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Published by Tortoise Shack Media
Shrapnel is the podcast that looks at pieces of the past in Northern Ireland. Hosted by Sam McIlwaine and Gareth Mulvenna, we aim to bring you the voices and conversations that aren’t given a platform by the mainstream media.
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Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack CW: Topics that some listeners may find upsetting. Editors note: We had an issue with Sam's mic, but this is an important conversation. Please listen. In this episode the lads chatted to Alex Bunting, Group Director of Care & Support (Mental Health & Addiction Services) at Inspire. Alex talked about his passion for helping people with addiction and mental health issues and the need to address the long-term impact of the Troubles on divided communities in Belfast. We chatted about the "psychological terror" and feeling of being unsafe, and what people lived with during the conflict and Alex's experience of his own father being seriously injured in an IRA bomb. If you want to find out more about the work of Inspire: https://www.inspirewellbeing.org/ If you are in distress and need help with any of the issues raised in this episode: https://www.lifelinehelpline.info/ Latest Shrapnel with Rev Chris Hudson: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-156421373
Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this episode of Shrapnel Sam and Gareth were joined by community worker and host of the Made to Parade podcast, Glenn Millar. They chatted about the band scene, its evolution, traditions, and work in the community especially around mental health. Glenn discussed the impact of oral history and preserving the legacy for generations to come. Shrapnel is hosted by Gareth and Sam and produced by Tony Groves @ the tortoise shack
In this episode of the Shrapnel Podcast, hosts Sam and Gareth discuss their return after a long hiatus due to personal challenges, including Gareth's loss of both parents. They reflect on the stagnation of societal and political issues in 2025, the importance of legacy discussions, and the hope and need for future dialogue. The lads talk resilience, the soapbox and the value of revisiting oral histories from the past. Next Episode with Glenn Millar -Made to Parade is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-151665617
Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this episode we welcome back friend of the pod, researcher and writer Iain Turner. Iain chatted to the lads about progress on his book which is an authoritative history of the UVF; we talked about the Dublin & Monaghan bombings 50 years on; the difficulty of obtaining records for research; the NIO public history project; loyalist paramilitaries and truth recovery and a whole lot more. The latest Shrapnel Fragments Special Episode is out now here:
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The lads did their second live show as part of the Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics at Belfast's Crescent Arts Centre. We were joined by a panel of three previous guests representing alternative voices from within the broad spectrum of loyalism. Beano Niblock is a former loyalist prisoner and the writer of the acclaimed play The Man Who Swallowed A Dictionary (2023) about the life of his former comrade David Ervine. Niblock is a vocal advocate for loyalist storytelling and the power of arts as means of communicating historical experience. Emma Shaw is the founder and CEO of the Phoenix Education Centre, a profit for purpose community interest company in East Belfast that nurtures community self-help and promotes strategies to tackle low educational attainment and barriers to the workforce. David Adams is a former spokesperson and councillor for the UDA-linked Ulster Democratic Party who was heavily involved in negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Having experienced what he described as a ‘messy divorce’ from loyalism in the mid-00s, he has spoken openly about the need to have informed conversations about reconciliation as a priority in any debates over the constitution. The Shamim Malekmian immigration reporting interview is out now here:
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The lads did their second live show as part of the Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics at Belfast's Crescent Arts Centre. We were joined by a panel of three previous guests representing alternative voices from within the broad spectrum of loyalism. Beano Niblock is a former loyalist prisoner and the writer of the acclaimed play The Man Who Swallowed A Dictionary (2023) about the life of his former comrade David Ervine. Niblock is a vocal advocate for loyalist storytelling and the power of arts as means of communicating historical experience. Emma Shaw is the founder and CEO of the Phoenix Education Centre, a profit for purpose community interest company in East Belfast that nurtures community self-help and promotes strategies to tackle low educational attainment and barriers to the workforce. David Adams is a former spokesperson and councillor for the UDA-linked Ulster Democratic Party who was heavily involved in negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Having experienced what he described as a ‘messy divorce’ from loyalism in the mid-00s, he has spoken openly about the need to have informed conversations about reconciliation as a priority in any debates over the constitution. The latest Fresh Batch is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-101021413
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack We were delighted to be joined by author and academic Paul Burgess for our inaugural live show. Paul discussed his new book Wild Colonial Boys (Manchester University Press) - a revealing and no holds barred autobiography charting his early life growing up in loyalist north and west Belfast, his passion for class politics and music and his ascent to fame with Ruefrex. The Working Class Activism in Academia Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-98820246
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please support us in 2024 by clicking: patreon.com/tortoiseshack Welcome to our end of 2023 special. In this episode the lads chatted to two former guests: one from series 1 and another from series 2. Eddie Kinner is a former UVF prisoner, who became an important figure in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement on behalf of the PUP. Davy Adams is a former UDA member, who as a contemporary of Kinner's in the 1990s was heavily involved in negotiating the Agreement on behalf of the UDP. Eddie and Davy chatted with the lads about 2023, the challenges facing unionism and loyalism and the need for proper reconciliation to be embedded in NI. There's also a few other voices at the start. Happy New Year! The Climate Wrap of 2023 podcast is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-94993349 Note: We had some bad weather during recording and it did impact the connection.
