Shows
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep47 Niall HannaNiall Hanna: Portrait of an ArtistMartin Mac returns to talk to Niall Hanna, the singer/songwriter from Derrytresk, a friend in more ways than one; since renowned singer Geordie Hanna was both Martin's uncle and Niall's grandfather. Niall tells how he grew up listening to recordings of his grandfather's songs and learning to play trad music. But in his teenage years he discovered Pink Floyd and the electric guitar. Later he joined an indie band and composed some songs whose titles he now chooses to forget. Eventually he returned to Irish traditional music and s...2025-06-291h 20
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep46 Feargal McCroryFeargal McCrory - From Brackaville to Brooklyn following a dream.Fearless Feargal McCrory has made huge physical and emotional sacrifices in his quest to win a World boxing title. That mission continued after last year's title challenge defeat, when the fight was stopped, leaving him hugely frustrated as he felt he had the answers to carry on. Feargal recalls the sounds and the smell and the huge blue punch bag, when his father Anthony, a decent boxer, took him to the boxing club when he was just six. To focus on a serious boxing ca...2025-06-161h 05
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Leo Quinn Ep 45Leo Quinn - Family, Football and Fun! Leo Quinn enjoys the craic!.. Team Leader for Mid Ulster Youth Service, he is a life-long Coalisland Fianna member brought up in the traditions of the club. His father Tommy was long-term club secretary and team bus driver and older brother Martin managed the minors to championship victory. Leo also recalls his own great minor win and happy childhood memories about the town, including a glory night of snooker and trips to the cinema on the Lineside. Leo & Ronan share memories and pay tribute to the Fianna co...2025-06-021h 17
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Kenny Archer Part 2 Ep44Kenny Archer (Part 2) - Celebrating champions in Croke Park, Istanbul and Dungannon Square.A Liverpool fanatic, Kenny recalls the night of a life-time in Istanbul, the Tyrone reporters in the press box in Croke Park when the Sam Maguire Cup was won and pays tribute to Dungannon Swifts on their marvellous Irish Cup win. He also gives an insight into the selection process of the GAA football All Stars which causes much annual debate.Kenny's father passed away in 2020 and he shares a column he wrote in tribute to Jack Archer that recalled precious memories of c...2025-05-2349 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Kenny Archer Ep 43Kenny Archer (Part 1) - Deputy Sports Editor of the Irish News & Liverpool fanatic. When Kenny and Ronan two writers, newspaper columnists, sport lovers and Merseyside rivals got talking, it was inevitable the conversation would go on for a while.. .In the first part of TheMacs podcast, Kenny recalls the stars of his youth who fired his imagination: Campbell/Ward, Ovett/Coe, McEnroe/Connors, Hagler/Hearns and of course his beloved Liverpool 1978 European Cup winners.. Dalglish, Souness, McDermott... From Keenaghan, between Bush and Coalisland, he also remembers the frustration of attending the Royal School in D...2025-05-1852 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Bugsy McMahon Ep42Bugsy McMahon - all his world's a stage.Currently enjoying a sell-out run with The Snapper, actor, director and all-round stage devotee Bugsy McMahon enjoys a chat with Ronan Mac and TwoMacs producer Oliver, also a theatre veteran. Bugsy (why Bugsy?!) recalls a childhood inspired by his late mother Eithne RIP, a fabulous musician, and father Aidan a great Tyrone midfielder and hugely popular school teacher. From Donaghmore, his introduction to the stage was at the Bardic Theatre. He pays tribute to Sean Faloon, the father figure of the Bardic and many who thread th...2025-05-041h 20
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Pearse Kelly Ep41Pearse Kelly - When Coalisland was snooker loopyDennis Taylor's epic World Snooker title win is all of 40 years ago this week. We celebrate a time when snooker in Coalisland was vibrant with players of all abilities and ages on the green baizes. Snooker aficionado Pearse Kelly recalls men like Jim Joe, his son Joe, Vincent Gervin and Louis Conlon who ran Gervin's Hall a bastion of snooker and billiards in the North. Lads turned back the clock to nick more time, got a swish of Jim Joe's feather duster when they cli...2025-04-231h 18
