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The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#74🎙️ |Public Inquiry Review of the week 2nd June 2026 |This week at the Public Inquiry, the discussion appeared to be about roads, heritage and planning policy. But beneath the technical evidence, a much bigger question emerged. What happens when a system designed to assess categories is asked to understand memory, faith, community and belonging? In this episode, I reflect on why many people feel the outcome is already predetermined, why communities often prevail not by convincing those in power but by convincing each other, and why the real legacy of the Inquiry may be the strengthening of the community itself. ...
2026-06-0607 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#73🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 2nd June 2026 Day 3 |Day 29 of the Dalradian Public Inquiry brought archaeology, peatlands and heritage into sharp focus, along with some uncomfortable questions about conditions, timetables and public participation. We hear contrasting evidence from Dr Jill Plunkett and HED, discuss the implications of archaeological mitigation, and reflect on the growing frustration among third parties as key topics are quietly set aside and timetable pressures continue to mount. Plus, a heartfelt thank you to the Earth Mamas, whose songs reminded us all why this fight matters.
2026-06-0511 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#72🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 2 June 2026 Day 2 |Today the Public Inquiry heard evidence on historic roads, religious heritage, intangible cultural heritage and the deep connections between people, language and landscape. What emerged was a profound question: can everything that matters be measured? In a day that featured testimony from Father Joe McVeigh , Sinéad Ní Mhearnóg, Dr. Peadar Mac Gabhann, Liam Monaghan, Dr. Vicenza Cirifice and others, the discussion moved into the realms of memory, belonging, identity and community. In this episode: Historic roads and access in the Sperrins The cultural and spiritual significance of mass rocks Father Pat McVey on...
2026-06-0309 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#71🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 2nd June 2026 Day 1 |Today I take a closer look at one of the most fascinating aspects of the Public Inquiry – not the evidence itself, but how that evidence is presented. When does advocacy become narrative building? How are facts framed, emphasised, minimised or reinterpreted? And what should third parties be listening out for as the Inquiry continues? In this episode: How barristers shape narratives without necessarily disputing facts The difference between facts and interpretations of facts Why omitted context can be as important as what is said The debate around cultural and intangible heritage Community consultation – what happ...
2026-06-0210 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#70🎙️ Public Inquiry The Mass Rock - Bonus EpisodeThe Mass Rock, Memory and Corporate Colonialism What is it that makes a place sacred? In this episode I reflect on childhood memories of an ancient ráth in County Kildare and the deep sense of mystery, belonging and connection it inspired. Those memories lead me to the Crockanboy Mass Rock in the Sperrins and a wider question about heritage, community and who gets to decide what places matter. In this episode: The childhood ráth that shaped my understanding of place and belonging Why sacred places matter beyond their physical form The history an...
2026-06-0113 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#69🎙️ |Public Inquiry Review of the week 26th May 2026 |This week I reflect on the growing questions around trust, public accountability and whether public infrastructure is being altered to serve the public interest or private commercial interests. In this episode: • The proposed abandonment of a public road • Public interest versus commercial interest • Road safety and risk • The role of DfI Roads • Communities becoming "receptors" • Confidence in public institutions • Trust, transparency and accountability • Why this inquiry increasingly feels like a debate about democracy itself A look back at the week's hearings...
2026-05-3007 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#68🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 26th May 2026 Day 2-Afternoon |The afternoon session moved into the world of planning conditions, trigger points and whether the safeguards attached to major developments are actually capable of protecting communities and public infrastructure. In this episode: • What planning conditions are and why they matter • The six tests that planning conditions are supposed to satisfy • Debate over trigger points and when development should be allowed to commence • Concerns around the abandonment of the existing road network • Questions about what happens if the proposed replacement road fails safety requirements • Discussion around road adoption and the prospect of private r...
2026-05-2909 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#67🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 26th May 2026 Day 2 morning |Today’s inquiry heard explosive concerns over the proposed abandonment of the old road and its replacement with what many believe is effectively a mining haul road in disguise — a Via Pretensa. From traffic chaos and explosives transport, to access to the historic Mass Rock, human rights, road safety, and accusations that local communities are being turned into a “sacrifice zone”, emotions boiled over inside the hearing room. This episode covers: The reality behind the proposed “replacement” road Safety concerns over mine traffic and explosives transport Access issues surrounding the historic Mass Rock Claims of inadequat...
2026-05-2709 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#66🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 26th May 2026 Day 1 |Today at the PAC Inquiry the focus returned once again to the controversial road abandonment and replacement road proposals linked to the Dalradian gold mine application. Questions around process, fairness, engineering standards and public participation continued to grow as third parties challenged both the procedure and the proposed road design itself. In this episode: DfI Roads arrives in force at the Inquiry Ongoing confusion around the “conjoined inquiry” process Questions over whether inquiry rules are being selectively applied Calls for an adjournment after the exclusion of roads expert Doug Hill Debate over tourism impacts and recreational use...
2026-05-2609 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#65.🎙️ |Public Inquiry - Review of Week Beginning 18th May 2026| Public Inquiry Review of the Week Growing concerns over procedural fairness and democratic accountability Retired engineer Douglas Hill challenges the Roads Abandonment process Local communities defend vital rural infrastructure and public safety DfI neutrality questioned as confidence in the process continues to erode Timetable chaos, cancelled hearings and mounting pressure on campaigners Reflections on environmental justice, public trust and community resistance The latest from the Save Our Sperrins campaign and the Dalradian inquiry New podcast episode available now https://www.dontmineus.com  SAVE OUR SPERRINS ( Social Media)  https://linktr.ee/saveoursperrins https://dontmineus.co...
