Historical Belfast

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When we think of Sir Winston Churchill we might think of cigars, Gallipoli, the Second World War, fighting on the beaches, and accolades such as 'Man of the Century' and the United Kingdom's greatest ever leader. More recently, Churchill's name came to the fore during the Black Lives Matters protests, accused of being a racist, while his statue in London was afforded protection due to concerns that it may be defaced.
What we don't tend to consider when evoking Sir Winston Churchill is a long and complex relationship with Ireland, a relationship that has been described by one historian as being duplicitous.
This episode will not be exploring Churchill's relationship with Ireland, instead it will focus on his infamous and lesser known visit to Belfast in 1912, right at the beginning of the third Home Rule crisis.
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This month’s episode of the Historical Belfast Podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the Northern Ireland War Memorial museum on Talbot Street who have kindly given me access to their oral history archive. I am also extremely grateful for the research and writing of the late historian Jonathan Bardon on this subject and, as such, this episode is dedicated to Dr Bardon.

80 years ago, in the course of 4 Luftwaffe attacks during the Second World War, lasting 10 hours in total, 1,100 people died, over 56,000 were homes damaged, and 100,000 people were made homeless.

The first attack on Belfast came on the night of 7th April. The docks area was attacked with great accuracy, though residential housing was hit too. The ‘docks raid’, as it became known, was small in comparison to the Easter Raid which followed on the night of 15th April, and the focus of this episode.
Northern Ireland War Memorial - World War II Museum Belfast (niwarmemorial.org)
Delia Murphy - The Spinning Wheel: (4) Delia Murphy - The Spinning Wheel - YouTube
Blitz sound effects: (4) LONDON BLITZ 1940 - ORIGINAL AUDIO - YouTube

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Standing weathered and tall at the Lisburn Road end of Sandy Row is the district’s Orange Hall; now over 150 years old.
Episode 18 of the Historical Belfast Podcast takes a closer look at the history of the hall which has acted as a community centre for generations of people living in Sandy Row.
This Sandy Row mini-series is brought to you in collaboration with Belfast South Community Resources and also with the support of the South Belfast Urban Village Initiative. If you’re enjoying the episodes please remember to give the podcast a rating and to share on your social media.

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For this episode of the Historical Belfast Podcast I visited St. Matthew’s Parish Church, consecrated 150 years ago on 11 March 1872. I chatted with Sam Guthrie (Queen’s University Belfast) who has been busy working on an exhibition about the social history of St. Matthew’s and the surrounding community of the Shankill.
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In Episode 3 of the Historical Belfast Podcast, going out on 1st July, Jason Burke talks to Dr Jonathan Evershed who has spent several years researching how the Battle of the Somme is commemorated in Northern Ireland.
Use discount code '14SUM20' for 40% off Jonathan's book 'Ghosts of the Somme' at the following link: https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268103859/ghosts-of-the-somme/?fbclid=IwAR0hkzbqbQbJzv1eeN3uaiqK-YMseX27hTucD1KOwt_PocRjVaS632e4nOo
Podcast theme music via Jason Shaw at www.audionautix.com

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