Features

Harkin back to the good old days

Rita Harkin is the research officer for the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, based in Donegall Pass. The UAHS encourages the conservation and preservation of our historic buildings.

I was born in… 

Magherafelt.

I grew up in… 

Maghera.

I now live…

off Welllington Park

I was educated at… 

St Mary's Grammar School, Magherafelt and Edinburgh College of Art

My earliest memory is… 

being bathed in the kitchen sink

When I was a

People Like You – Patrick McDonald

Economic Development Worker at the West Belfast Partnership Board, Patrick McDonald, chats to the Andytown News this week about his mother’s desire to get the scissors out and his first ever ‘thrilling’ music purchase

1. Where were you born? 

Just outside Teemore in Co Fermanagh.

2. Where were you educated?

I went to Teemore Primary School, St Aidan’s in Derrylin, Fermanagh College and finally to the University of Greater 

Manchester.

3. What’s your earliest memory?

It would be my

Staying in style in the Big Apple

The inhospitable weather and lashing summer rain has turned many people's thoughts to sunnier climes, and a break from the relentless Belfast summer weather.

There’s never been a better time to visit North America, but if it's the north east you're heading for, there's no guarantee of a sunshine or a dry spell. 

We visited New York for three days in mid-July and on arrival and departure we were greeted with a huge electrical storm and heavy rain that

The peace process as seen from the inside

Journalists are a privileged lot who get to ask questions and  to enter  doors barred to the rest of us. Former BBC journalist Brian Rowan is one such and in this book he explains what it felt like to be close to defining and sometimes frightening moments in our history over the past ten years. He also draws on more recent interviews he conducted with major players such as Gusty Spence, Danny Morrison and John Alderdice.

'Stormontgate', 'Guns', 'Policing',

From the cathedral to the castle, the north’s tourist trail opens up

From the wilds of Cavehill and the splendour of Belfast Castle to atmospheric Sailortown and one of Europe's prettiest zoos, North Belfast is celebrating its relaunch as one of the city's most fascinating must-sees.

With its perfect blend of history, architecture and culture, North Belfast boasts an impressive melange of stops on its trail of visitor attractions.

A taste of the old and a splash of the new have helped make up a tasty Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau

Farewell to parish that took Aidan to its heart

When a group of young Ardoyne girls excitedly don new school uniforms for their first day at secondary school next month they won't be the only ones embarking on a new life after the trauma of the Holy Cross protest seven years ago.

For in just a month's time Father Aidan Troy will pack his bags and say goodbye to Ardoyne for the last time as he heads off to a new post as a parish priest in Paris.