2026-05-2306 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#64 🎙️|Public Inquiry Week Beginning 19th May 2026 | Day 4In this episode, I unpack the latest developments at the Dalradian public inquiry, including delays, adjournments, and the withdrawal of the judicial review surrounding the landscape hearings. I also reflect on a powerful discussion with Indigenous climate activist Ariel Deranger and the striking parallels between Indigenous environmental struggles and what communities here in the Sperrins are experiencing today. Topics covered include: • Dalradian public inquiry updates • Judicial review withdrawn • Landscape hearings postponed • Roads inquiry continues • Indigenous climate justice • Rural communities and environmental activism • Planning systems and democracy • Save Our Sperrin...
2026-05-2105 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#63 🎙️|Public Inquiry Week Beginning 19th May 2026 | Day 3• Extraordinary scenes from the Roads Inquiry into the proposed abandonment of the U1244 road • Retired senior roads engineer Doug Hill challenges the integrity and compliance of the process • Concerns raised around road safety, visibility, drainage, heavy traffic and emergency access • Questions over democratic accountability, procedural fairness and public confidence • Discussion around the erosion of standards, compliance and duty of candour within public institutions • The growing influence of big business, lobbying and political pressure in Northern Ireland • Why Doug Hill’s intervention became the defining moment of the day • Plus: applications officially open for the completely...
2026-05-2110 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#62 🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 19th May 2026| Day 2 Senior roads engineers challenge the handling of the Dalradian road proposals Questions raised over safety, baseline surveys and the use of Section 76 Communities reduced to “receptors” in the language of the Inquiry Witnesses speak openly about feeling dismissed and disrespected Fresh criticism of DfI Roads and the constantly shifting process Concerns over haul roads, school safety, traffic volumes and consultation failures Campaigners accuse the PAC of facilitating strategy rather than scrutinising evidence Another extraordinary day inside the Public Inquiry https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/  
2026-05-1911 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#61🎙️ |Public Inquiry Week Beginning 18th May 2026 | Day 1Roads, Questions & Wearing People Down • Another long day inside the Dalradian Public Inquiry • Roads, traffic surveys and Article 11 discussions dominate proceedings • Concerns raised over outdated baseline traffic data from 2015 • Third parties forced to answer before hearing applicant responses • Growing frustration around fairness, process and “equality of arms” • Douglas Hill challenges DfI Roads evidence and lack of updated modelling • Local residents speak about safety, noise, HGVs and rural roads • Questions raised around enforcement, planning conditions and long-term accountability • Section 76 agreements discussed  but who carries the risk when the gold is gone? • Reflections...
2026-05-1909 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#60🎙️ |Public Inquiry - Review of Week Beginning 12th May 2026|🎙️ Review of the Week — Public Inquiry Podcast This week at the Public Inquiry: • closure bond and long term liability discussions • farming, tourism and environmental concerns • testimony from communities impacted by mining around the world • growing frustration around planning policy and departmental neutrality • ongoing timetable chaos and procedural fairness concerns • the emotional toll this process is taking on local people Another exhausting week in the Sperrins as the inquiry process continues to go round and round. Link to the podcast by Pat and Nuala Gheoghegan - https://buttonsoptions4u.po...
2026-05-1611 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#59 🎙️ | Public Inquiry - Week Beginning 12th May 2026 | Day 3PODCAST DESCRIPTION • Chaos and confusion at the Dalradian Gold Mine Public Inquiry • Emergency timetable changes leave legal teams and expert witnesses scrambling • Serious questions raised about the handling of the inquiry by the PAC • Debate erupts over whether Dalradian’s “Dry Stack Facility” is actually a mine waste tailings facility • Department counsel Mr Elvin rejects WM01 waste policy designation during heated exchanges • Concerns raised about neutrality, fairness and equality of arms within the process • Third parties express frustration at the growing disorder and wasted public money • Save Our Sperrins, FODC and legal representati...
2026-05-1509 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#58 🎙️ | Public Inquiry - Week Beginning 12th May 2026 | Day 2Inside today’s Public Inquiry hearing: From missing feasibility studies to disputes over “material considerations,” today’s session exposed deep tensions around the proposed Dalradian goldmine in the Sperrins. Expert witnesses face ongoing timetable chaos, tourism voices warn of irreversible damage, and campaigners question whether planning conditions can ever truly protect communities. In this episode: Expert witness attendance disrupted by constant schedule changes Debate over Commonwealth mining feasibility guidelines (CFSG) What “material consideration” actually means in planning law Questions over the absence of a feasibility study Concerns about missing social impact assessments Tourism and heritage fears raised...
2026-05-1308 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#57 🎙️ | Public Inquiry -Week beginning 12th May 2026 | Day 1#57 | Public Inquiry – Day 1 | Week Beginning 12 May 2026 • Public Inquiry timetable chaos and growing frustration among third parties • Commonwealth Mining Feasibility Study Guidelines introduced into proceedings • Questions over transparency, evidence standards and public confidence • Section 76 agreements, financial bonds and perpetual mine waste liability • Debate around the “Dry Stack Facility” tailings dump • Agriculture, farming, food safety and environmental concerns raised • Mental health impacts and community testimony heard at the Inquiry • Voices from campaigners, experts, farmers and affected residents Truth spoken to power from the heart of the Sperrins. ✊   https://buttonsoptions4...
