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A Peace of Us - The Good Friday Agreement Podcast

This Open University podcast discusses the ways in which The Good Friday Agreement changed our communities, arts, sports, and lives.

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Episode 1: The role of the Arts in a post-conflict society


Episode 1 host and guests

Photograph of our host, Jordan Keeny.

Host: Jordan Kenny, BBC Radio 1

Jordan Kenny’s a TV and radio presenter/reporter, normally heard on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme. Originally from Dromore in County Down, he worked for BBC Northern Ireland for four years before moving to London and joining Newsbeat in 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic he presented Coronavirus Catch-up on BBC iPlayer. He’s been heard across Radio 4, 5Live and the BBC World Service, and is a regular reporter for The Catch-Up on BBC Three. 


Photograph of our guest, Leesa Harker.Guest: Leesa Harker, writer and producer

Leesa Harker is an award-winning writer and producer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is a graduate of The Open University and Queens University, with a Masters degree in Creative Writing (screenwriting) – Distinction. Leesa has written and produced multiple plays, which have been produced in the UK, Ireland and Australia. She has written a radio comedy pilot, which was produced by BBC Northern Ireland and she has written comedy sketches for Soft Border Patrol, which was also produced by BBC Northern Ireland. Leesa worked as a Trainee Script Editor for Long Story TV on the second series of Hope Street and is currently writing an episode for Series 3 of Hope Street for Britbox and the BBC. Leesa wrote and produced a short film, The Bully, in 2023.


Photograph of our guest, Charlotte Dryden.Guest: Charlotte Dryden, CEO of The Oh Yeah Centre

Charlotte has an impressive background in leadership, music programming, event management, working with not-for-profit organisations, fund raising and music media. Since 2008, she has worked at Oh Yeah, rising to the position of Creative Development Director. Aside from her many accomplishments in this role, she was the co-founder of Love Music Hate Racism Northern Ireland and initiated the ground-breaking Women’s Work festival that featured in a series of venues across Belfast in March 2016



Episode 2: Sports and Communities

Episode 2 host and guests

Photograph of our host, Jordan Keeny.

Host: Jordan Kenny, BBC Radio 1

Jordan Kenny’s a TV and radio presenter/reporter, normally heard on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme. Originally from Dromore in County Down, he worked for BBC Northern Ireland for four years before moving to London and joining Newsbeat in 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic he presented Coronavirus Catch-up on BBC iPlayer. He’s been heard across Radio 4, 5Live and the BBC World Service, and is a regular reporter for The Catch-Up on BBC Three. 



Photograph of our guest, Cara Hamilton.Guest: Caragh Hamilton, Footballer, Glentoran and Northern Ireland

Caragh Hamilton is a 26 year old footballer who plays mid-field for Glentoran and has appeared in the national team for Northern Ireland. She is the youngest player to be capped for NI at senior level, (aged 15 & 121 days) She has had 33 Caps & 5 Goals for NI. Caragh is also a Freelance Broadcaster and pundit having worked for BBC, Sky Sports, Via-Play, and is the Co-Host of Born & Bred Podcast.



Photograph of our guest, Peter Canavan.Guest: Peter Canavan, Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit

Peter Canavan, Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals, six All Stars Awards (more than any other Ulster player, and joint third overall),[6] four provincial titles, and two National Leagues and several under-age and club championship medals. He represented Ireland in the International Rules Series on several occasions from 1998 until 2000. He is considered one of the great players of the last twenty years by commentators such as John Haughey of the BBC, and in 2009, he was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People in GAA History. His scoring record of 218 points is the second highest of all time in the Ulster Senior Football Championship. His early high scoring rate, when he would often be Tyrone's best performer– particularly in the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final when he scored eleven of Tyrone's twelve points—led to claims that Tyrone was a "one-man show," and that the team was too dependent on him, particularly in his early career.


Episode 3: Where is the Peace Dividend?

Episode 3 host and guests

Photograph of our host, Jordan Keeny.

Host: Jordan Kenny, BBC Radio 1

Jordan Kenny’s a TV and radio presenter/reporter, normally heard on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme. Originally from Dromore in County Down, he worked for BBC Northern Ireland for four years before moving to London and joining Newsbeat in 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic he presented Coronavirus Catch-up on BBC iPlayer. He’s been heard across Radio 4, 5Live and the BBC World Service, and is a regular reporter for The Catch-Up on BBC Three. 



A photograph of our guest, Dawn Purvis.Guest: Dawn Purvis, former politician and women’s rights activist

Dawn was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from March 2007-May 2011, representing the East Belfast constituency, first as a member of the Progressive Unionist Party and subsequently as an independent. Born in Belfast, Dawn joined the PUP in 1994 and first stood for the party in the elections to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Dawn was involved with various rounds of peace process negotiations before, during and after the Good Friday Agreement. Dawn left politics in 2011 and became Northern Ireland Programme Director with Marie Stopes International (MSI). She opened the first integrated sexual and reproductive healthcare centre in Belfast, the first of its kind on the island of Ireland. Before joining the social housing sector, Dawn worked as an independent consultant in various countries including Iraq, the Philippines and Ukraine where she supported peace efforts and pro-grammes supporting the inclusion of women in politics and civil society. In her spare time Dawn continues to serve as a trustee for various charities who work to tackle health and socio-economic disadvantage and exclusion.


A photograph of our guest, Aoife Moore.Guest: Aoife Moore, Irish Journalist

Aoife Moore is political correspondent for the Sunday Times Ireland and Irish Journalist of the Year 2021. Born in Derry city during the peace process, she has dedicated much of her career focusing on social justice and women’s issues as well as commentary on the Northern Ireland peace process. She has won awards for her coverage of riots in her hometown as well as investigations into Direct Provision, the Mother and Baby Homes and uncovering the Golfgate scandal. She is currently writing a book about modern Sinn Féin.


Episode 4: A time capsule for the next 25 years

Episode 4 host and guest

Photograph of our host, Jordan Keeny.

Host: Jordan Kenny, BBC Radio 1

Jordan Kenny’s a TV and radio presenter/reporter, normally heard on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme. Originally from Dromore in County Down, he worked for BBC Northern Ireland for four years before moving to London and joining Newsbeat in 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic he presented Coronavirus Catch-up on BBC iPlayer. He’s been heard across Radio 4, 5Live and the BBC World Service, and is a regular reporter for The Catch-Up on BBC Three. 



Photograph of our guest, Daniel Holder.

GFA & Rights Expert Guest: Daniel Holder

Daniel has been employed the Deputy Director of Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) since 2011. Prior to this he worked in the policy team of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for five years. Before that he led a migrant worker equality project run by the NGO the South Tyrone Empowerment Programme and Dungannon Council. He previously worked in Havana, Cuba as a language professional for the University of Havana, press agency Prensa Latina and national broadcaster, ICRT. He has a primary degree in Spanish and Sociology and an LLM in Human Rights Law, both from Queens University.


Podcast transcripts (PDF)

PDF document A Peace of Us Episode 1 Transcript.pdf 175.2 KB

PDF document A Peace of Us Episode 2 Transcript.pdf 191.1 KB

PDF document A Peace of Us Episode 3 Transcript.pdf 194.7 KB

PDF document A Peace of Us Episode 4 Transcript.pdf 163.3 KB


 

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