Joe Mahon, from Derry, is presenter and producer of Mahon's Way on UTV. He previously hosted Lesser Spotted Ulster and Lesser Spotted Journeys. He is married to Phil. They have five children: Patrick, Kevin, Brendan, Sarah and Emma. Patrick works as a researcher and assistant producer on their UTV programmes.  

Joe owns a production company, Westway Film Productions, which he started in 1996 in Derry.  He got his start as a teacher working in Derry, teaching history and English, when he was approached by BBC Radio Foyle to speak for them, and it has spiralled from there.

If you'd like to follow Mahon's Way or what is happening at Benburb Priory, please see the links below:

Mahons Way | UTV programmes (itv.com)

Retreat and Conference Centre - Benburb Priory

Paul Kingsnorth is an English writer who lives in the west of Ireland. He is a former deputy-editor of The Ecologist and a co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project.

Kingsnorth's nonfiction writing tends to address macro themes like environmentalism, globalisation, and the challenges posed to humanity by civilisation-level trends. His fiction tends to be mythological and multi-layered.

Dr Crawford Gribben is an historian of early modern religion, and the author of books including most recently The rise and fall of Christian Ireland (Oxford University Press, 2021), which has been widely reviewed in newspapers and other media, including on several programmes on Radio Ulster and Radio 4. 

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (2004), and held visiting positions at the University of Lausanne and Westminster Theological Seminary, and posts in early modern literature and history in the University of Manchester (2004-2007) and Trinity College Dublin (2000-2004, 2007-2012), where I was elected a Fellow (2011). 

Crawford took up his current position at Queen's (2013), and has acted as head of the School of History and Anthropology (2015-16) and as Queen's director of the AHRC Northern Bridge PhD programme (2017-2020). During 2021-22, he will serve as visiting professor at Sciences Po, Lille.

Sr. Joyce Rupp is well known for her work as a writer, international retreat leader, and conference speaker. She is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Praying Our Goodbyes, Open the Door, and Fragments of Your Ancient Name. Fly While You Still Have Wings is among her publications earning an award in the spirituality books category from the Catholic Press Association.  Rupp has led retreats throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Joyce has a B.A. in English, a M.R.E. in Religious Education, and a M.A. in Transpersonal Psychology. She is a member of the Servites (Servants of Mary) community and was a volunteer for Hospice for fifteen years. She currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa.  “Joyce Rupp is one of the best Christian spiritual guides writing today.”  —Rev. James Martin

Dr Christopher Kaczor is professor of philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in the USA. He has written more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters, and his fifteen books include The Gospel of Happiness, The Seven Big Myths about Marriage, and his marvellous most recent one, which is a Catholic critique of Jordan Peterson. He lives with his wife and seven children in Los Angeles.

Jon M. Sweeney is an author of popular history, spirituality, biography, poetry, fiction for young readers, and memoir. His most frequent subjects are Catholic, particularly St. Francis of Assisi, about whom Sweeney has written The St. Francis Prayer Book, Francis of Assisi in His Own Words, When Saint Francis Saved the Church, The Complete Francis of Assisi, and The Enthusiast, a biography that Richard Rohr calls "An immense and important contribution to our understanding of the great saint." HBO optioned the film rights to The Pope Who Quit, Sweeney's historical retelling of the 13th century Pope Celestine V, who was the first pope to ever willingly resign the position. More recently, a series of young reader fiction, The Pope's Cat, was begun, the first of which published on March 1, 2018, before the fifth anniversary of the papacy of Pope Francis. He has also written a biography of the popular and controversial Jesuit, James Martin. Sweeney has been interviewed on CBS News, WGN-TV, Fox News, and WTTW's Chicago Tonight. He appeared on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about Saint Patrick on March 17, 2013. He is an independent scholar who lectures frequently and leads retreats. Sweeney is also the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at Paraclete Press of Brewster, Massachusetts.

Séamus Ó Fianghusa, known as ‘Séamus na Gaeilge’ in the Donegal Gaeltacht, is an author and US Army soldier. We recently spoke with him about his book on St Jude, patron saint of lost causes, Gaelic culture, and his Catholic faith.  In March of 2006, he started learning Irish. He achieved recognition within the Irish language movement after attaining fluency in the tongue within a short span of time and with no formal instruction.  He went to Ireland for the first time in the summer of 2008 and currently spends his time between Ireland and the United States.  He is a passionate advocate of all aspects of traditional Celtic culture and one of the relatively few practitioners of the ancient Gaelic art of song known as ‘sean-nós’.  In Ireland, he is a frequent contributor to Irish language media, with numerous appearances on national television and radio.

Terry Glaspey is a writer, an editor, a creative mentor, and someone who finds various forms of art—painting, films, novels, poetry, and music—to be some of the places where he most deeply connects with God.  He has a master’s degree in history from the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!), as well as undergraduate degrees emphasizing counselling and pastoral studies.  He has written over a dozen books, including  75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know:   Fascinating Stories Behind Great Art, Music, Literature, and Film.  Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis   The Prayers of Jane Austen  25 Keys to Life-Changing Prayer  Bible Basics for Everyone  and others.  He has been the recipient of several major national awards for his writing.  Terry enjoys writing and speaking about a variety of topics including creativity and spirituality, the artistic heritage of the Christian faith, the writing of C.S. Lewis, and creative approaches to apologetics.   He serves on the board of directors of the Society to Explore and Record Church History and is listed in Who’s Who in America Terry has been the recipient of a number of awards, including a distinguished alumni award and the Advanced Speakers and Writers Editor of the Year award. Terry has two daughters and lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Welcome to the Benburb Priory Podcast. Benburb Priory is a place of peace, vital history, and Christian charity in the heart of Ulster. We offer this podcast as an extension of our mission.  Please see our website (To be updated August 2021) here: https://www.servites-benburb.com/ In this episode of the Benburb Priory Podcast, we are joined by the marvellous Mike Aquilina to speak about his book on St Joseph, during the Catholic church's Year of St Joseph.