2026-05-1310 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#56. Bonus episode 10,000 Downloads Later… Truth Still Speaks to Power ✊🎙️🎙️ Conversations beyond the headlines. • Campaigns, communities & environmental justice • Politics, planning & truth spoken to power • Long-form discussions with campaigners, experts & guests • Real stories from the frontlines of the fight to protect the Sperrins Top 25% global podcast | 10,000+ downloads ✊ https://dontmineus.com/the-sperrins-podcast/ Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/
2026-05-1203 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No55.🎙️ Public Inquiry - Week 4 in Review 9th May 2026This week the inquiry moved deep into the economics, financial structures and long-term liabilities behind the Dalradian gold mine proposal. In this episode: • Missing feasibility studies and inaccessible economic models • Questions around Wheaton, royalties, offshore structures and profit flows • Claims about jobs, wages and local economic benefit challenged • DfI accused of failing to carry out proper due diligence • Gold laundering concerns raised at the inquiry • 44,000 tonnes of explosives discussed • Unanswered questions around policing costs and public liability • Mine closure, acid mine drainage and who pays decades later If you missed...
2026-05-0910 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.54🎙️ Public Inquiry Week 4 Day 3Another extraordinary day at the public inquiry. Today’s episode covered some huge issues surrounding the proposed gold mine  from gold laundering risks and due diligence to explosives, policing costs and mine closure liabilities. Topics covered: Gold concentrate royalties and traceability The Galantas whistleblower case Shell companies and corporate structures NCA and OECD warnings on gold laundering DfI’s response on due diligence 44,000 tonnes of explosives Policing costs and national security concerns Extensive blasting proposals Mine closure bonds and restoration costs https://www.dontmineus.com  Sign up to our newsletter here  https...
2026-05-0809 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No 53🎙️ Public Inquiry - Week 4 Day 2 Conflict of interest raised involving DFI counsel and Landmark Chambers What Landmark Chambers actually are — and why that matters Inside the £75 million deal between Dalradian and Wheaton How Dalradian may now effectively be a shell company The reality of gold being sold at just 18% of market value Missing details: where is the gold actually being processed? Unanswered questions around £620,000 bulk sample money Multiple royalty agreements — who is really getting paid? Public money breakdown: grants, police costs, environmental funding No forensic accountant used — despite complexity of proposal Employment promises described as vague and unenforceable “Creative accounting” concerns raised by economic expert Powerful hum...
2026-05-0710 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.52🎙️. Public Inquiry - Week 4 Day 1What are you supposed to do when you’re asked to trust a process… but deep down you believe that process is fundamentally flawed? This episode comes straight from Day 4 of the Socio-Economic section of the Public Inquiry into the proposed gold mine in the Sperrins. I left the Inquiry tired, frustrated, and questioning everything—then went for a walk on the mountain, one of the very places under threat. That walk brought me back to why I’m doing this at all. This is part reflection, part reality check, and part record o...
2026-05-0513 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No 51🎙️. Public Inquiry no hearing : A week of community and reflection A step back as hearings pause and the Inquiry prepares to resume Where things stand: slow progress and key questions still unanswered Ongoing concerns around the economic case, missing information, and environmental gaps What to watch as proceedings get back underway A reflection on the past week and the strength of community support Why family, presence, and shared values continue to carry this campaign 👉 Listen now and stay informed as the Inquiry continues Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/   #Public Inquiry #Sperrins #Stop The M...
2026-05-0203 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.50 🎙️ Public Inquiry -Week 2 in Review 25th April 2026🔍 Key Issues This Week: ❗ No current feasibility study underpinning the project 📊 Economic case based on unseen data and a “spreadsheet” not available to the public 💰 Gold valuation claims not adding up — major gaps between industry norms and projections 🏛️ Department for Infrastructure under pressure over process, preparedness, and oversight ⚖️ Public inquiry fairness questioned — limited time, delayed topics, restricted participation 📉 Only 23 of 155 questions answered — progress slower than expected 🧾 Missing and incomplete documentation across environmental and economic areas 🌍 Unclear environmental impact — gaps in carbon data, waste planning, and long-term risk 🔄 Confusion over what’s actually being mined — gold vs multiple minerals 💼 Local economic benefit unclear — profits expected to leave the reg...
2026-04-2509 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.49🎙️ Public Inquiry - Week 2 Day 3 Shakespeare meets the Public Inquiry “All the world’s a stage”… and today, the barristers played their part Timetable chaos as the inquiry struggles to keep pace New information admitted—without time to review or respond Economic model under scrutiny: based on unseen data Gold… or gold concentrate? The numbers start to unravel Growing concerns over fairness, transparency, and process Third parties “limping along like a wounded animal” Questions raised about oral submissions with no paper trail A day that veered from serious to surreal 👉 Follow the podcast for daily updates from inside the inquiry 👉 Share to keep the spotlight on what’...
2026-04-2408 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.48🎙️ Public Inquiry -Week 2 Day 2 Focus on economic modelling behind the Dalradian application Serious questions raised about overly optimistic projections Concerns around lack of real-world grounding and evidence Independent expert Mr Burgess (FODC) casts doubt on financial claims Key issue: Who actually benefits from the profits? Gold value driving projections — but wealth largely leaves the local area Community impact questioned: jobs, local economy, real benefit? Strong intervention from Sean Clarke (Mid Ulster Council) Concerns about job displacement and pressure on existing businesses Inquiry timeline may be extended significantly Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/ 👉 Follow the podcas...
