Since its creation a century ago, perceptions of Northern Ireland have often been dominated by stories of conflict and political unrest. But as anyone who lives there or who has visited knows, it’s a picture that’s far from complete.

Five essays reveal Another Northern Ireland in its centenary year - the idiosyncrasies of the everyday, hidden histories and untold stories, which outsiders rarely get to hear about but which each of these writers inhabits, lives and understands.

Novelist Glenn Patterson takes us into the Belfast hairdressers, clothes shops and clubs that assumed an urgent significance during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Written and read by Glenn Patterson

Since its creation a century ago, perceptions of Northern Ireland have often been dominated by stories of conflict and political unrest. But as anyone who lives there or who has visited knows, it’s a picture that’s far from complete.

Five essays reveal Another Northern Ireland in its centenary year - the idiosyncrasies of the everyday, hidden histories and untold stories, which outsiders rarely get to hear about but which each of these writers inhabits, lives and understands.

After discovering a message chalked on a wall, writer Claire Mitchell peels back the layers of her County Down hometown to discover a hidden radical history.

Written and read by Claire Mitchell

Since its creation a century ago, perceptions of Northern Ireland have often been dominated by stories of conflict and political unrest. But as anyone who lives there or who has visited knows, it’s a picture that’s far from complete.

Five essays reveal Another Northern Ireland in its centenary year - the idiosyncrasies of the everyday, hidden histories and untold stories, which outsiders rarely get to hear about but which each of these writers inhabits, lives and understands.

Poet Mícheál McCann has always believed that, for queer people like him, to leave for the big city is not just a verb but a commandment. But at a traditional rural Northern Ireland wake, a mourning rite for his uncle, he reconsiders his understanding of ‘home’ and asks if it could come to mean something different.

Written and read by Mícheál McCann

Since its creation a century ago, perceptions of Northern Ireland have often been dominated by stories of conflict and political unrest. But as anyone who lives there or who has visited knows, it’s a picture that’s far from complete.

Poet Gail McConnell talks about Northern Ireland’s connection to the sea and its inspiration in the poet Louis MacNeice’s work and life as well as her own.

Written and read by Gail McConnell

Since its creation a century ago, perceptions of Northern Ireland have often been dominated by stories of conflict and political unrest. But as anyone who lives there or who has visited knows, it’s a picture that’s far from complete.

Five essayists reveal Another Northern Ireland in its centenary year - the idiosyncrasies of the everyday, hidden histories and untold stories, which outsiders rarely get to hear about but which each of these writers inhabits, lives and understands.

Author Jan Carson talks about the women who kept her Presbyterian church supplied with tea and traybakes when she was growing up - and reveals what they taught her about finding her own voice.

Written and read by Jan Carson

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings.

In the last of five illustrated essays, Chris vividly recalls his quest to capture the sounds of isolation when he goes in search of the entrance to the centre of the earth. Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel he travels from sea level to volcanic crater drawn by the unique sounds of Iceland.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings.

In the fourth of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls his quest to record wild voices in the darkness and isolation of Dryburn Moor in Northumberland. It can be a real challenge to find a truly isolated place in the UK, but here on the high Pennines, Chris was rewarded with a serenade of birds, which he can hear but can’t see until the night evolves into day.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings.

In the third of five illustrated essays, Chris vividly recalls his quest to capture the voices of a black throated diver or, 'musta kuikka', on an isolated lake in Finland having been inspired by a painting of Lake Keitele by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Surrounded by a vast forest, he experiences a powerful sense and spirit of place as he watches, waits and listens.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings.

In the second of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls an exhausting and chilling climb to the pinnacle of Skellig Michael, an isolated rock which rises over 700ft out of the Atlantic Ocean off the south west coast of Ireland to capture the wailing cries of the inhabitants which return here at night under the cover of darkness.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings.

In the first of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls a trip to Antarctica, to a landscape which has been described as ‘The Great White Silence’ to record one of the greatest transitional events on the planet; the sounds of a glacier being transformed over the Antarctic summer from a solid mountain of freshwater ice into the salt water of the Ross Sea.

Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol. Photo courtesy Chris Watson.