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Bernadette Devlin McAliskey Ep 40 Part2Bernadette McAliskey (Devlin) Part 2Still campaigning for justice and equality for all. Bernadette continues her journey as she advocates for justice and equality, not least for the bombarded population of Palestine, and all those downtrodden by capitalist greed and the rise of fascism.She recalls 'The Greatest' Muhammad Ali requesting to meet her and attending 'The Fight of the Century', Ali versus Frazier in 1971 at Madison Square Gardens, during an incredible era for heavyweight boxing.Bernadette and her husband Michael were shot by loyalists, and she tells how, as she lay i...2025-04-071h 12
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Bernadette Devlin McAliskey EP 39 PART 1Bernadette McAliskey (Devlin) Part 1 - The early years and making her mark. Born in Molesworth Street in Cookstown, by the age of 21, Bernadette was the MP for Mid Ulster and on the front line of the march for Civil Rights in the North of Ireland. Just nine when her father John died, she recalls her parents love and a note they sent annually to school to protect their children from corporal punishment. She also speaks of the strength and fortitute of her mother Lizzie, who instilled many of her trai...2025-04-031h 07
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep38 Sean Quinn & Sean McCabe Part 2Sean McCabe & Sean Quinn - Part IIThe second half of our Podcast with the Two Seans (McCabe & Quinn), Clonoe and Brackaville stalwarts. They recall how clubs often sought Joe McCabe's advice when facing difficulty with the rule makers while Sean McCabe also pays tribute to his wife Dolores, who had a fantastic football and camogie career. Credo award recipient Sean Quinn talks about decades attending Tyrone County Board meetings and the great administrators down the years. He also recalls glory at Brackaville, including a special day when they beat the mighty Omagh in th...2025-03-141h 04
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep37 Sean Quinn & Sean McCabe Part 1Part 1 - The Two Sean's.GAA stalwarts Sean McCabe from Clonoe and Sean Quinn of Brackaville join us for a wide-ranging discussion filled with hurling and football stories and memories, local and All Ireland.On the weekend Naomh Colum Cille held their dinner dance and presentations, Sean Quinn reflects on a great night with a poignant tribute to their player Caolan Devlin RIP, marking his first anniversary.They trace the history of Naomh Colum Cille as Sean McCabe remembers lining out in their first game with the U16s in 1986 and a youth trip...2025-03-1251 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Malachy Falls Ep 36Malachy Falls - Reeling in the Memories.Malachy remembers way back to being lifted by his mother to look across Lough Neagh at the blitz on Belfast during World War II.Born in Aughamullan, Falls' family bar, post office and grocery shop was a hub of activity. His father died when Malachy was just five and he recalls being taught by his sisters in primary school, being carried to Coalisland on the bar of a bicycle, dangerous swimming in the Lough, the disbanded Washingbay Shamrocks GAA club, that preceded Derrylaughan Kevin Barrys, and being measured...2025-03-031h 13
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 35 Tommy CorrTommy Corr - boxing history maker and football star.Tommy Corr from Clonoe excelled in the boxing ring, in 1982 becoming the first fighter to win a medal for Ireland at the World Amateur Championships. In a stellar football career, he played in a raft of county finals with his beloved O'Rahilly club. The former Olympian, who was a household name in Ireland, shares memories of his introduction to boxing under the tutelage of Frank Gervin, the fabulous young local boxers, through to competing at the highest level and meeting icons of world sport. Whi...2025-02-191h 06
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep34 Johnny CummingsJohnny Cummings - Go, Johnny, Go!The inspiring Johnny Cummings from Coalisland recalls his journey to the Paralympic Games in Beijing, until health reasons ended his swimming career, the onset of dark days and coming back into the light with the love and support of his family, friends and the local community.There was no room for self-pity as his parents engendered in Johnny a steely determination, while he joined in all the childhood games with a group of boys went on to be a golden generation of Fianna footballers. Johnny played for the Blues...2025-02-0954 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 33 Damian O'HaganDamian O'Hagan - A school boy destined for greatness Ronan in conversation with Damian O'Hagan that goes right back to their days in Primary school when he was taken out of class to play with the big boys on the school team.An incredible underage footballer and athlete , Damian recalls a career, now into its sixth decade, that includes playing in an All Ireland final when he was 15 and becoming a household name collecting club and county championship medals and a prestigious All Star along the way. And to think he could have played for th...2025-02-031h 13