2026-04-2205 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.47🎙️ Public Inquiry - Week 2 Day 1 Key questions raised by Mary Brolly at the public inquiry Is the Dalradian Gold application fully grounded in the documents before the Commission? Can the process withstand robust scrutiny? Concerns highlighted: Gaps in transboundary consultation Absence of a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) What this means for transparency, accountability, and public trust Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/ Call to Action: 👉 Follow the podcast for daily insights from the inquiry 👉 Share this episode to keep the conversation going
2026-04-2107 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.46🎙️ Public Inquiry - Week 1 in Review Fri 17th April 2026 End of Week 1 at the not-so-public Public Inquiry Key issues emerging: Cyanide  not gone, just repositioned? Missing environmental assessments Late submissions & document overload Ongoing concerns around fairness and access A process that feels complex, contested… and far from clear Community voice strong but under pressure Big questions still unanswered Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/ 👉 Follow the podcast for daily/weekly updates as the inquiry unfolds 👉 Share to keep others informed
2026-04-1707 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.45🎙️ Public Inquiry -Day 3 Day 3 of the Public Inquiry — and the process is starting to reveal itself Questions drip-fed throughout the day, with departments (DFI / DOE) under scrutiny Ongoing issue: unauthorised infill and potential failure to comply with planning conditions Key concern: development may have bypassed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Cyanide resurfaces — despite assumptions it was gone Proposed condition: no cyanide permitted on site at any stage Debate deferred to mine waste session Major gap exposed: no independent Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) Why it matters: without an HRA, a project cannot legally proceed if habitats are at risk Wide-ranging discussions from precautionary principle to turb...
2026-04-1605 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.44🎙️ Public Inquiry -Day 2   🎙️ Public Inquiry Podcast – Day 2 ⚖️ NIEA late evidence accepted by the PAC 🗂️ Decision based on SOC + rebuttals, not new material ⏱️ Ongoing concerns around time + fairness 📊 Key details still unclear across the project ☣️ Cyanide question not going away Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/ 👉 Daily updates from inside the inquiry 📢 Follow & share to stay informed
2026-04-1506 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.43 🎙️ Public Inquiry – Day 1In this episode: ⚖️ Legal challenges over fairness + admissibility of new evidence 📂 95 new documents dropped late – not enough time to respond? 🌍 Questions over cross-border consultation failures 🌱 Environmental assessment delays – could be “bolted on” later ⛏️ Confusion over what’s actually being mined 📉 Gaps in the economic case + project clarity 🏠 Concerns mining could extend under homes without consent 💷 Who monitors the mine? No clear accountability From yellow umbrellas outside to serious questions inside  👉 Follow the Save Our Sperrins Podcast for daily, on-the-ground updates 📢 Share to keep others informed Sign up to our newsletter here  https://dontmineus.com/newslatter/
2026-04-1407 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.42 Dalradian’s New Marketing Campaign: A Reality CheckIn this solo episode of the Save Our Sperrins Podcast, Save Our Sperrins responds to the latest marketing campaign released by Dalradian Gold, offering a calm and forensic examination of the claims being made about jobs, prosperity, and regional regeneration. Set against rising living costs, pressure on public services, and growing climate instability, this episode explores how extractive industries use narrative, timing, and emotion to position private mining projects as solutions to public crises. The episode contrasts promotional messaging with documented evidence from Ireland, highlighting what is often omitted from corporate storytelling: environmental risk, public cost, long-term...
2026-04-1109 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.41🎙️ Public Inquiry Begins: What Happens NextThe public inquiry into gold mining in the Sperrins is about to begin  and this podcast is entering a new phase. After 40 episodes building the story, trust, and understanding behind the campaign, we’re now moving into real-time coverage of what happens next. From here on, expect short, regular updates from the inquiry: What happened What it means What to watch next Follow the podcast to stay informed throughout the inquiry  and share it with anyone trying to make sense of what’s happening. This podcast follows the campaign to protect the Sp...
2026-04-0701 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.40 Voice, Value and Who Gets Heard: A Conversation with Dermot DevlinIn this episode, I sit down with disability rights advocate, TEDx speaker, and campaigner Dermot Devlin to explore what it means to be heard in systems that aren’t always designed to listen. Originally from Greencastle, Dermot brings a powerful mix of lived experience, sharp insight, and every day honesty  working across grassroots activism, practical change, and policy influence. This conversation  opens up bigger questions about voice, power, and participation in society. 🔍 In the  episode, we explore: What “access”  means beyond the obvious Who gets included in decisions  and who gets left out The reality of con...
2026-04-0552 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.39 Public Inquiry, Private BarriersWhat does public participation actually mean when major environmental decisions are being made? In this episode I’m joined by Laura Neale,  a senior  lawyer with Friends of the Earth . She is based in the organisation’s Belfast office and works on strategic litigation relevant to the issues that affect Northern Ireland. She is passionate about working alongside communities in the region to protect people, planet and place. Today Laura  unpacks two international agreements that are designed  to protect the public’s role in environmental decision-making: the Aarhus Convention and the Espoo Convention. In this con...
2026-03-2841 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.38 The Bog Is Not Empty A Conversation with Artist Emily McFarlandWhat if the land we call empty is anything but? In this episode, artist Emily McFarland brings the bog into focus, as a living archive of memory, water and deep time. Why peatlands are far more than “marginal land” The bog as witness  holding carbon, history and story How art can challenge the language of progress and development What gets lost when landscapes are reduced to resource A different way of seeing  and listening  to the land beneath our feet 👉 If this episode resonates, follow the podcas...
