Tara Mills and Declan Harvey deliver the detail on news stories in a BBC NI podcast.
Latest episodes
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12 min ↗
How we make court podcasts
As a preview to The State of Us live show at the Belfast Media Festival in November Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take an in-depth look at the popularity of court podcasts. Why are…
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12 min ↗
11. Provisional IRA & police notes
The outcome of the most recent legal challenge of the decisions on the Drumcree march will be revealed next week. Today, lawyers for Garvaghy Road residents said they should not be…
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17 min ↗
9. ‘Seismic’ court ruling
Garvaghy Road residents lost their bid to challenge the Parades Commission's decision in the Court of Appeal today. What arguments were made? Why did the right to march win out? An…
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17 min ↗
10. Threats from paramilitaries
Police intelligence found dissident republicans may have mounted gun attacks on officers had they cleared a path for a parade on the Garvaghy Road. Loyalist paramilitaries were als…
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29 min ↗
22. The sentencing of Jeffrey Donaldson
A special programme from The State of Us podcast. Tara Mills and Declan Harvey report on the fifteen year prison sentence handed down to Jeffrey Donaldson for child sex abuse. The…
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15 min ↗
8. Bryant bans parade
The Secretary of State says his decision to ban the Orange Order’s Drumcree parade was taken in the best interests of peace. His action came after an agreement couldn’t be reached…
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16 min ↗
Trial of the facts: A survivor's story
Eleanor Donaldson’s trial of the facts earlier this year, as part of her husband Jeffrey Donaldon’s sex abuse case, brought a complicated legal process into the headlines. Tara Mil…
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13 min ↗
7. Back in court
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in a bid by Garvaghy Road residents to challenge a decision to allow a controversial Orange Order parade down the predominantly nationalis…
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14 min ↗
6. The new legal battle lines
As the Garvaghy Road residents prepare to head back to the Court of Appeal on Friday we learn more about what police told the Parades Commission before its determination. Tara Mill…
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15 min ↗
5. Was the law broken?
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has been reported to the police by the Orange Order for attending a protest blocking the Garvaghy Road. What is the law on ‘spontaneous’ protests?
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17 min ↗
4. Rules v Reality
What are the rules around marching and policing. How do they play out in reality, do they apply to everyone and who enforces them? Tara Mills and Declan Harvey shed more light on t…
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15 min ↗
3. Inside the court battle
How the courts gave the Drumcree march the go ahead. After the Parades Commission’s decision to allow the march, Garvaghy Rd residents and the Portadown Orange Order took their dis…
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11 min ↗
21. Victims face Donaldson
A special series from The State of Us podcast. The two women Jeffrey Donaldson abused as children came to court today, as his prison sentence was discussed. He will be sentenced in…
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18 min ↗
2. Drumcree Now
The Parades Commission has given the Garvaghy Road march the go ahead after 28 years. We explore the arguments that tipped the scale.
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15 min ↗
1. Drumcree Then
How did the Drumcree dispute bring Northern Ireland to a standstill? Tara Mills and Declan Harvey explain how it all began.
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11 min ↗
20. Jeffrey and Eleanor to appeal
A special programme from The State of Us podcast. The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was found guilty in June 2026 of rape, gross indecency and indecent assault of two women w…
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28 min ↗
80. The verdict explained
A special programme from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His d…
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5 min ↗
79. Second juror removed
A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disa…
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16 min ↗
78. The inquest returns
A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disa…
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11 min ↗
4. The verdict
A series from The State of Us podcast. Former Council CEO Anne Donaghy denied charges of deleting an email she had sent to former DUP First Minister Arlene Foster.Tara Mills and De…