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep32 Tom HerronTom Herron - A breath of fresh air.There's never been a dull moment with Tom Herron from Coalisland, who recalls his fascinating journey from bookmaker to psychologist. Following the death of his father, when he was a boy Tom faced more trauma in Primary Schoolwhile college was a mix of terror and madcap capers. Catapulted into running a bookies when he was a teenager, he met great characters in the gambling world but also sought solace in alcohol. The death of a close friend lead him into reviewing his journey through li...2025-01-211h 05
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 31 Cathal O'NeillCathal O'Neill - On Song PlayerTo perform well is to be "on song," and the term applies to newly appointed Derrytresk chairman Cathal O'Neill in more ways than one. Not only has he achieved great success on the football field at club and county level, but he also won the All-Ireland singing competition at the 2011 fleadh in Cavan. In 2015 he released an album - "Inherited" - featuring songs learned from the singing of his late father, John, his granny, Sarah Anne O'Neill, and his great-uncle Geordie Hanna. Of course Martin is related to Cathal, b...2025-01-091h 07
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep31 Cathal O'NeillCathal O'Neill - On Song PlayerTo perform well is to be "on song," and the term applies to newly appointed Derrytresk chairman Cathal O'Neill in more ways than one. Not only has he achieved great success on the football field at club and county level, but he also won the All-Ireland singing competition at the 2011 fleadh in Cavan. In 2015 he released an album - "Inherited" - featuring songs learned from the singing of his late father, John, his granny, Sarah Anne O'Neill, and his great-uncle Geordie Hanna. Of course Martin is related to Cathal, b...2025-01-091h 22
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast EP 30 The Story ContinuesThe Story Continues John Lennon sang: 'So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun.'In this first podcast of 2025 Ronan and Martin reflect on the past year with special reference to stories and their adventures as TwoMacs. Each human life can be told as a story with its own cast of characters. Ronan speaks about a past podcast and makes amends to someone very close; while Martin shares a strange theory about Hanna heads rejecting woolly hats. There are all kinds of stories. Some are pe...2025-01-0157 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep29 Mickey MansellThere's only one Mickey Mansell!..The Clonoe Cyclone dropped in for a chat before heading off to the World Darts Championship set to commence at Alexandra Palace on Sunday. Fresh from his marvellous display at the Grand Slam of Darts, Mickey recalls how retrieving a thrown-out dart board began his passion for stepping up to the oche, competing in Gervins, his mentor Tommy ('Dart') Scullion and how another Coalisland character helped prepare him psychologically for his first World qualification in 2010. Mickey also talks about the relentless preparation and staying focused while the crowds in their costumes go...2024-12-1357 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 28 Mark ShieldsMark Shields - Local TreasureYou've heard the phrase 'national treasure', well this week's guest is a local treasure named Mark Shields, who currently teaches English/Drama at St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon. Most national treasures are elderly but Mark is still (comparatively) young and has packed an awful lot into his life on the planet. Back in the nineties he was the captain of the Fianna GAA team. Later on, he became a different kind of player, treading the boards at various theatres, before going on to direct and even write plays. In this lively a...2024-12-081h 05
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 27 Anne CadwalladerAnne Cadwallader - uncovering the truth.This week's TwoMacs Podcast comes from the home of distinguished investigate journalist Anne Cadwallader. Anne is best known as author of Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland (Mercier Press, 2013) written when she worked at the Pat Finucane Centre for Human Rights. For years there were claims that loyalists were helped and guided by members of the RUC and UDR, but there was no proof.Farmers, shopkeepers, publicans and businessmen were slaughtered in a bloody decade of bombings and shootings in an area that became known as 'The Murder Triangle', in...2024-11-281h 03