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Help us keep going in 2024 by clicking on patreon.com/tortoiseshack Tony Novosel is the author of 'Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism' and has been a frequent visitor to NI since 1974. Over the years he has been recognised for his cross-community peace building work. In this episode he talks to the lads about the challenges facing progressive loyalism. How better public services is the antidote to the far right podcast with Prof Catherine De Vries is out now here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-94992075
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Ed Moloney is one of Ireland's most famous journalists and the author of a number of books about the conflict in Northern Ireland. In this episode he talks to the lads about legacy and reconciliation, oral history, notable characters that he has met over the years, what it was like reporting on subjects such as Kincora and how he avoided assassination by the UDA after a dirty tricks campaign against him in the early 1980's. The Ditch wrap of 2023 podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-94831589
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Help us keep going in 2024, join the shack at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Since 1996, David Blevins has been the senior Ireland correspondent for Sky News, covering news stories north and south of the border. When the news happened, we heard it from him. In this episode he talks to Gareth and Sam about reporting some of the traumatic and momentous events in recent history in NI, why the golden age of journalism may not be over and how we need more time to hear stories, rather than sound bytes in the news.
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In the second episode of Fragments Sam and Gareth answered some interesting questions from listeners. Topics addressed included youth subcultures in 2023 Belfast, remembering , forgetting and historical research, "peace" walls and Scottish independence. Tickets for Shrapnel Live:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shrapnel-live-in-conversation-with-paul-burgess-tickets-770601910057?aff=erelexpmlt The Disability Gree Paper Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-93824982
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack This week we were joined by Alana Cahoon who is the PR Officer from the Ulster Young Unionists, and ‘One Young World’ delegate. She is also an Ambassador of TBUC (Together:Building a United Community). We discussed Unionism from the upcoming generations viewpoint, not conforming to lazy stereotypes and why some leave Northern Ireland and do not return. We also talked about transgenerational trauma and how our past still touches lives. The Latest Shrapnel Fragments Q&A Special is out now here:
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack David Adams is a former loyalist politician who as a leading member of the Ulster Democratic Party was hugely influential in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. In this episode David chats to the lads about his journey from young loyalist activist in the 1970s, through his political journey in the 1990s and his subsequent work with GOAL in humanitarian crises in Syria, Uganda, South Sudan, Iraq and Sierra Leone. The latest Shrapnel with Alana Cahoon is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-92855166
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Martin Doyle is the books editor of The Irish Times and author of Dirty Linen: The Troubles In My Home Place (Merrion, 2023) In this episode Martin talks to the lads about researching and writing the book which is a deeply personal and intimate excavation of the toll that the conflict took on the parish of Tullylish, part of the notorious Murder Triangle in the north of Ireland The Latest Shrapnel with David Adams is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-92988091
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Billy Hutchinson is the former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party and was a key figure in the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In this episode Billy talks to the lads about the current state of unionism and loyalism, class frictions within the pro-union body politic in NI and the importance of grassroots voices. The Dirty Linen podcast with Martin Doyle is out now:
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Jordan Dunbar is a Northern Ireland born and London based BBC journalist, presenter and documentary maker. His recent documentary for BBC Sounds 'Blood On The Dancefloor' looked at the life and murder of gay RUC officer Darren Bradshaw. The lads spoke to Jordan about how he came to tell this story, storytelling and memory with Belfast's queer community and some of his investigations into criminal gangs in Brazil and Italy. Blood On The Dancefloor is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fdqs8p
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Emma Shaw is a loyalist community activist from East Belfast. She is the founder and CEO of the Phoenix Education Centre, a community interest company working to tackle educational underachievement in her community. In this episode of the podcast Emma talks to the lads about the importance of education and peer empowerment, loyalist identity and actively challenging stereotypes about loyalism. The Blood on the Dancefloor Podcast with Jordan Dunbar is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-91689805
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Shrapnel presents Fragments - a new series of intermittent one-off episodes where Sam and Gareth answer questions about the past, present and future in Northern Ireland posed by you, our members, listeners and followers. It'll be available in the regular Shrapnel podcast feed on all streaming platforms. Get your questions in for the next episode at shrapnelpodcast@gmail.com Please go back and listen to our previous episode with author of the Ghost Limb, Claire Mitchell UK economist, commentator and author, Grace Blakeley interview is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-91199255
.wpedon-container .wpedon-select, .wpedon-container .wpedon-input { width: 170px; min-width: 170px; max-width: 170px; } Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Claire Mitchell is a writer and researcher from Belfast. Her recent book The Ghost Limb was published in 2022 to critical acclaim. In this episode Claire chats to the lads about the book, the spirit of 1798 and the United Irishmen, her work with Billy Mitchell and progressive loyalism in the early 00s and the journey of self-discovery she embarked on which led her to discover the ghost limb of alternative Protestants rooted in the era of the United Irishmen. Emma Shaw: Empowering through Education podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-91269012
Ranking source
Apple Podcasts rankings via the Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed September 11, 2026. Cached outside the daily freshness window; the positions keep the date they were taken on.
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