2026-03-211h 02The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 37 The Sperrins at a Crossroads: Wind Power , Extraction and the Green TransitionAnn-Louise Bresnahan of Save The Moat – Save The Sperrins joins me to talk about the proposed industrial-scale wind development on the Moat, part of the Mullaghs in the central Sperrins ,  an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty now facing major upland industrialisation. What begins as a conversation about turbines opens out into something much wider. We discuss peatlands and carbon capture, water, grid infrastructure, data centres and the rising energy demands of Big Tech. We look at extractivism in its modern form,  how rural landscapes are being redesignated as energy zones and what that means for biodiversity, cultural heri...
2026-03-1452 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.36 Mount Polley, Indigenous Land Rights and the Real Cost of Mining – with NuskmataIn this episode, I speak with Nuskmata , Jacinda Mack  Indigenous land defender from the Nlaka’pamux and Secwépemc peoples, and a long-standing advocate for reform in the global mining industry. We return to the 2014 Mount Polley mine disaster, when a tailings dam collapsed into the Fraser River watershed. More than a decade on, the consequences are still unfolding. Communities lost food sources that had sustained them for generations. Questions remain about water quality. How the clean up is only partial and the effects of the dam burst that will last for hundreds of years if not for...
2026-03-0751 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.35 When “Public” Isn’t Public . A conversation with Gerard Moyne and Sean GallagherIn this episode, I speak with Gerard Moyne and Sean Gallagher, residents of Donegal living downstream from the proposed Dalradian gold mine in the Sperrins. Our conversation centres on the transboundary issues that led to the suspension of the recent Public Inquiry  and what that moment reveals about fairness, participation and environmental governance. We explore the principles behind the Aarhus Convention and the Espoo Convention, and what they require when a project in one jurisdiction may affect communities in another. What does meaningful public participation actually look like? When is a Public Inquiry truly public?
2026-02-2856 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.34 Peatlands, Carbon, and the Public Inquiry with Alessandra Accogli & Elena AitovaIn this episode, we sit down with Dr.  Alessandra Accogli and Elena Aitova  post graduate researcher to talk about peatlands, carbon, and the role of evidence in the public inquiry process. Between them, they’ve contributed legal analysis and scientific work to submissions examining how peatlands are treated within planning decisions, and how those decisions line up with climate commitments. Elena brings her research on measuring greenhouse gas emissions from Irish raised bogs, and on what restoration and re-wetting actually change over time. Alessandra brings a legal perspective, looking at how policy, climate obligations, and planning processes inte...
2026-02-2148 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.33 Pat and Nuala: Living 5 Miles from Europe’s Largest Aluminium PlantIn this episode, I speak with Pat  and Nuala Gheoghegan, who share the story of their lives, their farm, and their community. They talk about what it meant to live just five miles from the Aughinish Alumina Refinery, and how its presence shaped everyday life over many years. The conversation moves through memory, place, and experience, and was recorded in more than one setting, with others present at moments. Those sounds and interruptions remain part of the episode. It is longer than usual, and I chose to let it run as one piece, allowing the story to u...
2026-02-141h 49The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.32 From the High Ground with Cahal KeenanThis episode sits at the start of a series of conversations about water in the Sperrins  where it comes from, how it moves, and what happens when it’s put at risk. Cahal’s family has lived for generations in and around Greencastle. He farms part-time, runs a plumbing business, and knows the land . He speaks about water, ground, and responsibility in the way people do when they’ve spent their lives paying attention. What you hear here comes out of day-to-day reality, from a place carrying a lot of unanswered questions, and from someone thinkin...
2026-02-0756 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland# No. 31 99th Day: The Cost of the New Mining Rush with Gerry McGovernIn this episode, I’m joined again by Gerry McGovern to talk about his new book, 99th Day. We stay with what the book is really about,  the mining being driven by the energy transition, the waste that follows modern technology, and the communities who end up living with the consequences long before any promises are made, and long after the attention moves on. It’s not an easy conversation, and it doesn’t try to be. We talk about scale, about damage, and about the uncomfortable feeling that comes from understanding how we in the Glo...
2026-01-311h 24The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.30 At the Turning of the Year: A 2025 Round-UpEnd of Year Round-Up: 2025 | Save Our Sperrins In this special end-of-year episode, Save Our Sperrins looks back over a pivotal year in the campaign to protect the Sperrin Mountains from gold mining. From the suspension of the Public Inquiry in January, through moments of international solidarity, creative resistance and legal challenge, to the relinquishing of mineral prospecting licences in October, this episode traces the key events of 2025 month by month. We also reflect on the launch of the Save Our Sperrins podcast itself — why we started it, what we’ve learned about the impo...
2025-12-3116 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.29 Extractivism, Emissions and the Reality Behind COP30- A Conversation with Lynda SullivanIn this episode of the Save Our Sperrins Podcast, I’m joined again by writer and activist Lynda Sullivan, fresh from COP30 in Brazil. Lynda spent just one day inside the official Blue Zone, focusing instead on the People’s Summit and the global gatherings organised by Yes to Life, No to Mining, alongside thematic forums examining the mining and extractive economy. She reflects on the stark contrast between these spaces — one dominated by lobbying and polished messaging, the other grounded in lived experience, solidarity and shared concern. We talk about what she witnessed, the limits...