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 26 Sounding a RetreatSounding a RetreatThe Two Macs are back together, with Ronan facilitating a discussion on meditation and spirituality between Martin and special guest Philip Morgan. Philip is a local yoga teacher whose students come from all walks of life, including the Catholic priesthood. Yoga is all about yoking body and mind together in healthful harmony, and Philip is a great example of just how beneficial daily practice can be. Martin speaks of a retreat he'll be giving on prayer and poetry at Benburb Priory on Saturday 23rd November. Both he and Philip agree on how necessary...2024-11-2054 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 25 Kevin Hanna Pt2Kevin Hanna - GOAT Storyteller. Yes, it's the return of the man who never went away. Kevin tells stories of a country childhood and of his early working life, bizarre 1970s fashion and a trip to see Queen in Slane, which are guaranteed to both startle and fascinate listeners. There's tales of having to catch the Sunday dinner, using a ferret to snare rabbits and setting traps for British soldiers in the wilds of the Loughshore peat moss. After all that, Martin's reading of a Robert Service poem about Sam mcGee seems quite tame....2024-11-141h 03
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep24 Micky CarolanMicky Carolan recalls life in Coalisland going back to the 1950s, a time of happy school days, when kids learned to swim in the canal, local coal mines were operating, many shopkeepers lived in the town and future World snooker champion Dennis Taylor sold ice cream at the cinema on Lineside.He also tells the tragic story of his Grandfather Michael McGinty who was killed in an attack up an entry on Main Street in 1922: his assailant was jailed for three years for manslaughter.And great adventures, including a brush with death in a Microlite...2024-11-0759 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 23 Jonny NixonOriginally from Omagh, singer/songwriter Jonny Nixon (a good friend of Martin's) is now based in Belfast. He and Martin have a lively chat about music and the creative process, as well as meditation and spirituality. The two friends recall their experience of being on a Buddhist retreat led by American Jesuit priest Robert Kennedy. (Not another reference to the Kennedys! You couldn't make it up.)A number of Jonny's songs also feature.Link below to interview with Jonny on NVTV (Northern Visions TV) https://tinyurl.com/muhmmk3t2024-10-311h 01
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 22 Gareth DevlinAt the age of 35, Gareth Devlin, aka Manies, captured the imagination of a nation of TG4 GAA viewers when he was in a shoot-out with the great David Clifford. He talked to his former neighbour Ronan about his many years with his beloved Stewartstown that included All Ireland finals 18 years apart, an Ulster Club All Star, pays tribute to Feargal Logan and recalls his team-mates from an All Ireland minor triumph, including the late Johnny Curran RIP. He is also scathing of modern football tactics and hopes the new rules will be an improvement.Now married to S...2024-10-2455 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep21 Talking Hard WorkMartin and Ronan recall decades of work that took them from building sites to websites and their dream jobs. Recalling a time health & safety rules were virtually non-existent, a newspaper & milk round, gathering spuds and turf, a flying kettle, when Tyrone Crystal was thriving through to school janitor, window cleaning, factory work and those heady days of teaching and journalism. Stories & memories galore - but is there any work in the Two Macs?2024-10-151h 07TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 20 History on ScreenHistory on ScreenRonan and Martin discuss how various historical events have been depicted in films and on television. The sensational US tv series Roots is discussed as is Jim Sheridan's Oscar nominated movie In the Name of the Father and Robert Redford's Quiz Show, as well as The Program a movie depicting the career and uncovering of cycling cheat Lance Armstrong.Film makers use the phrase 'based on a true story', but sometimes stray far from actual events, as Ronan discovered when taking a second look at the Stephen Frears film Philomena. As Martin...2024-10-091h 02
