Borderlines

Jan Carson talks to Borderlines hosts Freya McClements and Mary Minihan about her rural Protestant evangelical background. The writer, whose grandfather was an Orangeman, explains how her latest novel The Raptures was inspired by the Co Antrim community she grew up in. She says Brexit “kicked off” at the same time as her writing career and was one reason why she applied for an Irish passport. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Séamas O'Reilly talks to Borderlines hosts Freya McClements and Mary Minihan about growing up with his 10 siblings on the Border between Derry in Northern Ireland and Donegal in the Republic when the Troubles were on the wane.The writer also reflects on the "bittersweet" experience of writing his bestselling memoir Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? as he unearthed new memories about his mother in the course of his research. He was five when she died. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Rosemary Jenkinson talks to Borderlines hosts Freya McClements and Mary Minihan about her very British upbringing in Northern Ireland, the awkward facts of history and how a trip to Palestine changed her perspective. The author recalls how the Troubles touched her childhood and her shock at being described as a “Paddy” when she moved to England to study. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Undertones bass guitarist Mickey Bradley talks to Borderlines hosts Freya McClements and Mary Minihan about his favourite music, appearing on Top Of The Pops and the post-Brexit reality of life in Derry. The presenter of The Mickey Bradley Record Show on BBC Radio Ulster also speaks about how a loyalist paramilitary death threat stopped The Clash performing in Derry at the height of the Troubles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyle Paisley, a Free Presbyterian minister in the church founded by his father Ian, now lives and works in England. But Northern Ireland will always be home - even if it becomes part of a United Ireland.He talks to Mary and Freya about his memories of growing up under threat as the son of the DUP leader, the damage done by the handling of Brexit to relations on the island, the future of Northern Ireland and the role of religion in politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chef Neven Maguire talks to Borderlines hosts Freya McClements and Mary Minihan about overcoming the twin obstacles of Brexit and Covid-19. He reflects on how the Troubles impacted on his family’s Border business, MacNean House and Restaurant. And he also reveals how he reconnected with his love of old school dance, trance and hard house music during lockdown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As journalists born and raised in Derry, Mary Minihan and Freya McClements have always been interested in the different identities that belong to the people of Ireland. In a new podcast series from The Irish Times, they talk to interesting people about identity, culture and the experiences that shaped them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.