A brand new history podcast is set to bring Belfast‘s forgotten stories back to life, uncovering the people, traditions and events that shaped its past.
Dara Barrett of Memory Lane Tours Belfast and James Rea Jr. of Belfast Bohemian Productions have teamed up to launch ‘The Resurrection Boys’, a podcast exploring the forgotten stories buried beneath our streets.
The west Belfast natives have worked together on cemetery tours for almost a decade. The new podcast hopes to bring these stories of genealogy, funeral traditions and misconceptions to a wider audience.
James said the podcast is about shedding new light on the past and helping people better understand the history that surrounds them.
Dara Barrett and James Rea Jr. want to challenge misconceptions and educate people in their podcast launching next month. PICTURE: MAL MCCANN
He told The Irish News: “We are resurrecting the past and resurrecting those stories that revolve around the history of funeral directory, funeral customs and traditions, but also about the individuals that have made their mark on Belfast.
“We are both very passionate about the topic. One of the things I think is intrinsic to who we are as a people is that we’re curious about our past and our identity and anything that sheds light on our identity.
“That is not just the Troubles, but also as a history of a nation that we are, I think, pre-built as storytellers, that we’re pre-built for interested in discovering and accepting who we are and the multifaceted history that we have encompasses so many different parts of that.”
Dara Barrett who is doing virtual tours of the City Cemetery in west Belfast Picture Mal McCann.
Dara has been leading tours of Belfast’s cemeteries for 14 years, uncovering the fascinating histories hidden within their grounds..
He told The Irish News: “We’re all big into nostalgia here and we’re natural storytellers. The whole process is about ending stereotypes about the orange and green and bringing people together. We go into things from First World War, Titanic, legacy of the past.”
By the mid-1860s, Belfast’s existing burial grounds, including Friar’s Bush and Shankill Graveyard, had reached capacity, prompting the opening of Belfast City Cemetery as a non-denominational burial site.
Today, the cemetery is the resting place of more than 230,000 people. Among those buried there are industrialists, victims of the Titanic and figures connected to the Troubles.
The podcast is set to launch next month, and Dara hopes it will challenge misconceptions and educate people.
He added: “We want to touch on important subjects, like family funerals. We have the cost of living, food poverty and fuel poverty.
“But the deadliest of all is funeral poverty where people are going into debt and danger to pay for their loved one’s funeral. The thing is, you don’t need a funeral director, you never have needed a funeral director, and this podcast is about giving people that vehicle. How do you go about that?
“People are fascinated by graveyards and cemeteries. Along this road, during the podcast, we’ll be going into different graveyards, not just in West Belfast, but further afield that we want to go into and explain the history.”