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 19 Lynette McShaneAs the Ladies club finals beckon this weekend, we're joined by All Star recipient Lynette McShane (Hughes) one of the most decorated players in Tyrone.Lynette recalls playing and winning championships with her mother in Carrickmore, the Tyrone years and crossing The Mountains of Pomeroy and joining the Fianna club to lift another championship medal, on a day brings back very happy memories for Ronan.She also talks about faith, family and friendships forged through football.2024-10-021h 10
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 18 Kieran McCaugheryThe conversation begins with Kieran fondly remembering his parents and their decision to send him from home in West Belfast to boarding school at St Michael's College Omeath. The year was 1969 and the Troubles were looming. He and Martin also pay tribute to their much missed friend Paddy Herron, whom Kieran first met at St Patrick's College Armagh. Eventually Kieran became a podiatrist and settled in Dungannon. One of his more memorable patients was Martin's mother. A natural raconteur, Kieran tells his story with great candour, humour and insight.2024-09-231h 04TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep17 Tony DonnellyTony DonnellyIt was a pleasure to chat with an old 'mature student' Queens' university friend Tony Donnelly from Galbally. Great memories, with loads of laughs along the way, remembering going back to learning in our 30s. Tony stayed with the spade while Ronan went digging with a pen, to paraphrase Seamus Heaney. Also, our journeys into hurling, albeit we never swung a hurl in anger. Song, poetry and a reading in tribute to Tyrone's greatest ever hurler, the late Damian Casey RIP, a fantastic young man who is so sorely missed.2024-09-141h 02TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep16 Back to SchoolSchool - the best days of your life?As the children go back to school, the Two Macs recall those days way back filled with a mix of fear, foreboding and fondness. From a coathanger used to wield punishment, the dreaded yellow bed, there were also wonderful teachers and memories of quirky songs, poems and offbeat incidents. Remembering a school yard bully and a nun who got a taste of her own medicine while Martin also recalls his teaching days and regales us with a song as he did his pupils.2024-09-0352 minTwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep15 'Identity''Identity' - a word very much in vogue these days - is examined by the TwoMacs whose formative years were the 1970s. Struggling to keep up with ever-changing political correctness, the discussion includes men with pushchairs, insults, whether the 'n'-word can be used in context, a social experiment proposal to walk hand-in-hand on Main Street and a student who identified as a horse. Do we decide our identity or do others? A thought provoking, challenging and entertaining chat this week.2024-08-2752 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 14 Andy GriggsFrom Essex to Newmills & Brackaville GAA club via United Arab Emirates, Andy Griggs is doing all he can to make the world a better place. Tragically his 19-year-old son Joshua, a talented young Gaelic footballer and coach, died three years ago. His passing and that of Andy's young friend Joshua Green was an inspiration for Camp Joshua that has a variety of sports and hobbies on offer, for free, to hundreds of children. Younger son Nick is a world class record breaking runner who has an entire community and country willing him to success. In a fasc...2024-08-2052 min
TwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep 13Martin talks to Damian 'mor' O'Neill, the local Irish language worker, about Irish culture. They discuss history, literature and sport and uncover some curious but little known stories of old. As Damian says of history, "Staire casta é" - that is, it's complex, twisted...The book Martin reads from at the start of the podcast is The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys by Doris Kearns Goodwin.2024-08-0346 minTwoMacs PodcastTwoMacs Podcast Ep12: The Power and Perils of SportsSport has the power to let us forget our troubles for a while as we bask in the excitement of human endeavour, courage and competition. However charlatans, shysters and cheats also taint great competitions. The TwoMacs recall fantastic Olympic memories and heroes going back decades, as well as the darker side with those who cheated their way to the podium. We also recall cyclists whose glory was a lie, boxing fixes, a few dodgy GAA refs and a battle to end all battles in Croke Park, when on-field decisions resulted in Derry supporters and the Gardai engaged in m...2024-07-301h 02