Best Of Belfast: Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast

Ian Richardson has come a long way from cleaning glasses in his parent’s pub. As a Landscape Architect and the founder of multiple start-ups he now spends his days reinventing the way cities work.     Being deeply passionate about the environment, he believes entrepreneurship is the solution to global problems like climate change and his current ventures — StreetDock and Circle — exist to make urban deliveries green in an age of e-commerce and endless Amazon deliveries.    In today’s episode hear what it was like starting businesses in the 2008 recession and 2020 pandemic, why “the last-mile” of delivery causes so many issues and how returning to the humble bicycle could save the day.     Check it out.     //   This interview is part of our Tough Times, Tougher City mini-series presented in partnership with Belfast City Council featuring five businesses who have started, scaled or pivoted during the pandemic.     To find out more about how the Council can help you and your business, please click here.      //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/streetdock-circle-delivery-belfast

10-years ago, Terry from Mumbai proposed to Judy from Budapest at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. From there they travelled all over the world, launched a business and moved to Belfast to start a family.     But when the pandemic hit — causing Terry to lose his job — the couple were put in a tricky situation… especially since Judy had just had baby #2.      In today’s episode, we discover the twist of events that led to them turning their garden into a farm, growing mushrooms in the city and launching their hugely successful business Hearty Growers.      Check it out.   //   This interview is part of our Tough Times, Tougher City mini-series presented in partnership with Belfast City Council featuring five businesses who have started, scaled or pivoted during the pandemic.     To find out more about how the Council can help you and your business, please click here.    //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/hearty-growers-mushrooms-belfast

When Eva, Josh and Donal signed up to go university, they would have laughed if you told them that a few years later they’d be directors in their own Animation Studio.      But when COVID wiped out all of their placement opportunities, they decided to go out and create their own — launching Aura Digital in the process.      In today’s episode, hear how three students found a gap in the market, built a fully digital business and provided employment for other creatives during the pandemic     Check it out.      //   This interview is part of our Tough Times, Tougher City mini-series presented in partnership with Belfast City Council featuring five businesses who have started, scaled or pivoted during the pandemic.     To find out more about how the Council can help you and your business, please click here.      //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/aura-digital-animation-belfast

Murphy & Bailey is a luxury pet boutique on the Belmont Road in East Belfast that launched during lockdown.     It’s founded by Jude and Karen — two dog-loving, high-flying corporates who met while walking their dogs Murphy and Bailey at the local park.      In today’s episode, hear why they traded established careers for the start-up life, what it was like starting a business during the pandemic and the role pets have played in getting our city through these tough times.     Check it out.     //   This interview is part of our Tough Times, Tougher City mini-series presented in partnership with Belfast City Council featuring five businesses who have started, scaled or pivoted during the pandemic.     To find out more about how the Council can help you and your business, please click here.      //   Webpage for this episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/murphy-and-bailey-belfast

Just hopping on to give a quick heads up about an exciting new mini-series we're launching next week in collaboration with Belfast City Council.

 

Also give a quick life update from the mother-in-law's basement...

Paul Moore is the Director of Future Screens NI and the Professor of Creative Technologies at Ulster University.   He's also a TEDxSpeaker, fellow Ormeau Baths resident, lifelong Deadhead and has even spent a few years riding with the Hells Angels for part of his PhD.   In today's episode we talk about:

• What it was like growing up in the 50s/60s in Belfast
• The future (and past) of NI's creative industry
• Some of the amazing things happening on our doorstep
• (And why we need to make them more visible)
• Plus his greatest challenges/successes along the way

  Check it out.  

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Webpage: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/paul-moore-future-screens-ni

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Helen Lewis (1916-2009) was a dancer, choreographer and Holocaust Survivor who moved to Belfast after WW2.

 

Growing up in Czechoslovakia, she witnessed attitudes towards her Jewish friends and family change with the rise of Nazis Germany. When the war broke out, she, her husband and her parents were moved to the Jewish ghetto Terezín before being imprisoned in separate concentration camps — where only she survived.