2025-12-2742 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.28 One Landscape, One Fight: Cross-Border Resistance to Fracking & MiningIn this episode, we sit down with two men who helped shape one of the most remarkable grassroots movements on the island of Ireland: the cross-border resistance to fracking along the Leitrim–Fermanagh border. Back in 2012, when few understood the scale of the threat, farmers, families and community organisers began to join the dots between their wells, their rivers, their land and the industrial plans unfolding around them. Eddie Mitchell and Michael Gallagher were among those who stepped forward early Eddie through community organising and later political leadership, Michael through the farming networks that became central to th...
2025-12-201h 12The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.27 Raised by the Hills – A Conversation with Kelan GrantThis week’s podcast features Kelan Grant, a successful professional mountain biker — and a childhood friend of my own children, with family ties that stretch back over forty-five years. Kelan has been on bikes almost since he could walk. He grew up in Knockmoyle, at the edge of the Sperrins, and now lives and races professionally  out of Morzine in the French Alps. I’ve watched his phenomenal progress over the years, from those first tentative wobbles to the accomplished rider he is today. He has competed on some of Europe’s toughest enduro trails, and, in h...
2025-12-1354 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.26 Business, Human Rights and the Battle for Accountability a Conversation with Chris O Connell Trócaire .Chris O’Connell, Trócaire In this episode of Protecting the Sperrins – Voices from the Frontline, Marella Fyffe speaks with Chris O’Connell, Senior Policy Advisor at Trócaire, about the growing global movement for a UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights. From decades of work across the Global South, Chris brings a deep understanding of how deregulation benefits corporate power, how trade agreements can quietly undermine democracy and the environment, and why binding rules for business are urgently needed. Their conversation moves from the global to the local — from Geneva to the Sperrins — exploring ho...
2025-12-071h 05The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.25 How Small Food Producers Strengthen a Rural Economy: Dart Mountain CheeseIn this week’s episode, I sit down with Julie from Dart Mountain Cheese, an artisan cheesemaking company rooted deep in the foothills of the Sperrins. What begins as a story about cheese quickly becomes something much bigger: a conversation about place, sustainability, and how to build a meaningful livelihood in a rural landscape often written off as economically limited. Julie  shares how Dart Mountain Cheese began, why the Sperrins were the only place that felt right, and how clean air, clean water and healthy soil are at the heart of everything they produce. We talk about the...
2025-11-291h 03The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.24 UK Critical Minerals Strategy 2035: What It Means for Communities and the EnvironmentIn this bonus episode, I dig into the UK’s newly published Critical Minerals Strategy 2035 — a document dressed up as environmental responsibility, yet rooted in the same extractive logic that has driven ecological breakdown for decades. Behind its polished language lies a blueprint for expanded mining, weakened planning protections and a deeper entanglement between government, finance and the arms industry. Communities are reduced to footnotes; ecosystems are treated as expendable; and the climate crisis is used to justify fresh harm. This episode unpacks what the strategy really means for places like the Sperrins. It exposes the quiet conv...
2025-11-2309 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.23 Dr Steven H. Emerman – The Science of Failure: Truth, Risk, and ResponsibilityIn this episode, Marella speaks with Dr Steven H. Emerman, hydrologist, geophysicist, and one of the world’s leading independent experts on mine tailings storage facilities. Dr Emerman brings decades of research and international experience to a conversation that cuts through technical jargon and gets to the heart of what’s at stake in the Dalradian Gold planning application for the Sperrins. He explains that the standard industry position is that all tailings dams will eventually fail and that every one requires maintenance in perpetuity — creating a permanent burden for future generations. Even more alarming, tailin...
2025-11-221h 21The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.22 Mining the Truth: A Conversation with Lynda SullivanLynda Sullivan has spent years working with communities affected by mining, from the Andes to the Sperrins. She speaks about how Ireland became a “green sacrifice zone”, the myth of mining as a climate solution, and what happens when governments trade nature for profit. Her work with CAIM and the Yes to Life, No to Mining network connects local struggles into a wider movement for protection and change. 📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story #dontmineus #SaveOurSperrins #notoxicmining  #EnvironmentPodcast #JusticePodcast #ActivismPodcast #IrishPodcast #HumanRights LINKS FOR THIS INT...
2025-11-1551 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.21 Butterlope Farm – A Different Kind of ProgressIn this episode, we visit Butterlope Farm near Plumbridge, in the heart of the Sperrin Mountains, where Annie and Vincent Mullan have built a life rooted in care — for land, people, and community. Annie, with her background in environmental education, and Vincent, a lifelong farmer, have created a social farm that shows how upland farming can be both sustainable and deeply human. Their approach offers a living contrast to the industrialisation creeping across the Sperrins — mining, wind farms, and so-called “progress” that too often leave behind scarred land and divided communities. Through their stories, we explore...
2025-11-0857 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.20 From the Sperrins to COP 30: Dr Lorna Gold on Caring for CreationIn this episode, Marella speaks with Dr Lorna Gold, Executive Director of the Laudato Si’ Movement — a global network inspired by Pope Francis’s call to care for our common home. From her long experience in climate justice and faith-based environmental work, Lorna brings insight into how moral and spiritual leadership can shape our collective response to the ecological crisis. As she prepares to travel to COP 30 in Brazil in November 2025 , Lorna reflects on the tensions between the drive for critical minerals and the urgent need to protect communities and ecosystems. Together, we explore how faith, conscience, and co...
