Richard Polton is a native of Paterson, New Jersey, USA, and an expert on local history. He has been actively engaged in research and public history projects on the Paterson story, delivering many lectures on the city’s development. A published author of books like ‘Paterson’s Industrial Age’ (2023), he also gives walking tours and has been involved with the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson, the friends group of the Great Falls National Historical Park (part of the National Park system).

Today, he joins our Research Offier James to discuss the

2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Europe, and in this episode we chat with Mark Scott, author of a new book on D-Day, and the men from Ulster who served. The book draws on testimony from Northern Ireland veterans who took part in the D-Day operations.

Mark Scott is a researcher and author of two publications, ‘The man who shot the Great War’ (2016) and ‘Among the kings – the unknown warrior, an untold story’ (2020).

Scott joins us in the museum for a chat before his talk on Lisburn and the Second World War.

Join us as we chat with author and historian Ken Dawson on all things 1798. Who was Henry Munro? Why does 1798 matter? Find out!

Join us as we chat with Peter Forbes about Newtonards man, and founding members of the SAS, Blair 'Paddy' Mayne!

We speak with the fascinating Dr Jim O'Neill who has re-written the history of the Nine Years' War (1593-1693) in Ireland.

We chat wit Dr Sarah Doherty, Egyptologist, archaeologist and expert on everyday life in ancient Egypt!

In this conversation, we chat with Prof Eileen Murphy of Queen's University Belfast. Eileen shares details of her work on Belfast's famous Mummy, Takabuti!

Who was Takabuti? What are Lisburn's links to Takabuti? What are the ethical issues of displaying human remains? And why we should remember Takabuti as an individual..

For more information visit LisburnMuseum.com

Music credit:

Grey Head // REW<< // CC BY-NC 4.0

In this conversation, we chat with Dr Ken Griffin of the Egypt Centre, Swansea. Ken shares his career history, his work as a curator on a large collection, and his thoughts on the hot topics in Egyptology: repatriation, human remains and the racism of tv's Ancient Aliens!

For more information visit LisburnMuseum.com

Music credit:

Grey Head // REW<< // CC BY-NC 4.0

This episode features Professor Peter Gray of Queen's University Belfast. Peter's work examines the political culture of the Irish Volunteer movement in Lisburn and the Lagan Valley between 1778 and 1793. His work has a particular focus on Colonel William Sharman of Moira Castle. Peter's forthcoming book William Sharman Crawford and Ulster Radicalism is available from 1st November 2023 from UCD Press.