 

In this week's episode, we caught up with friends, family members and former students of Helen to find out more about her remarkable life and why it's more important than ever to keep telling her story today.

 

Check it out.

 

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This episode is part of The Streets Where They Lived: a new documentary collaboration between Successful Belfast, Belfast Buildings Trust, and Best of Belfast. The Streets Where They Lived will feature the stories of six incredible but sometimes overlooked men and women from Belfast and some of the buildings and places in the City with which they’re connected.

 

The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Belfast Buildings Trust is a charity founded in 1996 to regenerate Belfast’s landmark buildings. The Trust works to ensure that the City’s authentic heritage is made relevant for people today. One of its projects is Successful Belfast, which champions new and creative ways of involving people in Belfast’s future development.  

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Website link: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/helen-lewis-holocaust-survivor

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 100+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Anna McKeever is an Irish Artist based on the Ormeau Road in Belfast.     Predominantly a palette knife painter, she is inspired by both urban and rural Ireland; and her work is a celebration of the spirit and warmth of the Irish landscape and its people. She is also influenced by Celtic Mythology.     When she's not painting Anna works as a medical doctor specialising Public Health Medicine, particularly lifestyle intervention and preventative strategies.     In today's episode we talk about:

• Anna's earliest memories
• Juggling the medical side of life with the artistic
• Moving away from NI for 10 years (and coming home again!)
• The role art plays in society
• And the greatest challenges/successes she's experienced along the way

Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Anna (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/anna-mckeever-irish-artist

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 180+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Donna Dooher and Kevin Gallagher are second and third generation Northern-Irish-Canadians who first burst onto the hospitality scene by introducing the phenomena of brunch to Toronto through their restaurant Mildred Pierce before publishing the award-winning cookbook Out To Brunch.   Driven by her passion for food, Donna went on to star in the popular Food Network show The Cookworks with Donna Dooher which has been watched by foodie fans all over the world. Alongside working in the business, Kevin has also served on the Board of Directors for the Ireland Fund of Canada and was instrumental in securing funds for building Ireland Park Canada and fundraising efforts for the Celtic Studies program at St. Michael’s College.   Their latest venture, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in the heart of Toronto’s Liberty Village, reflects their passion for 'the return to the table' and locally sourced ingredients, simply and sumptuously prepared. Throughout the pandemic, Kevin has also written Diary Of A Restaurant which his musings and learnings of years spent in the hospitality industry.   In today's episode we talk about:

• Their early memories & experiences
• How they scaled a brunch community from 15 people on a Sunday to 500+ per week
• The cultish following around their Blueberry pancakes
• And the greatest challenges/successes they've experienced along the way

  Check it out.

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To see a 'treasure trove' of all things related to Kevin and Donna (including a photo) please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/donna-doher-kevin-gallagher

 

Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 180+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.

 

To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/

 

Cheers!

 

— Matt 

Martin Lynch is a playwright from Belfast, Northern Ireland who started out in Community Theatre at Turf Lodge before being appointed Resident Playwright at the Lyric.     A 35-year career has seen Martin's work produced in many parts of the world including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Brighton Festival, the USA, Romania, Russia, Canada and Australia.     He's also written many plays for BBC Radio 3 and 4 and co-wrote the screenplay for the Sam Goldwyn film, A Prayer For The Dying starring Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins and Liam Neeson.     Martin was recently elected to the Irish association of artists Aosdána whose previous members include Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel.     In today's episode we talk about:

• Growing up in a one-up-one-down house of 12
• Martin's first jobs (cloth-cutter and dock worker)
• Articulating the working-class voice
• And pet lions.

  This episode was recorded live over Zoom as part of the Cathedral Quarter Out To Lunch Festival. Big thanks to them for giving us the opportunity and making today's show possible.     Check it out.   //   Webpage for episode: https://bestofbelfast.org/stories/martin-lynch-playwright     Best Of Belfast is Northern Ireland's #1 Interview Podcast. We've shared 180+ hour-long conversations with incredible people from Northern Ireland.     To find out more, or join 'The Producers Club' please visit https://bestofbelfast.org/     Cheers!     — Matt