2025-11-0143 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland# No 19. Sacred Sperrins Living Land :A Conversation with Kerry McCoryIn this episode, I speak with Kerry McCrory, who lives in Coneyglen in the heart of the Sperrins. Through her holistic practice, Kerry helps people reconnect with balance, colour, and the deeper rhythms of nature — but over the years, her care for human well-being has become inseparable from her care for the land itself - through her  opposition to the gold mine  to challenging the spread of industrial wind farms.  Kerry  speaks movingly  about the sacred relationship between people and place.This is a conversation about the sacred, in its truest sense: the everyday holiness of the hills...
2025-10-2553 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.18 Frontlines of Justice:James Orr on Power, Place and the Politics of ExtractionIn this conversation, James Orr — Director of Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland — joins us to reflect on decades of environmental work, solidarity, and vision for change. From his long-standing support for the Save Our Sperrins campaign to his calls for an independent environmental agency and a just settlement for Lough Neagh, James brings a rare combination of grounded experience and deep ecological thinking. We talk about what it means to move beyond extractivism, how communities can stand together in the face of corporate power, and the urgent need to reimagine how we live with and care for...
2025-10-181h 16The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.17Divided by Gold, Rooted in Place: Emma Conway on Family, Land and BelongingIn this conversation, Marella speaks with Emma Conway, founder of Sperrin Soul Forest School — a mother, educator, and member of an extended  local family whose differing views on the goldmine mirror the wider divisions playing out across this rural community While parts of Emma’s family have engaged with Dalradian, others, including Emma herself, have spoken out against the mine.  It’s a story that runs deep — of love and loyalty, of belonging and belief — and of what it means to keep connection alive when the land beneath you becomes contested. Together, they talk about  how...
2025-10-1152 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.16 Hope is a Luxury, Resistance is Intergenerational – Gerry McGovern Speaks OutWhat happens when the drive for endless growth leaves nothing but waste behind? Gerry McGovern, author of the After the Goldrush podcast , joins me to explore how mining — and the mindset that fuels it — mirrors the same destructive patterns we see in the digital world. Our conversation looks at what it means for communities like ours in the Sperrins to stand against extraction, and how waste is never an accident but the direct outcome of a system built on taking without giving back. Gerry’s clarity cuts through the spin, reminding us that resistance is both urgent and in...
2025-10-0458 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 15 Sinéad Ní Mhearnóg : Language, Community and CourageIn this episode I speak with Sinéad Ní Mhearnóg Uí Ghéibheannaigh, a young mother, poet, and advocate for the Irish language from ConyGlen near Greencastle. Sinéad works with Glór na nGael, supporting communities to keep the language alive, and has long been a passionate voice in the Save Our Sperrins campaign. We talk about her roots in the Sperrins, the role of language in shaping identity, and how culture and community sustain resilience. Sinéad reflects on her poetry, her hopes for her children, and her fears for what mining could do to the f...
2025-09-2752 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.14 Law, Land, and Justice: Dr Amy Strecker on the SperrinsIn this episode, I speak with Dr Amy Strecker, Associate Professor at the Sutherland School of Law in UCD and one of the volunteer expert witnesses supporting the Public Inquiry into goldmining in the Sperrins. Amy brings her expertise in land law, justice, and cultural landscapes, helping us understand how law can both protect and endanger communities and the places they call home. She speaks about the Sperrins in the wider European and global frame, the clash between cultural heritage and extractive industries, and what a fairer vision of land justice could look like. We...
2025-09-2037 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.13 Council Stands with the People, Not DalradianThis update brings you inside the Council chamber as Fermanagh and Omagh District Council refused Dalradian’s latest attempts to delay site restoration until 2025. From explosive claims that their works are “miniscule” to councillors openly admitting unfamiliarity with the site, it was a meeting that laid bare the contradictions and the politics around mining in the Sperrins. Tune in to hear what happened, why it matters, and what comes next.  📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story #dontmineus #SaveOurSperrins #notoxicmining  #EnvironmentPodcast #JusticePodcast #ActivismPodcast #IrishPodcast #HumanRights    LINKS...
2025-09-1805 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.12 Dancing with the Earth: Mary McGuiggan on Rights of Nature and ConnectionIn this episode, I sit down with Mary McGuiggan — A Derry woman, retired primary school teacher, renowned Irish dancer and dance teacher, activist, mother, grandmother, and  Gaelic speaker are just some of her many talents . Mary has been at the heart of building the Rights of Nature campaign in Northern Ireland and is one of the founders of The Gathering, which brings activists together from across Ireland to share struggles, strengthen connections, and support one another. We talk about what inspired her to this work, how The Gathering has become a space for solidarity and cre...
2025-09-1343 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.11 Hard-Earned Wisdom from Navan: A Conversation with Nuala and Mairéad HeaneyWhat is it really like to live beside a mine? In this episode of the Save Our Sperrins Podcast – Voices from the Frontline, we hear from sisters Nuala and Mairéad Heaney of Navan, County Meath. Their family home sits in the shadow of the Randalstown tailings dam — a toxic reservoir that has grown stage by stage since the late 1970s. For communities across Ireland facing the threat of new prospecting licences and goldmining projects, their story is both warning and wisdom. Nuala, once secretary of Residents Against Tailings Extension (RATE), reflects on years of campaigning and promi...
2025-09-061h 23The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.10 From Greencastle to the Council: Emmet McAleer on Speaking Truth to PowerFrom community halls to the council chamber, Emmet McAleer carried the voice of the Sperrins into local government. Here he reflects on that journey. In 2019, Emmet made history when he was elected to the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on a single issue: stopping the goldmine. Against the odds, he unseated a sitting SDLP councillor and became a strong, independent voice for Mid Tyrone over the next four years. In this conversation, Emmet speaks about his roots in a family deeply tied to the campaign, what it was like to challenge party politics as an...
