Latest news with #ShaneHarrison
Irish Post
04-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
BBC to restrict overseas access to BBC Sounds, cutting off Irish listeners
THE BBC has confirmed it will block international access to its BBC Sounds platform in 2025, ending online availability of its radio stations, including BBC Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle, for listeners in the Republic of Ireland. The move is part of a broader strategy to make BBC Sounds exclusive to UK audiences, like the geo-blocking already applied to BBC iPlayer. Under the new model, international users will instead be directed to a new audio section on their website, where access is limited to selected podcasts and just two radio stations: BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. This new restriction will most immediately affect those counties in Ireland along the border; Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth. 'This change ensures BBC Sounds is only available to those who pay the licence fee,' a BBC spokesperson said, adding that it allows the organisation to deliver 'better value for UK audiences'. For listeners in Ireland, particularly those near the border who rely on Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle, the change is seen as more than just technical. Independent media analyst Jim Waterson told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme that while the move makes commercial sense, 'a lot of people in London forget about the small matter of the border on the island of Ireland.' He said many would consider it reasonable to ask overseas listeners to pay or view advertising, 'but there are wider cultural consequences here that aren't being addressed.' Former BBC journalist Shane Harrison said the decision may violate the spirit of cross-border cooperation outlined in the Good Friday Agreement and a 2010 memorandum of understanding between the UK and Irish governments. The memorandum recognised public broadcasting's role in 'promoting cultural diversity, educational programming, and objective public information' across the island of Ireland. Professor Kevin Curran, a cybersecurity expert at Ulster University, added that while geo-blocking is technically simple, the BBC has chosen not to make exceptions. 'If the BBC wanted to allow access in Ireland, it could be done quite easily; it could probably be done in a morning,' he said. The BBC named "rights limitations" as a factor in the decision. Much of its content involves third-party agreements that restrict international use. The change also allows its commercial arm, BBC Studios, to make money from international content through advertising on their website, revenue that flows back into the public service broadcaster. The Republic of Ireland's Department of Culture said the move is 'entirely a matter for the BBC', while Britain's Department for Culture, Media and Sport said that the broadcaster is editorially and operationally independent. While BBC Radio content will remain available via platforms like Spotify, the full experience of BBC Sounds, including live local radio, will no longer be accessible online outside Britain and Northern Ireland. For many in Ireland, the decision is a step back from decades of cross-border media access. As one listener toldFeedback on BBC Radio 4, 'We don't just listen to Radio Ulster out of habit; it's part of our identity.' The Irish Post has contacted the BBC for comment and has yet to hear back.
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Omagh bombing inquiry: one father's 26-year fight for the truth
The Omagh bombing was the single worst atrocity of the Troubles. As the journalist Shane Harrison explains, it was carried out when hopes were high in Northern Ireland that the country would never experience such violence again – four months after the signing of the Good Friday agreement in April 1998. The car bomb on 15 August killed 29 people, including Aiden Gallagher, a 21-year-old mechanic. Hannah Moore hears from his father, Michael Gallagher, about that day, and about his two-decade legal struggle since: to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, and to persuade the government to launch a public inquiry into whether anything could have been done to prevent it. There have been years of investigations and allegations about what the authorities knew beforehand – for example that the police ignored crucial tip-offs that something was imminent in Omagh. The Real IRA, a dissident Republican group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, but no one has ever been convicted for it. The campaign for an inquiry has, however, finally, borne fruit. More than 26 years after the attack, a public inquiry will begin on Tuesday to hear from bereaved families and survivors about those, like Michael's son Aiden, who they lost.
