill faced the assembly and with the repeated use of the words “sorry” and “apologise” tried to extricate Sinn Féin from the mire of the Michael McMonagle controversy – is it enough? Claire Hanna has now officially taken charge of the SDLP, can she turn around the party’s fortunes? And does Mike Nesbitt have a similar task ahead of him as he returns to the UUP driving seat?   Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Suzanne Breen.