2025-08-3053 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland# No.9 Drawing the Line: Counter-Mapping the Sperrins with V’cenza CireficeIn this episode I sit down with V’cenza Cirefice — activist, researcher and long-time supporter of Save Our Sperrins. V’cenza has been a constant presence in the campaign, bringing not only her energy on the ground but also her skills in counter-mapping and visual storytelling. We talk about how these creative tools give power back to communities, helping people to see the land differently, to challenge the official narratives of industry, and to protect what matters most. Alongside this, V’cenza shares her own journey into activism, the lessons learned along the way, and the deep importan...
2025-08-2435 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.8 At the Doorstep of the Mine: Olivia and Tish on Protecting Greencastle’s FutureIn this episode I talk with Olivia and Tish, two young mums living just a stone’s throw from where the mine and processing plant are planned. Their concerns go far beyond their own families — they speak about the heart of Greencastle itself, where neighbours lean on each other, traditions are carried on, and community is the lifeblood of village life. They share, with warmth and fighting spirit, how the mine threatens not only their children’s health and future, but also the very fabric of this close-knit community. What comes through is their deep love for Greencastle and an uns...
2025-08-1743 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 7 Human Rights in the Hills: Mary Lawlor on Defending the DefendersHuman Rights in the Hills: Mary Lawlor on Defending the Defenders What happens when a rural community stands its ground for ten years—and the world begins to take notice? In this special anniversary episode, we’re joined by Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, to reflect on the ongoing campaign to protect the Sperrin Mountains from gold mining. Mary shares her insights on the global patterns of repression facing environmental defenders, the right to protest, and why the Sperrins have become a case study in grassroots resistance. We e...
2025-08-1039 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.6 This Is Our Land: The Hollywoods on Farming, Family and the Fight for the SperrinsThe Hollywood family have lived and farmed in the Sperrins for generations. But now, their home lies in the shadow of a proposed goldmine. In this moving conversation, they share what it feels like to live with that looming threat—day in, day out. This episode is about place, memory, and the quiet courage it takes to protect what you love.  📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story #dontmineus #SaveOurSperrins #notoxicmining  #EnvironmentPodcast #JusticePodcast #ActivismPodcast #IrishPodcast #HumanRights SAVE OUR SPERRINS ( Social Media)  https://linktr.ee/saveo...
2025-08-0350 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 5 Bridging Divides - Nature , Healing and Protecting the Sperrin MountainsIn this thoughtful and quietly powerful conversation, we speak with Dr Louise Taylor — a political researcher, eco-therapist, and  member of the Unionist community — about her journey into the heart of the Save Our Sperrins campaign. With a PhD exploring the relationship between nature and mental health, Louise brings a deeply informed and personal perspective to the importance of protecting places like the Sperrins — not just for environmental reasons, but for our collective wellbeing. She speaks about her love of the land, the healing power of the more-than-human world, and what it means to stand up for something that tr...
2025-07-2748 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 4 Ten Years On: Reflections from the Heart of the SperrinsAbout this episode: This solo podcast marks a major milestone: ten years since a group of ordinary people in the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland  said no to a proposed goldmine — and yes to something much more powerful: community, care, and commitment to place. In this heartfelt reflection, Marella Fyffe , a  member of Save Our Sperrins team , traces the arc of the campaign. This isn’t just a recap — it’s a living memory of what resistance looks like from the inside. It honours both the highlights and the heartbreaks: 🔆 Highlights include: Early public...
2025-07-1910 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland# No. 3 Ten Years On: Fidelma, Cormac, and the Power of CommunityIn this episode, we hear from two key voices in the Save Our Sperrins campaign — Fidelma O’Kane and Cormac McAleer. While many played a part in founding SOS, Fidelma and Cormac have remained a steady presence throughout. Ten years on, they reflect on what sparked the movement, how the community has held strong, and why the campaign to protect the Sperrins continues. This is a conversation about community  strength, staying the course, and the quiet determination of people who refuse to back down. It’s also a reminder that the global extractivism of the past must be...
2025-07-1048 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No. 2 Save Our Sperrins Podcast Special: What Happened at the Public Inquiry January 2025In this special episode of the Sperrins Podcast, we take you inside the short-lived but revealing Public Inquiry into the Dalradian goldmine proposal. From the opening day’s dysfunction to its sudden collapse just three days later, this episode tells the full story of what happened—and why it matters. 📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story SAVE OUR SPERRINS ( Social Media)  https://linktr.ee/saveoursperrins   LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES  http://caimnetwork.org/mining-in-ireland/ Mining in Ireland is a contentious issue, with 19% of the Republic of Ireland...
2025-07-0808 minThe Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland
The Sperrins: Mining, Power & Community in Northern Ireland#No.1 Introduction to Save Our Sperrins PodcastIn our debut episode, we explore the breathtaking beauty and profound significance of the Sperrin Mountains. Discover why this unique landscape, rich in history, biodiversity, and cultural heritage, is worth protecting. We delve into the threats posed by gold mining and why this campaign is about more than just a place—it’s about safeguarding our environment, community, and future. Join us to learn, reflect, and take action for the Sperrins. 📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story Save Our Sperrins - SOCIAL MEDIA  https://linktr.ee/saveoursperrins   LINKS TO OTHER...
2025-01-1105 min